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The Sand of Hours is an integral part of Phantom Hourglass.[1]

Uses[]

Purpose[]

They provide the power for the Phantom Hourglass itself, allowing the one who holds it to penetrate further into the Temple of the Ocean King. They are made from the Force Gems of the Ocean King.[2] Without the Sand of Hours, the Phantom Hourglass is useless, as it is the Sand of Hours themselves that protect Link from getting his Life Force sucked away while inside the Temple of the Ocean King.

The Sand of Hours is the source of power for the Ocean King. According to Oshus, he used the Sand of Hours to make the Phantom Hourglass and enter the temple.[3] In addition, they are the crystallized form of the Life Force, which the game's antagonist, Bellum, consumes.[4] Oshus also explains that the monsters found within the temples are made of Sand of Hours, as well as the Phantoms that roam the Temple of the Ocean King.[5]

Invest and Recovery[]

Time spent inside of the Temple of the Ocean King depletes minutes, or more precisely, Sand of Hours, from the Phantom Hourglass. It is recharged instantly by the sun when outside the temple. Safe Zones however, do not deplete sand from the Phantom Hourglass. If Link gets hit by a Phantom, he will lose 30 seconds of Sand of Hours, and if he gets hit by a Wizzrobe, they will steal 15 seconds off the hourglass.

Additional temporary time upgrades can be found throughout the temple. These will not add to the total Sands of Hours and will just recover up to 30 seconds worth of sand.

After Zauz finishes making the Phantom Sword from the three Pure Metals, he will comment that Link must take the sword to the Ocean King so that he can add the Sand of Hours and empower the Phantom Sword with the ability to control time, which is necessary to ultimately defeat Bellum.[6]

Sand Locations[]

Sand of Hours

Link obtains some Sand of Hours

Link obtains the Phantom Hourglass with the Sand of Hours when the young hero goes back to the Temple of the Ocean King after receiving the Spirit of Power, Leaf. When Link first receives the Phantom Hourglass from a pedestal inside the first room of the temple, it comes with 10 minutes (this includes the time added by the sand obtained after defeat of Blaaz). With the exception of the Cubus Sisters, all of the subsequent regular bosses provide more Sand for the Hourglass upon defeat, enough for two extra minutes each worth of sand.[2][7] Link can gain sand worth a total of ten extra minutes this way.

Moreover, five treasure chests at sea hold one minute each as a reward, finally making the maximum capacity of the Phantom Hourglass to be 25 minutes of Sand of Hours. Below is a list of the location of these extra sand samples. Of important note is that all of them are underwater, thus requiring certain Treasure Maps to be collected beforehand:

Underwater Location Method of Obtainment
Northeast of Mercay Island Can be retrieved after the Treasure Map found inside the second hideout of the Old Wayfarer is collected.
West of Cannon Island Can be retrieved after the Treasure Map kept by the young man near Mercay Island's dock is purchased from him for 50 Rupees (this can only be done after the third visit to the Temple of the Ocean King).
North of Isle of Gust Can be retrieved after collection of the Treasure Map found inside a chest that appears when an Eye Switch is pressed northwest of floor six in the Temple of the Ocean King.
Southeast of Bannan Island Can be retrieved after the Treasure Map hidden under some grass east of the volcano in the Isle of Ember is collected. Note that the waters housing this sand, northeast of the ocean's northwestern quadrant, can only be accessed from the northeastern quadrant.
Northwest of Isle of Frost. Can be retrieved after collection of the Treasure Map found northeast of floor five in the Temple of the Ocean King. That area can only be accessed from floor four by using Bombchus.

Nomenclature[]

TMC Forest Minish Artwork Names in other regions TMC Jabber Nut Sprite
LanguageNameMeaning
JapanJapanese時の砂 (Toki no Suna)[8]Sand of Time
CanadaFrenchCASable de Vie[9]
FranceFrenchEUSable de vie[10]
GermanyGermanLebenssand[11]
ItalyItalianSabbia della vita[12]
SpainSpanishEUArena vital[13]
Latin AmericaSpanishLAArena Vital[14]
This table was generated using translation pages.
To request an addition, please contact a staff member with a reference.

References

  1. Encyclopedia, Dark Horse Books, pg. 137
  2. 2.0 2.1 "The sand inside the Phantom Hourglass is called the Sand of Hours. The beast you defeated in the Temple of Fire held some grains of it. It is said to be made of Force Gems of the great spirit, the Ocean King. It gives deep strength to whoever holds its power. From now on, you must defeat monsters and collect their Sand of Hours. For the more sand you place in the hourglass, the longer its power will last." — Oshus (Phantom Hourglass)
  3. "I used the Sand of Hours to make the hourglass and enter the temple." — Oshus (Phantom Hourglass)
  4. "As you know, every creature in this world possesses a sacred power. This power is called life force. The Sand of Hours is a physical manifestation of that power. And that is what brought them here." — Oshus (Phantom Hourglass)
  5. "Even among the monsters born of the Sand of Hours, some are especially evil. The Phantoms who roam my temple take after the evil of their master." — Oshus (Phantom Hourglass)
  6. "Hmmm. I cannot call it truly complete without a handle. Take this blade to the Ocean King. He will add the Sand of Hours. Only he can empower the Phantom Sword with the ability to control time." — Zauz (Phantom Hourglass)
  7. "You got more sand for the Phantom Hourglass! Two minutes have been added!" — N/A (Phantom Hourglass)
  8. "いま 中に入った砂は 時の砂 という" — Oshus (Phantom Hourglass)
  9. "Le sable que contient le sablier s'appelle le Sable de Vie." — Oshus (Phantom Hourglass)
  10. "Le sable que contient le sablier s'appelle le sable de vie." — Oshus (Phantom Hourglass)
  11. "Der Sand in der Phantomsanduhr nennt sich Lebenssand." — Oshus (Phantom Hourglass)
  12. "La sabbia dentro la Clessidra Illusione è detta Sabbia della vita." — Oshus (Phantom Hourglass)
  13. "La arena que contiene el Reloj Espectral se conoce como la arena vital." — Oshus (Phantom Hourglass)
  14. "La arena que contiene el Reloj Espectral se conoce como la Arena Vital." — Oshus (Phantom Hourglass)
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