Four Swords: The titular blade from Four Swords.

The titular blade from Four Swords.

Four Sword: Held in the shrine at the heart of the Four Sword Sanctuary, the Four Sword acts as the lynchpin for the seal that contains the great darkness of Vaati. Over time, the seal weakened allowing the wind sorcerer to escape and kidnap Princess Zelda. With the seal broken and Zelda in peril, Link pulled the Four Sword from the pedestal and was split into four palette-swapped copies of himself. The four-that-are-one then set out to fight the forces of darkness, storm the palace, defeat the wind sorcerer Vaati, and rescue Princess Zelda. 

The true instrument of a hero isn’t replaced instantly upon finding a novel or more storied artifact. A tool truly worthy of a hero grows and strengthens just as the hero advances through their journey. This blade grows in power and prestige with each worthy challenge the hero overcomes, regardless of however the hero bests the challenge, be it steel, song, or stealth.

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I like the idea of heirlooms, artifacts, or iconic items. I think it is kind of sad when a character replaces the item their ancestors had passed down through the generations with an item an enemy randomly dropped because the bonus is higher. Some games have actioned this discomfort with some version of heirlooms and artifacts that grow while other games include rules that don’t expect a constantly increasing set of magical equipment. I usually allow iconic items to mature with the hero so that the items become characters in the story equal to the characters.

Be excellent to each other.

-Ceph

Four swords: An antique lock and key from Four Swords.

An antique lock and key from Four Swords.

Small Key: Small keys are required to open locked doors and blocks encountered in the procedurally generated stages of Four Swords. They can be found in chests, usually at the end of some challenge or behind a dangerous obstacle. The Link that picks up the key is the only Link that can use the key to open a passage.

Without even realizing it, a young apprentice brought the clever machinations of the whispering darkness to a halt by locking the door to their master’s basement laboratory. The master had been manipulated by the whisper into opening a crack in the walls of our plane that the void could seep through, only to find their way barred by a locked door. Through a cosmic technicality, beings from the void cannot pass through a closed passage even if the way is barred only by a rotting wooden door and a rusty old lock. 

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This post is inspired by Locke and Key. If you aren’t sure how, go watch Locke and Key on netflix or read the comic.

I like the idea of mundane things impeding titanic forces because the mundane didn’t exist when the rules of the multiverse were written.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Four Swords: A cache of gems from Four Swords.

 A cache of gems from Four Swords.

Rupees: While the overall goal of Four Swords is to beat Vaati the Wind Sorcerer, the immediate goal for every Link is to amass as many rupees as possible by the end of each stage. Getting enough rupees is the only way to earn the great fairies’ keys to enter Vaati’s palace. Rupees also act as each Link’s lifeline. When a Link loses their last heart they can be revived if they have enough rupees to pay the incrementally increasing cost to revive. Many boons and banes help or hurt the Links’ chance of getting rupees such as the four hidden rupee shards, bonus rupees for finishing quickly, rupee wraiths, rupoors, and simply dropping rupees when hurt. Simply put, rupees are the lifeblood of adventure in Four Swords.

A room full of gems and jewels of assorted colors is rumored to be hidden within the stone walls of the ruined royal castle. Fortune hunters and thrill-seekers have attacked any crack in the walls with every tool imaginable over the years. The castle ruins are now pock-marked with the tell-tale signs of picks, hammers, and explosives, but the treasure chamber remains undiscovered.

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Rupees are required for any adventure, even the everyday adventures of life. The depths of winter can be some of the hardest times for many people and families in America. If you have some extra rupees, consider giving something to a local aid group. If you don’t, I hope you have enough or are getting the help you deserve. Everyone deserves to have enough.

Be excellent to each other.

-Ceph

Four Swords: Three more awards from Four Swords.

Three more awards from Four Swords.

Medals: Olympic medals for the Winter Olympics were not awarded this year. The athletes were unable to compete as there wasn’t enough winter weather to hold the games. The Olympic committee is considering creating a new climate change Winter Olympics that consists of events able to be played indoors or modified to not need snow.

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We talked about the medal of courage last week. These three medals are additional versions of that item.

Thanks for reading through my heavy-handed cautionary tale of climate change ruining established institutions.

Climate change is real and if we don’t all do more at the macro systems level, our planet will go through major climatic shifts that will be extremely uncomfortable and outright deadly for billions of people and other living things.

Use your voice to champion work to combat climate change now.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph 

Four Swords: A commendation from Four Swords.

 A commendation from Four Swords.

Medal of Courage: At the end of each stage a medal of courage is awarded to the one Link that has secured the most rupees. The prospect of a single-award creates tension between Links while they are trying to complete the stage while also finding the most treasure for themselves personally. Securing enough of these medals over time unlocks special opportunities in the games that Four Swords shared a cartridge with. This gave players a reason to try to collect these medals in addition to bragging rights.

Four of these medals were cast for the four heroes that saved the land from the villainous Wind Sorcerer. When only one hero returned from the Wind Sorcerer’s palace the people of the nation mourned the loss of three great heroes while celebrating the lone survivor. The hero was not able to convince the citizens that they were all four heroes rejoined, and many assumed that the surviving hero was not right in the head after their perilous journeys.

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Welcome to the first post of the new year. I’m still drawing and I have plenty left to draw before I get anywhere near done with this little project. We are nearing the end of the items from Four Swords so I am feverishly trying to finish the items from Wind Waker so that I have the complete set ready to go before I need to start posting.

I hope your 2022 is a year of growth and rising. Do what you can to make sure everyone’s year can be so productive and positive. 

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph