It's the return of Temples & Triforces! Twilight Princess was my first Legend of Zelda game, so the light spirits that appeared as central figures in the story have a special place in my gamer's heart. I don't actually have much to say by way of homebrew commentary today, but I do have some comments to make about light spirits in Hyrule as a Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting.
The light spirits occupy a pretty interesting role in Legend of Zelda cosmology. Twilight Princess is their only mainline appearance, and the game doesn't offer too many details. What we do know is that they are (1) spiritual beings, (2) made of light, (3) found in light springs, (4) sent or called or possibly created by the gods. Importantly, the light spirits are not themselves gods—different from Goddess Hylia in Skyward Sword, which was an expansion to the godly pantheon—but perhaps more like guardian spirits sent by the gods.
To me, the golden goddesses—Din, Farore, and Nayru—feel like a very Western Fantasyland cosmology: heavenly beings from another realm of existence who created the world. Whereas the spirits of light feel as though their cosmology is more reminiscent of traditional Japanese conceptions of spirits and the divine: the light spirits are tied to physical places in the natural world, rather than being disconnected from the physical and existing only in the otherworldly.
Related to these ideas, in my Temples & Triforces homebrew species compendium, I associate the light spirits with Humans. This is partly because Humans as distinct from Hylians are most visible in Twilight Princess, where the light spirits debuted, and also because of overlapping themes: I portrayed the Humans as more connected to the natural world than Hylians and also more modest in their cultural attitude. Thus, their religious affinity is for the light spirits who are also tied to the natural world and who are not so grand or awe-inspiring as the golden goddesses. Bear in mind, of course, that this goes far beyond the information the game itself presents. These are just extrapolations I made to create my version of Hyrule for the compendium and games I run set in Hyrule. But I share in the hopes that it may interest some of those who read.
Something else that I think is really interesting about the light spirits is how in Twilight Princess there are four. Three have obvious parallels to Din, Farore, and Nayru, namely Eldin, Faron, and Lanayru. However, a fourth light spirit dwells in Ordona Province, aptly named Ordona. The game doesn't make much of this, but it's interesting to see that there is a light spirit with presumably powers similar to the others but less direct connection to the usual trio of goddesses. And if there's a fourth light spirit, why not more? That is why while I name the four from the game, I suggest that "others may exist." It may be fun to be imaginative as you run a game or play a warlock of the Light Spirit and create new light spirits of you own. Is there a spirit spring in the Peak Province, perhaps? Do the sacred springs in Breath of the Wild have light spirits of their own? The possibilities are endless!
Anyhow, I hope you enjoy the Light Spirit patron!
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