Faron Woods,(TPTwilight Princess | SSSkyward Sword | BotWBreath of the Wild | TotKTears of the Kingdom | LCTLink's Crossbow Training | HWHyrule Warriors)[1][2][3][4][name references needed] also known as the Southern Wood,(TPTwilight Princess)[5] and the Skulltula Forest,(LCTLink's Crossbow Training)[6] is a recurring location in The Legend of Zelda series.[7] As its name suggests, Faron Woods is part of and makes up a large majority of the overall Faron Province. It is home to one of the province's two protectors, Faron the Spirit of Light. The other protector from Skyward Sword, Faron the Water Dragon, is located in the nearby Lake Floria.
Link first enters Faron Woods looking for Talo, who ran off chasing a Monkey. Talking to Coro will result in Link obtaining a free Lantern as part of a special offer, which serves to aid the young hero on his way through a cave that leads to the northern section of Faron Woods.[9] Link eventually makes his way to the entrance of the Forest Temple, where he rescues Talo and a Monkey from Bokoblins.
However, the next time Link enters Faron Woods, it is covered in Twilight, and he is pulled in by a Shadow Beast. The Triforce symbol on his hand shines, causing the beast to drop him. Link turns into Wolf Link for the first time and falls unconscious shortly after, leaving him to be dragged to Hyrule Castle by the Shadow Beast and imprisoned. When he returns to the Twilight-covered Woods, he is tasked by Faron the Spirit of Light to restore light to the Woods by collecting its Tear of Light.[10] After doing so, Link is restored to his Human form. Faron tells Link that he must obtain the Fused Shadow in the Forest Temple to counter Zant.[11] Since more monsters have begun appearing around the Woods, Link will have to talk to Coro to obtain the Small Key that will open up the cave's gate that leads to North Faron Woods.[12]
After Link obtains all three Fused Shadows, Zant ambushes him at Lanayru Spring, cursing him to be trapped in his Wolf form and gravely injuring Midna. Link takes Midna to Princess Zelda, who heals Midna and tells Link that the only way to break the curse placed on him is to obtain the Master Sword, located in the Sacred Grove deep within Faron Woods.[13] The entrance to the Sacred Grove is located near Trill's Shop, where Link must stand on a ledge and jump through various Tree roots with the help of Midna From there, the young hero must continue to jump around various obstacles and eventually reach the hidden Sacred Grove.
Obtaining the Mirror Shard from Snowpeak will force Link to once again return to Faron Woods and make his way to the Sacred Grove to retrieve the next Mirror Shard in the Temple of Time.[14]
Faron Woods is connected to the Ordon Woods via the Ordon Bridge, built over a large chasm between the two regions. The woods are comprised of southern and northern portions, the latter being the location of the Forest Temple. The northern section of the Woods is largely uninhabited, with its only residents being Coro and Trill. To get to the northern section, Link must pass through a cave in the southern section of the Woods that leads to a bigger section of the Woods infested by Deku Babas, Keese, and Bokoblins.
The plentiful water in this region clearly sustains a large diversity of flora, including this massive tree.
It is logical that the lush plant life and water resources have attracted animal species to the region.
When asked for a hint in the Woods
These are the Faron Woods. Dangerous plants and vicious monsters inhabit the area as well. Caution is advised.
Faron Woods is the first place Link visits on the Surface after departing from Skyloft. While on Zelda's trail, Link searches for members of the Kikwi race using the Goddess Sword's Dowsing ability, finding them hiding from the invading Red Bokoblins in many places throughout the forest.[15] Upon discovering each one of these plant-like creatures, the large Kikwi elder Bucha gives Link the Slingshot. With the slingshot, Link is able to continue on to the deeper part of the forest known as Deep Woods, and later the Skyview Temple.
Link visits Faron Woods for the second time while on his quest for the three Sacred Flames to temper his blade. The Woods are now infested by stronger and deadlier demons, including Blue Bokoblins and Moblins, suggesting that the seal on The Imprisoned is weakening. Link completes Farore's Silent Realm Trial and receives the Water Dragon's Scale as a reward. It allows Link to dive deep beneath the water for a limited time and gives him special maneuvering abilities in the water.[16] Link is able to enter the Great Tree and proceeds to climb to the top of the large canopy towering over the surrounding Faron Woods. It is there that Link meets a Kikwi hermit named Yerbal. Yerbal reveals the location of the entrance to Lake Floria to Link. Lake Floria, despite being sealed off from the outside world, seems to be in a troubled time. Ghirahim, leading a group of large fish known as Cranioc, attacked the Water Dragon Faron, mortally wounding her and scaring many of the local Parella into hiding. After venturing with a Parella known as Jellyf through the underground tunnels of the lake, Link meets Faron, who is recuperating from her wounds in a Water Basin. Faron asks Link to return to Skyview Spring through the Skyview Temple to retrieve some Sacred Water to heal her wounds. After Link does so, Faron is healed and reveals the entrance to the fourth dungeon, the Ancient Cistern behind the Floria Waterfall, where Farore's Sacred Flame is found.
Link visits Faron Woods for the third and final time to find Faron in order to learn one of the four parts of the "Song of the Hero". However, the Woods are completely flooded. Link locates Faron inside the Great Tree and learns that she flooded the Woods to clear out the monsters in the area.[17] As a final test, she makes Link search the flooded Woods for her musical notes, called Tadtones, so that he can learn her part of the Song.[18] After Link collects the Tadtones, Faron teaches Link her part of the "Song of the Hero" and returns the Woods to their natural state.
Faron Woods serves as the home to the Kikwi race and the Skyview Temple. Towering over the Woods is the Great Tree, a landmark that can be seen as far away as the Sealed Grounds. There are other features throughout the Woods such as a river, two springs, plentiful bird and bug life, and giant Mushrooms that harbor Mushroom Spores that can be found in various colors. At the southern edge of the Woods is Lake Floria, where Faron the Water Dragon and the Parella reside.
Link can freely tour the Skulltula Forest: Ranger to hunt the 18 Skulltulas. The Skulltulas can be found dangling from Trees, roaming the grounds, or perched on walls. Most Skulltulas can be killed safely from a distance, otherwise coming within close range will cause them to attack Link. Other Targets such as Skulls, Skeletons, Pots, Orange Rupees, Deku Babas and a Scarecrow can be shot for additional points.
The Faron Woods were shown during the Breath of the Wild demo from The Game Awards 2014.[19] Though this game was planned for release the following year, there are several differences between the 2014 and the final 2017 builds of the game. The terrain and foliage were adjusted, and the Zonai statues were exchanged for stone pillars in the final game. Additionally, three Bokoblins could be found behind the northeastern Zonai statue. According to Shigeru Miyamoto, the presence of the Zonai statues signified that a Dungeon was nearby.
Nomenclature
Faron Woods takes its name from the province that it is a part of, which in itself is named after the Water Dragon.
Names in Other Regions
Language
Names
Meanings
Japanese
フィローネの森 (Firōne no Mori)(SSHDSkyward Sword HD)[20]
フィローネ樹海入口 (Firōne Jukai Iriguchi)(BotWBreath of the Wild)
フィローネ樹海入口 (Firōne Jukai Iriguchi)(TotKTears of the Kingdom)
Firōne Forest
Firōne Jungle Gateway
ChineseTRTraditional
費羅尼森林 (Fèiluóní sēnlín)(SSHDSkyward Sword HD)
費羅尼樹海入口 (Fèiluóní shùhǎi rùkǒu)(TotKTears of the Kingdom)
↑We wanted an area where the player could have fun swimming around for hours and decided on an underwater forest. After struggling with the concept, we chose to go with someplace the player had been before, so we flooded Faron Woods to make a massive area for the player to swim around in. (Hyrule Historia, Dark Horse Books, pg. 44 (SSSkyward Sword))
↑Kokiri Forest: Called "Faron Woods" in Skyward Sword and Twilight Princess. The Kokiri crest can be seen in the Forest Temple in Twilight Princess. (Encyclopedia, Dark Horse Books, pg. 58)
↑Here! Go on, guy. Take this! See, I sell lantern oil here... I'm trying to drum up sales by giving away free lanterns! It's a business tactic, guy! — Coro (Twilight Princess)
↑Blue-eyed beast... Look... for my light... Retrieve the light stolen by the dark beasts...and keep it...in this vessel. ...Find...the insects of darkness... The dark insects... They are the form taken by evil...once it has latched on to...our scattered light... — Faron (Twilight Princess)
↑A dark power rests in the temple deep within these woods. It is a forbidden power. Long, long ago, I and the other spirits of light locked it away. Because of its nature, it is a power that should never be touched by any who dwell in the light. But this world weeps beneath a mantle of shadows, and so there is no choice... You must match the power of the king of shadows. — Faron (Twilight Princess)
↑There are so many monsters now... I got kinda scared and closed off the path to the temple. But... You, guy... You wanna get back there, huh? You sure do look geared up for it... So here you go! Oh yeah... The woods on the other side of this cave are covered in really thick fog, so make sure your lantern is full! — Coro (Twilight Princess)
↑Head for the sacred grove that lies deep within the lands guarded by the spirit Faron. There you will find the blade of evil's bane that was crafted by the wisdom of the ancient sages...the Master Sword. — Princess Zelda (Twilight Princess)
↑Once broken by magic, the Mirror of Twilight became fragments, which even now lie hidden across the land of Hyrule. [...] One is in an ancient grove... — Sage (Twilight Princess)
↑Huh...? It's gone quiet. Kwee-koo! Now there's a green one! I didn't even know they came in green! Don't hurt me, koo-weep! — Machi (Skyward Sword)
↑Ah, hello again. I see you have the Water Dragon's Scale there, kewwww. That's amazing! I heard that if you have one, kewww, you can swim through the water like a dragon soars through the sky! — Bucha (Skyward Sword)
↑This may be news to you, but some very irksome monsters have been overrunning my woods of late. Well, I decided that I'd had enough! The easiest way to deal with the awful things was to flood the whole woods. — Faron (Skyward Sword)
↑If you wish to earn my favor, gather the Tadtones and return to me. — Faron (Skyward Sword)