After the fire and heat of Daruk’s Song in Eldin, it was time for Mipha’s Song and a cooldown in watery Lanayru. Lanayru was home to our first Divine Beast when we played the main game, oh so long ago, and we were curious about how it would feel to return for the Champions’ Ballad quest. Was that nostalgia we were feeling? Or a bit of undigested beef?[1]
As with the previous two Champions’ song quests, Demelza first located the pedestal left by a shard of the (may it rest in peace) One-Hit Obliterator. The accordion-playing Kass provided these clues to the locations of the three new Lanayru shrines:
- Find what the light’s path shows
- Conquer the ancient foes
- Chase rings of the waterfall
Regular readers of our blog know that we are not above checking guidebooks or the Internet for clues. Perhaps that’s putting it mildly; Demelza adores guidebooks and Internet research. In this case, however, she put on a pair of spectacle “readers” (yes, we are of that Certain Age) and, just like Link, she peered intently at the pillars surrounding the pedestal to ascertain where in the he—um, where in Lanayru these clues led to. Two of the pillar images were iffy, but the first was clear: near that string of islands off the east coast, with names like body parts – ankle or knuckle or finger or similar. She pinned the place, and off she went, adventuring alone.
Kee Dafunia Shrine: The Melting Point
More or less at the place Demelza had placed a pin, she encountered two Zorans. One of them, Muzu, she remembered not-so-fondly as the grumpy Zoran of the main game. He was much friendlier now, though, and added this to Kass’s earlier clue:
While the morning sun is newly born, follow the path of light to the trial.
Conveniently, the Zorans had built a campfire, at which Demelza sat to wait for the sun to rise. Perhaps she waited too long, enjoying the dawn. Or perhaps she confused “path of light” with a random patch of sunlight on the water, which resulted in flying out into the middle of nowhere and, you know, drowning. Perhaps. We really couldn’t say. Ahem. The second attempt, leaving immediately upon sunrise, was successful, and Kee Dafunia rose from the water. Which was a good thing, since Demelza-as-Link was treading water nearby, while the green energy circles slowly but surely faded away.
Kee Dafunia’s shrine description, “The Melting Point,” is your clue to use lighted torches, flameblades, or fire arrows – essentially the fiery device of your choice.
First melt a space between the two cubes blocking the path forward. Then use the floor switches to bring down ice blocks that you can strategically melt to create stairs for Link to climb up to the platform surrounded in ice blocks. Here your goal is to reach the cube on the second level of the ice cube platform. Once you do, you’ll want to melt that cube such that you can carry it; then move it over to the small pool under the altar. Create another ice cube with Cryonis; then place the smaller cube atop the new one, and climb up to the platform containing the monk’s altar.
Mah Eliyah Shrine: Secret Stairway
Demelza headed next to where she thought the second area was: the pillar-map showed what looked to be a slice of Zora’s Domain, and the destination was east of that. Sure enough, at the bottom of Mikau Lake, a ring of light adorned the base of the waterfall. With Zora armor equipped, Demelza-as-Link ran through rings on the ground and zipped up through rings in two waterfalls, finally gliding into the last one to activate Mah Eliyah shrine. (Demelza would like to note that this chase was much more relaxing than following the rings of light in Eldin.)
And that’s where the relaxation ended. Mah Eliyah may well raise your blood pressure to Rohta-Chigah levels. It’s not that you’re likely to die – unless from exasperation – but this shrine trial truly was a trial. “Secret Stairway” means creating an upward path of ice and metal to enable Link to access the doorway to the monk’s altar.
Demelza tried playing by the Secret Stairway rules. Oh, how she tried. At best, the resulting teetering construction looked as if it had been built by a crazed Arctic engineer; even then it didn’t reach the platform.
Some clever players, it appears, are able to access the platform via a self-bomb-catapulting maneuver. (Demelza was not so clever, although she did hit the ceiling once, if not the opening to the monk’s altar.) Other players use a rapid-fire mix of Magnesis, Stasis, and Cryonis to pull off the trick. (Demelza is not rapid-fire.)[2]
Zelder Tip: Give it a whirl the way Nintendo’s game designers intended, if you like. Give it a week’s whirl, even. Then attach a couple of Octo balloons to the single metal cube atop a metal platform raised by a cube of Cryonis ice. We don’t know who originally came up with this idea, but it’s brilliant.
Sato Koda Shrine: Support and Guidance
The clue to activate the last shrine, “conquer the ancient foes,” did not sound like fun. Guardians would be afoot, no doubt! Unfortunately, Guardians were indeed in Upland Zorana, the area to which a Zoran named Seggin alluded, but rather than being afoot, they were in the air.
Now, Demelza would like to say that she remembered any of the resulting hoo-ha. But in fact, it wasn’t until after she had conquered all the ancient foes that she researched how many she’d conquered: three in the air and one stationary on the ground. (Indignantly, she is certain there were at least a dozen, research-schmeesearch.) She has no Zelder tips to offer as she went through three, maybe four shields trying to perfect parry Guardian laser beams before resorting to Ancient Arrows. Whatever. Job done, Sato Koda shrine rose.
Sato Koda requires using Cryonis to create blocks of ice, strategically placed to direct a falling orb into a launcher that sends the orb into a slot to open the altar.
But don’t leave Sato Koda with nothing more than a Mipha’s Emblem; this shrine also contains a treasure chest with a Giant Ancient Core![3] Use Cryonis-created ice blocks along the wall to reach the chest.
With all three Mipha’s Emblems now in hand, you’re ready to face off against Waterblight Ganon in the Illusory Realm. Demelza, albeit ready with emblems, chose to wait for a Visit from Itzal, which – although that sounds like a Broadway musical – was just a work trip. During the visit, there may have been no singing, of Broadway musicals, Mipha’s Song, or anything else –but as usual when we two Zelders play together, there was plenty of shouting. Stay tuned.
[1] Bonus points to the reader who can name this literary reference, one of Demelza’s favorite reads.
[2] For the older, perhaps forgetful reader, we note here that Itzal – himself none too rapid-fire – has got himself a job in another city and was not here to provide relief, gaming or comic, hence Demelza resorted to the cheat…um…tip herein provided. We are certain that, if Itzal had been present, JUST A LITTLE MORE SHOUTING would have made the rapid-fire tactics possible. But we digress.
[3] And here it must again be noted that Itzal was absent. Had he been present, surely there would have been no Giant Ancient Core and then, after the fact, there would have ensued A GREAT DEAL OF SHOUTING about having left another Giant Ancient Core behind.