Not an artist: The final three ring that teach valuable lessons

The final three rings that teach valuable lessons

Inscribed in the band of this ring reads, "And this, too, shall pass away." The ring was crafted by a wise sage who was charged by the ruler of their land to craft a sentence that would always be true, no matter when it was read.

Cards: The Oracle of Ages items in one complete set!

To celebrate the completion of Oracle of Ages, have a version of the Harp of Ages in fabulous technicolor!

Without further ado, here is my rendition of every item from Oracle of Ages.

You can find the printable version PDF with the cards and card backs fitted for 8 in. x 11.5 in. here.

You can view all of the completed sets of item cards under the collected tag here. 

When I finish posting a set, I like to look back and pick my favorite and least favorite items now that I have had some distance from when I drew the items and have had time to grow as an artist. Which was your favorite?

My overall favorite drawing from the set is the greasy bag drawing for the stink bag. It isn’t perfect, the grease line doesn’t really look super believable, but it makes me smile.

I am disappointed at how the obsidian blade turned out. I saw Luke Ink doing this amazing obsidian dagger and I thought I should give it a try. What I failed to notice was all the intricate texture he infused into his dagger by paying attention to how obsidian actually looks. 

The grappling hook is fairly lackluster. I didn’t do a great job on the perspective and the piece overall looks silly.

I really enjoy the spiderweb staff. I spent way too much time noodling on the wood grain and spiderweb, but I can imagine so many fun ways to use a staff that can throw webs.

The next set will be a bit different. Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons share a common list of magical rings Link can find in his travels. The next set of items is a modular ring builder set I made to represent each of these magic rings in a similar manner as the games did. There are four base-bands and sets of attachments that combine to create many unique rings. There are more than 332 possible configurations. Of which, you will see 89 posted on the blog.

As always, use my work personally however you see fit, but do not profit off my efforts without my consent.

Thanks for your continued interest. Remember to always be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

I'm not an artist: The final five items from Oracle of Ages found in deadly finales.

The final five items from Oracle of Ages found in deadly finales. 

Sacred Soil: This is the fifth Essence of Time Link gathers. He must defeat the smoke demon Smog in the Crown Dungeon to recover the sacred soil.

Most avoid tombs and barrows for fear of disturbing the slumbering dead. Even the threat of shambling corpses and vengeful spirits was not enough to keep adventurers away from a newly opened barrow rumored to contain an untouched treasure behind an impossibly long entry corridor. Many eager bands of adventurers have entered the non-euclidean tomb and none have ever returned. 

I'm not an artist: The penultimate five items from Oracle of Ages you can find long after an apocalyptic disaster.

The penultimate five items from Oracle of Ages you can find long after an apocalyptic disaster.

Ancient Wood: This is the second Essence of Time Link recovers in his adventure. This essence is guarded by a crush-happy floating stone head with four faces in the depths of the Wing Dungeon.

It wasn’t long after the collapse that nature began to reclaim the civilized places. Weeds pushed through cracks opened by wind, rain, and ice. Now those first seeds that sprouted in those first cracks are great old trees grown tall with the passing of time.

I'm not an artist: Five items from Oracles of Ages used in a quest for vengeance.

Five items from Oracles of Ages used in a quest for vengeance.

Broken Sword: The broken sword is the final item Link trades for in the Oracle of Ages trading sequence. An old Zora living in a sea cave along coast of the Sea of No Return is nostalgic about their younger days of being a famous musician. They are willing to give Link this broken sword in exchange for Rafton’s sea ukulele. They mention that they can fix anything, which begs the question, why didn’t they fix the broken blade? To really finish off the trading sequence, Link has to take the broken sword to Patch on the Restoration Wall to have the Biggoron Sword reforged from the shards.

Pure evil had manifested itself in her world as a living blade that spreads its corruption to any it touches. Those in service to the evil blade destroyed everything and everyone she held dear, leaving her with an insatiable thirst for vengeance. No mundane blade could combat the living blade of evil, so she spent decades in the single-minded pursuit of creating a living blade of her own.

I'm not an artist: Five items from Oracle of Ages you could use at summer camp.

Five items from Oracle of Ages you could use at summer camp.

Funny Joke: Link is given this hilarious joke by the only comedian in Lynna City in exchange for the cheesy mustache. It seems the comedian needs something to make people laugh and he is resorting to prop comedy. In exchange, he says he will teach Link the funniest gag he knows, but how funny can that be since he needs wacky facial hair to liven up his act.

          Hello again from camp,

It has been HOT for the last two weeks. Most days I just split my time between swimming in the lake and snacking on popsicles in the shade. I think the popsicles are from a different country because the jokes are written in a language I can’t read.

Not much else going on lately. Hope you are having a great summer. 

Can’t wait for your next letter.

I'm not an artist: Five items from Oracle of Ages you can use when you are sheltering in place during a pandemic.

Five items from Oracle of Ages you can use when you are sheltering in place during a pandemic.

Stink Bag: While there is no official description of what is in the stink bag, we can be pretty sure it is shit. To get this bag, Link trades his stationary to a disembodied hand that lives at the bottom of a pit toilet. This hand is actually a recurring character in the Zelda franchise. In most of their interactions with Link, they just want some paper, any paper will do. This idea of a hand coming out of a toilet and grabbing you is apparently a popular story in Japan.

Local businesses need your help. If it is safe for you, consider getting takeout or buying a gift card from your favorite local eatery or other shops. Many of these shops exist on a razor-thin margin and the loss of business from people staying home can bankrupt businesses. I went to my favorite BBQ place in town and got way more than I needed for one meal, partially to support local business and also to avoid cooking.

I'm not an artist: Six items from Oracle of Ages you can find during the first act of the apocalypse.

Six items from Oracle of Ages you can find during the first act of the apocalypse.

Ringbox L-2: After getting the smallest ringbox, Link can buy this larger ringbox in the Lynna City Shop for a whopping 300 rupees. The medium-sized ring box can hold up to three different magical rings, but Link can still only equip one of them at any given time. 

In the lead up to any apocalypse in the United States of America, people will hoard unnecessary things. This is especially true of guns. Gun safes around the country will become overstuffed with firearms and ammunition. This will be especially helpful for the wasteland survivors that will eventually break into the safes as they fight to survive in the post-apocalyptic wreckage of the world.

I'm not an artist: Six items from Oracle of Ages used by a modern spy.

Six items from Oracle of Ages used by a modern spy.

Zora Scale: Link earns the Zora Scale by defeating the corruption inside the belly of Lord Jabu-Jabu. This charm can magically calm even the roughest of seas which is why Link must obtain the scale before entering the Sea of Storms.

Fans are an excellent tool when you need to discreetly cover your hands or face. They are also invaluable when trying to smuggle information. This fan has been treated so that writing on it with a special ink leaves no naturally visible marks but these marks can be read with special lights tuned to an exact wavelength. 

I'm not an artist: Five items from Oracle of Age used during a dangerous heist.

Five items from Oracle of Age used during a dangerous heist.

Letter of Introduction: Link is given this letter by a friend of the Graceful Goron in exchange for some Lava Juice. After the proper introduction, the Graceful Goron will give Link the chance to earn the Mermaid Key by perfectly completing the Goron Dance. 

As a kid, perfectly completing the Goron Dance mini-game was maddening. It took me forever and I still remember how relieved I was to be done.

This whole plan only works because we got our hands on a datapad with security clearance. With this datapad, we can see when and where the nuclear device is going to be transported. It is vital that we do nothing to disrupt the data pad’s secure connection so we are not able to dig as deeply into the servers at Ad Astra Technologies as we would like.

I'm not an artist: Five items from Oracle of Ages you can find on your backpacking trip around the Mediterranean.

Five items from Oracle of Ages you can find on your backpacking trip around the Mediterranean.

Rock Brisket: The Goron guarding the upper section of Rolling Ridge is very hungry but can’t leave their post to grab a bite. Rock brisket is just the thing to sate the hungry Goron. Unfortunately, the only place to get rock brisket in Labrynna is by winning the Target Carts game with a perfect score. Once Link has mastered the game, he can trade the rock brisket to the hungry Goron for a vase passed down the Goron’s family for generations.

Today was my first full day in Europe. I got in last night just in time for dinner, which was amazing. The owners of the farm we are working at this week made a delicious pit-roasted lamb which was to die for. We are going to spend a week working at the farm before visiting a few of the larger tourist trap cities. We don’t have anything planned after that, so we will just go where the wind takes us.

I'm not an artist: Six items from Oracle of Ages found by archaeologists investigating the lost terran civilization.

Six items from Oracle of Ages found by archaeologists investigating the lost Terran civilization.

Library Key: Link is given the library key by King Zora during the current era after he cures King Zora’s illness with a magical potion in the past era. King Zora is healthy again, but there is a corruption in the seas pushing Lord Jabu-Jabu to the brink of death. Knowing that Link is the sort of person that can get things done, King Zora asks him to go to the Eyeglass Island Library and research if there is any way to cleanse the oceans and save Lord Jabu-Jabu.

This is the last key item I drew as an item that would get you access to a place. I think this one is pretty obvious as library cards are the “key” to services at the library. If you don’t have a library card, go get one. Libraries are wonderful resources. Many offer services that include more than just checking out books and if you don’t know what your library has to offer you are probably missing out.

It is generally understood by xenoarchaeologists studying the ruins of Terra that humans valued knowledge highly, but maintained tight control over who had the privilege to study and learn. Massive collections of written records were kept in even the smallest settlements across many regions of Terra. Even with the ubiquity of these archives, only those who carried the token of privilege were allowed into these prestigious buildings containing the collected knowledge of humanity.

I'm not an artist: Five items from Oracle of Ages that can get one into places they don’t belong.

Five items from Oracle of Ages that can get one into places they don’t belong.

Crown Key: Link needs the Crown Key to enter the Crown Dungeon, the fifth dungeon in the game. Link is given the key by the Goron Elder after he destroys a gigantic boulder with the bomb flower earned from defeating the Great Moblin.

I feel I should explain this drawing. I was imagining the item as the key to being royal. The first thing I thought of was the way Macbeth’s uncle assassinated Macbeth’s father to open up the path to the throne.

Regicide is rarely an easy task, and it becomes immeasurably more difficult when the monarch is paranoid and ever vigilant. One may consider hiring professional assassin’s or trying to contrive an accident, but those plans rely too much on the trustworthiness or luck of others. It is that line of thinking that royals hoping to discreetly remove a monarch from power most often come to the conclusion that poison is the only way.

I'm not an artist: Six items from Oracle of Ages found in a secret government facility.

Six items from Oracle of Ages found in a secret government facility.

Huge Maku Seed: This huge seed acts as a powerful focus of good energy allowing Link to penetrate the barrier surrounding the Black Tower so he can finally confront Veran. Link must collect all eight of  Essences of Time from the eight dungeons throughout Labrynna. Once he has every essence, he must return them to the Maku Tree so she can create the seed.

The Section for Occult Research and Defense, most commonly referred to as S.O.R.D., was created after a series of very public mass suicides were linked to prophecies spoken more than six hundred years ago. Officially, this section is only responsible for monitoring dangerous cult activity, but it also has a classified mission to keep occult and paranormal activity from causing harm. In the pursuit of that mission, S.O.R.D. has collected a number of interesting objects, including an avocado tree whose fruit can be used to accurately predict the future when its roots are bathed with blood.

I'm not an artist: Five items from Oracle of Ages one could find in the far future of a fantasy world.

Five items from Oracle of Ages one could find in the far future fantasy universe.

Boomerang: The boomerang is not a required item or even a dungeon item in Oracle of Ages. Link can win it in the Goron Shooting Gallery in the Rolling Ridge but doesn’t have to in order to stop Veran and save Labrynna. The Oracle of Ages boomerang does all the standard boomerang stuff including stunning enemies and grabbing items.

Advancements in drone technology have made increasingly robust and useful drones. The tri-rang system is a modular drone that can be configured for many functionalities including surveying new planets, surveilling persons of interest, package delivery, and combat support. To deploy the drone, one need only throw it like a boomerang and command it through the standard neural interface.

I'm not artist: Three animals from Oracle of Ages met on a vision quest for the new year.

Three animals from Oracle of Ages met on a vision quest for the new year.

Dimitri’s Flute: Link unknowingly selects his animal companion in Oracle of Ages in how he acquires the strange flute. To eventually meet Dimitri and forge a bond with the dodongo, Link should buy the strange flute from the Lynna City Shop when it is available for purchase after completing the Moonlit Grotto. If Link buys the flute, he will eventually run into Dimitri in the lost woods and Dimitri will teach Link a tune to play when he needs help.

Dimitri is a red dodongo that can be ridden. When riding Dimitri, he can chomp enemies and foliage and swim like a raft. Link can also pick up and throw Dimitri with the help of the power bracelet.

Upon entering the spirit world, it is not uncommon for first-time travelers to be visited by a massive turtle spirit. These are avatars of the great turtle that is said to safely carry the world through the cosmos upon its back. The spirit teaches novice wanderers a melody to sing should they wish to return to the material plane. The great turtle's senses are not limitless, so travelers are warned to not wander too far, lest they become lost in the infinite realm of spirits.

I'm not an artist: Five items from Oracle of Ages found near the fields of silver.

Five items from Oracle of Ages found near the fields of silver.

Gale Seed: When cracked open by hand, gale seeds create a small tornado that Link can use to warp to any mystical tree in Labrynna he has already discovered. When shot from the seed shooter, these seeds explode in strong winds that fling away enemies.

Unfamiliar plants with odd fruits and leaves mark the outer edges of the taboo places. In those places, the influence of the silver has changed our world to look like another. It is true that some who have eaten fruit from the forbidden groves have been given wondrous gifts, but most die in agony as they are consumed by the silver from the inside out. 

I'm not an artist: Five items from Oracle of Ages owned by an herbalist.

Five items from Oracle of Ages owned by an herbalist.

Seed Satchel: A few more versions of the seed satchel from last week.

Mishri’s life as a traveling herbalist is a lonely one. To take the edge off of solitary life in the wilderness, Mishri had two satchels enchanted to contain talkative spirits. Mishri is now odder than ever after long months spent only with their luggage. 

I'm not an artist: Five items from Oracle of Ages that are artifacts of musical history.

Five items from Oracle of Ages that are artifacts of musical history.

Harp of Ages: This harp is the core item in Oracle of Ages. Link finds it in a secret basement in Nayru’s house after they are taken by wicked Veran. A ghostly echo of Nayru tells Link she left it there hoping that a brave hero would find it and use it to save Labrynna. As Nayru is the titular oracle of ages, her magic harp allows Link to travel through time by playing magical songs that push him forward, backward, or allow him to travel freely through time. No time travel is allowed in dungeons or in certain map areas to make sure the game can’t be broken by creative time jumps.

The ancient stories are full of tales of the wandering singer who was such a master of the lyre that their music could soothe any manner of being from people and animals to spirits and the very earth itself.  Always seeking greater challenges to test their skills against, the wanderer pursued rumors of a passage leading into the lands of the restless dead. Returning from those lands, the wanderer was visibly changed. Gone was the eager boastful youth, replaced by a sorrowful and reluctant musician. 

I'm not an artist: For my 100th post here are five items from Oracle of Ages used during heists.

Five items from Oracle of Ages used during heists.

Switch Hook: While superficially similar to the classic hookshot, the switch hook has one distinct difference that makes in a very interesting item in its own right. When the switch hook strikes an object or enemy, Link switches places with whatever was struck by the hook. Some objects are too fragile to be moved in such a way and break when they arrive at Link’s location. This is a really fun mechanic that could be added to a game, but it would require some finesse as it could be easily abused and isn't very realistic. The switch hook is found in the Skull Dungeon in the current era Symmetry Village. It can only be entered after Link solves the chaos plague the village, but we will cover that when we get to the tuni nut. 

I probably should have just drawn a menacing meat hook ala the Warcraft abomination for the switch hook, but I am only thinking that now. Maybe I didn’t want to be too obvious then, or I really wanted to try to draw a grappling hook with all its internal perspective angles. I no longer remember. 

Where there are walls, there are people looking to get past walls. Grappling hooks have been used for centuries by rogues to slip into manors and estates. While technologically advanced versions of the grappling hook exist, the original is often the most reliable.