I think Ruto dies.

[zim_dawg 2]

I have been recently playing through Twilight Princess for the third time and couldn't help but notice a sage is missing because Ganondorf kills one of them with the light sword. I will now back this up with some evidence that really leads me to believe this as true. 

 

Subpoint A. The seal below the sage that dies is the water seal meaning that the sage of water was the one occupying this.

 

Subpoint B. The sage of water is Ruto in Hylian lore (Spoiler Alert Ocarina of Time.)

 

Subpoint C. And most importantly, Twilight Princess takes place a century or so after Ocarina of Time meaning that the Sage of Water would be the exact same as it was then, to me this pretty much screams RUTO IS DEAD.

 

Also I really hope she is dead because she is all up on Link's d and he ain't havin' none o' dat.

Oh and also in Wind Waker, a seperate branch of the timeline, Laruto is a sage not Ruto. 

[Michael 290]

Interesting observation, I never really thought to check which one it was.

 

Also I really hope she is dead because she is all up on Link's d and he ain't havin' none o' dat.

 

This made me lol.

[Sahaqiel 1232]

I would assume the sages in TP were different from those in Ocarina of Time. In OoT, despite being awakened to their sage duties and whatever, they still retained their normal shape, but in Twilight Princess, they were all identical old men. There is no fixed, distinct sage in "Hylian Lore"; they've always been different people.

 

This is consistent with TP's water sage dying; supposedly sages are still mortal beings. So I assume Ruto just died of old age or something. Since ghosts are still a thing in the Zelda series, you get to see Raaru in Ocarina of Time, who supposedly died, and past sages in Wind Waker as you awaken the new sages to their powers and duties. The past sages in Wind Waker are different than the ones in Ocarina of Time, but both TP and WW branch from it, so assuming that Wind Waker takes place around the same time as Twilight Princess, the sages were replaced fairly quickly. In fact, the execution scene took place shortly after Ocarina of Time, as the only reason Ganondorf was still alive was that Link went to Zelda and told him what a bad person he was, which I was just reminded of as I was typing this post. In fact, before Link was even an adult, so it was nearly a decade before Ocarina of Time's sages would awaken.

 

In other words, maybe the implication was that when Link came back as a child and told Zelda about it, the people who would become sages in OoT didn't need to, so maybe there were just generic replacement sages in TP, or whichever sages came before the sages in Ocarina of Time. Then they just stuck around because there didn't need to be a replacement.

[Michael 290]

Reading Hyrule Historia it kind of goes over this.

 

THE ARBITER'S GROUNDS AND THE MIRROR OF TWILIGHT

The Ancient Sages performed the execution of Ganondorf in the Arbiter's Grounds. However, Ganondorf, who had been chosen by the Triforce of Power, did not perish, and managed to kill one of the sages. Thrown into a panic, the remainder of the sages used the Mirror of Twilight to banish Ganondorf to the Twilight Realm.

 

They were then instructed by the gods to protect the mirror.

 

THE SAGES

Details regarding the sages who exist in this era are largely unknown, including their names. From the crests depicted on their clothing, we can ascertain that the sages represent light, forest, fire, water, shadow, and spirit.

 

 

It is Princess Zelda from Ocarina of Time that initiates the execution of Ganondorf, so it is very possible that it is actually Ruto that did die.

[pheonix561 2080]

Would it be fair to say that, because there's a lack of zoras in twilight princess, that has something to do with ruto's death, maybe? Not to mention the state of lake hyrule at the beginning of the game. It doesn't exactly scream "Zora Friendly."

[Michael 290]

Would it be fair to say that, because there's a lack of zoras in twilight princess, that has something to do with ruto's death, maybe? Not to mention the state of lake hyrule at the beginning of the game. It doesn't exactly scream "Zora Friendly."

There was Zoras in Twilight Princess.

 

http://zeldawiki.org/Zora_Domain

Edited 6 Apr 2013 by Michael (see edit history)

[pheonix561 2080]

Whos got two thumbs and completely forgot about the zoras in twilight princess

[Sahaqiel 1232]

Well Tappy, the reason that still doesn't work out is the time aspect thing mentioned above. If child Zelda orders the execution of Ganondorf, this would take place when Ruto was still a child. I kind of doubt she transcended her mortal body and became the representation of water before she was even an adult, let alone one who was awoken to her duties.

[Michael 290]

Well Tappy, the reason that still doesn't work out is the time aspect thing mentioned above. If child Zelda orders the execution of Ganondorf, this would take place when Ruto was still a child. I kind of doubt she transcended her mortal body and became the representation of water before she was even an adult, let alone one who was awoken to her duties.

 

DARK CLOUDS MENACE HYRULE

In Hyrule, Princess Zelda was informed of what would happen in the future by Link, The Hero of Time. She realized that leaving Ganondorf to his own devices would cause the downfall of her kingdom.

 

Many years later, Ganondorf, the infamous demon thief who wielded the power of magic, was finally to be executed.

This is referring to the end of Ocarina of Time, when Princess Zelda sends Link back in time to before he actually meets Princess Zelda for the first time. He goes back to tell her what happens to Hyrule in the future.

 

Later we see the result of the execution in Twilight Princess, however the execution doesn't take place in Twilight Princess since it is the execution itself that leads to the shadow invasion (Twilight Princess).

 

Edited 6 Apr 2013 by Michael (see edit history)