You’re standing on the bridges of Zora’s Domain, looking at a pedestal submerged in the water, and a little Zora kid is singing a cryptic rhyme about the sky and the light. It’s one of those moments in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild where the game stops holding your hand and expects you to actually think. Most players stumble upon the breath of the wild ceremonial song quest after finishing the Divine Beast Vah Ruta, but honestly, it’s one of the most common places people get stuck because the game gives you a "fake" version of the required tool first.
It’s frustrating. You have the Lightscale Trident, right? Mipha’s legendary weapon? You’d think that would be the key. But if you try to use it for the "Ceremonial Song" quest, you’re actually risking a very expensive repair bill at the blacksmith.
The Mystery of the Second Trident
The quest starts with Laruta, a young Zora who hangs out near the shrine pedestal. She sings: "A scale from the sky / Painted the light / A trial soul / In the radiance bright." It sounds like typical Zelda flavor text, but every word is a literal instruction. The "scale from the sky" refers to a drop from above—specifically, you leaping off a high point. The "radiance" refers to the spear you're holding.
Here is the thing most people miss: there are two spears that look almost identical.
The Lightscale Trident is the heavy hitter you get from King Dorephan. The Ceremonial Trident is its weaker, "imitation" sibling that someone dropped off the bridge years ago. While you can technically use the Lightscale Trident to complete this quest, it is a massive waste of durability for a weapon that requires a Diamond to reforage. You want the Ceremonial one. It’s sitting at the bottom of the lake under the bridge leading to the western gate of Zora’s Domain.
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Use Magnesis. Seriously. Just walk along the bridge, flip on your Magnesis rune, and look for the metallic glow in the water. It’s tucked away near one of the support pillars. Once you pull it up, you’re ready to actually engage with the breath of the wild ceremonial song mechanics without ruining your best gear.
Executing the Mid-Air Strike
Getting the spear is the easy part. Actually hitting the pedestal is where the physics engine usually decides to humble you.
The pedestal is underwater. This confuses people. They try to stand on it. They try to throw the spear at it. Neither works. To trigger the "Veiled Falls" shrine (Dagah Keek), you have to perform a downward thrust—a "ground pound" essentially—directly onto the center of the pedestal.
Go to the top of the waterfall nearby. Use the Zora Armor to swim up it. As you launch off the top, paraglide toward the pedestal. You need to be high enough that you have time to aim, but not so high that you lose track of the target. When you are directly over the orange-rimmed circle in the water, press the attack button. Link will dive straight down, spear first.
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If you hit it, the pedestal turns blue, the ground shakes, and a shrine rises from the earth. If you miss? You’re swimming back to the shore to try again. It’s a bit of a chore, but that’s the Zora trials for you.
Why Does This Quest Exist?
Nintendo designers love environmental storytelling. The existence of a "Ceremonial Trident" that mimics the "Lightscale Trident" is a nod to how the Zora culture honors Mipha. They couldn't all use her actual weapon, so they made replicas for festivals. It adds a layer of grief and remembrance to the region that isn't explicitly spelled out in a cutscene.
Also, it teaches the player about the "downward strike" mechanic, which is surprisingly useful for dealing massive AOE (Area of Effect) damage to groups of enemies like Bokoblins later in the game. Most players just hack and slash. The breath of the wild ceremonial song forces you to master verticality.
Common Failures and Fixes
If you are stabbing the pedestal and nothing is happening, check your position. You can't just jump from the bridge; the height usually isn't sufficient to trigger the "impact" animation the game requires. You really do need that extra lift from the waterfall or the surrounding cliffs.
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Sometimes the spear breaks on impact. This happens if the trident was already low on durability. If you break the Ceremonial Trident, don't panic. You can take it back to Dento (the Zora blacksmith) and he can remake it with five pieces of Flint. It’s way cheaper than remaking the Lightscale version.
- The Weather Factor: Does it need to be a certain time of day? No. Unlike some other shrine quests that require sunlight or a blood moon, this one is purely mechanical. You can do it at midnight in a thunderstorm if you want.
- The Cryonis Hack: Some players try to use Cryonis to get closer to the pedestal. This actually makes it harder because the ice block often gets in the way of the strike zone. Stick to the paraglider-to-dive method. It’s the intended "true" way.
Beyond the Shrine
Once you’ve unlocked Dagah Keek, the reward inside is "Mipha's Blessing" (not the ability, just the treasure chest). It's a "Rauru's Blessing" style shrine, meaning the challenge was getting there, not what's inside. You get the Spirit Orb and you're out.
The real takeaway from the breath of the wild ceremonial song isn't the shrine itself, but the realization that the world of Hyrule is built on layers of history. Every song a child sings in a village usually points to a physical reality hidden in the terrain.
If you've finished this, your next logical step is to head toward the North to handle the "Lynel Safary" or "Lynel Point" photo quest if you haven't already. Or, if you're feeling brave, take that newly discovered downward strike technique and go pick a fight with the Stone Talus hiding in the canyons nearby. Mastering the physics of the spear dive makes those boss fights significantly faster since you can land directly on their ore deposits from the air.
Go find Dento the blacksmith in the back of the Zora general store. Even if you haven't broken your trident yet, it's good to know where he is. He’s the only one who can maintain these specific Zora artifacts, and you’ll likely be visiting him again after a few more hours of exploring the rainy cliffs of Lanayru.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Retrieve the Trident: Travel to the western bridge of Zora's Domain and use Magnesis to pull the Ceremonial Trident from the lake floor.
- Scale the Falls: Equip the Zora Armor and swim up the waterfall directly facing the underwater pedestal.
- The Dive: Paraglide from the peak and execute a mid-air attack ($Y$ button) directly onto the center of the pedestal to reveal the Dagah Keek Shrine.