Fairy

The Fairies are a magical and kind race in The Legend of Zelda series. Introduced in the very first The Legend of Zelda, they appear in every game, always aiding Link in his quest in some way. There are three different kinds of Fairies: the common Fairies, the Stray Fairies and the Great Fairies.

Characteristics
Fairies have been seen in two different appearances. The first is as an extremely small girl with wings, and sometimes a wand. The other appearance is a small glowing ball of light with four wings. The light has been seen to be yellow, blue, pink and green depending on the fairy, and fairies appear to be able to change colors temporarily, possibly as an emotional reaction. They are friendly with every other race and are known for being a guide and "Fairy friend" to the Kokiri race in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

In the games, Link can often capture Fairies in Bottles. When taken out of the Bottle, they greatly heal him and fly away. If Link loses all his health when carrying a fairy in a Bottle, he is automatically healed instead of dying.

Fairy society
It is unknown if the Fairies have established a government or kingdom of their own, as the Great Fairies seem to be superior to other Fairies and different in appearance. In The Wind Waker, there is a Fairy Queen in Mother & Child Isle who looks like a normal sized, color-changing girl holding a doll resembling the other Great Fairies from The Wind Waker. It seems that Fairies live in all parts of Hyrule and Termina and the surrounding lands.

Companions
In Ocarina of Time, it is revealed that fairies are the companions and protectors of the Kokiri, with each Kokiri having his or her own fairy guardian. Link is assisted by Navi, who helps keep him on track by reminding him where to go. She also helps him target objects and enemies, and can provide information about enemies.

In The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, Navi is replaced by Tatl, a new fairy who serves the same purpose as his previous fairy.

In the upcoming Phantom Hourglass, Link (the same Link from the Wind Waker) will also have a fairy companion.

Additionally, Link has often been depicted with a female fairy companion; In the Animated Series and accompanying comic books, her name was Sprite; in the Link to the Past comics, she was known as Emheralda. Both of these fairies were depicted with similar characteristics and personality; in addition, they both seemed to have a romantic interest in Link.

Great Fairies
Great Fairies are highly powerful fairies that can power Link's items up. They appear in many games, and their appearance is often changed.

A Link to the Past
Great Fairies first appear in A Link to the Past. There are three Great Fairy locations: behind the waterfall near Zora's Domain, on an island in the middle of Lake Hylia, and behind a wall outside the Dark Pyramid. They grant upgrades of items thrown into the water or after throwing in Rupees, and are flying girls with wings and green clothing.

The waterfall fairy grants a shield upgrade to block fireballs, the magic boomerang that goes further, and green potion for bottles thrown in. The island fairy lets Link carry more arrows and bombs after throwing in rupees. Finally the trapped fairy gives Link the Golden Sword for throwing in the Tempered Sword, the Silver Arrows from the regular ones (needed to kill Ganon with), and green potion for bottles thrown in. This Great Fairy is notably obese, and explains that it is an effect of Ganon's magic.

There are also smaller fairies hidden in caves that fully heal Link when he meets them.

During the game's ending, the island fairy is revealed to be Venus, Queen of the Fairies.

Link's Awakening
There are also seemingly minor Great Fairies appearing in Link's Awakening that when visited restore one's health. In the DX version of Link's Awakening, the queen fairy also resides at the end of the hidden Color dungeon, and gives Link either the magical Red or Blue Tunic.

Ocarina of Time
In Ocarina of Time, Great Fairies are located at six locations: just outside Hyrule Castle, two on Death Mountain (one at the summit and one inside), the Desert Colossus, Jabu-Jabu's shrine, and just outside Ganon's Castle. These provide Link with, respectively, Din's Fire, Magic Power & double magic power, Nayru's Love, Farore's Wind, and automatic double defense.

There are three great fairies named the Great Fairy of Magic, and the others are named the Great Fairies of Courage, Wisdom, and Power.

Majora's Mask
In Majora's Mask, there are five Great Fairies, who have been shattered into smaller "Stray Fairies" by the Skull Kid. One is in Clock Town, where, at the start of the game, Link has to return one scattered fairy (called a Stray Fairy) to the fountain in Clock Town. There he receives the magic power. If Link returns the Stray Fairy after being transformed back into a human, he will be granted the Great Fairy Mask. There is also one Great Fairy in each of the four major areas, Woodfall, Snowhead, Great Bay, and Stone Tower. After collecting fifteen Stray Fairies from each of the temples there, a new power or item is bestowed to Link. They are respectively, upgraded sword magic, double magic power, a white lining around Link's hearts that reduces damage by half, and the Great Fairy's Sword.

These fairies are called the Great Fairies of Magic, Power, Wisdom, Courage, and Kindness.

Oracle of Ages and Seasons
In Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons, Great Fairies appear at select locations if one is wounded to restore one's health. As in Link's Awakening, these Great Fairies do not provide upgrades of any sort. The great fairy that resides on an island west of the Labrynna library is called "The Fairy Queen, protector of the sea."

Four Swords
Although no official Great Fairies appear in The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords, when Zelda is kidnapped, Link is awakened by three Fairies. These three Fairies' colours correspond to the colours of the Great Fairies from The Minish Cap, a prequel to Four Swords.

The Wind Waker
In the The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, there are six fairy islands on the Great Sea. They are Northern Fairy Island, Southern Fairy Island, Eastern Fairy Island, Western Fairy Island, Thorn Fairy Island, Outset Island, Mother and Child Isles, and Two Eye Reef. The upgrades from each island are, respectively; rupee upgrade, bomb upgrade, bomb upgrade, arrow upgrade, arrow upgrade, rupee upgrade, fire & ice arrows, and double magic power. In this game, Great Fairies are large, floating four-armed women with dark skin, no pupils, and no legs, but rather skirts that spiral away into nothing. The Queen of Fairies who appears in the game seems to rule even the Great Fairies.

The figurines of the Great Fairies and Fairy Queen can only be acquired by purchasing their pictographs from Lenzo on Windfall Island, as they only appear in cutscenes and their pictures can not be taken otherwise.

Four Swords Adventures
In The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, the Great Fairies one encounters upgrade one's current weaponry to level two items. They look like the Great Fairies from The Wind Waker. In Hyrule castle, the Links also meet a river Zora who begs them to find "his/her other part" (another river Zora). It turns out that the two river Zoras are actually a cursed Great Fairy that looks a lot like the Queen of Fairies from The Wind Waker.

The Minish Cap
There are a total of three Great Fairies in The Minish Cap, namely the Great Butterfly Fairy, Great Mayfly Fairy, and the Great Dragonfly Fairy

Great Butterfly Fairy resides in a cave in Minish Woods east of the farmers in Eastern Hills. She grants Link the Big Wallet, a wallet upgrade. Great Mayfly Fairy lives in a cave on a ledge somewhere on the eastern side on Crenel Wall at Mount Crenel. She will give Link the Big Bomb Bag, a bomb amount upgrade. Great Dragonfly Fairy is in a cave in the Royal Valley, and will present Link with the Large Quiver quiver, an arrow amount upgrade.

Twilight Princess
In The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess the Great Fairy appears inside the multi-level enemy gauntlet known as the Cave of Ordeals. In this incarnation, the Great Fairy resembles a young woman with long, green hair and pointed ears. She wears no clothing saved for a small cloth that is tied around her waist as a skirt, her breasts are covered by the lengths of her hair. She grants the player access to a mystical substance known as Great Fairy's Tears, if they survive the cave and reach her at the end. It should also be noted this is the first instance in a three-dimensional Zelda game in which the Great Fairy doesn't upgrade any of Link's items or attributes. Additionally, she releases normal fairies to each of the Spirit Springs across Hyrule. The Great Fairy's most common form is a sparkling cloud of green mist and smoke, and she appears in this form at the Spirit Springs, as well as in the Cave of Ordeals when Link is not talking to her.

Another possible Great Fairy also aids Link, albeit much less explicit, because Link never sees her. She inhabits the Gale Boomerang and is called "Fairy of Winds". She mentions her presence when Link acquires the boomerang and claims to be the source of its power. She never speaks again nor is referred to.

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