The Minish Cap: Rings of Power

 Rings of Power

Power Bracelets: Wearing these bracelets gives Link the strength of a giant while shrunk down to Minish size. Practically, that means Link has his normal-sized strength while shrunk down to Minish proportions. Link must venture into the Minish sanctuary hidden inside the Hyrule Town Fountain to obtain these bracelets.

This matched pair of gold rings was cast by the last great elven smith during the waning of Elvendom. They were made as a proof of concept for the smith’s true masterwork, the rings that would shake the world to its foundation. While they were made as a stepping stone and given no names, the two amplify their wearers’ innate qualities, making heroes more heroic and villains more villainous.

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This is me shoe-horning more Rings of Power into Tolkien’s Middle-earth. It always bothered me that Tolkien didn’t use the first five prime numbers for his Rings of Power sets, so here I am adding the 2 and just imagining there are five dwarven lords and seven kings of men.

Drewly today is my normal weekly item card post, where I post drawings inspired by all the items in all the Zelda games. I am currently posting the items from The Minish Cap. I’ve got complete sets for the first 11 Zelda games and a bunch of other item sets already posted here: https://thespeakingsquid.blogspot.com/search/label/Collected

What is Drewly?

#Drewly is the month-long art challenge for July, where you don’t have to make any new art. Just post art you’ve already made and celebrate all you’ve accomplished.

Rules:

Share art you have already made.

Share as often as you want.

When you share, tag your art with #Drewly and #Drewly2025

I will be posting art every day of Drewly, so check back in tomorrow for something new.

Check out everything I’ve shared for past Drewly’s here: #Drewly #Drewly2022 #Drewly2023 #Drewly2024

Since you’re here, please consider supporting:

Make a one-time donation with Ko-Fi:  https://ko-fi.com/theeasyspeaker

Become a sustaining supporter on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ItemCardswithTheSpeakingSquid 

Buy a sticker: SpeakingSquid.redbubble.com

Thank you for your support.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Four Swords Adventures: A matched pair of bracelets

 A matched pair of bracelets

Power Bracelet: These bracelets allow the Link wearing it to lift up extremely heavy objects. These bracelets are not pedestal items, so they act as a temporary upgrade for the Link that picks it up and lasts the entire level where they are found. The bracelets can be found in chests or given to a Link in exchange for their help solving some problem.

These matched sets of bracelets transfer strength and vigor from one person to another. Originally envisioned as a way for partners to share strength in an emergency, the bracelets are now most often used to steal energy from unwilling victims. It may not sound like much to have the strength of two people, but that is twice as strong as most people.

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I think these bracelets turned out better than the first set I did for the blue bracelet. The black gem on gold is an unnatural contrast, but the black-and-white version of the item looks nice.

Since you’re enjoying my work, please consider donating:

Make a one-time donation with Ko-Fi:  https://ko-fi.com/theeasyspeaker

Become a sustaining supporter on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ItemCardswithTheSpeakingSquid 

Thank you for your support.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Four Swords Adventures: A shielding charm.

 Four Swords Adventures:  A shielding charm.

Blue Bracelet: This bracelet offers brief magical protection to any Link that can find it. Having the bracelet halves the damage that Link takes in the stage the bracelet was found in. Like all power-up items in Four Swords Adventures, the protection offered by the bracelet only lasts for a single stage. 

This shielding charm’s enchantment is entirely contained in its polished piece of fossilized shell. While the nature of the fossil resonates with the abjuration magic of the spell, there is a limit to what the spell can intercept. If the blue glow dims, the protective shield has been spent, leaving the wearer vulnerable to attack.

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Welcome to the items from The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures. There aren’t many items, but I did end up drawing quite a few cards as the theme for the set was dual/duel which meant most cards had a second version or at least a partial color swap.

Check back in every Sunday for more item cards to tickle your imagination and spice up your inventory.

If you enjoy my work, please consider donating:

Make a one-time donation with Ko-Fi:  https://ko-fi.com/theeasyspeaker

Become a sustaining supporter on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ItemCardswithTheSpeakingSquid 

Thank you for your support.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: Diving gloves from the lost city of Rapture.

 Diving gloves from the lost city of Rapture.

Power Bracelets: Wearing this pair of bracelets gives Link incredible strength. Allowing him to lift and throw boulders, or pigs, with ease. Link earns the bracelets in Fire Mountain by slaying all the enemies in a room in a set time. The chest containing the bracelets will only appear if he can conquer the challenge in the allotted time.

These gloves were designed for the transhuman guardians of a city hidden on the bottom of the ocean. These guardians needed to be able to traverse the crushing depths of the seafloor and wield strange mutant powers. With these gloves, the guardians didn’t need to take off their diving equipment to use their abilities, and in time they stopped taking their diving suits off all together.

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This week’s item is brought to you by the fantastic Bioshock and Bioshock 2 and Rapture, its terrible failed undersea metropolis.

I vote in the 2022 elections in the U.S.A. and I hope that you voted if you were eligible to vote. Every vote counts. Many of these races that are still being decided are being decided by a few thousand votes.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

I'm not an artist: Six items from Ocarina of Time two alchemists would use.

Six items from Ocarina of Time two alchemists would use.

Kokiri Boots: Link’s first pair of boots. These boots somehow fit child and adult Link equally well.

Before becoming known as the Falling-Star Alchemist, Sonya Li was famous for her kickboxing skills. She never officially competed for a title, but those that watched her spar believed she was the equal of any fighter. She earned the Falling-Star moniker with her thunderous kicks enhanced by impressive alchemy. 

I'm not an artist: Five items from Link’s Awakening a demon hunter would carry.

Five items from Link’s Awakening a demon hunter would carry.

Secret Seashell: If Link is able to find enough of the seashells that are hidden throughout Koholint Island, he can have his sword enchanted by the ghost haunting a mansion. I was surprised to find a gather quest in such an early Zelda game. I don’t remember this aspect of the game at all so there is a good chance I missed it playing the game as a kid.

Every demon hunter identifies their quarry differently. Early in her career, Vasilisa discovered a shell that whispered infernal secrets instead of the soft sounds of the ocean. In time she found she could make sense of the daemonic chittering. Somehow this shell was able to listen in on conversations between infernal entities hiding in the mortal world. Vasilisa has made a name successfully hunting creatures that specialize in hiding in plain sight. Sooner or later, someone will realize the secret to her success. What happens if the demons she hunts learn someone is listening to their private conversations?

I'm not an artist: Five items from Link's Awakening a burglar would have.

Five items from Link’s Awakening you can find in a cat burglar’s bag.

Mermaid's necklace: These pearls replaced the mermaid’s bikini top in the american releases of Link’s Awakening. It was clearly a reflection of the values of the time to censor the implication of a topless mermaid. 

The Pearls of the Empress are a string of flawless pink and white pearls held together by gossamer strands of translucent kelp. It was the prize of the undersea exhibit in the Royal Museum of Imperial Expansion. The museum houses the spoils of the many expeditionary crusades that pushed the empire to its furthest extent. News of the theft has been kept from the public. Those with knowledge of the theft believe it to be a political statement. After many years of stagnation, the empire’s control has begun to wane. Official fear news of the theft would be seen as a symbol for the reclamation of power back from the empire by the peoples that have been absorbed by its expansions. Seeking to avoid widespread rebellion, the Imperial Police have abandoned official protocol in the search for the pearls.

I'm not an artist: A piece of the Tri-Force and four other drawings from the Legend of Zelda

We are back with five more drawings of items from the 1984 Legend of Zelda. 

Triforce: Even though the Triforce is such an important part of the Zelda series, I didn't have an  interesting concept. I ended up with a triangular piece of stone with a hole in the middle. Other than being a third of the ultimate power, this could be an alien artifact, a puzzle piece, or a very uncomfortable ring.