Kass BOTW Guide

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Alex Scowen

Born to a pair of proud nerds, Alex has been an avid fan of everything from video games to books to anime since early childhood. You'd be hard-pressed to find her without a book or a controller in hand, and if so, she's probably at the computer typing out what she hopes will be the next best-seller. Having started with a baby's first PS2, complete with a custom pink controller, she's evolved into a fully-fledged nerd with a collection of gaming titles, including The Legend of Zelda, Persona, and Fire Emblem, and a boasts a manga library of well over 200 volumes.

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Breath of the Wild introduced so many colorful, interesting characters to the world of Zelda. Link encounters countless people on his journey to defeat Calamity (and has lost so many others), and the Rito bard, Kass, is prominent among them.

As a fellow traveler, you meet Kass in numerous places across the Kingdom of Hyrule and come to know him very well. He has many quests associated with him and his family, along with a backstory that intertwines with Links. There’s much to learn about Kass, so let’s take a closer look at our favorite roaming minstrel in this Kass BOTW guide.

Kass of the Rito, Travelling Bard

“A bard traveling the world in search of ancient songs, songs that sing the praises of a hero who beat back the Calamity in an age past.”

• Race: Rito
• Family: Amali (wife); Notts, Kotts, Genli, Cree, Kheel (daughters)
• Friends: Teacher (deceased)
• Related Quests: The Serpent’s Jaws; The Two Rings; The Crowned Beast; Sign of the Shadow; Song of Storms; Master of the Wind; The Hero’s Cache; Under a Blood Moon; Find Kheel; Recital at Warbler’s Nest; The Champion’s Ballad EX

Kass is a member of the Rito, a race of bird people first introduced in The Wind Waker. His feathers are blue, white, and yellow, and he wears a red headpiece, a brown tunic, and a white scarf.

He carries around a concertina and has sheet music attached to his belt. Kass most closely resembles a blue and yellow macaw. Kass’s build is also distinct from other Ritos, with much broader shoulders and a unique beak shape.

You can find Kass in many places across Hyrule; this includes Washa’s Bluff, Horon Lagoon, and a few stables. Kass has left home to find the ancient songs detailing the adventures of the ancient hero. He misses his family dearly but has decided that he cannot return home until he has completed this journey.

You can find Kass’s journal in Washa’s Bluff, which will tell you the locations of his quests. While exploring Hyrule, you will know if Kass is nearby as you can hear him playing music.

You can also interact with Kass’s family if you visit Rito Village. He has a wife, Amali, and five daughters: Notts, Kotts, Genli, Cree, and Kheel. You must complete the shrine quest ‘Recital at Warbler’s Nest,’ which centers around the five daughters before Kass returns home.

After Kass returns to Rito Village, he tells you about his late teacher. His dying wish was to pass the stories of the ancient hero to Link one day in the hope of helping him defeat the Calamity and save Zelda.

A Friendly Face Wherever You Go

Just like Link, Kass is a traveler. As such, you run into him in most regions of Hyrule, making him very memorable.

To have your path suddenly and repeatedly cross with other adventurers throughout your otherwise solitary journey is part of what makes Breath of the Wild feel like a real adventure, where the linear structures of past Legend of Zelda games sometimes faltered.

Exploring a new area of Hyrule only to hear the concertina playing would excite me without fail. I was ready to find out what quest he had up his sleeve and idle for a few minutes to listen to his song.

Kass plays different music depending on where you find him too. You will most commonly hear him playing “Kass’s Theme,” as it’s called on the soundtrack. He plays this when you find him at the various locations of his quests and during the Champion’s Ballad. You will also see Kass at four stables: Foothill, Wetland, Rito, and Gerudo Canyon.

There he plays a version of Epona’s song first seen in Ocarina of Time; Kass will tell you this himself if you talk to him at the Foothill Stable. Finally, if you meet him in Rito Village, he plays a song harmonizing with that location’s theme music.

On top of this, upon request, Kass will play a special song when you encounter him at the stables. It’s a ballad recounting the adventures of Link’s previous incarnation, how he and the princess fought off Calamity Ganon with the help of the guardians and divine beasts. However, once Kass has returned to Rito Village, he can no longer play this song for you.

But Kass is more than just a fancy jukebox. His storyline revolves around you helping to finish his journey and return to his family. To do this, you have to complete all of his quests.

Kass gives you more quests than any other character in the game (aside from maybe Misko’s DLC quests). He has 7 shrine quests, one side quest, and two additional quests from his family. With all this, Kass proves to be an integral part of the game, and helping him finish this journey unlocks more of the main story.

So, let’s take a closer look at these quests and the trip around Hyrule they take you on.

Songs of an Ancient Hero

Kass’s journey has him searching for songs telling stories of the ancient hero from 10 000 years ago. There are 8 of these quests spread across Hyrule, and finding them all can be a pain.

If you’re struggling to find them, you can read Kass’s journal at Washa’s Bluff, the location for the quest ‘Under a Blood Moon.’ In it, he lists each place you can find him, so you can check which ones you’re missing in-game. 

Each time you find Kass, he will express surprise to meet someone in the obscure places he’s found himself in. On the first occasion, he will introduce himself, and on subsequent meetings, he will recognize you after his initial surprise.

He will then tell you that he knows a song about this place and offers to play it. Each song is a riddle that you must solve to complete the quest.

Once you have finished each quest, you can talk to Kass again, and he will comment on the solution to the riddle, sometimes praising Link for figuring it out.

However, if you want to see these responses, you must walk back to him before entering the shrine, and you can’t use the sheikha slate to teleport either. Once you do either of these things, Kass despawns from that area.

The Serpent’s Jaws (Shae Katha)

“Where the forest dragon splays its jaws / A shrine sleeps with noble cause.”

• Location: Pagos Woods, Lake Region
• Reward: Thunderspear

Kass can be found on the road through the Pagos Woods leading into the Faron Region. The solution to this song isn’t immediately apparent if you haven’t yet activated the Lake Tower. The ‘forest dragon’ in the song refers to the Dracozu River, which is shaped like a dragon with an open mouth on your map.

The area between ‘the jaws’ is overrun by monsters, most of which are equipped with shock arrows. You’ll have no problem if you have the thunder helm or rubber armor, but if not, you can sneak around them.

This brings you to the Spring of Courage. Talk to the statue of Farore (indicated by the symbol at her feet), and she will tell you to offer her ‘Farosh’s scale.’ To obtain this, you need to shoot an arrow at the dragon Farosh and pick up the scale that falls off.

Farosh can be found all over southern Hyrule but is easiest to encounter as it spawns over the top of Floria Falls at 5am. From the Lakeside stable, you can wait by the fire until morning and head straight to Floria bridge to collect your scale.

Return to the spring and drop the scale into the water. It will light up, and Farore will open the way to the Shae Katha shrine.

The Two Rings (Sheem Dagoze)

“When a single arrow threads two rings, the shrine will rise like birds on wings.”

• Location: West Hyrule Plains, Ridgeland Region
• Reward: Great Thunderblade

Kass is playing on top of a rock just past the Jeddo Bridge at the foot of Satori Mountain. He is surrounded by 12 stone rings, and once he’s finished his song, he wonders if the rings in the lyrics refer to the stones. It does, of course, and you need to shoot an arrow through two of them to unlock the shrine.

There are multiple solutions to this puzzle, but it wasn’t until I wrote this guide that I found more than one. Now I have two. This new one is demonstrated above, as it’s easier to do correctly.

There’s no need to use a Phrenic or Golden bow for this; it only makes the process harder if you do. However, using the ancient bow or, if you have access to it, the twilight bow will help since they both fire arrows without an arc. 

The Crowned Beast (Mezza Lo)

“A beast that wears a crown of bone, Prancing through the lush green. Mount the beast upon its throne, For only then the shrine is seen.”

• Location: Rabia Plains, Hateno Region
• Reward: Thunderblade

You can find Kass out on the Rabia plains behind Kakariko village. If you continue past the Great Fairy Fountain and take a left at the fork, you’ll find it. This quest is finicky. To complete it, you must mount a stag (the deer with antlers) and ride it on top of the pedestal next to where Kass is standing. To mount the stag, you approach it like a wild horse.

This process is a little trickier because deer are easily startled, so even with the tall grass around, you’ll need high stealth. Not only this, but if you’re unlucky, it may require a lot of stamina to tame a stag.

You have two options. One, invest your spirit orbs into stamina vessels and use a stealth item. Or two, wear the Sheikha armor and use food to increase your max stamina. Luckily, you’re outside Kakariko village, where the armor is sold. Also, there are blue nightshades and endura carrots around the Great Fairy Fountain.

If you’re in a position where you have to choose one over the other, I would prioritize stealth and hope you don’t run out of stamina. I have tamed a stag with only the base stamina before, but sneaking up on it can be a nightmare without help.

Sign of the Shadow (Sasa Kai)

“As light shines from the northwest skies, From the tower’s shadow an arrow flies. Pierce heaven’s light to reveal the prize.”

• Location: Gerudo Tower, Gerudo Highlands
• Reward: Frostblade

You’ll find Kass at the top of Gerudo Tower. Confusingly, Gerudo Tower is in the Gerudo Highlands and doesn’t unlock the map of Gerudo town, but instead, the snowy mountains surrounding it. Gerudo tower can be found just east of the Yiga Clan Hideout.

This one’s simple. The screen pans over an ancient pedestal as Kass plays the song. You wait until the tower’s shadow overlaps that pedestal and then shoot an arrow into the sun. You can also do this at night if you’d rather. You will know it’s the right time as the pedestal will glow orange. This happens from 3-4 during the day and 1-2 during the night. 

Interestingly, this quest is very reminiscent of how you obtain the fire arrows in Ocarina of Time, in which you have to fire an arrow at the sun in Lake Hylia. I thought it was a shame the shrine didn’t have a bundle of fire arrows in it as a reward; it would have been cute.

Song of Storms (Qukah Nata)

“When a lost hero calls down lightning from the sky / The monk responds from a giant mound on high.”

• Location: Lake Calora, Faron Region
• Reward: Rubber Greaves

This is one of those quests where the weather is permanently a lightning storm until you complete it. Kass is standing under a tree by Calora lake on the east side of Floria Falls. To the south of the lake is a large boulder. As suggested by Kass’s song, you need to get lightning to strike the boulder to reveal the shrine underneath. 

You will need metal gear to act as a lightning rod. The very top of the mound is flat so that whatever you use won’t roll into the waterfalls. You will likely lose whatever gear you use to attract the lightning, so make sure it isn’t something valuable.

Another option, if you have the thunder helm, is to act as the lightning rod yourself. You cannot use the rubber armor as an alternative for this quest because the reward from the shrine is the rubber greaves. If you don’t have the thunder helm, make sure you don’t go too far from the mound. Dropped items will despawn if you move too far away from them, and I lost a silver longsword this way.

Attracting lightning to the boulder will cause it to break apart.

Like the previous quest, this quest also references Ocarina of Time. The quest’s name, Song of Storms, comes from one of the songs you can learn on the ocarina.

Master of the Wind (Shai Yota)

“He breaks the rocks that serve to bind, Above the tempestuous bay. On wings of cloth and wood entwined, He lands on the alter to open the way.”

• Location: Horon Lagoon, Lanayru Region
• Reward: Great Flameblade

I really like this quest. Kass is at Horon Lagoon, which is located behind Zora’s Domain. The area is full of strong drafts, and you must ride the wind over to the pedestal with your paraglider.

However, there are four clusters of boulders around the lagoon blocking airflow. Use your bombs to break them and then fly from the large stone arch in the middle of the lagoon onto the pedestal. You can’t cheat this; the pedestal will only activate once all the boulders have been removed. There’s a cutscene and everything.

There’s only one tricky part to this quest: the boulders on the underside of the arch. You’ll need to use an octo balloon to float a bomb over to it, and it can be hard to get the position right.

Luckily, there are a lot of octoroks in the area, so you’ll have lots of attempts. I suggest standing as close to the platform’s edge as possible when you send the balloon off. It may look like the bomb is going off course, but trust the wind to fix it.

Finally, after the pedestal has lit up, you need to paraglide onto it. It doesn’t matter where from, but it’s easiest to jump off the large rock arch. Make sure you don’t drop onto the pedestal once you get there, you want the paraglider to be equipped when you land, or it won’t work.

The Hero’s Cache

“An ancient hero spoke these words: ‘One day I’ll return to fight evil, My cache is at 17 of 24, This rock will point toward its retrieval.'”

• Location: Kitano Bay, Hateno Region
• Reward: Gold Rupee (300)

This is the quest most people miss. If you’re reading Kass’s journal, you’ll know where to look, but you could visit Kitano bay many times and miss it.

Unless you’re the sort of person who sees a cluster of rocks in the ocean and immediately makes their way out there, you won’t find Kass. Although, to be fair, that isn’t the wrong mindset to have while playing Breath of the Wild.

Kass is standing on top of the tallest rock of this cluster. This is another shadow-based puzzle. When it’s 5 pm (17 on a 24-hour clock), the rock spire’s shadow will point to the treasure. However, you don’t need to wait until 5 pm, you can look in the water with magnesis, and you’ll find it. It’s lodged behind a rock (so you can’t detect it from up on the spire) and contains a gold rupee.

Amusingly, Kass is disappointed with treasure if you talk to him about it afterward but says you should keep it.

Under a Blood Moon (Mijah Rokee)

“When the moon bleeds and the fiends are reborn / The monks will invite you as they have sworn.
But first you must stand on the pedestal bare / With nothing between you and the night air.”

• Location: Washa’s Bluff, Ridgeland Region
• Reward: Frostblade

Kass is on top of one of those mushroom trees out behind Satori Mountain (south of Tabantha Bridge Stable). It may look like you need Revali’s gale to get up there (and it does help), but you can climb these things easily.

You may need a stamina item if you only have the base stamina. This is where you find Kass’s journal, which is why it’s the final entry. The solution is obvious but surprisingly annoying to pull off. You must stand naked on the pedestal beneath Kass during a blood moon. Simple in premise, but timing the blood moon can be tricky.

If you have the DLC, you can place the travel medallion next to the pedestal and leave to do something else. The next time a blood moon appears, you can teleport and take advantage of it. If you don’t have the DLC, the Mog Latan shrine is close enough that it’s a straight glide down to the pedestal.

But if you’re itching to get it done now, you’ll need to trigger a blood moon yourself. Blood moons only occur after you’ve killed a lot of monsters and on a night when there’s a full moon.

So go out and kill a lot of stuff (a once around Hyrule Castle is usually enough for me), then return to Washa’s Bluff during a full moon. You can check if there’s a full moon that night by asking Hino at Dueling Peaks Stable.

Once you’ve triggered the blood moon, unequip your armor and stand on the pedestal. It will change from orange to blue, and the shrine will appear.

The Quest for Salmon Meunière (Voo Lata)

Unfortunately, completing Kass’s quests isn’t enough to bring him home. First, you must complete a quest for his youngest daughter Kheel (and his wife, Amali). This can only be done after freeing Vah Medoh.

On the platform outside Akh Va’quot shrine, Amali is calling for someone. Ask, and she’ll say that her daughter, Kheel, has gone missing. She thinks that Kheel has gone to Warbler’s Nest alone and is worried that something has happened to her. Warbler’s Nest is a straight shoot from that platform, and there you find Kheel.

She’s upset that her sisters haven’t turned up for singing practice and asks you to help find them. If you return to Amali and tell her Kheel is alright, she’ll reward you a purple rupee for your trouble.

Now onto finding Kheel’s sisters. Amali will tell you that Genli is in the kitchen. Genli is hungry and won’t go to practice until she’s had some salmon meunière. She’s drafted her other sisters into helping. When you find each of them, they give you an ingredient for the meunière. Here’s a list of where to find the remaining sisters:

• Cree — Is at the Slippery Falcon buying ingredients for the meunière. Gives you goat butter. Cree will also tell you where to find Notts and Kotts.
• Notts —Singing on a perch near Vah Medoh, at the very top of the village. She finished finding ingredients early and was killing time before heading over. She gives you tabantha wheat.
• Kotts — Fishing in the ponds by the entrance to Rito village. She completely forgot about practice and hurries over. Gives you hearty salmon.

Once you’ve talked to all the sisters and gathered the ingredients, you’ll need to cook up the long-awaited meunière. You might want to save before cooking in case you make a mistake and waste your ingredients. Throw the salmon, wheat, and butter into the pot and give the hearty salmon meunière to Genli. Despite not wanting to go due to stage fright, she finally makes her way to Warbler’s Nest.

Return to Kheel, and the girls will be practicing. Talk to her, and she’ll give you a korok leaf as thanks. This might seem like a dreadful reward, but you need it for the next part of the quest. Warbler’s Nest has five stones in a circle, each with a hole in the center.

If you use the korok leaf on them, they make a sound corresponding to a note sung by each of the sisters. Listen to their song and then play it back, using the fingers on top of the stones to figure out which stone plays which note. 

The order is 45312. 

Play it correctly, and the shrine will appear! Unfortunately, even after everything you’ve done, it’s not a blessing.

The girls will express their shock and fly home to tell their mother what happened. And at long last, you have done everything to prompt Kass to return home.

The Court Poet’s Swan Song

Once you’ve finished all of Kass’s quests, you can find him playing his concertina on the landing next to Akh Va’quot shrine. During the day, he will play alongside his daughters, but you can talk to him at night. He finally explains everything about his music teacher, the court poet to the Hyrulean royal family, and a member of the Sheikha tribe.

His teacher accompanied Princess Zelda on her expeditions and fell for her despite knowing it was doomed. However, she only had eyes for her appointed knight, Link.

Kass will then play you the final song his teacher taught him about his faith that the hero would return to defeat the Calamity. It tells you the same story you learn through reclaiming Link’s memories: how he gave his life to protect Zelda in Hateno, his sacrifice awakening her powers, and Link being taken to the shrine of resurrection.

This song is an extended version of ‘Kass’s Theme,’ which progresses into a rendition of the classic Legend of Zelda theme song. Once finished, Kass tells you that his teacher traveled far to learn the songs about the ancient hero, so he could play them for Zelda’s knight upon his return. However, he died before that could happen.

Now, Kass asks you to accept these songs, finally fulfilling his promise to his teacher. This makes Kass one of very few characters born after the Calamity that knows and believes Link’s true identity.

The final change is that Kass’s journal in Washa’s Bluff will update to reflect that he’s laid his teacher’s spirit to rest. And with that, Kass’s role in the main game is complete. However, it’s not the last time you’ll see him if you get your hands on the DLC.

The Champion’s Ballad EX

Breath of the Wild’s second DLC revolves around Kass’s quest to finish his teacher’s old songs about the champions of Hyrule. You meet him at every stage of the quest line, from your first trial on the Great Plateau to the end of the final boss fight.

Once you’ve finished the trial on the Great Plateau, you must find four stone monuments around Hyrule so you can follow in the footsteps of the champions. At each one, Kass will play the song he found in his teacher’s notes about the respective Champion. Like his main story quests, each song has three riddles that unlock a new shrine when solved.

Once you’ve completed all three and won a rematch against the Blight Ganon, you’ll find Kass when you return. As part of his search, he’s asked the locals for stories about the Champions and has composed new songs to honor their memories.

Kass says that his teacher told him good music should transport the listener to the time of history it tells of, and fittingly each song Kass plays unlocks a new memory of each Champion. At the end of the quest line, once you’ve defeated Monk Maz Koshia, you meet with Kass a final time. He has finished his teacher’s song and plays it for you, triggering one last memory.

Kass then tells you that he found an image of the princess and the champions from 100 years ago among his teacher’s notes and thinks that you should keep it. You can then hang this image up in Link’s house in Hateno.

“May the Light Illuminate Your Path“

There’s a lot to be said about this humble bard. Kass is a vital part of Breath of the Wild, providing you with a plethora of quests and accompanying you on an otherwise solitary and often melancholic adventure.

Helping him to return home and give peace to his late teacher is fun and rewarding. He stands out in the sea of NPCs, and not just for his bright plumage. It may take a lot to get there, but even if you aren’t trying to complete every shrine, I hope you’ll give Kass’s quests a try. 

Kass BOTW: FAQs