Spoiler My Timeline Theory= Hero's Shade is Hero of Time

[j-pod89]

I haven't posted anything in a while so i might be a little brainwashed. Please bare with me.

Everyone knows the theory about the the Hero's shade being the Hero of time. I think it makes perfect sense and coulod shape out the timeline completely. So this is it.

The theory is that Link got lost in the woods at the end of MM and turned into a stalfos or stalchild. This is how I think it fits. He stayed as a stalfos for a while, and somehow got his hands on an ocarina. Let's go back in time now. MM. The happy mask salesman said that the song of healing would heal people whose souls were cursed. Well, by the look of it, links soul IS cursed. He remembered the song and played it (maybe it sounds crazy but it's a theory). This turned him back into a Hylian, and made a stalfos mask ( daa Daa Daa DAA! You got the stalfos mask!) He lived his life, got married, had kids but never taught them his fighting skills. Maybe he kept the mask when he died and decided to stay like a stalfos. Now here's why some people think the normal theory doesn't make sense. Because if he turned into a stalfos, then the child timeline would just end and TP shouldn't exist. My theory explains that the song of healing was how it works.

What do you think? Do you think it's possible? I'd like the feedback so please tell me. Hope this helps!

 

[BamaLynx]

Quick question...why would the child timeline just end (and TP not exist) if he turned into a stalfos?

 

[An Hero of Time]

Except he's a kid when this supposedly happens, and the game states that non-fairy children turn into skull kids - not stalfos. Unless if he returned to the forest as as a teen/adult and got lost at that point, then it would seem more likely.

Also, there's more and more evidence popping up that the Hero's Shade is more likely to be SS Link, or another Link that showed up between the MM-TP time gap.


The only concrete evidence that supports the Hero of Time theory are some of the Howling Stone songs - several of which originate from OoT, and one from MM.

However, the Shade can also be summoned with The Ballad of Gales (A Wind Waker song,) The Ballad of Twilight (Main theme from TP,) and a 3rd mystery song which has yet to appear in any other game. All of which are songs that the Hero of Time did not learn in OoT or MM.

 

[Locke]

Also, there's more and more evidence popping up that the Hero's Shade is more likely to be SS Link, or another Link that showed up between the MM-TP time gap.

I don't know of any such evidence besides incongruencies that can easily be explained with other evidence.

The only concrete evidence that supports the Hero of Time theory are some of the Howling Stone songs - several of which originate from OoT, and one from MM.

However, the Shade can also be summoned with The Ballad of Gales (A Wind Waker song,) The Ballad of Twilight (Main theme from TP,) and a 3rd mystery song which has yet to appear in any other game. All of which are songs that the Hero of Time did not learn in OoT or MM.

There's also a lot of evidence in his speech that ties him to the HoT.
TS: I don't fully understand your theory. I share BamaLynx's question, and so I don't know why a mask is necessary.

 

[TheGermanLegend]

I think the mask make perfect sense. If he just turned into a stalfos after MM he wouldn't have children so TP-Link who is supposed to be an ancestor of OoT-Link couldn't exist. Also I have never seen a inteligent Stalfos. All Stalfos I know are just mindless creatures that do nothing than attack other people. I don't know how something like that would be able to teach somebody the hidden skills. But we all know that masks in MM (exept MM herself) only change the physical appearance, so the mask-theory makes perfect sense to me.

 

[BamaLynx]

I think the mask make perfect sense. If he just turned into a stalfos after MM he wouldn't have children so TP-Link who is supposed to be an ancestor of OoT-Link couldn't exist. Also I have never seen a inteligent Stalfos. All Stalfos I know are just mindless creatures that do nothing than attack other people. I don't know how something like that would be able to teach somebody the hidden skills. But we all know that masks in MM (exept MM herself) only change the physical appearance, so the mask-theory makes perfect sense to me.

So your saying that the child timeline would end, because the TP Link is a direct ancestor of the OOT/MM Link? It's been a little while since I've played TP...is there in-game evidence to support that? I've forgotten if there were quotes that stated or hinted towards that.

 

[Locke]

So your saying that the child timeline would end, because the TP Link is a direct ancestor of the OOT/MM Link? It's been a little while since I've played TP...is there in-game evidence to support that? I've forgotten if there were quotes that stated or hinted towards that.

The hero's shade states that the hidden skills can only be learned by those in the bloodline of the hero.
I understand the concern for masks now and think it's a fairly reasonable theory, but it's also possible that he didn't become a stalfos until later in life, after he'd had the opportunity to develop the skills and have children.

 

[j-pod89]

yes that's exactly it. That's what I meant when I said that Tp wouldn't exist

 

[Hero_in_Green]

It cannot be proven that the Hero's Shade is in fact the Hero of Time..but what we could assume is that it could be any of the Links before TP (obviously). If im not mistaken, the Hero's Shade hints at the fact that he and TP Link both share the bloodline of the Hylian knights...so this could assume some relationship between the two. A lot of people put emphasis on this quote: "Go and do not falter my child..." but its very vague as many mentors and teachers will refer to their students as "my child"....What I believe is that the Hero's Shade is a relative of Link and that is all really.

 

[DuckNoises]

I agree that the basic notion of the Hero of Time being the Hero's Shade is possible, if not likely, but I don't understand why a lot of people insist that Link had to turn into a Stalfos, or that Link had to die suddenly in the Lost Woods for the theory to make sense. Secondly, I don't understand the notion that the Hero of Time could possibly get lost in the Lost Woods. He has traversed the area multiple times, and such a thing has never happened to him, so why would it happen to him when he is so experienced? As for the MM ending, I don't see the implication that the Hero of Time gets lost in the woods. It shows him returning to Hyrule and we are shown a tree carving; why does that have to mean that he got lost?

Here's some of what I've already posted before shown below:

Now, why is it necessary that the Hero of Time dies in the second "bout" of heroism? Could he not have died merely of old age? One doesn't have to die young to remain a revered Hero in the sense that the Hero of Time was -- he could have merely aged and died an old swordsman, having been a hero in youth. In fact, that's often been the case in recent Zelda games with Sword Techniques. I see the fact that he appears as a Stalfos as merely symbolic, both in the sense that they need a physical manifestation of him to demonstrate the sword techniques, in addition to the notion that the Hero would need a "deceased" form to provide a greater, more ominous presence, similar to how Hamlet's father appears as a ghost in Hamlet; to see him physically is not entirely necessary, but it furthers the intrigue.

What I'm saying is that the fact that Link actually appears as a Stalfos is not necessarily because he is one, but rather because appearing as an actual, ghastly form is more impressive and influential. The reason that he appears specifically as a Stalfos is because it is the closest humanoid and undead creature to TP Link that they have the graphics and models pre-developed for with just a little tweaking. Using a Stalfos just seemed to be a win-win on all levels for Nintendo. It's really just a symbolic gesture. The fact that he's a golden Stalfos also seems to bear some symbolic weight; gold brings with it a connotation of glory, valour and power, which are often seen as contrasting traits to one who is cursed. Why would someone who was cursed appear in such a glorious and ornate form?

I think the actual wording of the Hero's Shade is important; why would they refer specifically to him as the Hero's Shade rather than just the Hero of Time?

shade

  <a href=&quot;http://dictionary.reference.com/audio.html/lunaWAV/S03/S0397000&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;><img src=&quot;http://sp.dictionary.com/dictstatic/g/d/speaker.gif&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; alt=&quot;shade pronunciation&quot; /></a> /ʃeɪd/ Show Spelled [sheyd] Show IPA noun, verb, shad·ed, shad·ing.
–noun
8. a specter or ghost.

9. Greek and Roman Religion . one of the spirits of the dead inhabiting Hades.

10. a shadow.

This just seems to imply that the Hero of Time has passed away, and only his spirit lingers on; this is supported by his ethereal movements and actions in-game that make him appear wispy. Someone in this thread also mentioned that, if he were truly a Stalfos, Link would have become a mindless brute; doesn't that then preclude Link remembering his time as a Hero and imparting his wisdom? Yet, he does exactly that, so I find that to imply that Link isn't actually a Stalfos, because he remains there in spirit and mind, and a Stalfos is merely one of his several ethereal forms (the other known one being a wolf) to which he gains access as a spirit.

So your saying that the child timeline would end, because the TP Link is a direct ancestor of the OOT/MM Link? It's been a little while since I've played TP...is there in-game evidence to support that? I've forgotten if there were quotes that stated or hinted towards that.

I understand where the theory is coming from, but there are boundless other bits of evidence that suggest that TP is a sequel to the adventures of the Hero of Time in OoT/MM; are you implying that this discovery precludes all the other connections between those games? The Hero's Shade can be the Hero of Time, but that doesn't necessitate the Child Timeline to end completely.

 

[JuicieJ]

The theory that Link turned into a Stalfos makes no sense. And this really makes even less. There's no grounds for it. At all. It has no backbone (no pun intended). The reason he (the Hero's Shade) appears like he does when Link fights himis so he can have some target that he wouldn't mind fighting. I mean, if he turned into a human form, I think it might make Link want to back off a little more. When he's an indestructible structure of bones, Link would have no problem going all out (I know *I* didn't). It was all in Link's mind during those training sequences, so the things the Hero's Shade could do were limitless, save actually hitting Link. This is the kind of "theorizing" in Zelda I hate: people reading too much into stuff that's not there and coming up with ideas that are just literally grabbed out of thin air. It's just annoying to me. However, I do agree that the Hero's Shade is the Hero of Time. There's just too many inferences for him not to be.

And, if you want "timeline" from me, fine. Here you go. (I'm not big on debating it, as it's redundant and usually gets nowhere, but I've thought of what makes most sense just by glancing at the information given to us and making connections to what makes most sense.)

.........../WW-PH-ST
SS-OoT
...........\MM-TP-________

Now that bar is where it gets tricky. See, it's extremely difficult to try to connect to the first four games as they didn't have most of the stuff written in the more recent games (like the Triforce splitting in Ocarina). But, I would say A Link to the Past comes after Twilight Princess, followed by Link's Awakening, The Legend of Zelda, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link and the Four Sword series, starting with The Minish Cap. Now, the FS games would only be last if the Picori Blade is the Master Sword, which is quite possible, but not necessarily true. Another reason why it's tricky. Anyway, this is going kind of off topic, but there would be a much better connection between TP and ALttP if Nintendo were to make a game that connects the two. I mean, seriously, there's a gap that could be easily filled there. And the "Seal War" could finally be brought about. Plus, it'd clear up a lot of the "timeline" debates (which I would love), but the sadly wouldn't end. Anyway, that's all I have to say.