In an earlier post, we shared our love (mostly Itzal’s love) for dragons (mostly Farosh and Dinraal) when describing the quest for the Spring of Wisdom. Here we take a turn back to dragon farming and highlight the Spring of Courage and the Spring of Power. (The Spring of Sarcasm and the Spring of Crippling Anxiety are not covered in this blog.) To recap:
Hyrule has three dragons, each cursed or blessed depending how you look at it, with an elemental power (ice, fire, lightning) that roughly corresponds to the properties of the region where you find them. Each dragon is also linked to an ancient and powerful Spring, complete with a Goddess statue and a hidden Shrine you must find. In the quest for the Spring of Wisdom, long-suffering Naydra is revealed to be covered in Malice and lying atop the spring, which is itself atop Mount Lanayru. By now, we trust you’ve found and freed Naydra, and you’re having a frustrating time trying to farm her* dragon parts at East Lanayru Gate or Lanayru Bay.
But enough about Naydra.
Farosh the Fantastic – that may not be his actual name – lives in the Faron region, appropriate for his electric (if not magnetic) personality. Here, too, you’ll find the Spring of Courage – north of the Damel Forest in Dracozu Lake. So, wear your Rubber armor; you’ll be glad you did. #lightningfolks
Open the dramatically named Quest of the Serpent’s Jaws by speaking to Kaas (the annoying Rito with the accordion) whom you’ll find on the road through Faron Forest. If you don’t want to walk, you’ll easily get here by paragliding from the Central Tower and then trekking over the hills. But don’t go yet. You can save time.
First, go to Lake Floria in the early morning and wait for Farosh to fly over the bridge. You’ll need to shoot a scale, fly down and retrieve it from the water, and THEN you can warp your way to the Tower and hoof it to the Spring.
You’ll see the Goddess statue glimmering. Just pop ‘round and pray. She’ll tell you, rather obscurely, to drop the scale in the water. And then she’ll open the secret door to the hidden Shae Katha Shrine.
Dinraal the – uh, something that begins with “D” and indicates we like him much more than Naydra but not as much as Farosh the Fantastic – hangs out in Tabantha. But the Spring of Power, with which he’s associated, is – for some reason – in the Akkala Tower region. (Dinraal the Dislocated? Nah.)
To start this quest, visit the Akkala Stable, where you’ll be chatted up by Nobo while you’re trying to hang out by the fire. He’ll set you on your way. We chose to fly from Akkala Tower in a northerly(ish) direction, headed for the odd little lake near the Ordurac Quarry. Here you’ll find another shining Goddess statue – and the lady will send you off for Dinraal’s scale if you weren’t smart enough to bring one with you. (To get the scale, wait for Dinraal in the early morning on the Tabantha Great Bridge and shoot his body for the requisite scale. Some people like to wait closer to Akkala in the fiery Eldon region, near the Great Skeleton, but not us.) By now you know the drill. Pray, drop scale, act all surprised at the secret door that opens to reveal the hidden Tutsuwa Nema Shrine. And, scene.
One note about these Springs and their hidden shrines. Two of them – Jitan Sa’mi at the Spring of Wisdom and Shae Katha at the Spring of Courage – are blessing shrines. (You know, where finding the shrine is quest enough and you get to race in, find a treasure chest, and get your orb from the monk without solving additional annoying puzzles or defeating Guardian Scouts.) The shrine found lurking behind the Spring of Power offers a pretty potent Guardian Scout, nicely raining on your Hyrule Parade in a long and frustrating battle that’ll make you wish you’d learned the Flurry Rush. It ain’t fair, but there it is.
For your reward – before, during, after, who are we to judge – as you tackle the springs and their shrines, try a good old-fashioned gin and tonic. Crisp and refreshing, like a spring ought to be! And, besides, gin was popular during Prohibition, when many a speakeasy was hidden behind a secret door.
*FOOTNOTE: For whatever reason, we always think of Naydra as a she; perhaps it because we’re always looking for her somewhere around Lanayru Mountain: “She’ll be coming ’round the mountain, when she comes…”