The Rito (full headcanon)

Finally got the Rito done (Link is once again there for height comparison purposes)! All that's left now is the Zora, and maybe me going into a bit of detail on each race's patron deity. We'll see though! For now, here's the headcanon for the race in general and some character headcanon! owo

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The Characters:

-Medli is the kind and polite apprentice of Kass, who in this timeline tends to the temple dedicated to their patron deity. Despite her small size she packs enormous personality, and is often open and compassionate and... well, stubborn. She takes her job seriously and has a deep love for music, especially her favored harp.

-Teba is one of the best warriors the Rito have to offer; his size makes him slower than the typical Rito but he more than makes up for it for raw strength and his ability to tank most blows thrown his way. He and Revali often clash against one another due to their different attitudes (Teba more composed and humble, Revali more showy and a bragger), but despite the tension the two share a surprisingly friendly rivalry with one another. That "frenemies" friendship soon went sore when the village chief chose Teba as captain of the Rito Champions over Revali.

-Like Teba, Revali is one of the best warriors the Rito have at their disposal. Arguably, he's an even better warrior than Teba, even with the older bird's experience. Revali is quickest, the quickest of his brethren, he never misses a shot, and above all of that Revali is a surprisingly talented magic user. Rito are notorious for being low-skilled in magic (something they more than compensate for in their archery prowess), however Revali has been able to utilize his magic in ways Rito rarely dream of. Specifically, his signature Gale Arrows: instead of using regular arrows to fire from his bow, Revali is able to summon and compress his wind magic in a tangible and dangerous projectile.

Yes, on every account, Revali truly is the better warrior... the best warrior the Rito have seen in recent times. And even then, Teba is the one who is chosen for Champion, not Revali. The Rito is furious about this decision; he's wanted that title all of his life, and feels cheated in something he knows he should have gotten. As a result, his friendship with Teba has soured and is little more than jabbing, scathing remarks.

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The Race:

-The Rito are native to the tall, deep canyons in Hyrule, with their capital residing on the highest mountain spire. Their homes and structures are embedded into the mountain’s cliffsides and tops, often with bridges built to connect the natural spires to one another.

-Like the Zora, the Rito aren’t terribly magically inclined in more than wind-based magic, but they make up for it with their scarily stunning accuracy with the bow and arrows. The practice of archery is so revered in their culture it’s almost a religion: almost every Rito practices it and become adept at it at young ages.

-Speaking of archery, I’d surmise that the Rito are warrior-centric in culture. For the most part, all Rito are encouraged to take training in combat and especially in regards to archery, and every male Rito is expected to serve their military for at least 10 years after the age of 20. This isn’t exclusive to just being a soldier though: their military is all-encompassing and serves the tribe in every way imaginable. This includes being a hunter, a mentor, a law enforcer, an engineer, in any capacity. In this way it might be more accurate to say the Rito believe in serving their tribe and not so much serving just the military.

In the past, while they were also taught combat female Rito were discouraged from being warriors and were moreso encouraged to serve their tribe in more peacekeeping or artistic ways, such as being judges, musicians, cooks, historians, artists, writers, teachers, so on. It was generally frowned upon in the past for males to take one what was once considered a “female role” and vice versa, but ever since BotW that belief has since changed. It’s now more common to see female Rito in combative roles and male Rito in more artisan roles, and the culture has grown more for it.

-Like the Twili, the Rito have an animal that’s sacred to their culture. That animal being the Dragon. It’s believed that the Guardian Spirit of Dragons, Valoo, is what granted the once flightless Rito the ability to soar in the air, granting them their feathers and wings in return for their patronage. On the highest peak of their spire sits a shrine dedicated to this dragon, where the Rito are known to make the long voyage to make offerings and to pay their tributes. Valoo does exist but is rarely seen by the Rito, and seeing him is thought to be one of the highest privileges known to their culture.

Dragons as a whole are seen as sacred due to this belief, and seeing any dragon is seen as a sign of good fortune to come.

-Speaking of, the Rito are not related to the Zora in any way in my headcanon. They evolved from the Rito in the Wind Waker game but those Rito aren’t evolved Zora either in my headcanon. For me, they were always bird-like, but overtime evolved to be even more bird-like and obtained the ability to fly without the aid of Valoo’s blessing.