Spoiler My OoT Theory: Your Thoughts?

[KickinBird]

Hey there guys, I'm just sitting here going through my 100% run of OoT. I just got the Forest Medallion and everything, when I got all caught up in my thoughts on the backstory of this game. Now, I've really never played any other games besides this one, MM, LoZ, and a little bit of LttP, so I have a pretty limited scope on most things I'll be discussing. This is why I decided to post my theory here, to see if anyone knows anything from other games that disproves anything I currently think.
With that introduction out of the way, I'll just go ahead and proceed with the story:

So, we know that Link's mother, a Hylian woman, brought Link to the Great Deku Tree to escape "the fires of the war". This is obviously the Hyrulean Civil War, which was when all the different races of Hyrule fought against each other for control of the entrance to the Sacred Realm. This massive war is over by the time Link leaves Kokiri Forest however, because all the races have already claimed allegiance to one another, all united under the Royal Hylian Family, as indicated by using Zelda's Lullaby to access Zora's Domain and Darunia's private office. Now, to me this seems a little strange that in the course of no more than 9 years, the races go from intense and vicious fighting (so vicious, that a Hylian woman felt the need to escape into a dangerous forest just to protect herself and her baby son), to what seems to be a deep committed bond to one another. 9 years isn't even a single generation, so it seems to me that there would had to have been some sort of tension between the different races, especially the leaders, who would have been exposed to and known about every single event in which another race did him and his people harm. However, Darunia seems to accept Link warmly when he proves he's from the Royal Family (after calming him down with Saria's Song, which may have more or less been a game mechanic), and King Zora seems to be happy to assist Biggoron with his eye medication. Also, this is assuming that the War ended exactly when Link was dropped off in Kokiri Forest, and that Link was less than a year old yet when he was; neither of which have any evidence to support, with the former being VERY unlikely. This would mean there was even less time between, my estimation would be at least less than 7 years before the war ending and Link leaving Kokiri Forest.


I also wanted to discuss the Great Deku Tree and his connection with the Kokiri children. We know that these beings live eternally, but the question is: how long have they been around? The Great Deku Tree seems to have created the Kokiri, which would explain his need to protect them. However, it seems that the GDT went a pretty long time of existing until he decided to do so. I point to the local dialects as evidence: the GDT speaks in Old English, while the Kokiri children speak in a more recent accent of English. These differences of dialect don't exactly happen over night, so I believe it can be safely assumed that the GDT created the Kokiri several centuries after he was "born" (or however he came to be). Now this brings up another question: why would the Kokiri speak in a more modern tongue? Just because they were created long after the GDT wouldn't automatically make them speak more modernly. If they were exclusive to living with the GDT, he would have taught them to speak and they would adapt his accent, being the only one they could associate with. This leads me to believe that the Kokiri originally existed with all the other races of Hyrule, which is where they would have learned to speak. It wasn't until the Hyrulean Civil War that the GDT limited the Kokiri to the Forest, where they were protected from the horrible war. Since they are so secluded, they most likely never realized that the war ever ended, which is why even after an estimated 14 years later, they still refuse to leave (the estimation comes from the additional 7years that passes as Link is sleeping in the Chamber of Sages). Also, the invasion of Kokiri Forest by Ganondorf's minions may have convinced the Kokiri that the Civil War was still going on.

So this is pretty much as far as I've gotten... This is getting a little long so I'll just stop thinking there and let you guys leave your opinions. Is there anything that disproves anything I claimed here? Is this all common knowledge? I'd like to know what you guys think.

*EDIT: I just remembered about how supposedly the Great Deku Tree makes an appearance in WW, and that many people speculate the Sprout from OoT is the same tree, grown up. If anyone knows what I'm talking about, can you tell me how this GDT talks? If he retains the Old English, and is in fact the Sprout from OoT, then some of my theories could have some holes in them...

 

[Ember Incubus]

Close, he doesn't speak Old English in TWW, he speaks Old Hylian. You need to translate what he sayes. But, he speaks New English. The Kokiri are limited to the forest because of their so called 'form'. In TWW, sometime before it, they sacraficed their form (and soposedly their immortality) to have access to the Deku Leaf so they may leave the forest to cause the "Great Deku Tree's Success". They are immortal, as long as they stay in the forest. If they want to leave, they die, or they give up their immortality so they are not immortal even in Kokiri Forest/Forest Haven. It is possible they lived outside of the forest before this, but I beleive the Kokiri are atleast 500 years old. The Unification War was, just that, a war that ended up in unification. Just because the war was ten years long (it was not nine years long), doesn't mean they had problems before that. The French and English alwayes had problems, but if memory serves me right, they had a 20 year war, which ended up in Europe. It does not nessisarely have to say that they dislike eachother. Plus, when you were the Goron Mask infront of King Zora, well, just see what happens. Also, the whole Link's mother is not canonical, but it makes sence. It was only mentioned at all in the OoT comics.

 

[tgjanime]

actually links mother is mentioned by the great deku sprout after the forest temple

 

[KickinBird]

Yeah, I'm sorry Ember but you have so many spelling mistakes it was hard to really make out what you were trying to say.

 

[Ember Incubus]

There wasn't that many typos, but here you go!

Close, he doesn't speak Old English in TWW, he speaks Old Hylian. You need to translate what he says. But, he speaks New English. The Kokiri are limited to the forest because of their so called 'form'. In TWW, sometime before it, they sacrificed their form (and supposedly their immortality) to have access to the Deku Leaf so they may leave the forest to cause the "Great Deku Tree's Success". They are immortal, as long as they stay in the forest. If they want to leave, they die, or they give up their immortality so they are not immortal even in Kokiri Forest/Forest Haven. It is possible they lived outside of the forest before this, but I believe the Kokiri are at least 500 years old. The Unification War was, just that, a war that ended up in unification. Just because the war was ten years long (it was not nine years long), doesn't mean they had problems before that. The French and English always had problems, but if memory serves me right, they had a 20 year war, which ended up in Europe. It does not necessarily have to say that they dislike each other. Plus, when you were the Goron Mask in front of King Zora, well, just see what happens. Also, the whole Link's mother is not canonical, but it makes sense. It was only mentioned at all in the OoT comics.

Is it understandable now?

 

[KickinBird]

It actually helps alot, thanks.
So let me see if I can recap on what you said:
1st: The Greak Deku Tree of WW speaks "Old Hylian" in-game, which WW Link can't understand and must translate, but it's written in New English for the gamer to read.
That would support my theory, which is a good thing. It also makes things a little more interesting, in that the language evolved so much from OoT to WW that they can't even understand each other. That is, if I read that correctly.

2nd: It is proven that the Kokiri actually will die if they leave the forest.
I always assumed the GDT simply scared the Kokiri into remaining in the forest, so he could have a more watchful eye over them and protect them. I guess I should just play WW (money issues) but is it actually proven, or is this just speculation?

3rd: First of all, when you say "Unification War", are you referring to what I called the Hyrulean Civil War? (the war that takes place as the Hero of Time is a baby) If so, I didn't mean the War lasted 9 years, I meant that it had been 9 years from the time the GDT adopted Link, to when he left Kokiri forest (since it is proven that he was 9 years old at that time). I have absolutely no idea how long the War was, and never even speculated on that. Also, I've never talked to King Zora with the Goron Mask on, I've never really thought of it. What does he say?

Finally, it is canonical that Link's mother took Link to the Great Deku Tree during a great war. The Deku Tree Sprout tells you in OoT... unless it's been retconned somewhere later in the series.

 

[Ember Incubus]

Well, I forgot the sprout thing. I would like to add that the GDT in TWW speaks Old Hylian, but the Koroks speak New Hylian. How is it that they understand eachother... Both Unification War and Hyruleian Civil War are noncanonical terms. I prefer to say unification war. (Same goes for the Spirit War from ST.) Canonicly, this is stated, Adult Link is seventeen, he was in the temple for seven years, so Young Link is canonicly ten, not nine. Were did you get the idea of them being nine from? Those weren't in any interviews nor ingame.

P.S.: The Kokiri dieing and the Korok sacraficing is proven ingame of TWW.

 

[MrMosley]

Now, to me this seems a little strange that in the course of no more than 9 years, the races go from intense and vicious fighting (so vicious, that a Hylian woman felt the need to escape into a dangerous forest just to protect herself and her baby son), to what seems to be a deep committed bond to one another. 9 years isn't even a single generation, so it seems to me that there would had to have been some sort of tension between the different races, especially the leaders, who would have been exposed to and known about every single event in which another race did him and his people harm.

Even though it is only a few years after Link is born, I think its a logical span of time for the tensions of the war to blow over. Like you said, no race really speaks about the war, all they do is try to help one-another, so it is obvious that there is no tension there. I would assume that the war ended right when Link was born, and that the various races of Hyrule didn't all agree to an allegiance at once, but over time. This makes sense because in OoT, Ganondorf is trying to win the King of Hyrule's allegiance, which says to me that the Gerudo had not yet allied themselves with Hyrule and the other races until 10 or so years after the end of the war.

I also wanted to discuss the Great Deku Tree and his connection with the Kokiri children. We know that these beings live eternally, but the question is: how long have they been around? The Great Deku Tree seems to have created the Kokiri, which would explain his need to protect them. However, it seems that the GDT went a pretty long time of existing until he decided to do so. I point to the local dialects as evidence: the GDT speaks in Old English, while the Kokiri children speak in a more recent accent of English.

Not sure about how long the Kokiri have been around, but judging the Deku Tree's age based on his accent is kinda iffy. We already know the Deku Tree is quite old seeing as how he has grown pretty big and seems to be rather intelligent, but I believe they chose his particular accent to display his wisdom. He basically sounds like a wise old man.

Since they are so secluded, they most likely never realized that the war ever ended, which is why even after an estimated 14 years later, they still refuse to leave

This is a nice theory but I'm pretty sure its not the answer. When young Link leaves the Kokiri Forest, Saria mentions that he is "different" from the rest of the Kokiri, and that she knew he would eventually leave. I think its more like, the Kokiri can't stay away from the forest for very long or else they will either not be able to return or grow older, which would explain why they remain as children. The Deku Tree seems to care for the Kokiri so I doubt he just wouldn't inform them that the war had ended so they wouldn't have to stay cooped up in the forest the rest of their lives. I also believe that if the Kokiri still thought the war was going on, at least one of them would have mentioned it in-game.

Also, the whole Link's mother is not canonical, but it makes sence. It was only mentioned at all in the OoT comics.

Actually that is wrong. The story of Link's mother is mentioned in-game in OoT.

 

[KickinBird]

Both Unification War and Hyruleian Civil War are noncanonical terms. I prefer to say unification war. (Same goes for the Spirit War from ST.) Canonicly, this is stated, Adult Link is seventeen, he was in the temple for seven years, so Young Link is canonicly ten, not nine. Were did you get the idea of them being nine from? Those weren't in any interviews nor ingame.

Neither of those terms are canonical, true. I just call it the Hyrulean Civil War because that's the name of it on Zeldawiki is all.
Also, it seems that I've mixed up the numbers. Link's 17 after pulling the Master Sword, not 16. But it's only one year, so that doesn't really change much in my theory.

Even though it is only a few years after Link is born, I think its a logical span of time for the tensions of the war to blow over. Like you said, no race really speaks about the war, all they do is try to help one-another, so it is obvious that there is no tension there.

10 years certainly doesn't seem like enough time for a nation to forgive another for such a massive war, just looking at history:
-After the US won independence from England in 1783, England was apparently still angry and attacked again in 1812, 29 years later.
-American Civil War: 150 years later and many Southerners still consider themselves Confederates, and actively deny that the Confederacy even lost the war (I've personally met several people like this).
-Americans consistantly viewed Germans as "bad" people, even decades after the two World Wars we fought against them in. It wasn't until the Cold War started becoming more prominent (not too long after WWII), that the blame was able to be shifted towards Russians.

These examples tell me that one decade isn't nearly enough time for Nations to completely forgive each other for wars, I don't possibly see how the could.

 

[MrMosley]

These examples tell me that one decade isn't nearly enough time for Nations to completely forgive each other for wars, I don't possibly see how the could.

But it does, obviously. You can't look at the plot of the game and say its wrong when it spells out just what it is doing. You had everything right from the beginning. The war was going on for who knows how long, Link's mother took him to the Kokiri Forest to save him, and apparently within 10 or so years, the war ended. So we know that it was at the very most, 10 years that it took the war to end, that is assuming it ended just before Link's journey... but that's not likely because it would take some time for the talk about the war to die down, so it is most likely to have ended closer to when Link was born or it ended throughout the years until his adventure began, which I noted above is the point at which the Gerudo attempts to make their trues like everyone else already has. No race in OoT talks about the war besides the Deku Sprout, so it is obviously old news and something everyone is over, regardless of how little time it took them.

 

[DuckNoises]

10 years certainly doesn't seem like enough time for a nation to forgive another for such a massive war, just looking at history:
-After the US won independence from England in 1783, England was apparently still angry and attacked again in 1812, 29 years later.
-American Civil War: 150 years later and many Southerners still consider themselves Confederates, and actively deny that the Confederacy even lost the war (I've personally met several people like this).
-Americans consistantly viewed Germans as "bad" people, even decades after the two World Wars we fought against them in. It wasn't until the Cold War started becoming more prominent (not too long after WWII), that the blame was able to be shifted towards Russians.

These examples tell me that one decade isn't nearly enough time for Nations to completely forgive each other for wars, I don't possibly see how the could.

I don't mean to get all historical on you, but the War of 1812 occurred during the Napoleonic Wars, so Britain couldn't get too involved. The war was sparked when the United States attacked Canada, (then still the Dominion of Canada, actually part of England), because England was using its dominant naval power to harass American trade ships, in addition to the U.S. Manifest Destiny movement, the Fenian movement, and literally people that were just warmongers, among other things.
Anyway, being involved in a war with France, Britain could only send a small number of troops to assist the Canadians defending Canada from the Americans. The British and Canadian troops were greatly assisted by most of the native populations of Canada, who used guerrilla war tactics against the Americans, which were largely unheard of by American troops (making them inexperienced in this regard). The American invasion ultimately failed, (hence why Canada still exists as part of the Commonwealth) provoking Canada and the few available British troops to attack several American settlements, which were by and large a success. Near the tail end of the war, Britain had defeated France and Napoleon I, which freed up most of their troops. These extra troops were used to attack Washington, D.C., which was partially razed to the ground. The war ended with the Treaty of Ghent, establishing more of Canada's border, in addition to naval regulations placed on the British.

Anyway, diplomacy can change in the blink of an eye. After the war, Canada, Britain, and the US became very close.

By and large, your theory seems feasible, but the war is clearly something behind most of the races. Besides, some of the hospitality shown between different races during OoT may have been because they were fighting on the same side, or have since come to some sort of mutual agreement.