Oshus

"That, I will explain when the time is right. For now, you must hurry to the Ghost Ship."

- Oshus

Oshus is an old man and important character in The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. He first appears simply as a knowledgeable old man, but over the course of the game is revealed to actually be a sea deity known as the Ocean King. Ciela considers him her grandfather due to him taking care of her, even after learning their true respective roles.

Link first meets him in his house on Mercay Island, where Ciela directs him when he washes ashore. He directs Link to go to the eastern half of the island to meet a man named Linebeck, but a sudden earthquake destroys the bridge. Oshus tells them they should wait for it to be repaired, as the path around behind the island is too dangerous. Link insists, and takes a sword from his storehouse, but Oshus catches him. Seeing how determined Link is, Oshus allows him to go after proving he knows how to use it. Once Link has met Linebeck, Oshus directs the two to the Isle of Ember.

When Link returns to Mercay Island, Oshus meets him in the Temple of the Ocean King and gives him the Phantom Hourglass to make his way through its depths. He explains that as long as it has Sand of Hours, the temple will not drain Link's life.

After Link has completed the Temple of Courage and recovered the unresponsive spirit within, Oshus appears on Molida Island's dock and reveals that the Spirit of Courage is Ciela herself, with the spirit they recovered representing her lost memories. Using his staff, he combines the two, giving Ciela most of her memories and powers back. He then tells them they can pursue the Ghost Ship, while Linebeck asks Oshus who he really is.

Once Link has made it to the hold of the Ghost Ship and found the petrified Tetra, Oshus appears again and reveals that he is a manifestation of the Ocean King, who remains trapped at the bottom of his temple while the monster Bellum feeds on his life force. He explains that Bellum created the Ghost Ship as a way to siphon the life force from anyone who pursued its nonexistent treasure. Upon realizing that there is no treasure, Linebeck decides to quit the adventure, but Oshus promises him a wish if he sees Link through defeating Bellum. He also tells them that only one weapon can defeat Bellum, the Phantom Sword, and they need to go see Zauz the blacksmith to obtain it.

Once Link obtains the Sword Blade from Zauz, he takes it back to Oshus in his storeroom. He combines the blade with the Sand of Hours to create a hilt, thus forming the Phantom Sword. An apparition of him also appears after the fifth phase of the fight against Bellum, explaining that Bellum has ejected the last of Ciela's memories, allowing her to use her abilities as the Spirit of Time. After Link defeats Bellum in the temple, Oshus gains some of his power back and uses it to teleport Link and Ciela back to the SS Linebeck and restore Tetra. However, his full power has yet to be restored, which they soon learn is because Bellum survived. Once Link and Linebeck destroy and board the Ghost Ship, Bellum knocks over its mast, crushing both Oshus and the SS Linebeck. After Bellum is defeated a final time, the Ocean King regains his powers and true form.