Wait, Where Did Zelda: TOTK’s Sky Islands Actually Come From?

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The sky islands of seem to appear out of thin air, but there may be a far more understandable reason for their emergence hidden in the wider lore. ’s sky islands defined the game in trailers, and they continue to be a major part of the game’s iconic scenery. Nevertheless, where and how the sky islands existed before the Upheaval remains something of a mystery.

Taking the time to fully explore the sky islands reveals an immense range of Zonai ruins, ranging from temples to observatories. Curiously, there is a lack of obvious homes in the Sky, although the fact that there are Zonai ruins in the Depths as well indicates that the Zonai inhabited the full breadth of Hyrule, and so could easily have primarily resided on the surface. With the Zonai in strong decline even before Zelda meets Rauru and Mineru, it is uncertain if the true nature of the Zonai civilization at its height will ever be revealed. However, the whereabouts of its remnants before are actually easier to hypothesize.

It is undeniable that the sky islands existed prior to, but at the same time, they are nowhere to be seen before the Upheaval. Although this seems contradictory, there is a possible solution to the paradox: before they came into view, the islands may have been hidden by a cloud barrier, just as Skyloft was in. In fact, this could even be the same barrier, repurposed by the Zonai after Hylians migrated back to the surface. The observable effects of the cloud barrier in would explain many of the circumstances surrounding the sky islands, as well as other oddities in both and .

If the Zonai’s sky islands were originally hidden by the cloud barrier, then this would easily explain their apparent invisibility earlier in the timeline, such as in. In,