Five items from A Link to the Past needed to create soulbound armor.
Red Mail: The final major item found by Link in his quest to defeat Gannon. This armor provides improved damage reduction on top of the Blue mail. It also provides another pallet swap for Link that includes a swanky purple hat. This drawing is my rendition of the Stone Armor set from Dark Souls.
Any armor can be used as the vessel in the soul binding ritual. The process is much less costly and difficult when the soul had a deep personal connection to the armor. Armor that a warrior fought many battles in and eventually was slain in provides the most natural connection for the displaced soul. In fact, soulbound suits of armor can spontaneously form if the restless soul’s connection to the armor is deep enough.
Stone armor is cumbersome but offers unparalleled protection. Otherwise lethal blows bounce harmlessly off this personal fortress. This armor would be more common were it not so difficult to obtain. One must venture into the forbidden gardens and capture one of the guardian golems without damaging the construct enough to deactivate it. If the golem can then be dragged outside of the forbidden garden and its animating energies, the creature’s stone skin can be harvested and worked into a fine suit of armor.
Ice Rod: A rod the flings bolts of ice capable of encasing creatures in a frozen shell.
The cold of an inanimate object and the cold of death are very different things. This orb siphons the soulless cold from harvested corpses into the armor. After the armor has been steeped in this necrotic chill, it would appear just like a corpse to a disembodied spirit looking for a vessel to inhabit.
Fire Rod: A magical staff that throws gouts of flame able to incinerate creatures and light torches.
The spark of life leaves a mark on a body that lingers long after death. Since the armor never contained a vital force, the echoes of the spark must be simulated. This orb gives the armor an echo of a life spark. Fooling the spirit into believing the armor is the body it lost.
A drop deposits you into a room with a clear crystal orb sitting atop a pedestal in the center. The only apparent exit from the room is a door covered in dials inscribed with nonsensical runes. After a few moments, a flame symbol appears in the orb, the tiles in the room turn bright red, and the temperature steadily increases. If the orb is touched, an ice symbol appears, the room tiles turn to a cold blue, and the room’s temperature steadily drops. If the orb is touched again, the symbols invert and the temperature shifts. Every time the orb is touched, the pace of temperature change increases. Can you figure out how to open the door before you are burned or freeze?
Bottles: If you need to hold potions, fairies, or bees, bottles have you covered. A classic item in the Zelda series, these bottles are more fantastical jars than large jugs.
Many rare ichors and oils are required to prepare the armor for the soul to inhabit the armor permanently. To properly complete the ritual, one would need a wide selection of ingredients stored in special containers to keep them fresh.
To ensure that one can control their creation, a special jar is created to capture a fragment of the soul as it merges with the armor. This soul shard is boiled in the jar until all that is left is a small crystal that is to be placed inside of the control amulet. Anyone who has channeled their energies through this amulet has total control over the soulbound armor. If the amulet is destroyed, the soul inside the armor would be freed of any dominating influences.
Anything that was valuable enough to be locked in an unbreakable chest bound with an impossible to pick lock must be worth obtaining. No regular locksmith or safe-cracker has any hope of opening the lock. The only person with the skills to open this lock is the world’s greatest thief. Unfortunately, they haven’t been seen for decades. Most assume they purchased a landed title and are enjoying their retirement in a small fiefdom guarded by the best mercenaries a lifetime of high stakes robberies can buy. The truth is often stranger than fiction, as the master thief actually retired to a sleepy desert village where they teach the local children small feints and bits of sleight of hand as a way to while away their final days.
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No links and probably some typos in this one. I just got back from an amazing kayaking trip, see the Boundary Waters Wilderness Area, and just don’t have the energy to do an edit of this. Fingers crossed it isn’t terrible.
Tune in next week for the last SIX items from A Link to the Past!
Please, don’t profit from my work without my consent, but feel free to use this personally as you see fit.
And as always, be excellent to everyone.
-Ceph
Edit: Fixed some typos and added links.
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