Race:River Zora

River Zora is a playable race on Hyrule Castle. As one of the fourteen common races, any player can choose to make a River Zora character.

Since River Zora is considered a monster-race, a River Zora is abhorred by most human-races. The River Zora will not be welcome in human-race villages, and will likely be attacked on sight if attempting to even approach such a village.

Canonically, the distinct type of dark-blue or green-colored Zora known as River Zora first appeared in the very first The Legend of Zelda game. They are separate from the ligher-colored variety of Zora known as Sea Zora. Despite their similar heritage and names, River Zora and Sea Zora consider themselves as different from each other as night and day.

Character Creation Brief

Although less populuous and organized than Sea Zora, River Zora are the second most prominent amphibious race in the known world. Despite their namesake, River Zora can live comfortably in either freshwater or saltwater, though they generally prefer the prior. The two largest gatherings of River Zora include Eyeglass Lake and Moruge Swamp. It is common to find small wandering batches of them virtually everywhere throughout the world, however, especially in rivers and swamps.

While Sea Zora and Green Zora are technically two variants are of the race, it is a grave mistake to consider them one in the same. Sea Zora look at their cousins as bloodthirsty, mad savages who know only violence. By contrast, River Zora look at their relatives as arrogant fools who don't understand the importance of survival of the fittest.

A River Zora stands about as tall as a typical Hylian, only slightly taller on average, and have a bulky or stocky frame that causes them to appear more physically powerful. They are covered with camoflauging scales of either a dark green, greenish-blue, or brown-green. In sharp contrast to the rest of their body, they have bright orange spines, lips, and fins. Unlike Sea Zora, they have prominent claws and fangs.

Despite the fact the vast majority of Zora live underwater, they speak the Hyrulean language as well as most sentient races of the land. Needless to say, they're much more accustomed to living, fighting, and manuevering underwater compared to races which cannot naturally become amphibious. They are known to be very dependant on water, as their bodies need to remain moist to survive.

A Zora begins with a PWC 2/1/1, having a 2 in Power. This starting PWC can be defied by using the Exception racial perk during character creation.

Ever River Zora inherently has two innate racial perks: Amphibious and Zora Weakness. On top of those two, a River Zora can have up to three racial perks of choice. In addition to the general perks available to every race, a River Zora can also choose from:

• Aqua Grenade: a powerful spell that creates an projectile explosive of water
• Aquatic Birth: a trait which makes it easier for the River Zora to gain Water-based treasures
• Boomerang Fins: a technique enabling the Zora to grow, wield, and throw razor-sharp fins as natural weaponry
• Fire: an offensive spell which shoots a fiery projectile
• Warrior's Training: a trait which enables the River Zora to start with more Power-based treasures
• Whirlpool: a useful spell that can whirlpools in water, ideal for trapping and attacking land-dwellers attempting to invade the River Zora's territory

Recommended Origins

If you've never made a character before and intend to make a River Zora, it is highly encouraged that you base your character on one of the following three origins. If you've made a character before, these example origins may provide inspiration for your character.

Fighter of Moruge Swamp

To the south of Lake Hylia and to the south of the Lost Woods lies your homeland, Moruge Swamp. As a River Zora, you have sharp claws, fangs, and spines with which to do battle, as well as strong and durable bodies comparable to the Sea Zora, and murky scales which blend well into the murky waters of Moruge. Your goal in life is almost assuredly to defend your homeland from both Ganon, blue Zora, and other threats of this vicious swamp, such as the Lizalfos race and Mad Scrubs. All the while, you seek to expand the borders of your people into the lands of those blatantly inferior blue-gill trash...

A Fighter of Moruge Swamp begins with a PWC of 2/1/1, with 4 additional points distributed as you see fit. Its racial perks include Amphibious, Zora Weakness, Fire , Whirlpool, and Warrior's Training.

Explorer of Eyeglass Lake

Deep in the chaotic lands of Southern Hyrule, beyond the southern reaches of Tantari Desert, lies a reservoir which has become known as Eyeglass Lake. In decades past, your people ventured deep into these foreign waters, wishing to distance yourselves from the savage wilderness of Moruge and the haughty nature of the despicable Sea Zora. Here, in the disturbed remnants of Ganon's War, you have found freedom, unbound by Hyrulean laws and unrestricted by the perilous dangers of swamp life. Alas, the lake is large, and your people within it are few. For better or worse, you've likely spent plenty of time exploring the new habitat of your lake--and, perhaps, the areas behind it.

An Explorer of Eyeglass Lake begins with a PWC of 2/1/1, with 4 additional points distributed as you see fit. Its racial perks include Amphibious, Zora Weakness, Aqua Grenade , Boomerang Fins, and Warrior's Training.

Physiology

While not vital information, the following includes further detail on the race's appearance and biology.

While River Zora are a two-gender race, the differences are subtle to those who don't live among them. A female tends to have a more slender frame, and is more likely to have delicate facial features. Generally a male has a bulkier and taller frame, with more bold facial features.

When Zora give birth, several soft eggs are produced at once. In the rare instance a River Zora mates with a Sea Zora, the offspring typically take after the mother; it is seemingly impossible to make a hybrid which shares qualities of both types of Zora. An infant River Zora takes on the shape of a dark tadpole-like creature (as opposed to a Sea Zora's ligher shade) which can't leave water, until it develops a more humanoid shape during childhood. A Zora ages at a rate nearly identical to a Hylian.

A Zora reaches adulthood slightly before the age of 20. At this point it has size, height, and weight are very similar to the standards of an adult Hylian. A male River Zora in particular tends to be relatively broad of shoulders, and somewhat heavier as a result. Because a typical Zora lives its childhood and in some case almost its entire life underwater, it often takes a Zora a great deal of effort and training to move above water as skillfully as a Hylian does, but many adventurers and travelers accomplish this adaptation.

A River Zora's body is completely covered in hard scales which are almost uniformly a musty green color. They have spined, orange-red fins across their backsides, arms, and usually their head. The exact placement of fins on the head vary from one Zora to another. Their lips and usually their eyes match the color of these fins. A River Zora's face is able to look similar to a Hylian's, but can also seem closer to some form of monstrous fish--though in either case they are known to have prominent, bright lips. Females tend towards the more Hylian-like faces.

Unlike River Zora, a Sea Zora's body is particularly susceptible to drying up from electric shocks, and is highly conductive. Any electricity-based attack against them is known to be particularly effective. Sea Zora have adapted by widey mastering the Electric Aura spell to exploit this, while River Zora themselves have made widespread use of the Fire Spell to target the Sea Zora's own weakness to fire.

Culture

While not vital information, the following includes further detail on the race's habitats and society.

The aftermath of the Imprisoning War caused River Zora to be labeled a "monster race" in Hyrule. As a result, they are generally on good terms with other monster races, and have such disdain with so-called "human races" that is isn't abnormal to attack them on sight. A typical River Zora's disdain for any Sea Zora is particularly high, as it has been for centuries.

The most prominent River Zora societies in Hyrule include the Kingdom of Eyeglass Lake, and amphibious villages throughout Moruge Swamp. Like most monster races, they also are a common sight in Monster Village. Although they live in numerous other locations both inside and outside of Hyrule, most of these are unmarked on maps. In many cases, one or two River Zoras live alone in a river or pond, a solitary style of life shared by few races other than Yeti.

Both types of Zora believe that their original patron deity was the great fish, Jabun, who passed away centuries ago. Sea Zora believe he was reincarnated in the race's new deity, Jabu-Jabu, whereas River Zora believe this view to be sacreligious, and that Jabun is irreplaceable.

Compared to their paler brethren, River Zora are less numerous, less organized, and lack an ally as powerful as the Hylian race. As one of several consequences, they are generally less skilled with magic as well. Despite these limitations, their bodies are inherently stronger, and life in swamplands and rivers has overall made them tougher not only in terms of stamina but disease immunity as well.

Unlike Sea Zora, it's common for River Zora to have mastered the Aqua Grenade spell, which they can use to always stay moist, even in deserts. As a result, they make excellent and cunning hunters who can survive in almost any environment, making effective use of their claws and fangs, as well as their Boomerang Fins. Because they are such versatile hunters, they also tend to be superior in combat and in feats of physical strength, when compared to their Sea Zora counterparts.

History

While not vital information, the following includes further detail on the race's origins and development.

Ancient fossils suggest that thousands and thousands of years ago, an ice age tore through the ecosystem of the planet. It is believed this sudden change in climate caused an unnamed aquatic race to divert into a branched evolution, which at the very least created what would become three separate races--the Parella, a reptilian race, and the Zora themselves.

It is known that at one point all Zora worshipped a great fish known as Jabun, who they held to be the sacred Patron Deity for their entire race. As few written records exist from this time, much information regarding Jabun's legacy has been lost to time, but he was widely reverred among at least the Zora race. For reasons unknown, Jabun died at some point during the ice age--making him one of few deities who permanently deceased without resurrection. Some Zora insisted that Jabun reincarnated to another create fish, christened Jabu-Jabu, while others insisted this was a false god, and sacreligious to the memory of Jabun. In time, this difference in belief would cause the race to split into two wildly different forms.

Near the end of the ice age, the Parella stayed in deep oceans and remained purely aquatic, while the reptilians adapted to land and become almost entirely terrestrial. The Zora themselves were the only ones to become wholly amphibious, living primarily on saltwater coasts and freshwater reservoirs on and near a continent that would later become known as Hyrule. Due to religious differences regarding Jabun and Jabu-Jabu, Zora decided to inhabit different locations to avoid a disasterous religious war. Those who believed in Jabu-Jabu settled in saltwater became sleeker, more light colored Sea Zora. Those who viewed Jabu-Jabu as sacreligious settled primarily in freshwater would evolve into a darker, stockier tace known as River Zora.

Despite this widespread agreement to diverge into two separate peoples, River Zora and Sea Zora shared a mutual disdain that could hardly be contained. Small, localized battles and hateful acts would occur between them in the centuries which followed, even continuing into modern day.

As Sea Zora spread, they encroached upon freshwater lands. Somewhat ironically, their greatest settlement, Zora's Domain, was founded and still exists today in the freshwater reservoir of what would become known as Lake Hylia, which eventually became a kingdom in its own right. Eventually, this was paralleled by a River Zora kingdom established in Eyeglass Lake.

The Hylian race, which was only just beginning to expand into the sea, discovered the Zora race on the very outskirts of their society. At the time, the Hylians were only just beginning to settle continent of Labyrinna, which was the most western portion of Zora expansion. It is through this encounter that Hylians make contact with the aptly named Zora Village, and thereby learn the distinction between Sea Zora and River Zora. At that time, they indended to remain neutral in the Zora conflict.

In the years which followed, however, Hylians expanded further and further into Labyrinna and Hyrule, lands which surrounded the ancestral homes of both Sea and River Zora. In time, the Zora would even come to adapt the Hylian language as their own, albeit in unique dialects. As a result, over the course of a century, both forms of Zora and their kingdoms would put increasing pressure on the Hylians to choose a side. Ultimately they sided with Sea Zoras, who the King Hyrule of the time decided had more in common with the Hylian people. Unsurprisingly, this summoned outrage across all River Zoras, and further deepened the rift between the two races. While Sea Zoras as a whole became an ally of the Hyrulean Kingdom, River Zoras began to ritualistic attack Hylians on sight out of sheer contempt.

In time, Sea Zora and Hylians delegated River Zora to the status of mere monsters--no different than Moblins or Lynels. As Hylians rapidly encroached through Hyrule, they encroached and overtook territory that was once inhabited by what they called monsters--including the freshwaters and swamps that had traditionally belonged to River Zora. In time, the race would come to only find save haven in Moruge Swamp, an area considered badlands by Hylians.

This status quo would continue uninterrupted until the dawn of the Imprisoning War, nearly a century ago today. In this conflict, the Gerudo Kingdom, a section of Hyrule known as Northern Hyrule, and Southern Hyrule all engaged in a massive three-way war which engulfed almost two entire continents. Sea Zoras sided predominately with Northern Hyrule, whereas River Zoras largely became an honorary ally of the Gerudo Kingdom. It was the first time in centuries the River Zora had experienced a positive cultural relationship with a race other than their own.

Unfortunately for the River Zora, the Gerudo Kingdom was all but demolished in this conflict. Despite losing the war, River Zora became respectable allies of the numerous races who fought alongside them--Moblins, Lizalfos, Stalfos, Poes, Lynels, and the few Gerudo whom survived. While most River Zora remained in their ancestral homelands Moruge Swamp and Eyeglass Lake, they could now find refuge in lands such as Monster Village and the Lower Wilds. With these other so-called 'monster' races, River Zora were able to shared in their disgust with the entirety of Hylian and Sea Zora races--and all their 'human'-race allies.

In the decades after the Imprisoning War, both Sea Zora and River Zora experienced a relative peace their race hadn't experienced in centuries. This would last until Ganon, who was eponymously imprisoned in the Dark World at the end of the war, suddenly appeared again to invade Hyrule anew. This resurgence occurred approximately 20 years prior to this day. This war, Ganon's War, still simmers today. Ganon's influence has renwed the human-races' disdain of monster-races, who themselves have in part sided with Ganon against Hylians and all for which they stand. The deep-seated hatred between River Zora and Sea Zora was renewed for the modern generation.