Finding or visiting fairies is a hallmark of all Legend of Zelda games. The four Great Fairy sisters of BOTW are no exception. We previously visited Cotera, the Great Fairy who lives just up the hill from Kakariko Village. We expect most players not-of-the-speedrunning variety (i.e., younger) will start with her. Finding Cotera first just flows with the game play, you know? We Zelders are not necessarily given to seeking out fairies in uncharted territory.
Except – we did.
After forking over 100 of our hard-earned rupees (oh, how much it seemed back then!) to meet Cotera, we were excited to upgrade our clothing to provide better protection against the elements and the enemies. We were particularly intrigued when, after our first armor upgrades, she referenced “set bonuses.” Bonus! Is there a more inviting word? It called to us. But Cotera could only do so much – a “little bit,” she called it – without the help of her sisters. We could not upgrade our clothing past the first level, nor reach the alluring bonus, if we did not wake another of Cotera’s sisters.
Well, then! Time to find the Great Fairy Sisters! According to Demelza’s research, the most difficult fairy to find would be Tera, in the Gerudo desert. And she would be found under a skeleton! Demelza imagined a fairy hand reaching out through a skull buried in the sand, like a spider crawling out the eye socket in a horror film. So we put aside Tera for last. Similarly, Great Fairy Kaysa was far across Hyrule, past the expanse of the Great Plateau, which we recalled as a dangerous place filled with Guardians and Ganon and harrowing music whenever you stumbled into bad territory.
That left Great Fairy Mija, who was located closest to our early areas of play, Necluda and Lanayru. The problem was that we hadn’t activated the Akkala Tower, in which region Mija resided (and it would, in fact, be the last tower we opened, because it’s awful, to be honest).
But where there’s a Zelder with a will, there’s a Zelder with a way. We examined the dark expanse of map north of Lanayru that showed on our screen, compared it with the map that came with our previously-shunned guidebook, and plopped a star-stamp where we thought we would find the first of Cotera’s sisters.
Once we left the charted territory, we followed that star, not quite straight on until morning but close enough, until we found and activated a nearby shrine, Dah Hesho. And from there, it was just a hop, jump, and a paraglide over to our second Great Fairy Fountain. Mija required 500 rupees to wipe the sleep from her eyes, but we happily handed them over for the opportunity to earn our armor set bonuses. (We only want what’s coming to us, as little Sally Brown might say.) What’s more, the area around her fountain had different materials! Lots of Armoranth to be gathered here, and also another spot for Endura carrots.
The first time we played BOTW, we continued to avoid Tera as the third fairy; Demelza was much-influenced by that warning that Tera would be hard to find and under a skeleton in the desert to boot. Instead, we made our way overland to the Tabantha Frontier, climbed the tower of that name, and from there, flew to the glittering home of Great Fairy Kaysa. Kaysa solicited 1000 rupees for her favors (ouch), but we had been saving for just such an occasion, so we ponied up. Her fountain’s area also offered the ever-popular Endura Carrot, plus Mighty Thistle by way of area item, and, wonder of wonders, Luminous Stone. We returned to this fairy over and over, not so much to get our armor upgraded, but to mine the luminous stone and recover our wallet. (There’s also luminous Stone to be mined not far from Mija’s fountain, but if you go there at night when the ore is at its most glowy and visible, you’ll be attacked by skeletal enemies. Seek out the stones in daytime!)
On our second playthrough, we enjoyed changing things up a bit. We still visited Mija after Cotera, but Itzal was itchy to explore the desert before snowier environs. Thus, we took the southern passage over to Gerudo. After we gained access to town, we rented a sand seal and, once again putting a pin in our estimated destination, set out to cross the Gerudo sands. We made sure our Sheikah sensor was set to shrine-sensing, since there’s one, Hawa Koth, right next to the fountain.
We did encounter a sandstorm, during which the map is useless – also an enemy outpost, in the middle of which our sand seal tossed us – and oh, yes, Itzal woke up a Molduga – but we’re here to tell you not to be intimidated by Tera’s environs. The skeleton is quite large and sheltering, not a creepy skull submerged in the sand. (Itzal wants it stated that he is also a steady-handed, steely-eyed seal rider.) (Demelza wishes to remind him of landing on his behind in the enemy camp.) You’ll find safflinas here, of the cool and electric varieties; and the Endura carrots are easier to find (next to the skeleton ribs) than they are near the other sisters’ fountains. In our opinion. Ahem.
If you’re going to be intimidated by anything, be intimidated by the price tag. If Tera is your fourth and final of the Great Fairy Sisters, you’ll be paying 10,000 rupees (cough, cough) to awaken her. (The same is true if you open Kaysa or Mija last; the price tags depend on where they fall in the order of discovery. Last is always a whopping 10,000 rupees.)
With all the fairies awake and at your bidding, you can upgrade your armor past the bonus level to the still-stronger third and fourth levels. And you’ll always have a place to visit for Endura carrots, even if Itzal still thinks the Fairies are one unwanted advance away from Link calling the HR Department.