Hero's Shade

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“A sword wields no strength unless the hand that holds it has courage.”
—The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

The Hero's Shade is an important character found in the Wii and GameCube video game The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. In the game, he is a spirit who teaches the protagonist Link a multitude of "Hidden Skills" in an odd looking variant of Hyrule. In the normal world, the Hero's Shade takes on the appearance of a wolf, much like Link is capable of doing. In fact, the only way to summon the Hero's Shade was to play a melody in Link's wolf form by howling to the sky.

Some speculate that the Hero's Shade is in fact the Link featured in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Theories that support this include the final thing the Hero's Shade tells him - "Go and do not falter, my child". Plus, the very fact that he is capable of turning into a wolf like Link may suggest something - as this Link, just as the one in OoT, is attributed with the Triforce of Courage, which allows him to turn into a wolf. Though at the same time, this could be nothing but fan speculation.