#cyclos

Tribe

It's all but confirmed that the Rito were evolved from the Zora, who were forced to evolve due to the unlivable water of the Great Flood. This colours a lot my headcanons about the Rio's values, traditions, and relations.

It is hard for the Rito to call any one place their home, since they lost theirs in the flood.

Their flight is important to them threefold: It's the gift theyr were given by Valoo in order to survive the flood, it gives them the freedom to explore around when they feel the loss of their home, and it's the closest thing they have to the freedom of swimming.

It's why the sky, their flight, and Valoo is all so important ot them.

Their connection to Valoo is why they call Dragon Roost home, although to them, it's more like a common hub, or home base. Most Rito don't actually have a set home, instead they travel around between place to place. It's why the Rito as delivery workers works so well for them.

Along with losing their home, the Rito also lost a lot of their culture. This causes them to be very protective of what they have now, rarely letting others take part in their actual traditions.

It's why Link (Wind) being a part of their family is such a big deal; hes one of the only Hylians to actually be accepted as a Rito¹ (the idea of Link being a Rito will come up later)

As a part of their culture and their worship of the sky as their new freedom, they revere Zephos and Cyclos, even more than sailor of the Great Sea do. A lot of their rituals focus on the Wind Gods.

They have always worshiped Zephos, but Cyclos was lost to time. When they were reminded of his existence, they were horrified that they might have lost more of their culture, but were quick to reinstate Cyclos as a deity, and they do celebrate him now.

Relations

To the Rito as a Tribe, relations to each other are everything. Everyone who is a Rito is connected on some way to the other Rito.

You are defined by your connections to the other Rito. Unless you're the ruler of the Rito, then you are your connections.

You are your mother's daughter - you are the fathger of your son - you are best friend, the partner, the beloved, and they are yours.

As relationships are the biggest way to define who you are as a Rito, it is possible for people who were not born as Rito to be a part of the tribe. There are very few non-species Rito, as they are protective of their identity, but it is possible.

¹This is why Link (Wind) is a Rito. He is defined by his relationships to the Rito: specifically Quill, Medli, and Komali. He is Quill's beloved, and Quill is Link's guardian. He is Medli's mentor, and she is his sage. He is Komali's chosen, and Komali is his partner (komalink truthers rise up).

Feathers are important in defining those relationships. If you are close enough to be defined by a relationship, then you given a feather from the other to keep those relationships.

Most Rito would weave those feathers into their wings, although they would be placed in a way that they could get removed easily. Most Rito only wear their feathers during formal events or festivals, although some wear them at all times.

In Link's case, he has 3 feathers, one from Quill, Medli, and Komali. Link has two feather sets - one which is a loose set of feathers he can braid into his hair, and one in a solid set of 3 which he can place behind his ear.

Language

I did not come up with a full language for the Rito. What I did develop was a base which to base the Rito language off of , and a way to buid off of it in the future as necessary.

One major thing is that the language isn't a full language, for every single word. Another thing they lost in the flood was their language, only bits and pieces of it remaining as they evolved.

What was left was a descriptive language; where words are used to describe larger concepts.

Speaking and Writing in Rito involves using Rito Language and Common/Hylian simultaneously, using words from both to describe full sentences.

The Rito Language itself is a Agglutinative Language. What that means, is that words are formed by merging syllaybles, where every syllable has a unique meaning, and the combinations of syllables make words which are defined by the syllables meanings.

Words tend not to have direct Common/Hylian translations; instead syllables have meanings, and their relationships to each other define concepts.

Concepts and words tend not to exist until invented; they are all based on the same syllables which all share meanings, or different combinations arte invented when needed, and understood when told.

As an example, I'll share the two invented words in my fic - Towaki and Towaveh - divided in syllables as: To, Wa, Ki, and Veh.

To: shortening of Rito

Wa: Love (non-superficial)

Ki: Mine (ownership)

Veh: Theirs (ownership)

Towaki: They are my beloved.

Towaveh: I am their beloved.

Festivals

The two biggest celebrations in Rito Culture are Ballad's Day and Requiems's Day, named after the Wind's Requiem and the Ballad of Gales. The two celebrations are six months apart, and each happen once a year.

Ballad's Day celebrates Cyclos, and Requiem's Day celebrates Zephos. Both festivals consist of three phases.

The first phase is meant for Valoo's attendant and the current Rito ruler. The two ascend Dragon Roost Island and request a scale from Valoo, to give to the Wind Gods in offering.

The second phase has Valoo's attendant, and the upcoming ruler (if one is not born, the current ruler) partaking in a ritual involving a performance of either the Wind's Requiem or the Ballad of Gales to offer the scale to the celebrated deity to ask for favourable winds n front of all of the gathered Rito² (There is nuance as to who is currently involved during Wind Waker's time, which I will explain later)

The third phase is a celebration: Every Rito who can make it for the festivals gather for a large feast. More than the second phase, this is Zephos and Cyclos' favourite part, as it makes them happy to see their worshippers happy.

These two days are some of the only days where almost every Rito comes back to Dragon Roost. These days are the best times to catch up with the various other Rito, as it's the only times all of the Rito see each other.

This aspect of the festival is just as important as the offering to the deities, since their relations to each other are so important, and their need to travel makes it so they can;t see each other often.

²In the Wind Waker's time, the people who participate in the ritual are Komali, Medli, and Link. Komali and Medli are a given, as they're the upcoming ruler and current attendant, but Medli is also the Wind Sage. Her music is powerful magically, and even more so when conducted by Link.

Link's inclusion on the ritual is threefold. He is partially a mentor for Medli, and will help her with her part in the ritual. He is Komali's chosen (komalink truthers rise up), so he is also connected to the upcoming ruler. He is the Hero of Winds, and they are the Wind Gods. Although he wasn't destined to be one from Hylia, he was chosen by Zephos and accepted by Cyclos.

His relations to the Rito involved and the gods make him an important part of the ritual. For Cyclos, he also just wants Link specifically to be there, as he is the one who brought the deity back into the Rito's ritual. Zephos is okay if Link misses the ritual, Cyclos basically requires it.

That's all I have for now! Lemme know what y'all think, if it's good, if this makes sense, or what other HCs y'all have! I love the Rito and would just love to talk more about them!

<3