Zelda Elders may remember from their youth the “Little Golden Books” series of literary bon mots. (In contrast, Zelda Elders often cannot remember what they had for breakfast, but that’s a subject for another blog entirely.) We recall the occasion of obtaining our First Little Golden Book with fondness, and since there is nothing so enjoyable in Hyrule as finding a Great Fairy, we mark the occasion of meeting BOTW’s first fairy in the spirit of those golden years of Golden Books.
Sadly, Cotera (for that is the name of the first fairy you’ll likely encounter) would not feature in a G-rated Golden Book. She and her sisters are, well, kind of trampy – or at least certainly “sex positive” in their interactions with (some might say “borderline harassment of”) our unsuspecting hero, Link.
Nonetheless, you want to meet these fairies. You want their upgrades, you want to capture the little fairies who fly around their ponds, and – let’s face it – you just want to hear that fairy music for old time’s sake!
My First Fairy Fountain
The watery tart Cotera resides in a pond on a hilltop just above Kakariko Village. You can visit her whenever you please, but there’s a related quest to complete as part of uncovering another shrine. In Kakariko Village, Pikango, a traveling artist, will offer to show the way to a fairy fountain just up the hill. He runs out of steam midway there (we know how he feels); follow his instructions to complete the quest while he recovers his breath.
You should visit Cotera early, but be sure you have collected at least 100 rupees before you do. The fairies, you see, charge for their – cough, cough – favors. The first will cost you 100 rupees, and the prices go up from there. (Itzal wishes to make a snarky comment about wage inflation in the world’s oldest profession, but Demelza disapproves.)
You’ll find Cotera hidden inside a sort of Venus fly trap, and when you examine the area, you’ll hear a rather deep voice calling out to you. (Itzal wishes to draw comparisons between the Great Fairies and drag queens – you’ll see why when you view their make-up – but Demelza again disapproves. Itzal thinks Demelza should have another cocktail, because that’s when the trash talk begins, but we digress.)
Fairies Matter
In previous Zelda games, Great Fairies might help Link acquire new powers or restore his health. In BOTW, there are little fairies flitting around the fountains that one can capture for a heart-restoring fix, certainly. But the primary function of BOTW’s Great Fairy Fountains is to upgrade Link’s armor (which in some cases is what we would call clothing).
True to form, the fairies charge exorbitant prices – paid for not with rupees, but with things Link must collect from across Hyrule – for each upgrade of armor. If you are like Demelza, you’ll keep detailed shopping lists of exactly how many Ancient Screws, Fire Keese wings, and other items you need to offer Cotera and her sisters to secure the next upgrade. (If you are like Itzal, you will grouse about being kissed and dragged into a pond by a drag queen with atrocious taste in eye shadow, but you will nonetheless pay the price.)
Zelder Tip #1: If you select a clothing item in your inventory while chatting up a fairy, the required shopping list is revealed, but only in accordance with the number of fairies you’ve paid for – er, awakened. That is, if you’ve only met two Great Fairies, you won’t see what you need to reach the third and fourth level upgrades.
Zelder Tip #2: Pay attention to set bonuses. Once you upgrade the full set of armor twice, you can get a bonus (strength, stamina, speed, stealth, apparently anything that starts with the letter “s”) when you wear all the pieces at the same time. You’ll soon have your favorite sets of armor, or you’ll soon be shouted at by your companion about which set you should be wearing, so if you get the bonus, all the better.
Zelder Tip #3: As many as four little fairies may be hovering around each fountain. However, the little folk won’t “spawn,” a dreadful term but one familiar to gamers, if you’re already carrying more than a few in inventory. But there’s a neat trick by which, prior to approaching the Great Fairy, you go into your materials satchel and “hold” up to five little ones, so that no more than two fairies are left in inventory. When you’re close enough to spy that other little fairies have, ugh, spawned around the fountain, press B to return the ones you’re holding to inventory. (Be careful not to trip en route to the fountain, or you will release the fairies you’re holding. Not that we did this. Ever.)
Zelder Tip #4: If you happen to visit Cotera before chatting with Pikango, he won’t show you the way to the fairy when you meet him later, but he will still ask you for a photo. Run back for the photo and he’ll give you a small prize.
Cotera may be your first – cough, cough – but she won’t be your last. Visit all three of her sisters. And return to the ponds to sneak up on the little fairies you can carry around in inventory (no more bottles, remember those, from previous Zelda games?) for when you are fighting a nasty beast.
Surrounding each fairy’s pond is a collection of specific flowers that, nonsensically, often match the fae lady’s eye shadow. Highly prized Endura carrots are also often found here. Feel free to take what you want.
The fairies certainly will.