A winding pathway leads to a smaller field beyond, where the trail terminates at a low building. We know these markings to be language-based, due to their being the same as those upon the sign near Dampé’s house farther to the north - signs that we are able to read.
The tombstones here, belonging to the family members of the King of Ikana Castle, also take the form of skeletons, though one grave marker towers above the rest and is engraved with strange linguistic runes. It is separated from this forest only by an old wooden fence, and here the rust-red walls of the canyon are covered with dry mosses and grass. The north road is an upward journey, with dwindling canyon walls and tightening passages, to the Ikana Graveyard, a large field open to the sky and surrounded by a forest of ancient pines. In a larger opening in the ravine, the path splits into two trails, one leading north, and the other farther east. The Road to Ikana Canyon leads through an ever-deepening gully, dotted with fallen rocks, toppled pillars, and metal fences topped with blue flames. Already, we know what kind of region awaits us in Ikana, and we can surmise that anyone we find there is likely far different from the other more life-affirming races we have yet come across. Turning quickly away, the road to the east gives no more relief, as each squat pillar also bears a skeletal mask - two in fact, facing in opposite directions, diagonal one another - which reinforces much of what we are to see in Ikana: the overt and repetitive motif of death, mostly embodied in totems of earthly demise. Limned with crimson forms - which might be alphabetic or simply impressionistic - the entire gateway is marked by an air of worry: that we should look on it frantically, as garish as it is violent, and seek to be rid of it. The Eastern Gate from Clock Town is bound by two dark stones, acting as thick buttresses for the central opening, which is a highly-abstracted skull in pale grey, white, red, and black. These pillars, as well as the gate leading east, all bear what is perhaps the chief motif of Ikana: death masks, either skeletal or merely twisted. Running eastward from Clock Town is a dusty road, given boundaries only by eight stout pillars. Unlike the three other regions of Termina, there are no bustling settlements or amenities for tourists, nor is there the anticipation of festivity and happiness - it is a place that exists in stagnation and ruin, a place whose true time was as long ago as a childhood dream. Eastern Termina is home to mountainous canyons, ancient battlegrounds, and guarded histories it is also home to many creatures only seen within its dusty valleys and ravines, and nowhere else, nor in any other time. And while much could be said on this topic, especially by those of us in Western countries, for it is a large one, let it suffice to say that Majora’s Mask also builds upon this trope of the obscure-yet-enticing East. For much of recorded history, the very mention of the direction brought forth conceptions of mystery, vastness, and deep spirituality. To the Western mind, the East has long been a subject of fascination. Even now it is a place where troubled, regretful spirits gather.” “Ikana Kingdom was founded on this land, stained with a history of darkness, drenched in blood.
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