Veran is the primary antagonist of Oracle of Ages.^[3] She has the ability to possess anybody she wishes. Although she appears to be the ultimate evil, Veran is actually a servant to Twinrova, dedicated to bringing about the Dark Lord Ganon's revival by bringing sorrow to the hearts of everyone in Labrynna. Her true form is that of an Evil Demon Fairy, summoned from the Dark Realm.

Biography[]

Oracle of Ages[]

Veran first meets Link while possessing Impa and tricks him into moving a boulder barricading the way to Nayru. It can only be moved by one who bears the sign of the Triforce.^[4][5] She then tricks him into getting close to Nayru, so that she can possess the Oracle. Quickly assuming control of Nayru's body, Veran immediately travels back in time to alter history to her liking.

As Nayru, Veran fools Queen Ambi into trusting her. She warps the purpose of the Black Tower, which was to be used to search for Ambi's lost love, convincing Ambi to order the town to build the Tower to the heavens. Veran also quickly dismisses anyone from the castle who may have brought Queen Ambi to her senses, leaving her grip on Ambi unopposed.

It soon comes to Veran's attention that her bane, Mystery Seeds, grew deep within the woods outside of Lynna Village.^[6] In an attempt to rid herself of what might undermine her, Veran has Ambi offer a reward to anyone who could bring back the Mystery Seeds for her. Ironically, it was Link himself who would present the Seeds to Queen Ambi, unaware of the advantage it would have given him. Although it is never stated what Veran actually does with the Seeds that Link gives to Ambi, it is commonly thought that she has them destroyed. However, Veran remained unaware of the abundance of Mystery Seeds among others in the Dungeons across Labrynna, as well as the Mystery Seed tree that grows on Rolling Ridge.

Shortly before the Black Tower is completed, Link comes face-to-face with Veran in Ambi's Palace, but she tells him that if he were to attack her, only Nayru would bear the damage.^[7] However, Link had now found out about Veran's weakness to Mystery Seeds, and was prepared to take her down through their use. Following a short battle, Veran is driven from Nayru's body and possesses Queen Ambi herself. Taking full advantage of her situation, Veran summons the Palace's Soldiers to finish off Link, Nayru and Ralph, who had burst into the Palace just after Link. However, Nayru rescues them all by transporting them to the present, to the disappointment of Veran. As Link continues his quest, the Black Tower reaches completion as he obtains the seventh Essence of Time, the Rolling Sea.

At this point, Veran had gained the power to control time to an extent, freezing many characters in time as she cultivates her new power and restores the chaos that Nayru's freedom had reversed. However, after Link obtains the eighth Essence, the Falling Star, Veran is confronted by Ralph before Link can reach her.

Although Ralph knows that by killing his ancestor Queen Ambi, and thus Veran, he would vanish, he cares only for the people of Labrynna and so attempts to kill her, ultimately failing. However, due to Veran chooses to spare Ralph and moves on to face Link. After Link manages to free Queen Ambi from Veran's possession, she attempts to possess the hero, although he senses her intentions at the last second and evaded her.^[8] He continued the battle and overcome Veran's many forms. After defeat, Veran simply laughs, calling Link a fool as she dies, knowing her task is complete;^[9] the revival of Ganon closer to fruition.

Characteristics[]

Veran appears as a teal-skinned woman with a lightly-armored dress. Her abilities are very similar to that of a Wizzrobe, as she can teleport at will, create a flurry of fireballs, and summon spider-like creatures from the ceiling. One of her more terrifying abilities is to possess other beings, forcing them to do her bidding. Those under her possession gain her teal skin, but this never seems to be noticed by other characters. Veran can assume other shapes seemingly at will, but her true form is the Evil Fairy. With this she can spit fireballs and fly quickly, as well as produce at least four weak Shadow Links. If this fails, she can assume several animal forms. This is supposedly her last resort, as she decidedly finds these transformations to be utterly repulsive.

Veran is manipulative, cruel, and ambitious. She is also somewhat conceited, declaring her own beauty several times throughout the game. She does seem to be capable of granting mercy to a certain extent, as evidenced by her sparing Ralph's life, though this could also merely be a ploy to force Link not to attack her in order to protect Ralph, since she is in Ralph's ancestor's body. It is also somewhat interesting to note the vaguely Sheikah-like eye designs on her dress, and the symbol on her shoulder pads that she shares with General Onox.

Battling Veran has several different strategies, depending on which form she is in.

Possessed Nayru[]

Possessed Nayru's only attack consists of shooting fireballs in a radial pattern. The projectiles spread out the further they travel, and Link's shield can't block them, so it's best to walk in the gaps that form at a distance.

The only way to attack Veran herself is by shooting her with Mystery Seeds from Link's Seed Shooter, or simply sprinkling the Seed on her. If hit, Veran will temporarily lose her possession,^[10] but she'll seep back into Nayru if Link is not fast enough. By switching places with her via the Switch Hook, she'll have a tougher time getting back to the body, and Link will have the opportunity to slash her at least once.^[10] Even so, Possessed Nayru will often hide behind pillars scattered across the room while she prepares an attack, making it harder to hit her with the Seed Shooter and Switch Hook fast enough to get an attack in. If the attack process is repeated three times, Veran will be temporarily defeated, and Nayru will be freed.^[10]

Possessed Ambi[]

The strategy for Ambi is little different than it was for Nayru. As Ambi, the only new ability Veran obtains is the ability to summon small spiders. Besides this, the strategy is still to use Mystery Seeds when she stops moving, then to use the Switch Hook to pull Veran out of Ambi.

True Form[]

Veran's true form is drastically different in appearance to the normal form she takes. Taking on the form of a demonic Fairy, Veran is now accompanied by four Dark Links, which behave similarly to Arm-Mimics in that they copy Link's movements. The four Dark Links always yield one heart each upon their defeat.

Veran's attacks in this form changed little from her other form, her signature energy attack becoming much faster, she will also shoot small and large blue fire balls, and of course physical contact. To defeat this form, Link simply had to attack her with his sword whenever she came into range, taking care to dodge her attacks. By repeating this method, Veran appeared to be defeated. As Link, Ralph and Nayru exited the Black Tower, a sudden rumbling had Link push Ralph and Nayru away, as a Wallmaster carried Link back to the top.

Metamorphosis[]

As the Wallmaster released Link, a truly horrific side of Veran was revealed, as she appeared to Link in the forms she had wished to keep a secret from everybody. Now, with no other choice before her, Veran revealed her Metamorphosis state.

During this phase, Veran is prone to randomly changing between her three shapes. There is no order in which Veran will change shapes, with the exception that she will always start in beetle form. Although she will normally change back to beetle after assuming one of her other two forms, it is entirely possible for her to go from Spider to Bee and vice-versa.

Beetle[]

As little more than an oversized, grotesque beetle in this form, Link quickly realized that all Veran could do now was jump and land, creating a pool of acid underneath her when she landed. By attacking her face when she emerged with the sword, she would then transform into one of two forms.

Bee[]

Veran's bee form is much faster than the beetle form, she flies around the room at alarming speeds, occasionally summons a swarm of smaller bees that fly at Link, and can shoot a volley of stingers at Link, which slow his walking speed. Bee Veran is vulnerable to both the Seed Shooter and Sword.

Spider[]

This form of Veran has no obvious weak point at first. Its attacks include high-speed charges and using web to pull itself onto the Tower roof, then slamming down in an attempt to crush Link. In this form, Veran can also catch Link in her web and slam him on the ground.

Out of all the weapons in Link's inventory, the only one which can reveal Veran's weak spot is one of his Bombs. By using a Bomb on this state, Veran would show her face for a few valuable seconds, allowing Link to attack her with his Sword. After Veran sustains enough damage, given her life, she will either revert to her beetle form or she will fall.

Non-Canon Appearances[]

Nomenclature[]

Names in Other Regions
Language		Name	Meaning
	Japanese	ベラン (Beran)	Veran
	FrenchEU	Veran, Sorcière des Ombres	Veran, Sorceress of the Shadows
	German	Veran, Meisterin der Schatten	Veran, Mistress of Shadows
	Italian	Veran, Strega delle Ombre	Veran, Sorceress of the Shadows
	SpanishLA	Veran, Hechicera de las Sombras	Veran, Sorceress of the Shadows

Gallery[]

• 

  Veran possessing Nayru

• 

  Veran possessing Impa

• 

  Veran's Shadow form

• 

  Veran revealing herself to Nayru

• 

  Veran creating four red-eyed copies of Link

• 

  Veran's spider form attacking

Trivia[]

• Like Onox's brazen armor, Veran's shoulder dress is also emblazoned with the Crest of the Gerudo, reflecting her allegiance with Twinrova.
• Veran's theme music was later reused for the Room of Rites in a Linked Game.

References

v · d · eCharacters in The Legend of Zelda Major Protagonists Link · Princess Zelda · Ciela · Epona · Ezlo · Fi · King of Red Lions · Linebeck · Midna · Navi · Tatl · Tetra Minor Protagonists Anjean · Daruk  · Darunia  · Din · Farore  · Great Deku Tree · Groose · Impa · King Rauru  · Maku Tree · Marin · Medli · Makar · Mineru  · Mipha  · Nabooru  · Nayru  · Queen Sonia  · Ralph · Rauru · Ravio · Revali  · Riju  · Ruto · Saria · Sidon  · Tingle  · Tulin  · Urbosa  · Yunobo Major Antagonists Bellum · Demise · Ganon · Ghirahim · Lady Maud · Majora's Mask · Malladus · General Onox · Shadow Nightmares · Twinrova · Vaati · Veran · Yuga Minor Antagonists Agahnim  · Byrne · Chancellor Cole · Dark Link · King Bulblin · Master Kohga · Princess Hilda · Shadow Link · Skull Kid · Vire · Zant Characters by Game

v · d · eHumanoid Enemies Enemies Chilfos · Freezor  · Garo Robe · Gibdo · Hinox · Mago · ReDead · ReDead Knight · Shadow Beast · Skull Kid · Thief · Wizard · Wizzrobe Bosses Agahnim · Agunima · Blaaz · Blind the Thief · Byrne · Carock · Cragma · Dark Link · Demise · Flare Dancer · Fraaz · Ganondorf · Garo Master · Gerudo Thief · Ghirahim · Hinox Brothers · Odolwa · Possessed Nayru · Possessed Zelda · Shadow Link · Snapper · Stone Hinox · Twinrova · Veran · Yuga · Yuga Ganon · Zant Enemies