The Rito Tribe are a bird-like race from The Legend of Zelda series. They all possess avian like wings and talons like typical birds. In The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, they have mostly humanoid traits with some bird features while in Breath of the Wild onwards, they are entirely avian in nature. Rito children are called fletchlings.
Physiology[]
In The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, the Rito are mostly humanoid in appearance and have very few bird like traits, and the only way fletchlings can gain their adult wings is by visiting their sky guardian, Valoo to receive his dragon scale.
The Rito appear to be entirely avian in nature and have almost no humanoid traits as they were previously. They live in Rito Village in the Tabantha Frontier and do not require a dragon's scale to gain their adult wings as the fletchlings younger than Komali are shown to be capable of flying on their own. Because the Rito co-exist with the Zora, it is unclear if they have evolved from the ancient Zoras. The Rito have insulating plumage that protect them from the extreme cold given that Hebra is known for being the coldest region. The softest and thickest baby Rito feathers are used to make Rito-down beds and to make a Snowquil set of armor for Hylians who wish to brave the bitter cold of Hebra. Their feathers also work against them when they go to an area of extreme heat such as Gerudo Desert which requires them to rely on frozen food and elixers to endure the heat. The Rito primarily use lightweight weapons, and primarily wield bows and sometimes Feathered Spears and Kite Shields. The Rito military are predominately male, there are no female warriors to be seen as it was possible that there are many barriers that bar them from being warriors. Additionally, the Rito have poor night vision which they never seen taking flight outside of the village after the sun sets.
History[]
The Wind Waker[]
The Rito were once the Zora race that lived in ancient Hyrule, until Ganon attacked it once more and without a hero to oppose them, the people wished to the Triforce have Hyrule sealed away via a flood. With the world being an entire ocean and have become much more dangerous for the Zora to continue living there. As a result, they have adapted to living on land and have evolved over the course of the century, losing their scales in exchange for wings to adapt to this new life.
Breath of the Wild[]
The Rito are entirely birdlike in appearance, and they are a prominent race in the game as they have a large role in the game's story missions that Link must complete. The most notable Rito are Revali, Teba, Harth, and Tulin, the former two who are among the supreme warriors in their generations, with Revali having been selected by King Rhoam to become the Rito Champion of Divine Beast Vah Medoh to fight back against Calamity Ganon and Teba working with Link to put a stop to the corrupted Vah Medoh's threat to the Rito due to it shooting at them whenever they flew which disrupted their way of life. The Rito bard Kass is also a frequent companion to Link, directing him towards hidden shrines using his songs in the hopes of performing the song his teacher, the court poet, gave to him for Link to hear 100 years later.
Tears of the Kingdom[]
When the Upheaval began, Rito Village fell into disarray when a dangerous blizzard began to plague them to no end, from the destruction of their bridge to a famine that forced them to forge for food to survive. Tulin attempts to handle it himself against his parents' objections, which results in him getting his bow stolen. Various Rito Link encounters guides the Hylian warrior in the right direction before he and Tulin head up to the Wind Temple to destroy the source of the blizzard, Colgera. This results in the blizzard coming to an end and the Rito getting back on track with their everyday life.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity[]
Due to relentless monster attacks led by Harbinger Ganon, a dark counterpart of Terrako against Rito Village, the Rito warriors, on Revali's orders, mistakenly attack Link and the party as the Terrako from the Breath of the Wild timeline traveling with them while recruiting the Champions, looked like their attacker which was put to a stop after Princess Zelda pleads for them to stop. They would later assist the warriors in the battle to rescue Revali from Windblight Ganon and are met with a new ally: Teba. They are among the army summoned by Purah's supercharged Sheikah Towers to launch a strike on Hyrule Castle, and in another cutscene with them flying behind Revali and Teba as they charge for Hyrule Castle to put an end to Astor and Calamity Ganon's reign of terror once and for all.
Gallery[]
Known Rito[]
