Dragon Roost Cavern

Template:Dungeon Dragon Roost Cavern is the second dungeon Link visits in The Wind Waker, and the first he is able to fully visit. When Link first comes to the island, Valoo is very angry, yet the Rito who live there do not know why. Unless they can solve the problem, Valoo will not let anyone near to receive his scales, which allow the Rito to fly.^[1]

Entrance to the Cavern

The dungeon is Located within Dragon Roost Island, beyond the home of the Ritos, and is the home to the Sky Spirit Valoo.

Link first learns of the cavern from Medli, a Rito and the Great Valoo's attendant. She wishes to visit Valoo and find out why he is upset.^[2] With Link's help, she reaches the cavern, and gives Link a bottle, which, with a little ingenuity, allows him access to the cavern as well (the entrance to the cavern is usually blocked by a moat; a rock, from the disturbance caused by Valoo, blocked the hole that caused the moat. So Link waters a bomb flower and blows up the rock).

Themes and Navigation

The dungeon is reminiscent of Dodongo's Cavern from Template:OOT: Link has to constantly use Bomb Flowers to destroy giant boulders that block his way; because (surprisingly) Link does not find a Bomb Bag yet, Bomb Flowers remain as the only means of explosive material. The Cavern features a reoccurring amount of torch scenarios, making the exploration less difficult than in other dungeons; other parts require Link to cool lava with water jars, which is very important so that the young hero can pass through fiery floors, as well as rise on lava geysers as if he was taking an elevator; after reaching the Cavern's roof, Link has to rescue Medli, who ends up captured by two Bokoblins and a Moblin (it should be noted that the staircase leading to said roof breaks as the young hero goes right up, meaning that the top area is inaccessible afterwards). Upon her release, Link receives the Grappling Hook, which is what the Rito used to use before they had wings. From this point, Link uses the new tool as a vine to jump lava pits and holes, as well as to press switches hanging from the ceiling.

Once in possession of the Big Key, Link finds the Magtail Queen called Gohma in the room below Valoo. It is this Magtail that was causing Valoo to be upset as she was agitating his tail, which hung down into the cavern below.^[3] Using the Grappling Hook and the weight of the slab of dried magma imprisoning Valoo's tail, Link defeats Gohma and restores peace to the island. He then receives the Din's Pearl from Prince Komali as a reward for scaling the cavern.

It is highly debated whether or not Dragon Roost Island is actually the tip of Death Mountain from Template:OOT, as the hole that Valoo sits on originally has a ring of smoke around it. The fact that Valoo is a dragon is also interesting, as the former inhabitant of Death Mountain was Volvagia, who the Hero of Time defeated.

Minor Enemies and Traps

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Bokoblin
Fire Geyser
Fire Keese
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Kargaroc
Keese
Lava
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Magtail
Rat
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Red ChuChu

Trivia

The background music in Dragon Roost Cavern is a remix of the Dodongo's Cavern and Death Mountain Crater background music, further supporting its connection to Death Mountain.
At the entrance of Dragon Roost Cavern there is a mural on the wall of two green dragons that look like Volvagia. Some fans use this as more evidence supporting that Dragon Roost Island is Death Mountain.
Along the wall of the volcano crater is a statue-like structure that resembles the giant Dodongo skull found in Dodongo's Cavern.
Dragon Roost Cavern contains many cliff areas outside of the cavern which are still considered part of the dungeon (they appear on the dungeon map). This makes The Wind Waker the fourth Zelda game to feature exterior areas in a dungeon (in Link's Awakening the Eagle's Tower dungeon had an exterior boss room, the Forest Temple in Ocarina of Time had outdoor courtyards, and in Majora's Mask, Stone Tower Temple had an open roof in many rooms, although the dungeon still technically always took place inside the temple).

Etymology

Names in Other Regions
Language		Name	Meaning
	Japanese	竜の山のほこら (Ryū no Yama no Hokora)	Dragon Mountain Shrine
	French^EU	Caverne du Dragon	Dragon's Cave
	German	Drako-Sanktuarium	Dragon Sanctuary
	Italian	Caverna del Drago	Dragon's Cave
	Korean	용의 산 제단	Dragon's Mountain Shrine
	Spanish^LA	Cueva del Dragón	Dragon's Cave

Gallery

Map of Dragon Roost Cavern
The top exterior level of Dragon Roost Cavern at day time.
The top exterior level of Dragon Roost Cavern at night time.
Link jumping over Lava inside
Zelda- Wind Waker HD Playthrough - Part 7 ~Dragon Roost Cavern~ - YouTube.png

Link climbing the staircase on the outside of Dragon Roost Cavern
Link climbing the stairs in the top exterior level of Dragon Roost Cavern at night.

References

↑ "We do so by the graces of the sky spirit, Valoo. When a Rito reaches adulthood, he or she journeys to the top of Dragon Roost to receive a scale from the great dragon. It is this scale that enables the Rito to grow his or her wings. Recently, however, the once-gentle Valoo has grown violent and unpredictable. Sadly, we can no longer approach him. If this continues, the fledglings who are of age will never be able to receive scales from Valoo on Dragon Roost. They will remain wingless, and in time, our very way of life will be threatened." — Rito Chieftain (The Wind Waker)
↑ "I want to go to the small shrine that's near the peak of Dragon Roost, but that ledge over there is so high..." — Medli (The Wind Waker)
↑ "I have to tell you what I found out! This is terrible!...Some creature is doing awful things to the great Valoo's tail! That's why he's so angry! The great Valoo's tail hangs down into the room right below here." — Medli (The Wind Waker)