Who is Rauru in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom introduces a new race, a tribe called the Zonai, and a mysterious new character named Rauru. Rauru’s introduction has bigger implications for the series’ lore, which stretches back to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and marks the incorporation of a new culture for the Zelda franchise.
The Zonai were previously suggested inside Breath of the Wildbut the tribe (and Rauru) play a very important role in the Tears of the Kingdom. Here’s what we know about them and their leader.
Who are the Zonai?
The Zonai are an ancient race that, according to Zelda, were once an affluent society that lived in the sky and possessed divine powers. Although Link first encountered ruins of their civilization in Breath of the Wildwe never saw the Zonai or learned more about it until Tears of the Kingdom. In one of the sequel’s first cutscenes, Princess Zelda interprets ancient glyphs that tell a story of how the Zonai descended from heaven and helped the Hylians establish the early kingdom of Hyrule.
Who is Rauru in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom?
In the English dub, according to the game’s creditsRauru is played by voice actor Chris Hackney, who has voiced characters in other popular media franchises such as Hunter x Hunter (Illumi Zoldyck), Enable fire emblem (Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddy), and Genshin effect (Kamisato Ayato). Rauru is a Zonai who mentors Link early in the game. He looks like a regal humanized goat.
He’s the first Zonai we meet, and we run into him quite abruptly. After a disastrous encounter with a cunning creature beneath Hyrule Castle that resembles Ganon, Link and Zelda become separated. Link wakes up and gains a mysteriously altered arm that allows him to wield powers similar to the Runes from Breath of the Wild. After exploring islands in the sky, Link tries to enter a sanctuary, but the seal rejects him. Link then turns and encounters the ghost of Rauru, who tells us that Link’s strange arm once belonged to him, and that Link must restore his strength to open the door. As we explore, Rauru shows Link the potential of the abilities.
Rauru’s name also connects him to previous games. In other Zelda games, the Sage of Light is called Rauru. (The sages have appeared in several Zelda games, and generally they’ve filled the role of sealing off evil and protecting the Triforce.) Ocarina of Timea sage of light named Rauru takes the form of an owl (his alter ego Kaepora Gaebora) and guides Link on his journey.
[Ed. note: The following contains spoilers for the end of the story in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.]
In Tears of the Kingdom, Zelda accidentally travels in time to Hyrule’s distant past. When she arrives, she meets Rauru. It turns out that Rauru was the king of Hyrule long ago and served alongside a queen named Sonia. Together, the two identify with Zelda as the founders of Hyrule, and help Zelda return to her time. Rauru is one of two Zonai living in Hyrule, and as we see Zelda’s story unfold in the past, we also see Rauru battling the rise of the Gerudo leader Ganondorf.