The Legend of Zelda Timeline

The chronology of the Zelda series has been known as a cause of confusion and debate due to Nintendo's silence about the official order of the games. This was due to Nintendo's focus on gameplay over story, and most officials remained vague about the game's timeline aside from the placement of some individual games, although Eiji Aonuma has mentioned the existence of a confidential document with the proper order of the Zelda games. More recent games have been more likely to have set timeline placements; Ocarina of Time was held up for a long time as the first game of the series in chronological order, only for Skyward Sword to succeed its place. In December 2011, at the end of the 25th anniversary of the Zelda series, Nintendo released the official timeline though a Japanese artbook known as the Hyrule Historia. Aonuma had previously mentioned a dual timeline resulting from the ending of Ocarina of Time, and this was indeed part of the official timeline. A third timeline was also introduced which, instead of following the time travel within the game, follows a hypothetical alternative to the ending of Ocarina of Time in which Link loses at the end (which can be enlikened to following the game's "Game Over"). For more details on the connections between games (both concrete and implied), see the "Continuity Notes" on each game's individual page.

This page uses information taken from translations of the Hyrule Historia found at GlitterBerri.

Pre-Timeline Split

Creation Story

At the beginning, the world contained nothing but chaos. Then the Three Golden Goddesses (Din, Nayru and Farore) descended and created the world. Din, the Goddess of Power, used her fiery powers to shape the earth and made the mountains red. Nayru, the Goddess of Wisdom, brought order to nature by creating science and magic. Farore, the Goddess of Courage, then created all of the living creatures. The goddesses then departed from the world and left the Triforce behind at the spot where they left the earth as a symbol of their power. The land where they descended became known as the Sacred Realm.

Hylia and Demise

The Golden Goddesses entrusted the Triforce to the goddess Hylia. Her main followers were humans, who would one day be known as Hylians, and it is implied that at this time they lived in harmony. The Sheikah tribe seemed to exist at this time as servants of the goddess. One day, a fissure appeared in the earth. From it came an army of monsters commanded by the Demon King Demise. They ravaged and terrorized the land. Hylia first sought the protection of the humans by sending them and the Triforce skyward on a piece of land. She then entered the battle and was ultimately able to seal away Demise within a corner of the Faron Province that would become known as the Sealed Grounds. She was deeply wounded in the process, but Demise's seal was not permanent, and he would be reborn again. Hylia initiated a complex plan to destroy Demise using the Triforce. She could not use it herself, being a goddess, so she engineered a plan for a chosen hero to do so one day. The Three Dragons were appointed as guardians of the land, and the sky spirit Levias was appointed warden of the sky world, which became known as Skyloft. Hylia created the Goddess Sword and its spirit Fi to respectively act as the hero's weapon and guide, and they were enshrined at Skyloft's Isle of the Goddess. She also made sure that the Triforce was hidden within Skyloft's secret Sky Keep. Hylia ultimately gave up her divine powers and immortal form to one day be reborn as Zelda.

Not long after Demise was sealed away, a Sheikah named Impa was sent on the goddess's orders through a Gate of Time to meet and guide her reincarnation. Impa brought Zelda back to the past. There, at the Temple of Hylia/Sealed Temple, Zelda entered a sleep that would last thousands of years in order to strengthen the seal on Demise. Link arrived in this time and met with Zelda before she did so. The time travel became more complicated at the end of the game, when Ghirahim arrived through the Gate with the future Zelda whom had just awakened from her sleep. He used her in a ceremony to revive Demise by draining her divine soul. Link was able to stand in their way with a brief assistance from fellow time-hopping Groose, and Link defeated Demise in another other realm. Demise seemed to die, but in his last words he set a "curse" on all those bearing "the blood of the goddess" (Zelda) and "the spirit of the hero" (Link), which meant that they would be tormented by an incarnation of his hatred for all of time. It seems that this incarnation was eventually Ganondorf and/or Ganon, as well as possibly some of the other evil forces from over the years. The remnants of Demise's consciousness were to deteriorate with the Master Sword, which was laid to rest, at which point Fi began an eternal slumber. Impa chose to remain in her time to watch over the Triforce and ensure that the knowledge of it was kept from mortal men. She also was to watch over the Master Sword, and she grew old there. It remains unclear the time traveling in that final portion effects history, as the "present" timeline of the game has Demise still under his original seal years later instead of being dead. Although Zelda's crystal form is hidden in the back of the Sealed Temple during the present timeline, there is no sign of the enshrined Master Sword there.

The Sky Era

In the thousands of years following the original war on Demise, the people of Skyloft settled into an existence that was blissfully ignorant of the surface world and most of the details involving Hylia's reign. Only a select few such as Headmaster Gaepora knew even the barest details about things such as the Triforce or the Goddess Sword. Link and Zelda both had prophetic dreams or episodes which foreshadowed their fates. The day eventually came when Ling completed his Wing Ceremony, and Zelda was suddenly whisked away. She was taken to the surface, where the elderly Impa rescued her from the clutches of evil and set her off on her quest to recover her memories from her life as the goddess Hylia, eventually being joined by the past Impa. At Skyloft, Link was guided to the Goddess Sword by Fi and was convinced to draw it. He was able to pass through the cloud barrier to reach the surface and after a brief meeting with the elderly Impa, he set off across the three provinces in search of Zelda. Ghirahim pursued them the whole time with the intentions of using Zelda to revive Demise. Link followed Zelda and Impa to the Temple of Time, where he held off Ghirahim while Zelda and Impa passed through to the past. The Gate was destroyed behind them, and Ghirahim had to retreat in defeat.

After a battle with Demise's sealed form, known as The Imprisoned, Link was sent on the next leg of his quest by the elderly Impa. Constant fights against The Imprisoned as Demise's seal weakened, as well as Link's schoolmate Groose following him to the surface, complicated things for the hero. He went across the provinces again and collected three sacred flames which augmented his sword. This unlocked its full power as the Master Sword, which he was able to use to activate the Sealed Temple's Gate of Time. He was finally able to access the past, where he found out the truth about Hylia and met Zelda prior to her slumber. Once he returned to the present, Link set off to find the Triforce. He learned the Song of the Hero from the three dragons and Levias, and with it he was eventually able to reach the Triforce at Sky Keep. He used its wish to permanently destroy Demise. His wish also caused Skyloft's Isle of the Goddess to fall to the ground, where it filled in the pit at the Sealed Grounds were Demise was sealed. Zelda was able to awaken from her slumber at this point, but Ghirahim snatched her away and left through the Gate of Time to revive Demise in the past, when he was still alive. After the battles in the past were won, Link, Zelda and Groose returned from the past. The Gate of Time was destroyed behind them by the younger Impa. The older Impa revealed her identity to the others just moments before she passed away in a cloud of golden dust. The Master Sword was shown to still be enshrined within the Sealed Temple. In the end, the cloud barrier was gone, which allowed the people of Skyloft to begin exploring the surface. Groose left to parts unknown, while Zelda decided to stay on the surface to watch over the Triforce, which remained near the Statue of the Goddess. Link's future was not disclosed.

Foundation of Hyrule

In time, Hylia's people became known as the Hylians. They enjoyed peace for some time until chaos began to erupt throughout the land as people began seeking the Triforce for themselves (this is most likely when the Dark Interlopers event occurs). During this time, the Triforce was kept in the Sacred Realm, where it would be enshrined within the Temple of Light. Rauru and the ancient sages decided to protect the Triforce by building the Temple of Time (which the Historia implies was built around the remains of the Temple of Hylia/Sealed Temple). This acted as the only entrance to the Sacred Realm, and it was sealed by several failsafes. The entrance to the Sacred Realm and the ability to travel through time was sealed within the Master Sword, which was held behind the Door of Time. The Door of Time itself could only be opened with the Song of Time being played on the Ocarina of Time with all three Spiritual Stones, which were later distributed to the other races of Hyrule. These conditions seemed tailored to ensure that only a true hero could reach the Triforce.

The kingdom of Hyrule was soon established by Hylian's family line. The castle was built in the center of Hyrule near the Temple of Time, so that Hyrule's royal family could always watch over the Sacred Realm and the Triforce. The Royal Family was known possess special powers within their bloodline, most likely due to their divine heritage, and the female members were often named Zelda after Hylia's reincarnation.

The Dark Interlopers

This is the only historical event which the Hyrule Historia does not confirm the placement of. It only mentions that this occurred during "ancient times" at the end of a long period of peace.

In Twilight Princess, it is mentioned that "a great battle" ensued when word of the Sacred Realm spread throughout Hyrule, which may refer to the fierce war. A mysterious tribe of dark interlopers who were skilled at magic appeared at this time and attempted to conquer the Sacred Realm. The goddesses had the three light spirits act on their behalf, and they sealed the interlopers' magic away in the form of the Fused Shadows. The tribe was then chased out of Hyrule's sacred lands and driven into another realm by the goddesses. This realm was the antithesis of Hyrule and was known as the Twilight Realm. The tribe was trapped there, unable to return to the world of light, and they eventually became the Twili Tribe. The Mirror of Twilight was left in Hyrule as a link to the Twilight Realm and passed onto Hyrule's protectors so that the worlds could be linked again in the future. The Twili Tribe lived a mostly peaceful existence until the time of Twilight Princess.

The Force Era

The Coming of the Picori

There was a time "a long, long time ago" when the world was nearly consumed by some vague shadow, but the tiny Minish creatures appeared from the sky to help. They brought a sword known as the Picori Blade and a "golden light" to the "hero of men" (who is depicted as a capless Link). With this, the hero was able to drive out the darkness. The people of Hyrule then enshrined the Picori Blade, which was planted within the Bound Chest. The sword kept the Bound Chest shut and trapped various evil creatures within. As for the mysterious light force, which was a potent focus of the force within all living beings, it was was put within Princess Zelda and was passed down the bloodline of the Royal Family's females, granting (or perhaps strengthening due to the already existent influence of Hylia's divine soul) them exceptional magical talent.

The Rise of Vaati

A Minish named Vaati stole the a hat designed by Ezlo that contained great power. With it, he assumed human form and went to Hyrule in search of the Light Force. He opened the Bound Chest, breaking the Picori Blade in the process, but he found only monsters within. Vaati turned Princess Zelda into stone in the process and left to continue his search, eventually imprisoning and impersonating the king of Hyrule to meet these ends. Zelda's childhood friend, the latest Link, then set out on a journey to repair the Picori Blade with the guidance of Ezlo, whom Vaati had transformed into a talking hat. Link was able to empower the Picori Blade with four different elements, which reforged it into the Four Sword and gave him the ability to temporarily form multiple copies of himself. Once they found out the truth about the Light Force, Vaati began draining it from Princess Zelda. Link and Ezlo intervened before he could finish and seemingly destroyed him in the following battle. Princess Zelda and Ezlo was restored, and Zelda was able to use the Minish Cap combined with the Light Force that she still had to restore Hyrule to peace.

The Legend of the Four Sword

Some uncertain amount of time later, Vaati rose again, with no memory of his previous life as a Picori. In this time, he was known as the Wind Mage and kidnapped various maidens while terrorizing Hyrule. Various heroes tried to stop Vaati, but they all failed until an unnamed boy appeared. He wielded the Four Sword, using it to split into four and defeat Vaati. Vaati was sealed within the Four Sword, which was enshrined in the Four Sword Sanctuary, and it was watching over by generations of Princess Zelda from then on.

Some time after the original sealing, Vaati was able to break his seal and captured Princess Zelda when she came to check up on the sword. Her friend Link then drew the Four Sword and used it to defeat Vaati, sealing him away again in the same manner.

The Fierce War

There was a war fought in the decades prior to Ocarina of Time which seemed to be an extension of the wars fought for the Sacred Realm. This also matches accounts of bloodshed over the location of the Sacred Realm mentioned in A Link to the Past. The war ultimately ended with the King of Hyrule unifying the country. The mother of the Hero of Time was a casualty of the war, and she entrusted her child to the Great Deku Tree to be raised in safety at Kokiri Forest before she died.

The Hero of Time

The thief Ganondorf learned about the method to reach the Sacred Realm and set it into motion in order to unlock the way to the Temple of Time, and he swore fealty to the king in order to deceive him. He threatened the three races who held the Spiritual Stones, causing the death of the Deku Tree in the process. This motivated Link, who was still just a child, into action, as well as his meeting with Princess Zelda, who told him the secrets about the Temple of Time and sent him to find the three Spiritual Stone.

The following adventures contained time travel, which caused a shift in the timeline. The Adult Timeline contains the original sequence of events in which Ganondorf conquers Hyrule in the future and is defeated by Link. The Defeated Timeline follows an alternative to these events where Link is killed in the final battle. Finally, the Child Timeline was created by the time travel in the game's ending in which the Hero of Time is sent back to his childhood and is able to prevent Ganondorf from ever coming to power.

Adult Timeline

The Hero of Time

Link was able to collect all three of the Spiritual Stones, but Ganondorf than staged a coup in which he killed the king and chased Zelda from Hyrule. The princess was still able to leave the Ocarina of Time with Link, so he was able to use it to open the Door of Time. He also was able to draw the Master Sword to unlock the gate, but due to being too young to be the Hero of Time, he fell into a hibernation for the next seven years. Ganondorf was able to step through the portal and grab the Triforce, but because he was impure, it separated into three pieces. Ganondorf received only the Triforce of Power, while the Triforces of Courage and Wisdom went to Link and Zelda, respectively.

Over the next seven years, Ganondorf took control of Hyrule, and his influence called the Sacred Realm to become a realm of darkness (possibly the Dark World from A Link to the Past). While Zelda began operating in secret as Sheik, Link was held in the Chamber of Sages within the Sacred Realm by Rauru. When Link awakened as an adult, he was truly ready to become the Hero of Time. Rauru told him everything he needed to know and sent him out to find the six sages. In the process, Link was also able to travel through time, as he was returned to the Hyrule of his childhood (and de-aged) whenever he returned the Master Sword to the Temple of Time. Within the adult timeline, Link was able to gather all six of the sages, at which point Zelda revealed herself as the seventh sage. Together, they were all able to defeat Ganondorf, and they sealed him within the Dark Realm while he still had the Triforce of Power. Princess Zelda then played the Ocarina to send Link back in time so that he could live through the childhood that he had missed out on, which marked the beginning of the child timeline while also causing the Hero of Time to no longer be part of the adult timeline.

The Flood

Once the Hero of Time was sent back in time (or rather sent to the other timeline), he lost the Triforce of Courage for this timeline, which separated into eight pieces that scattered across Hyrule. Princess Zelda also ensured that the Master Sword was returned to the Temple of Time. Hyrule lived peacefully for some time until Ganon was able to breach the seal on the Dark Realm through unspecified means and began a new campaign on Hyrule. This time, there was no Hero to save them, so the people of Hyrule resorted to prayer. The goddesses heard these prayers and decided to flood Hyrule, while commanding the populace to seek refuge and build a new country in the mountains, which became islands in the Great Sea once the flood was complete. The old Hyrule was actually preserved in a bubble at the bottom of the sea, but it was frozen in time to prevent Ganon from escaping. The mechanism for this was the Master Sword itself, which was kept in the cellar of Hyrule Castle. King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule stayed in Hyrule and was frozen with part of the Triforce of Wisdom in his possession. The other half was passed down to his daughter, who lived on the Great Sea as a pirate and passed the Triforce piece down her family line. The Master Sword also sealed Ganon's full power away. Two sages, Fado and Laruto, were appointed to strengthen the Master Sword using their prayers at the Wind and Earth Temples, respectively. However, Ganon was somehow able to find and kill them, which caused the Master Sword.

The Hero of Winds

Ganondorf eventually escaped to the surface (possibly due to the Master Sword weakening) and resumed his search for the remainder of the Triforce and sent out the Helmaroc King to hunt all Hylian girls, knowing that one of them could be the Royal Family's heir, who would have the Triforce of Wisdom. At the same time, King Daphnes was able to use a Gossip Stone to posses a boat on the Great Sea called the King of Red Lion in order to search of a new Hero. This hero was Link of Outset Island, who was drawn into the conflict and met Ganondorf after his sister was among the girls captured by the Helmaroc King. With the guidance of the King of Red Lions, Link was able to use the three pearls to access the Tower of the Gods and was confirmed as the Hero of the Winds after he passed its tests. This allowed him to enter Ancient Hyrule, and he drew the Master Sword which unfroze time in Hyrule. However, the Master Sword had become dull without the prayers of sages to sustain it, so Link recruited Makar and Medli as the new Sages of Wind and Earth, and together they were able to bring the Master Sword to full strength.

Link also managed to gather the pieces of the Triforce of Courage by fishing for them. The pirate Tetra, whom had accompanied Link, was brought to the king at one point and was told of her true lineage as Princess Zelda, and she was given the other piece of the Triforce of Wisdom. Ganondorf was later able to capture Zelda and also managed to grab Link when he attacked his castle, and with both of them beaten Ganondorf was able to summon the Triforce. King Daphnes beat him to the wish, though, and he wished for hope for the future as well as for Hyrule to finally be consumed by the flood. This caused the protective bubble surrounding Hyrule to dissipate, and the Great Sea's waters flooded Hyrule. Link managed to plant the Master Sword in Ganondorf's head, which turned his body into stone. King Daphnes used the last of his power to return Link and Tetra to the surface of the sea, and he himself stayed behind to die. Link and Tetra heeded King Daphnes's last words by setting out on Tetra's pirate ship to find a new land that they could call their own.

New Hyrule

After spending some time traveling, Tetra's group eventually found a new land and settled there. This land was named the new Hyrule, despite the king having suggested otherwise. During the settlement's early days, they were plagued by the Demon King Malladus. The spirits of good that protected the land waged a war against Malladus which dragged on and caused much bloodshed. In the end, they succeeded in subduing Malladus and, although they could not destroy them, they were able to use their remaining power to seal Malladus's spirit in the ground. The SpiritV Tracks were built covering the land as shackles to imprison him, and the Tower of the Spirits was erected as its lock. This left the people of the new Hyrule completely in control of their land, for the time being. The Lokomo Tribe, who were connected with the spirits of good and were implied to have inhabited the land prior to the settlers, were entrusted with protecting the seal.

One hundred years later, Chancellor Cole began secretly working to remove the Spirit Tracks and split the Tower of Spirits in order to revive Malladus. He also separated Zelda's soul from her body and took her body away to be used to revive Malladus. Zelda's spirit than worked with Link in his quest, and with the help of the Lokomo Tribe, they traveled across Hyrule and restored as much of the Spirit Tracks as they could, eventually fixing the Tower of Spirits as well. Cole was still able to revived Malladus in Zelda's body, however. Link and Zelda worked together to force Malladus out of Zelda's body, and she finally was reunited with it. The two of them then worked together to destroy Malladus once he assumed his true form. The Lokomo Tribe ascended to the heavens at this time.

Defeated Timeline

The Fall of the Hero of Time

This timeline follows a hypothetical alternate version of Ocarina of Time. The events are identical to those of the Adult Timeline until the final battle. In this version of events, Ganondorf kills Link. He is then able to extract the Triforce pieces from him and Zelda to complete the Triforce. With this power, he becomes the Demon King Ganon. Zelda and the sages are still able to seal Ganon away within the Dark Realm as a last resort.

The Imprisoning War

Hyrule had only a short era of peace after this, as word of the Sacred Realm began to spread, which caused more strife and conflict throughout Hyrule. Those who actually found an entrance never returned. No one knows what Ganon wishd for, but his evil spread through the Sacred Realm, which became the Dark World due to his corrupting presence and out to Hyrule in the form of noxious gas that consumed various greedy people. The King of Hyrule called for the seven sages and the Knights of Hyrule for help in stopping Ganon. They first sought someone to wield the Master Sword, but they found no one. Instead, the Knights of Hyrule gave their lives protecting the seven sages as they sealed the entrance to the Dark World. This trapped Ganon within the Dark World, seemingly forever. It was during the wars of this era that the Hylian blood diminished, which marked the beginning of Hyrule's decline.

The Era of Light and Shadow

A Link to the Past

It is uncertain if the Palace of the Four Sword which was included in the GBA remake of A Link to the Past and seems to be connected to the Four Swords subseries but is not acknowledged within the Hyrule Historia is intended to be canon.

Ganon had a sorcerer named Aganhim who functioned as his alterego in Hyrule. Aganhim earned the trust of the king of Hyrule and managed to act in his place after discreetly killing him. Aganhim captured the seven maidens who were descended from the seven sages and sacrificed them to the Dark World in order to break the seal and free Ganon. The seventh maiden was Zelda, who was able to bring Link to save her. Link managed to gather the three pendants and used them to draw the Master Sword, which was kept within the Lost Woods. While he was there, Zelda was captured by Hyrulian soldiers and was sacrificed by Aganhim just as Link arrived. Aganhim than cast Link into the Dark World after he started to lose in a battle against him.

There, Link managed to rescue the seven maidens who were trapped within crystals at the end of separate dungeons within the Dark World. The maidens were able to break the barrier surrounding Ganon's Tower. Link was able to destroy Aganhim, with Ganon flying out from his body. He finally battled Ganon within the Pyramind of Power and, with the help of the Silver Arrows, he was able to destroy the Demon King. Link found the full Triforce in the room behind and used it to restore Hyrule to a peaceful place. This even restored those died during this era such as Link's uncle and the king. The Sacred Realm was also purified, and the Triforce returned to its protection under Hyrule's royal family.

The Oracles of Seasons and Ages

Link had gained a Triforce crest following his defeat of Ganon and one day was called to Hyrule Castle by the Triforce pieces. The Triforce spoke to Link and sent him away to complete trials in Holodrum and Labrynna. Link defeated General Onox and Veran in order to rescue the oracles Din and Nayru, respectively, within these two subsequent adventures. However, this was a plot organized by Twinrova to revive Ganon. Two of the three torches they needed were lit through Onix and Veran's actions, and Twinorva kidnapped Princess Zelda to light the third one. They then were ready to sacrifice her in order to revive Ganon, but Link arrived and defeated them. The fused Twinrova sacrificed herself out of desperation. This caused Ganon to be revived as a mindless beast, whom Link was able to destroy with relative ease. He left afterwards to return to Hyrule on boat, which was followed by the events of Link's Awakening.

The Golden Era/Era of Decline

The Legend of the Sleeping Zelda

Following the events of A Link to the Past, Hyrule had a succession of kings who ruled using the guidance of the Triforce. There was one particularly virtuous king who did not believe that his son had the attributes necessary to rule Hyrule. This caused him to hide the Triforce of Courage within the Great Palace, and the path to that place could only be unlocked by placing six crystals in different temples which were protected by special guardians. He told only his daughter, Princess Zelda, whom he trusted. The king also cast a spell over Hyrule which would cause a Triforce crest to appear on one worthy of wielding the Triforce when they reached the proper age.

When the king died, the prince was disappointed to have inherited only part of the Triforce. A shady sorcerer (whom the Historia speculates is either a minion of Ganon or an Aganhim-like alterego) confronted the prince with the information that his younger sister knew the missing Triforce's location. The prince harshly interrogated Zelda, and the sorcerer joined in when Zelda refused to speak. The sorcerer threatened her and put a spell on her which trapped her in an eternal slumber; he is said to have died at the same time. The remorseful prince kept the sleeping Zelda safe at the Northern Palace (where she was watched over by Impa's family line) in hopes that she would one day be awakened and decided that all daughters of the royal family would be named Zelda in her honor. He became a wiser king, but Hyrule still fell into decline and slowly decayed into a much smaller kingdom. The re

The Adventures of Link

Ganon resurfaced again (implied to once more be mindless from the botched Oracles resurrection in the Historia) and captured the Triforce of Power, then he moved in to capture Princess Zelda, who had the Triforce of Wisdom. She split the Triforce of Wisdom into eight pieces, which were hidden in the various labyrinths of the Underworld. Link was drawn into this conflict after rescuing Impa and managed to unite the Triforce of Wisdom by following Impa's instructions. With it, Link was able to enter Ganon's Death Mountain lair and destroyed him. He claimed the Triforce of Power from Ganon's ashes. Link decided to stay in the kingdom and help with the attempts at reconstruction.

Despite Ganon's death, his hordes of monsters remained active and eventually sought Link in order to use his blood to revive Ganon. Things remained relatively peaceful until Link's sixteenth birthday, when he developed the Triforce crest. Impa then sent him on the quest to revive the sleeping Zelda. Link successfully defeated all his enemies while placing the crystals in the proper palaces, reached the Great Palace and found the Triforce of Courage. The sleeping Princess Zelda was then finally awakened by the complete Triforce.

Child Timeline

Link's Childhood

Within this timeline, Link was returned to his childhood self following his adventures in the "future" and left the Master Sword in the Temple of Time, closing the entrance to the Sacred Realm and cutting off the two timelines from each other. Presumably due to the events in the other timeline, Link had received this timeline's Triforce of Courage upon being sent here. This also caused Ganondorf to receive the Triforce of Power, but he did not know it. It is not confirmed if Zelda had the Triforce of Wisdom as well. He had actually been sent back to a time prior to the Sacred Realm being opened.

After arriving in this time, Link confronted Zelda at Hyrule Castle's courtyard, which mirrored their first meeting. He told her about the events in future and the full extent of the threat which Ganondorf posed. In order to protect Link and the Triforce, the princess decided to entrust him with the Ocarina of Time and instructed him to leave with it. The Hero of Time off time took this opportunity to set off in search of Navi after borrowing Epona from Lon Lon Ranch, which resulted in his three-day time loop adventure in the parallel world of Termina. He seemed to be restored to the Lost Woods afterwards, but his activities afterwards are unknown.

Ganondorf's Execution

Ganondorf was "exposed, subdued and brought to justice" through unspecified means, and he was unable to complete his quest to reach the Sacred Realm. He was brought to the Arbiter's Ground by the Seven Sages (who looked very different from the sages in other games), where they decided to execute him by impaling him on the Master Sword. Ganondorf survived due to his Triforce of Power finally revealing itself. This seemingly inexplicable event was chalked up to being some "divine prank" of the gods, but Ganondorf apparently suspected at this point that the Triforce must have been tampered with in some way. In a desperate attempt to stop Ganondorf when he broke loose, the sages activated the Mirror of Twilight, which trapped Ganondorf in the Twilight Realm.

The Twilight Era

Within the Twilight Realm, Ganondorf was eventually awakened by the Twili people, the disgruntled royal servant Zant in particular. Ganon took on a godlike form and appeared before Zant, filling him with his power in order to use him as a pawn to escape the Twillight Realm. With Ganondorf's power, Zant was able to take control of the Twili tribe and exiled Princess Midna after turning her into an imp with her dark magic. He then began merging the Twilight Realm with the world of light. A new Hero named Link arose and worked with Midna to awaken the three light spirits in order to drive away the Twilight Realm while collecting the Fused Shadows to stand a chance against Zant. The power of the Fused Shadows was nothing compared to the Triforce of Power, but Link soon was able to claim the Master Sword, which was held within the Temple of Time's ruins (a possible transition between the Master Sword's resting places in Ocarina of Time and A Link to the Past despite the different timelines).

Zant broke the Mirror of Twilight to prevent Link and Midna from reaching him, but they were able to put the Mirror together and kill Zant after attacking the Palace of Twilight with the help of the Master Sword as well as the Fused Shadows. However, Ganondorf had been able to escape into Hyrule at some point and was able to take over Hyrule Castle. Link, Midna and eventually Zelda as well engaged Ganondorf in combat, and it ended with Ganondorf being impaled on the Master Sword. Ganondorf's Triforce mark disappears, and he appears to die. Link and Zelda also both have Triforce marks in this game, which is never explained or clearly addressed. Ganondorf's apparent death finally undoes his magic, which restores Midna to her true form. She returns to the Twilight Realm through the Mirror of Twilight and permanently destroys it in the process, seemingly sealing off the Twilight Realm forever.

The Return of Ganon

Hyrule had another era of peace and became friendly with the Gerudo Tribe. Ganon was reincarnated years later as Ganondorf, but he did not command the respect of the Gerudo tribe as his ancestors had. This era's Princess Zelda and Link regularly checked Vaati's seal at the Four Sword Sanctuary with the six shrine maidens. The evil Gerudo thief had ambitions to take over Hyrule and used Vaati for his own means. He found the mysterious Dark Mirror, which a dark tribe had been imprisoned within long ago, and he used it to create various Dark Links. The first Dark Link captured Princess Zelda and the shrine maidens, imprisoning them within crystals that were held in seven areas. Link was goaded into drawing the Four Sword by the Dark Link, which freed Vaati.

The four Links then traveled across Hyrule and slowly rescued the shrine maidens, ending with Princess Zelda, while collecting Force Gems to strengthen the Four Sword. Ganondorf operated on his own at the same time and stole the Trident of Power, which was held in the desert. This caused him to become the Demon King Ganon. He used Vaati to create a link to the Dark World, and he also wiped out the four Knights of Hyrule while placing a curse on them. The Links and Zelda were able work together to seal off the Dark Mirror to cut off production of Dark Links. They then destroyed Vaati seemingly with permanence and then finally defeated Ganon. Ganon was sealed within the Four Sword instead of Vaati, which was kept at the Four Sword Sanctuary.