Fan Article: The Fate of the Hero of Time

Disclaimer: This is a fan article written by forum member and long time ZI fan ZeldaMaster90, It in no way expresses the viewpoints of the staff, and is part of a new Fan Article Series. For more information, please check out our Article Submission Board.

This article as the title suggests is a speculative article concerning the fate of the Hero of Time after Majora’s Mask. I will be presenting evidence from Ocarina of Time,Twilight Princess, and a bit from Majora’s Mask which leads me to my conclusion on the fate of the Hero of Time.

First and foremost let’s look at something that we know from Majora’s Mask. We know in Majora’s Mask that Link has Epona as a child. Where did Link get Epona? Well, naturally you can assume he was given Epona through Malon. What this has to do with Link’s fate will make sense towards the end, so for now lets move on to Ocarina of Time.

A couple of quotes indicate a possible Link and Malon romance. If Link beats Talon’s Super Cucco Game he asks, “How’d you like to marry Malon?” which seems to imply a Link and Malon romance. There is another quote from a gossip stone in that says, “They say that Malon of Lon Lon Ranch hopes a knight in shining armor will come and sweep her off her feet someday.”I think by now you are starting to see what I am suggesting, but the proof doesn’t end there.

We know from Ocarina of Time that Link was sent back in time by Zelda to before he even opened the Door of Time. We know since Young Link has Epona in Majora’s Mask he had to have a strong bond with Malon for her to entrust Epona to him. I also believe Lon Lon Ranch was important enough to the Hero of Time for him to go there after being sent back. Now let us take a look at Link’s relationship with Malon during Ocarina of Time as well as bits of Link’s relationship with Talon, and Epona.

Link’s relationship with Malon starts whenever he meets her in Hyrule Castle Town as a child. Beyond that he pays visits to her at the ranch, tames Epona, and saves the ranch for her. It is also interesting to note that in the Ocarina of Time manga whenever Link saves Malon she asks, “Could this be my prince?”. His relationship with Epona is also a strong one, which can suggest further that he should be with Malon, as she too has a strong relationship with the legendary horse. Let’s look at some facts here. First a quote from Malon, “Oh Epona! She’s grown fond of you fairy boy.” Link was also the only one who could tame Epona other than Malon. Link’s relationship with Epona would continue to ever grow stronger I believe.

Alright time to look at some minor things involving his relationship with Talon. Not only does Talon offer to allow Link to marry his daughter (even though it’s kind of a joke since Link is too young), he also offers him a job. This doesn’t necessarily connect Malon and Link per say, but it does show that the father greatly respects Link, and trusts him. Something that is often vital when wanting to court a daughter. Of course, this isn’t the only evidence of possibly what happened to Link after Majora’s Mask. In fact, there are some subtle hints at exactly what happened in Twilight Princess.

First of all in Twilight Princess a quote from Renado to Link presumably talks about the Hero of Time, “Countless tales are told of the ancient hero, and your deeds bring them to mind.” That is not the most important quote, however, with that quote I’ve established that the Hero of Time must have did something great on the child timeline for him to have been remembered. If you couldn’t guess, I place Twilight Princess on the Child Timeline, so that has a lot to do with my thoughts on the quote. A minor thing to be noted that the Hero’s Bow was presumably left in the Goron Mines by the Hero of Time and that it may be the same bow that Link obtained in Termina in Majora’s Mask. Of course, that is all speculation. Their is no hard evidence to suggest or prove this, but it is indeed some nice food for thought.

Another thing I want to delve into is the possibility of the Hero of Time being the Hero’s Shade. The Hero’s Shade has similar movements to those of the Hero of Time. It is also interesting to note that the majority of songs that cause the golden wolf to appear are those that were in fact played by the Hero of Time. There are also quotes which connect the Hero’s Shade to possibly being the Hero of Time. “Although I accepted life as the hero, I could not convey the lessons of that life to those that came after. At last, I have eased my regrets.” The part that is important is where he states that he accept life as “the hero” referring to himself as “the hero” instead of just “a hero”. This may strongly imply him being the Hero of Time or having some connection to the Hero of Time. There is also some evidence that he is an ancestor of Link from Twilgiht Princess when he says this, “At last, the skills I have to teach you have entered the realm of true secrecy. They are forgotten ways that do not leave our bloodline.”.

Also take note that his armor may be the kind that the Knights of Hyrule could have worn at one point, indicating that if he is indeed the Hero of Time he could have become a knight later on in life. Again, I’m only speculating on the armor, but it would make sense.

The conclusion I draw from all of this on the fate of the Hero of Time is that when Link returned to Hyrule he grew up and became a Knight, and he did many great deeds within Hyrule. His relationship with Malon blossomed into love as she married her “knight in shining armor”. They had children, and Twilight Princess Link eventually emerged from that line (note that he ends up in a ranch, I speculate that at some point someone bought out Lon Lon Ranch, then possibly moved it and renamed it Ordon Ranch, but Link’s (TP) ancestors were still allowed to live there, anyway back on subject, I just wanted to explain myself).

The Hero of Time may have also been appointed by royal decree to teach the next hero and no hero came around during his lifetime. Thus he could not go on into the afterlife living with regret. His regrets were finally eased whenever he taught Link from Twilight Princess the last hidden skill.This conclusion is just speculation. It isn’t fact and should not be taken as such unless Nintendo says so. I hope you all enjoyed this read.