Races: Rito

The Rito are the race of bird-like people who evolved from the Loftwings after Skyloft was abandoned. From their Loftwing roots, early Rito have poor night vision (so they remain inside at night) and are healed by mushroom spores rather than potions.

Rito culture and storytelling is based on Egyptian mythology. Inspired by the cycles of nature, the Egyptians saw time in the present as a series of recurring patterns, whereas the earliest periods of time were linear. Myths are set in these earliest times, and myth sets the pattern for the cycles of the present. Present events repeat the events of myth. Amongst the most important episodes from the mythic past are the creation myth, in which the gods form the universe out of primordial chaos; the stories of the reign of the Goddess Hylia upon the earth and her return to the sky as the sun; the birth of the legendary child (Link); and the Demise myth, concerning the struggles of the hero and the spirit maiden against the primordial evil.

Being the only race in the skies at this time, and therefore closest to the gods, Rito deities represent natural phenomena, from physical objects like the earth or the sun to abstract forces like knowledge and creativity. The actions and interactions of the gods, the Rito believe, govern the behavior of all of these forces and elements. Although for any given myth the Rito may have only the general outlines of a story, from which fragments describing particular incidents were drawn. Moreover, the gods are not well-defined characters, and the motivations for their sometimes inconsistent actions are rarely given. Rito myths are not, therefore, fully developed tales. Their importance lay in their underlying meaning, not their characteristics as stories.

The Rito Cosmology consists of the highest gods, those closest to the sky. At the top of the hierarchy are the Golden Goddesses, Din, Farore, and Nayru. Directly below them are the Deities of Light and Dark, Hylia and Demise. Then lower still are the elemental spirits (which served as Hylia's first sages, with her as the leader) - Levias (Wind), Eldin (Fire), Faron (Water), Lanayru (Spirit), Ghirahim (Shadow), Fi (Light).

Rito Village

The Rito Village is the primary location in the sky, near where Skyloft used to be located (now inaccessible). Their homes are simple and consist of straw roofs and basic nests inside for each resident. They do have a central meeting area.

Wind Temple

The former Skyview Temple is now known as the Wind Temple by the Rito - dedicated to their most resident diety, Levias. The temple is the only location not in the sky that the Rito will travel to, and it serves as the only entrance to the sky through the cloud barrier. The temple is a fairly tall tower that juts through the cloud barrier at a low point, so the sky can only be accessed after the tower has been climbed.