the ceremonial song botw

The Ceremonial Song BOTW Guide

Latest posts by Laura May Randell (see all)

The Ceremonial Song side quest may seem like a small task from the outset, but it requires some serious preparation before you can actually complete it and the Shrine that follows.

To complete The Ceremonial Song side quest, you must first get your paws on the Zora Armor that allows you to swim up waterfalls. You also have to complete the Divine Beast Vah Ruta to obtain the Lightscale Trident, which is the key to the riddle.

So, unfortunately, completing The Ceremonial Song side quest is not necessarily the quick walk in the park you may have been hoping for. But here, we will walk you through every step of the journey so you can have one more completed side quest under your belt. And what is a video game without a little bit of a challenge, anyway?

Bottom Line Up Front

The Ceremonial Song side quest is a song containing a riddle that holds the key to opening the Dagah Keek Shrine in Zora’s Domain. The song is sung to Link by a small Zora child in the center of the village and reads as follows:

A gift from the sky… a scale of light… splits the feet… of a veiled falls sight… your trial awaits… its glowing bright…

The song contains the location of the Shrine, as well as hints about the exact weapon needed to solve the puzzle and open the Shrine.

The Ceremonial Song side quest is a long one. It ends up becoming a saga with many chapters, but that just makes it all the more rewarding once it is completed.

How to Get The Zora Armor

Both The Ceremonial Song side quest and the Divine Beast Vah Ruta require the ability to swim directly up waterfalls. Obviously, Link doesn’t necessarily have that skill in his arsenal already. But thankfully, the Zora Armor allows him to do it. So the first chapter in The Ceremonial Song side quest saga is to get the Zora Armor.

Thankfully, this is the easiest part. All it takes to get your hands on the Zora Armor is to speak to King Donephan and commit to subduing the Divine Beast Vah Ruta.

When you reach Zora’s Domain, head to the center of the village. The town is quite difficult to navigate with all of its branching bridges that cross over each other, but if you’re having trouble getting around, don’t be afraid to just leap off one bridge and glide to another if you find yourself in the wrong spot.

King Donephan’s Throne Room is in the fish shaped room
King Donephan’s Throne Room is in the fish shaped room / Image by Laura-May Randell

King Donephan’s throne sits in a room that is quite fitting for a Zora King. It’s the one that looks like a big fish head on the map. If you’ve already completed the Ne’ez Yohma Shrine that sits in the middle of Zora’s Domain, fast-travel there and walk out to the fountain. Take the staircase to the left, and head up to the Throne Room to speak to the King.

King Donephan is anxious about the behavior of Vah Ruta and is worried that it will bring about a great flood that will destroy all of Hyrule. King Donephan needs a hero to subdue the Divine Beast. And luckily for him, that hero is Link. Once you commit to taking on the Divine Beast Vah Ruta, King Donephan will gift you with the Zora Armor you need to swim up waterfalls.

That is one item checked off your to-do list. But before you leave the town, you should speak to Muzu, the grumpy catfish-looking Zora that stormed out of the Throne Room earlier. Muzu is a bit upset, but he eventually relents and accepts your help.

The task of entering the Divine Beast Vah Ruta requires the use of Shock Arrows. And as we know from Pokemon, Genshin Impact, or maybe just from real life, electricity has an elemental advantage over water. That means that using the Shock Arrows could prove fatal to a Zora, and Muzu eventually realizes the advantages of letting you wield them on the Zora’s behalf.

Muzu will tell you where to find all the Shock Arrows you need during your conversation with him. But sadly, it’s not as easy as walking into the shop and purchasing some. Of course, it’s going to be far more dangerous than that. Muzu tells Link that there is a great source of Shock Arrows atop Ploymous Mountain, guarded by a fearsome Lynel. Great!

You may be tempted to just head off and buy some Shock Arrows or maybe use the ones you already have collected, depending what stage of your journey you are at.

But whether you want to or not, we are going to go to Ploymus Mountain to get the shock arrows from the Lynel because doing so is part of yet another side quest you can complete. It yields some handsome rewards, too, so it is well worth your while.

Completing The Lynel Safari Side Quest

You don’t have to trigger this side quest before heading up to Ploymus Mountain, but if we have to go there to get the Shock Arrows anyway, why wouldn’t you? The reward for completing this side quest is the Zora Greaves to match your new Zora Armor, and you know you want them.

To trigger this side quest, you need to find and talk to a Zora named Laflat. She is just down the stairs from King Donephan’s Throne Room and to the left, gazing out over the railing at the peak of Ploymus Mountain.

Laflat is down the stairs and to the left of the Throne Room.
Laflat is down the stairs and to the left of the Throne Room./ Image by Laura-May Randell

Once you speak to her, she will tell you about a troublemaker from Zora’s Domain that keeps sending Zoras to the peak without telling them about the incredibly dangerous and heavily armed Lynel that’s waiting for them there.

Laflat is worried about someone getting hurt, which is completely understandable. She wants you to go up to the mountain and take a picture of the Lynel so she can show it to everyone in town and let them know how dangerous it is to head up there.

Now that you have spoken to Laflat to begin the Lynel Safari side quest, you are free to make your way up to Ploymus Mountain. It is The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild that we’re talking about. So, of course, there is more than one way to make it to the peak. But the easiest way is to head along the bridge to the right of Laflat.

Mount Ploymus is to the West of Zora’s Domain
Mount Ploymus is to the West of Zora’s Domain./ Image by Laura-May Randell

Cross the bridge and follow the grassy path until you see the Mikau Lake Waterfall. Make sure you equip your Zora Armor and make your way to the base of the waterfall. When you get close enough, you will be prompted to press A to swim up it.

Once you reach the top, you will be shot upwards into the air. From here, glide straight to the second waterfall and swim up that one too.

You will land directly in front of the last waterfall, Lulu Lake Waterfall. Swim to the top of that one too. At the top, you will find Mah Eliya Shrine. Feel free to do this now, or if you would prefer to just continue with the side quest, run around it and head up the path toward the clearing on top of Ploymus Mountain.

Along the way to the clearing and throughout it, you will see a lot of Shock Arrows stuck in the bark of the trees. There are a total of 31 to collect this way to make up the 20 you need for the Divine Beast Vah Ruta.

Take a picture of the Lynel for Laflat.
Take a picture of the Lynel for Laflat./ Image by Laura-May Randell

When you reach the top of the peak, take a picture of the Lynel for the Lynel Safari side quest. If you would rather just defeat the Lynel than collect the arrows from the trees, you will get 20 Shock Arrows as a reward plus the regular loot a Lynel drops.

But I must warn you, this Lynel is not easy to defeat. It has Shock Arrows of its own, and it’s not afraid to use them. The Lynel shoots three Shock Arrows at once, and their combined power released a decently sized electrically charged shock wave. Depending on your hearts and combat abilities, I would suggest just collecting the arrows from the trees.

Once you are done on top of Ploymous Mountain, head back down to Zora’s Domain and show Laflat the picture of the Lynel you took. She will give you the Zora Greaves as a reward. You are now equipped with everything you need to take on the Divine Beast to retrieve the last piece of the Ceremonial Song puzzle.

Getting Inside The Divine Beast Vah Ruta

Once you’re all kitted up and ready to go, head to the East Reservoir Lake just South of Ploymus Mountain to meet up with Sidon. The mission to get into Vah Ruta is one of the most fun out of all of the Divine Beasts, in my opinion, and involves riding around on Prince Sidon’s back.

Make sure you have the Zora Armor equipped and Cryonis selected on your Sheikah Slate before you speak to Prince Sidon to begin the mission. If you can’t find him, he will be waiting for you on the North pier of the Reservoir.

The mission involves swimming up the four waterfalls coming from Vah Ruta and disarming each of the red glowing buttons at the top with a Shock Arrow. But Vah Ruta doesn’t go down without a fight, and it will launch a series of ice blocks at you as you circle it.

If you have Cryonis equipped, you will be prompted to press A to destroy the ice blocks as they hurtle toward you. Once you’ve destroyed all the blocks, Sidon will swim up to one of the waterfalls. Press A when you get close enough to swim up it, and aim at the red button with your bow when you get to the top.

Destroy the ice blocks with Cryonis.
Destroy the ice blocks with Cryonis./ Image by Laura-May Randell

Time will slow down, giving you a little more time to take your shot, but you don’t have all the time in the world. Make sure your release your Shock Arrow quickly.

The more points you disarm, the more challenging Vah Ruta’s attacks become. Once you have two down, the blocks turn into giant spiked balls of ice that follow behind you.

Destroy them in the same way you do the blocks. Once you get down to the last waterfall, you will be bombarded with ice blocks from the front and the ice maces from the back. Keep chipping away at them until you have disarmed all of the red buttons with your Shock Arrows, and you’re in.

Inside The Divine Beast Vah Ruta

Since The Ceremonial Song Shrine quest involves the completion of the Divine Beast Vah Ruta, it would be amiss not to include some instructions on how to complete that part of the challenge. So strap on your weapons because we’re going in.

Every Divine Beast has a thing. This thing is some sort of mechanic that has to be manipulated to make your way through the dungeon. In this case, the Divine Beast Vah Ruta’s thing is its water-spurting trunk which you can change the position of in the map. The movable trunk is the key to the Divine Beast’s completion.

The Map Terminal

As soon as you land on the Beast, run up the ramp and destroy the Malice Eyeball that’s blocking your way with an arrow. There is a Guardian Scout directly ahead, so take that out as well, and turn to the water to your left. Use Magnesis on the chest in the left side of the water if you would like the Ancient Screw inside it, and destroy the Malice Eyeball that is lying just below the surface of the water to the right side of the door.

Use Cryonis to open the door.
Use Cryonis to open the door./ Image by Laura-May Randell

Use Cryonis to create an ice pillar that will force the door open and head into the next room to activate the first of the six terminals. This terminal will also give you a map of the Beast so you can control the position of the trunk.

Terminal One

Turn to run out of the room you were just in and head to the cog on the left side of the wall. Use Magnesis to grab the lever and spin the cog until the next terminal rises out of the water. Interact with it, and head to the left to get to the next terminal.

Terminal Two

The door to the left leads outside the Divine Beast. Head out there and turn right. Run up the ramp until you reach the top, and destroy the Guardian Scout that will come scuttling out to meet you. Once that’s taken care of, head back inside the Beast.

As soon as you head back in, you will see a giant cog being powered by a stream of water. If you look closely, you will be able to find the second terminal spinning around on the inside of the cog. Wait until the terminal is in somewhat of a reachable position and use Cryonis to block the stream of water and stop the cog from moving.

Block the stream of water with an ice block to stop the cog.
Block the stream of water with an ice block to stop the cog./ Image by Laura-May Randell

Interact with the terminal to hear some nice words of encouragement from Mipha and break the Cryonis block on the water spout to return to cog to its original state.

Terminal Three

Now that the cog is spinning again, hitch a ride on one of its teeth so it lifts Link into the air. Once you’re at the highest point on the cog, glide to the chest on the left to pick up a Silver Rupee. From that little platform, take out the map and move the Beast’s trunk for the first time. You are going to want to move it to the fourth notch from the top.

That is going to bring the trunk far up enough to pour water on the giant cog in the center of the room to make that start spinning. Glide down to the cog and watch the teeth in front of you. One of the teeth has a Malice Eyeball on it. Kill the eyeball with an arrow and wait until the chest it was hiding makes its way back around to you.

Once it does, jump on one of the teeth on the smaller cog and ride a little way up. You just want to be high enough to be able to glide over to the chest and not fall off. Once you’re on the other side, open the chest to collect the 10 Fire Arrows inside it.

At this point, you will also be in the exact position you need to be in to reach the third terminal. Glide to the opposite platform and kill the Guardian Scout that awaits you. Once that’s out of your way, step on the button on the floor to the left to activate a waterfall.

Turn towards the center of the room and glide to the platform between the two cogs. Turn to the left again and run up to the giant ball at the end of the platform. The ball is a gravity puzzle. As it falls, it closes the door to the terminal, which is also attached to the inside of the cog.

Use Stasis on the ball to hold the door of the terminal open.
Use Stasis on the ball to hold the door of the terminal open./ Image by Laura-May Randell

Stasis the ball just as it is about to fall down. Then wait for the terminal to meet the edge of the platform and walk in to activate it. There is also another chest in the cog, which uses the same Stasis puzzle that we just used to hold the door of the terminal open.

The chest contains an Ancient Core, so if you’re interested, Stasis the block before it falls and walk over to the chest to pick that up.

Terminal Four

From there, turn back to the platform and glide over to the waterfall we activated earlier. Fall to the bottom and swim back up to the top with the Zora Armor. From the top, glide over to the chest in front of you to collect a Knight’s Halberd.

Drop back down to the level below and turn left to head into Vah Ruta’s trunk. Since it’s so high up at the moment, you can’t make it all the way through. So pull your map out and reposition the trunk to the lowest notch. Once the trunk is down, glide over to the top of the trunk and destroy the Malice Eyeball to get the Ancient Shaft from the chest it was guarding.

From your spot on the trunk, get your map back out and move it to the fifth notch from the top. As it rises, you will be in the perfect position to glide over to the doorway. From there, put the trunk back to the lowest position again.

The terminal is right on the tip of Vah Ruta’s trunk.
The terminal is right on the tip of Vah Ruta’s trunk./ Image by Laura-May Randell

Glide over to the very tip of the trunk this time, and move it to the fourth notch from the top. As the trunk rises, make sure you keep creeping forward so Link doesn’t fall off. Eventually, you will be able to reach the fourth terminal, which is right on the tip of the trunk. Once you can reach it, interact with it so you can finally move on to the last terminal.

Terminal Five

From the terminal, turn back to face the body of the Divine Beast. There are two platforms on top of it that are reachable from here. Glide to the left platform and turn to face the right. Shoot the Malice Eyeball on the opposite platform. Once you’ve killed the eye, open the chest beside you to find 10 Ice Arrows.

From the chest, turn to face the trunk and run to the edge of the platform. Glide to the platform below and fall into the small square-shaped hole in the Beast’s head. Shoot the eye on the ceiling, and use Magnesis to turn the lever on the wall to open the roof.

Open the roof using Magnesis on the lever.
Open the roof using Magnesis on the lever./ Image by Laura-May Randell

As you can see below you lies a fiery pit of death. If you move the trunk to the fifth notch from the top, it will will pour water in from the hole we just opened in the roof, extinguishing the flames to reveal the last terminal.

Waterblight Ganon

Now that you have activated all the terminals, the hard part begins. Of course, we have to defeat the boss that awaits you in the Divine Beast. Head to the glowing point on your map by gliding down through the Beast and through to the room we started in. Activate the main control unit by interacting with it to start the battle.

Waterblight Ganon will pour out of the terminal, and the boss battle will begin. Thankfully, this is one of the easier Blight Ganons, in my opinion, anyway. There are a couple of attacks he uses, and each can be easily dodged.

Waterblight Ganon.
Waterblight Ganon./ Image by Laura-May Randell

Waterblight Ganon has a massive spear as a weapon that he uses to sweep the room with. He is pretty slow, so you will know when he is about to attack. Just as he does, do a backflip to trigger a Flurry Rush and give him your best shots.

After the Flurry Rush, he will fall to the ground for a moment. Take this opportunity to continue wailing on him with your best weapon. After this, you will have eliminated about a third of his HP.

Occasionally he will turn into a blue glowing orb and move around the room, make sure you follow him when he does this. When he reanimates, he will either sweep or jab at you with his spear. Either way, do a flip just as he does to activate another Flurry Rush.

Keep doing this until you whittle down his HP enough to initiate phase two of the battle. In this phase, Waterblight Ganon will raise the water level in the rooms, bringing four pillars up with it. During this phase, you really want to avoid ending up in the water at all costs.

Swim to the closest platform and equip your Sheikah Slate with Cryonis. This phase is almost exactly the same as the mission to enter the Divine Beast, except you are sadly not riding Sidon this time.

Waterblight Ganon is going to hurl massive blocks of ice in your direction. Blast them to pieces using Cryonis and then quickly take out your bow and arrow and shoot him in the eye.

Elemental arrows deal extra damage, and you should have plenty at this point since there were Ice and Fire Arrows in chests throughout the Beast. You may also have some Shock Arrows left over from the mission beforehand.

Once you shoot him in the eye, he will fall into the water. He doesn’t stay down long, so you really need to get over to whatever platform he’s near as soon as possible. Swimming is too slow, so I recommend making an ice pillar to climb and glide over to his location so you can get some hits in before he gets up.

Repeat this until you reach the third and final phase of the battle. At this point, he will resort to shooting lasers at you. Get your shield out, and Parry the laser right back at him. Use an ice pillar to make your way over to him to get some attacks in before he gets back up.

Repeat this process enough times, and boom! Another Divine Beast completed. Make sure you pick your brand-new heart container up and interact with the terminal to have a touching reunion with the Zora Champion Mipha before fast-traveling back to Zora’s Domain.

Getting The Lightscale Trident

The Lightscale Trident

Once you have completed the dungeon inside the Divine Beast Vah Ruta, head back to the Throne Room to speak to King Donephan once again. He will give you his thanks, along with Muzu, who gives you a much-needed apology. King Donephan gifts you with the Lightscale Trident in return for your efforts, the exact weapon you need to complete The Ceremonial Song Shrine quest.

Sadly the champion weapons you receive for completing the Divine Beasts don’t last forever. They break just like any other weapon in the game, bar the Master Sword, of course. If you have already completed the Divine Beast Vah Ruta and you no longer have the Lightscale Trident, you can get one reforged.

The Lightscale Trident is the only weapon of its kind to be able to be reforged, which is more than likely due to the existence of The Ceremonial Song Shrine quest. If you lost the Trident and hadn’t completed the quest yet, you would be in a serious pickle, wouldn’t you? Thankfully the devs thought of that and provided this option.

If you head to the Blacksmith in Zora’s Domain, he will reforge the Trident for you in exchange for 1x Diamond, 5x Flint, and 1x Zora Spear.

Zora Spears are pretty widely available in the Zora region. You can find one in the Ne’ez Yohma Shrine, and there is also another one hiding in a chest under the stairs leading to King Donophan’s Throne Room.

If you have used up those two Zora Spears as well, plenty of Lizalfos around the region use them as their weapons, so take down a few of those and you will have a Zora Spear in no time.

Completing The Ceremonial Song Shrine Quest

It took a while, but we finally have everything we need to complete The Ceremonial Song Shrine quest. Now that we have all the pieces to solve the riddle, let’s take a look at the song’s lyrics again.

A gift from the sky… a scale of light… splits the feet… of a veiled falls sight… your trial awaits… its glowing bright…

The Veiled Falls is your first clue. They can be found to the West of Zora’s Domain, so make your way there. Once you are at the Veiled Falls, equip your Zora Armor and Lightscale Trident, and run up to the bottom of the waterfall. You will notice an orange glowing platform lying just underneath the shallow water.

Press A to swim to the top of the waterfall. Once there, glide off the ledge and make sure you are lined up with the centre of the platform. The aim is to drop onto the platform and pierce it with the Lightscale Trident,  or the scale of light, in other words.

Press the down and Y buttons at the same time to perform a downward strike.
Press the down and Y buttons at the same time to perform a downward strike./ Image by Laura-May Randell

Once you are lined up perfectly, press the down button and the Y button at the same time to perform a drop attack. It is kind of tricky to get the placement right, so if you miss a couple of times, just head back up the waterfall and try again. Eventually, you will nail it and pierce the platform with your Lightscale Trident.

The Dagah Keek Shrine will rise on the grassy knoll by the edge of the pond, and the side quest is now complete.

The Dagah Keek Shrine

The Dagah Keek Shrine is a little different from most of the other Shrines in Breath of the Wild in the sense that it doesn’t contain a challenge. The Ceremonial Song is a journey that consists of completing at least two other side quests, as well as the Divine Beast Vah Ruta, so the Monk inside is quite happy with your performance already.

As you enter the Shrine, you will receive the following message:

To you who sets foot in this Shrine… I am Dagah Keek. By entering this place, you’ve already proven your worth.

All you need to do now is head straight up to the chest, collect your Silver Rupee, and head to the Monk to complete the Shrine.

What Do I Get For Completing The Ceremonial Song Shrine Quest?

For completing The Ceremonial Song Shrine quest itself, you get another quest ticked off your to-do list and a Silver Rupee. A Silver Rupee is worth 100, so it is a relatively handsome reward.

If you completed the tasks needed to make it possible to complete The Ceremonial Song Shrine Quest, you got to complete the Lynel Safari side quest, obtained the Zora Armor, the Zora Greaves, completed the Divine Beast Vah Ruta, and received the Lightscale Trident.

You also got all the goodies from the chests we collected in the Divine Beast, so your inventory should be looking pretty good after completing all the tasks in this guide.

FAQs

Question: Can you complete The Ceremonial Song Shrine quest with the Ceremonial Trident?

Answer: No. The Ceremonial Trident is a replica of the Lightscale Trident, and it won’t work when trying to complete the quest. It is still an awesome weapon, just not for this purpose.

Question: Is the Lynel on top of Ploymus Peak the hardest Lynel in the game?

Answer: The Ploymus Mountain Lynel is definitely a challenge, but the Silver Lynels are the hardest. There are a few around Hyrule. If you’re feeling particularly brave, you can find them in the Deplian Badlands, the North Tabantha Snowfield, and in the Akkala Wilds.

Question: Can I just buy 20 Shock Arrows from somewhere else?

Answer: If you don’t want to complete the Lynel Safari side quest to get the Zora Greaves, you can skip it and purchase Shock Arrows from the shops in the following locations:
• Tarrey Town
• Gerudo Town
• Kara Kara Bazaar
• Korok Forest
• Lurelin Village

The Ceremonial Song BOTW Guide: One Ceremonial Song Closer To Completion

The Ceremonial Song Shrine quest isn’t easy, and it does come at the cost of a decent amount of time and effort. But once you complete it, a good chunk of the missions and side quests in Zora’s Domain will be cleared, and you will be well on your way to completing the remainder of the Divine Beasts and making your way to Ganon.

You also have the added benefit of the incredible swimming prowess of the Zora Armor, which is sure to come in handy further on in your adventures. Now that you’re done with the Divine Beast Vah Ruta and The Ceremonial Song Shrine quest, Hyrule is your oyster. So, where to next?

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