One of Breath of the Wild's most enduring mysteries lies in plain sight. The most recent entry in the Legend of Zelda franchise offers no explanation for the three titanic skeletons scattered around Hyrule, known as the Leviathans. No barrier keeps Link from approaching them and exploring them, and only a sidequest interacts with them. Unimportant as they are to Breath of the Wild's plot, these lost titans loom over Link as he explores Hyrule on his quest to defeat Calamity Ganon.
However, they might not go unexplained forever. The upcoming sequel to Breath of the Wild is the perfect opportunity to learn more about what happened to the ancient Leviathans. Creatures of their scale have served important roles in many past Zelda titles, so if Nintendo has established these creatures in the latest version of Hyrule, they may be more important than fans know.
The Remains of the Leviathans
Three Leviathan skeletons have been identified across Hyrule, one each in Eldin, the Hebra Mountains, and the Gerudo Desert. The scale of these skeletons cannot be understated -- Link is simply dwarfed by these remains, which are best compared to the Divine Beasts in size. Link's sidequest to take pictures of them can require more than a bit of fiddling with his position in order to capture the skeletons in their entirety. Considering how much space these skeletons take up, it's rather remarkable that they don't play any part in the game aside from one fairly simple quest.
The difference between the size of the Leviathan's presence in the landscape and their negligible position in the lore only raises more questions. Attention to detail and speculation are the best tools for learning more for now. The skeletons are scattered throughout the world, which suggests that Leviathans were spread throughout the kingdom of Hyrule. Additionally, their place right on the surface of the earth instead of underground might mean that they're not ancient at all, but actually rather recently dead.
A clue outside of the main three skeletons may tell more about the Leviathans' history. Perceptive players may have noticed that random ribs of impressive size stick out of the ground all across Hyrule. Considering the similarity to the Leviathan bones, these may be the less organized remains of more Leviathans, perhaps significantly older than the main three, as indicated by the ribs being better buried and more scattered. Outside analysis and speculation like this, the trail runs cold.
Theories and Possible Involvement
Breath of the Wild 2 looks like it intends to delve into Hyrule's troubled past, which presents a strong opportunity to reveal new things about the setting. If Ganondorf has been waiting buried beneath the earth all this time, the story of the Leviathans might finally come to light too. It's hard to say what exactly these creatures were and what they did, besides their whale-like appearance. However, that has been clue enough for some fans to look at The Legend of Zelda's history and put known names on the Leviathans.
The Leviathans seem to intentionally resemble a few notable whales that Link has met in his previous incarnations. The Eldin skeleton has a large head plate much like the Sky Spirit Levias, an important ally to Link in Skyward Sword. A pair of bones on the Gerudo skeleton's back could be indicative of vestigial wings, reminding fans of the Wind Fish from Link's Awakening. The Hebra skeleton looks more like a generic whale, but the series is not out of whales for it to resemble. It could be Lord Jabu-Jabu from Ocarina of Time or the Ocean King from Phantom Hourglass.
When these details were discovered, fans were deeply excited by the possibilities that the Easter egg implied. Breath of the Wild has a vague placement in the Zelda chronology, so the convergence of characters from all across the timelines would suggest the game is where all three timelines reunite. Such an important place in the timeline, combined with a more powerful Ganondorf than ever, would suggest that Link's old allies have already fallen to Ganon.
The Leviathans' Chance to Return
If the death of the Leviathans is explained in the sequel, they could become core to the plot. There are a few ways that the Leviathans could return as living characters, and one theory has suggested that Breath of the Wild 2 will involve time travel. If that's the case, Link and Zelda might visit a time before the Leviathans died, seeing them in their prime and even getting the chance to cooperate with them, whether they're familiar faces or new allies in the battle against Ganon's return. It may fall to Link and Zelda to prevent their extinction in the past altogether.
There is another more macabre possibility. Breath of the Wild 2's trailer suggests that the game will feature a theme of undeath, as the presumed corpse of Ganondorf appears to return to life. If the King of Darkness can return to life, he may not be the only one to get an unconventional second chance at life. The skeletons of the Leviathans lie in wait for someone to revive them. The questions then becomes whether Link will bring them back to life to call their aid, or if Ganondorf will resurrect the Leviathans as minions to help him conquer Hyrule.
A Mystery Worth Exploring
There is no shortage of reasons to address the mysterious Leviathans, but they demand attention as a breathtaking piece of the setting with surprisingly little said about them. For all fans know, Nintendo included the skeletons intentionally to foreshadow the coming sequel. There is still so much to explore in Breath of the Wild's Hyrule alongside the Leviathans. The choice to reuse the first game's map suggests that Nintendo doesn't plan on leaving these details and mysteries behind.
These theories and outside perspectives could be wrong, drawn out of excessive speculation on setting decoration and Easter eggs. However, if they are, the Leviathans are only in greater need of explanation. What happened to beings that surely would have dominated the Hyrule of the past? What could have killed them? Is there more to the Leviathans than meets the eye? Such formidable creatures could still be important to Link's quest, becoming allies as tremendous and powerful as the Divine Beasts from the first game. All things considered, the Leviathans don't seem like they'll remain buried history forever.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2Â is in development.
