Four Swords: A sacred shield from Four Swords.

 A sacred shield from Four Swords.

Shield: At the beginning of every level in Four Swords all the Links are equipped with a sword and a trusty shield. As Links only have one item slot in Four Swords, they must surrender their shield if they want to pick up any of the other item podium items we’ve discussed thus far. Raising their shield, Link can protect themselves from attacks as well as stand their ground against reckless charges from monsters and other Links.

Emblazoned with the holy symbols of the goddesses, anointed in sacred oils, and blessed by the three high abbesses, this shield is a sacred ward intended to protect the greatest champion of the faith. Unfortunately, the shield never made it to the abessess’ intended champion. Instead, it was lost when the ship carrying the shield collided with a small vessel off the coast of an uncharted island during a violent storm.

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In stories, fate has a funny way of placing things where they need to be to be found by who really needs them. I like the implication that the intention was to create a stout shield for the greatest warrior of light and the creators of the shield didn’t realize that when the shield was lost it was actually finding its way to the true champion of light in a world of darkness.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Four Swords: An iconic pair of wings from Four Swords.

 An iconic pair of wings from Four Swords.

Roc’s Cape: With this cape, a Link is able to jump higher and soar over wide gaps. This ability is especially helpful in the high canopies of the Sea of Trees and the dizzying heights of Vaati’s palace.

The Winged Cavalry is famous for two things, the false wings each member wears and the brutal effectiveness of the troops in an all out charge. This private cavalry corps has decided the fate of many conflicts, usually in favor of whoever offered the largest purse. In areas whose fate has been changed by the cavalry, individuals wearing the iconic wings are either hailed as heroes or denounced as villains.

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These wings took a ton of work to set up and the end outcome was on the good end of okay. That is a tough part of drawing all the time with the eye to improve. I imagined these differently but appreciate them for where they ended up.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Four Swords: Legendary boots of speed from Four Swords.

Legendary boots of speed from Four Swords.

Pegasus Boots: When a Link grabs these boots from one of the item podiums in Four Swords they gain the ability to dash forward at incredible speeds. Unlike many other isometric Zelda games, these Pegasus boots allow for some slight steering once the dash is started instead of just barreling straight along. Like all utility items in Four Swords, these boots are only ever found on item podiums and can only be used during the stage they are found.

For one hundred years, these boots were worn by successive captains of a riverboat that only ever docked once every seven leagues. Over all those years the boots grew accustomed to traveling vast distance between each step on land. Now the boots have an innate magic that rushes the wearer many leagues with each step. 

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I am rounding the corner on big life events which is exciting but having recently moved I haven’t been able to dedicate as much time to drawing as I would like. With that in mind, I hope I can dedicate some consistent time for that soon and really fill my cup back up after all the positive but draining changes.

Hate is bad. Islamaphobia, racism, and any other us vs them thinking at all are all bad. Growing up with the 9/11 attacks at the center of my childhood was a defining experience. That day changed my world forever. It also centered hate as a motivator for so many of the actions that followed. It made hating others cool again which is something I hope no one forgets. Let’s all work together to dismantle all the hate that is so freely flowing and work to uplift all people to be their best selves.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

 

Four Swords: An irresistible glove from Four Swords.

 An irresistible glove from Four Swords.

Magnetic Glove: Link all tools in Four Swords, the magnetic glove is found on item pedestals found throughout the game’s procedurally generated stages. Using the glove, a Link can push or pull other Links. You can use this power to help your allies dodge enemy attacks, cross otherwise impassible gaps, or just make sure they can’t pick up the rupees you’ve got your eye on. The Link carrying the glove can also push or pull themself against magnetic blocks that can be found in the levels where the magnetic gloves appear.

This odd looking glove is what gave Samar the Iron Hand their fearsome name. Even before they replaced their missing hand with this magnetic prosthesis, they were fond of disarming their opponents and hoarding the hard won trophies. After contracting a fatal wasting sickness, the pirate secreted away to their hidden cache where they could ensure no one else might enjoy all the gold, silver, and steel they collected, nor the powerful iron hand that made it all possible.

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My life is still in a fairly large tumult. I’m currently moving and dealing with the school year starting during a pandemic for the second time. I’m a bit spread thin these days, but I really enjoy taking the time to write out my ideas for these item cards. I’m also still working through all the cards in the Wind Waker game, but progress on that has been slow going.

In America, we are still dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. If you can get vaccinated and haven’t yet, I beg you to go get your vaccine to help keep yourself and everyone else safe and to hopefully put this pandemic in the rearview of our lives.

I also wanted to mention that the news is full of record breaking weather events. These are the result of human caused climate change and if you think anything else you have not listened to what the experts on the matter have been screaming for years. A UN report concluded that it was we humans who are responsible for making the only planet we have any hope of inhabiting for generations much harder to inhabit. I need to do better to make my climate footprint smaller, so does everyone else, but really we need systemic action from the top down to say that addressing and possibly reversing climate change is a priority that we are willing to put time and money into.

There is also a bunch of new in the US under the general topic of voting and health care access being shrunk while access to weapons and the ability to act negligently without much recourse increases. That sucks. I hope that one day America can figure out that gun ownership is a lot less important than free and open access to healthcare, food, housing, and education.

Thanks for stopping by this week. I hope to see you next week with another item from Four Swords.

Until then, be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph