Zelda Theory: Dark Interlopers & Sheikah Defectors

Who exactly were the Dark Interlopers that evolved into the Twili in Twilight Princess? Their history and banishment is very interesting, with their connections to the Shadows it is possible that they are connected to another tribe of the Shadows...The Sheikah!

[hardin]

Another factor to their defection could've been the rise of the Hero. Link can protect Zelda, making the Sheikah feel useless. Add that to what you said, and you got a large group of pissed people.

[TheWhiteTrashPanda]

This is the most well thought out and best explained zelda theory I've ever heard. Well done.

[SpotterX]

There are so many damn good theories on the Sheikah coming about now! You and M. Productions certainly have my favorite theories concerning the race. Keep up the awesome work! :D

[Silent_Raven]

While I really enjoy this theory I’ve always had my head canon be that the dark interlopers are a mixed race group of sheikah and gerudo. This would explain the lack of existence from both races in the game. The twili also have features from both races (red eyes from sheikah and orange-red hair from gerudo). I also wonder about what happened to the hero time during this point. If he fell in battle would this be enough cause for the gods to step in.

[kittenishdarrah]

You know midna has the sheikah symbol on the back of the fused shadow cause I was playing hyrule warriors I finished a battle and looked at the back of the fused shadow and it was there I made me think a little

[sqirpion]

There's a gerudo symbol on zants robes

[tuftedmocha]

I think the Dark Interlopers must have done something much worse than simple betrayal. In A Link between Worlds, we discover that the true purpose of the Triforce is not, in fact, to grant the wishes of mortals & give them power, but is instead the means of sending divine power into the realm of mortals.

Lorule, having destroyed their Triforce, no longer had this divine energy flowing into & throughout their world. Because of this, the land of Lorule itself began to die & disintergrate. It was being irrevocably destroyed. To commit a crime so terrible as to force the gods to intervene directly, something similar to this must have taken place.

My theory goes as follows: The Sheikah defectors (the Dark Interlopers) succeeded in seizing the Triforce & the Sacred Realm (as had many before them). However, unlike previous attempts, they also cut of the divine power that flowed through the Triforce & into the world, thus threatening the gods' creation - Hyrule itself. This is why they were banished. Not for stealing & conquering, but for threatening to destroy the world itself.

[iwasanMBTInerd]

Do you think the Fierce Deity had anything to do with the Shiekah? He kind of resembles a Shiekah, and has God-like magical abilities which would mean he would definately be the most powerful of the Sheikah if he were one. It also could explain exactly why the goddesses had to intervene and his own fotm of punishment was to be sealed inside of his mask; perhaps the goddesses used the Song of Healing to transform him and the Happy Mask Salesman later learned it. Or he betrayed the Sheikah and they used the power of Majora to seal him away in his own mask.

[sonjajohnson]

👏🏼 you need to do a weekly Zelda theory. I'm addicted to your theories!

[-Volt]

I've always believed there was a connection between the Sheikah and the Dark Interlopers and I'm so glad HMK did such a wonderful job explaining their probable origins and background. I also personally believe that Termina, Lorule and the Twilight Realm could be the same place just in different timelines to their respective parallel Hyrules.

[HazzEmperor]

The fused shadow is the concentrated magic of the interlopers. It was not created by the tribe but is a representation of their magic. I enjoyed the theory but I still support the ancient ones as the dark interlopers.

[weiseld]

Hey HMK, this is definitely your best video yet, nice work. One thought about your video: There are obviously quite a few connections between the Sheikah and the Twili. But they may not be related to "shadows" in the same way. Going back to their descriptions from Ocarina of Time, the Sheikah were "Shadow folk" because they are stealthy warriors. Like ninjas. It gave them an aura of highly skilled individual body guards. On the other hand, the Twili are related to shadows because of their banishment to the twilight realm and created a connection to twilight and an inability to exist in the light.
Thoughts?

[ZeranZeran]

Great video man. Your theory completely fits, I think you're right

[AuraBerserker]

that music for the sheikah sounds so nice

[franisthebest]

I’m replaying twilight princess and I’ve began to see variations of the Sheikah symbol all over the place in what the twili wear and in the twilight realm, specifically on the palace of twilight there’s a big tearing eye on one part of the building (it’s different sure and has that twili twist that all the rest of their symbols and designs have but the shape is essentially the same)

[cullenlatham]

One plot point you seem to be missing about the Twili and dark interloper history is that the goddesses could give redemption to the twili. In twilight princess (that is a spoiler warning for those that have not gotten at least half way through the game) after link, with the aid of midna, collect the 3 shards of the fused shadow, zant shows up and curses link into wolf form (outside twilight) and midna to perish in the realm of light she seemed to grow fond of and prevent her from freely returning to the twilight realm. Link then seeks out the one person that could possibly help, zelda. Zelda saves midna and also allows her to co-exist with hylians in the realm of light and points link to find the master sword as it is the only relic that can lift his curse. As we find out end game in skyward sword, Hylia became zelda which explains her magical abilities and her ability to bless midna. Whether or not zelda realized it at the time, the goddess inside of her gave midna redemption. midna only chose to stay as a shadow to avoid attracting attention. Also, that gives a backstory excuse if midna does return in a later game to help link in hyrule.(if i remember correctly because i haven't played TP in a while, if you asked for midna's help in the realm of light pre-fused shadow, she could only appear as a shadow, but if you asked for help post-fused shadow in the realm of light, as long as you weren't in a populated area, she would appear in full imp form)

[RdChas]

This was a solid theory, I never thought of all the similarities between Sheikas and Twili, and the Majora's mask idea: mind=blown

[tapedonmusicstand]

I noticed something after watching this i've never seen before, which is the triangular shapes above "the eyes" of the Majora's mask look as if they hint to Sheikah symbol's "eye lashes"

[MoshiiMassacre]

I agree with this theory 100% It also brought up the thought about the Happy Mask Salesman.Since he has knowledge about Majora's mask, could he have been one of the dark interlopers? His figure comes out in the intro for Link Between Worlds and might have red colored eyes, but it would be hard to say because his eyes are always closed.

[amydarling]

Awesome explantation, It really helped! Thanks