I intended for this to be more of a discussion about the Master Sword, I guess that's my fault for bringing them up as a possible connection. Oh well, might as well.
Before someone tries to call out the size alteration thing. Yes. We do see that the Zoni had that ability. Look at the displaced shrine quests, and all of the massive things that shrink down to be fused to weapons.
I do admit that this does cause a small problem for placing Rauru's reign any time after SS. Like you said, we don't see them in the time period they should be active in. That's not a problem with placing Rauru's reign before SS. The only Zoni left, at that point, is Mineru, sleeping away in the Pura Pad. We don't see any because they have all reportedly vanished.
But, bringing this back around to the Master Sword, regardless of when you place Rauru's reign, it's easy to see that Zoni technology (or something ridiculously like) it is present in the past of SS, when the Goddess blade was made, and the same tech may have even been involved with forging it into the Master Sword. And, the technology placement is entirely possible.
With all of their similarities, it would be more of a rebranding, than an evolution. The horns and third eye, which many point out as differences, look more like body modifications. All we are left with is the fur, long ears, snout, and ability to control size. That easily describes both Zoni and the Minish.The problem I see with the Zonai being Minish is, due to the fact that even though we don't exactly know how long it is, between Skyward Sword and Minish Cap, but they are next to each other in the Timeline.
But then again, the Rito tribe evolved from Zoras in just 100 years.
Before someone tries to call out the size alteration thing. Yes. We do see that the Zoni had that ability. Look at the displaced shrine quests, and all of the massive things that shrink down to be fused to weapons.
The only thing that proves is that we don't see recognizable Zoni in SS. The technology has similar styling, function, and operation. The most blatant is the circuitry patterns, use of portals, and the automated robotic servants who have floating limbs. We see a lot of gaps for the different races between games; it's not evidence for them not existing in games they don't appear. There is plenty of evidence to suggest that the Zoni did exist before SS, and no good evidence against it.The big evidence that the technology isn't Zonai is that the Zonai aren't there.
I do admit that this does cause a small problem for placing Rauru's reign any time after SS. Like you said, we don't see them in the time period they should be active in. That's not a problem with placing Rauru's reign before SS. The only Zoni left, at that point, is Mineru, sleeping away in the Pura Pad. We don't see any because they have all reportedly vanished.
But, bringing this back around to the Master Sword, regardless of when you place Rauru's reign, it's easy to see that Zoni technology (or something ridiculously like) it is present in the past of SS, when the Goddess blade was made, and the same tech may have even been involved with forging it into the Master Sword. And, the technology placement is entirely possible.