Timeline
The Zelda Timeline is an ordering of the Zelda games as their events occur within the fictional universe. While it had previously been kept secret,[1][2][3][4] left to fan speculation and theories, the official timeline was published along with a detailed history of the Zelda universe in The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia in December of 2011.
Ordering
The ordering of the games is as follows. Ocarina of Time has three different endings which spawn three branched timelines.
The Legend of the Goddesses and the Hero
Creation
- Main article: Creation
Hyrule was created out of chaos by the three Golden Goddesses. Din, the Goddess of Power, created the land; Nayru, the Goddess of Wisdom, imbued a spirit of law; and Farore, the Goddess of Courage, created the life forms to live on the land and uphold the law. They then left their creation, leaving the Triforce as a symbol of their power which rested in the Sacred Realm, guarded by the goddess Hylia.[5]
Era of the Goddess Hylia
- Main article: Era of the Goddess Hylia
The Demon King Demise rises up with his Demon Tribe to take the Triforce for himself. To protect the Triforce and her people, Hylia sends them both to the sky and erects a barrier of clouds to protect them from the demons which have overrun the surface. She then battles and defeats Demise with the aid of the remaining surface tribes, sealing him away.
Fearing that the seal is too weak, Hylia initiates two plans to destroy Demise for good. First she creates Fi, the spirit of the Master Sword, to aid a hero that would appear in the future. Second, in order to make use of the power of the Triforce which can't be used by gods, she surrendered her divinity, leaving herself to be reincarnated as a mortal. These two plans come into play during the Sky Era.
Sky Era
- Main article: Sky Era
After the Ancient Battle, Hylia's people live in The Sky and are nearly forgotten about by the tribes remaining on the Surface over thousands of years.[6] The humans rebuild their strength and thrive on Skyloft, a series of floating islands in the sky. Gaepora founds the Knight Academy to train Loftwing-riding knights.[7]
The Sky Era spans the events of Skyward Sword. As the seal on Demise weakens, Hylia is reborn as Zelda. Demise also sends his servant Ghirahim to search for Hylia so he can break the seal. He soon discovers Zelda and forces her down to the surface, prompting Link, the goddess's chosen hero, to search for her. Zelda is rescued by Impa, who helps her discover her identity as Hylia. Ghirahim eventually captures Zelda and resurrects Demise, but Link is able to defeat him with the aid of the Master Sword and the Triforce.
With the threat of Demise gone, the Cloud Barrier dissipates, allowing the humans to return to the surface. The time between the Sky Era and the Era of Chaos is a time of peace, during which the descendants of Hylia become known as Hylians and the land becomes known as Hyrule.[8]
Era of Chaos
- Main article: Era of Chaos
After the events of Skyward Sword the surface world became known as Hyrule. The people who spent their lives up in the sky descended to the surface. The land of Hyrule knew peace for several years until word got out about the Triforce and the Sacred Realm. The now named Hylians lusted over this great power, thus turning the land into chaos.
In order to prevent people from gaining access to the Sacred Relam the Sage of light, Rauru decided to seal the realm. He put the only known entrance to the realm within the Temple of Time. Further protecting the realm was the Master Sword, in which evil could never wield and the Door of Time, in which one needed to collect all three Spiritual Stones to gain access.
Era of Prosperity
Those who shared the blood of the Goddess, Hylia, became to be reborn as Zelda. They were the ones who established Hyrule. They intended to build a great castle in the center of the land. The castle was built here to watch over the Temple of Time, which is the only known connection to the Sacred Realm and the Triforce.
Within the established Royal Family, descendents in the bloodline were born with the special power that the Goddess Hylia held. The ones born of this bloodline and the Queen were often named after the historical legend that was Zelda.
Force Era
Hero of Men
- Main article: Hero of Men
After a period of peace in Hyrule, a great evil threatened the land once again. It was at this moment that the Picori descended from the sky and gave the Hero of Men the Picori Blade and the Light Force. Now with the light force and the ancient blade, the Hero of Men was able to defeat the evil forces and seal them within the chest. The story become legend and was passed down through tales of Hyrule.
The Hero of The Minish
- Main article: The Minish Cap
In the celebration of the Picori and the ancient tale of the Hero, Link and Princess Zelda head to the festival. One person is allowed to touch the ancient Picori Blade, this person was Vaati and he intended to shatter the blade and harness the Light Force. Vaati proceeds to release the power and turns Princess Zelda to stone in the process. However the ancient power was nowhere to be found and due to the seal now broken, all the evil within the chest is released upon Hyrule.
Link is tasked with reforging the Picori Blade and with the assistance of the Picori and his companion Ezlo he is able to find the four elements across the land of Hyrule. With the four elements, Link is able to reforge the blade, thus it becomes the Four Sword. Meanwhile Vaati found out about the source of the ancient power he seeked, the Light Force. Vaati broke into Hyrule Castle and intended to extract the power from the dormant Princess. Link now with the Four Sword, fights through the cursed Castle and defeats Vaati. Now with Vaati gone Link is able to restore Princess Zelda to her original form and save Hyrule from the dark forces, thus returning peace to the land.
The Return of Vaati
- Main article: Four Swords
After a brief period of peace, the wind sorcerer Vaati returned to terrorize Hyrule. Vaati seeked to kidnap many people across Hyrule, mainly woman, who he then imprisoned inside his new home, the Palace of Winds. One day a hero wielded the great Four Sword, split into four hero's and sealed Vaati away.
One day in Hyrule, Princess Zelda detects strange occurrences within the Four Sword Sanctuary, it is at this moment that Vaati breaks the seal and kidnaps Zelda. Link is tasked with proving his courage to the Faires with the help of the Four Sword. After proving his courage, the Faires help Link travel to the Palace of Winds. With the legendary blade, Link is able to seal Vaati once again within the sword and save Zelda.
Era of the Hero of Time
Unification War
In a period where Hyrule was engulfed in conflict and war, a mother fled to the forest to escape the fires of the fierce war. She held a baby in her hand and arrived at the Kokiri Forest, it is here where she entrusted the Great Deku Tree with looking after her child. The Great Deku Tree, sensing the fate of Hyrule, decided to raise the child under the protection of the Kokiri. The Kingdom of Hyrule slowly gained order again and was unified under one name.
The Hero of Time
- Main article: Ocarina of Time Story
The child that the Deku Tree intended to look after was Link. Link had been experiencing strange dreams and it is at that moment that he is summoned by Navi, to go and see the Great Deku Tree. After ridding the evil deep within him, he tells Link about Ganondorf and the dark future that lays ahead. The Deku Tree also tasks Link with with taking the Emerald of the Kokiri to Princess Zelda in Hyrule Castle. After sneaking past the guards, Link arrives at the courtyard where the Princess asks the Hero to find the other two Spiritual Stones, the Goron Ruby and the Zoras Sapphire. After obtaining all of the stones Link encounters Impa and Zelda fleeing from Ganondorf, she then tosses the Ocarina of Time to Link.
With the three Spiritual Stones and the Ocarina, Link now proceeds through the Door of Time where the Master Sword lays. After pulling the Sword from the Pedestal, Link is kept in the Temple of Light for seven years as he was too young to be the Hero. However this was the one key to the Sacred Realm and it allowed Ganondorf to enter, thus leading him to the Triforce. Due to his heart not being pure he was only able to obtain the Triforce of Power, with this he took over Hyrule and cursed the Sages to be. Link is tasked by Rauru to retrieve the five medallions and aweaken the Sages across Hyrule. Once uniting the medallions and the Sages, the path to Ganon's Castle is now made clear and Link challenges Ganondorf for the fate of Hyrule.
The Decline of Hyrule and the Last Hero
Ganondorf gains the Triforce of Power and seeks out Princess Zelda who has the Triforce of Wisdom. Link who owns the third and final piece of the Triforce, the Triforce of Courage, challenges Ganondorf to determine the destiny of Hyrule. However the Hero of Time, Link fails and is defeated by Ganondorf.
Subsuqently Ganondorf now has the Triforce of Wisdom from Princess Zelda and the Triforce of Courage from the defeated Link. With all of the Triforce pieces in his possession he now obtains true power. Ganondorf is now able to transform into the Demon King Ganon. In a last effort, the seven sages of Hyrule including Princess Zelda, seal Ganon within the Sacred Realm. Due to Ganons heart not being pure the Sacred Realm is transformed into the Dark World.
The Imprisoning War
After the Demon King Ganon was sealed within the Sacred Realm it gave peace to the land and Kingdom of Hyrule. However this peace was shortlived. Word agian spread about the Sacred Realm and many people lusted for the great power hidden within the realm. The people who entered the Sacred Realm, now the Dark World would never return. Due to the dark evil within the Dark World, they were transformed into monsters under the ruling of Ganon. As Ganons army grew they waged war upon Hyrule.
The King of Hyrule ordered the seven sgaes to seal the entrance to the Dark World to prevent Ganons army from attacking Hyrule. With the help from the Knights of Hyrule the seven sages were successful with once again sealing the entrance. During the battle many Knights perished and little were left but they were successful in their attempt and Hyrule won the war breifly. Hylians before this war were usually born with a mysterious power and distinct features such as pointy ears to hear messages from the Gods. However after the Imprisoning War the special infused blood was greatly diminished. Also the Sages of this Era who were victorious became only a legend.
Era of Light and Dark
Golden Era
After the events of both the Oracle of Ages and Seasons, the Demon King Ganon had been defeated. Maintaining the order of Hyrule was the King of Hyrule himself. He used all pieces of the Triforce in unity to create an Era of Peace in Hyrule, known as The Golden Era.
In the backstory to The Adventure of Link, it mentioned of this great King and how he intended to pass down the Triforce after his death. The King believed that after his death, the power of the Triforce would be misused. He intended to find a successor worthy of handling the Triforce but was unsuccessful. In order to prevent this, he split the Triforce into three parts and hid them across Hyrule. The King had two predecessors worthy of taking the throne of Hyrule, the Prince and Princess Zelda. However the King was wary of the Princes character so he only told Princess Zelda the secret of the Triforce. The Prince took on the role of the new King of Hyrule, however due to the Triforce being uncomplete he was unable to weild the true power.
Era of Decline
The Twilight Realm and the Legacy of the Hero
Child Era
Twilight Era
Shadow Era
The Hero of Winds and a New World
Adult Era
After the events of Ocarina of Time, Link defeats the Demon King Ganon. Princess Zelda and the other six sages proceed to seal Ganon away. Now that the Demon King is sealed, Princess Zelda wants Link to relive his childhood, she sends him back to the point where he first met her by using the Ocarina of Time. With the Hero of Time now sent back to the previous Era, Hyrule returned to its once peaceful state.
These events create the split in the timeline and this section of the Timeline is to be known as the Adult Timeline. This Timeline continues with the following games: The Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks.
Era without a Hero
The great tales of the Hero of Time were passed down through many ages and the legendary green garbs he wore. However for an unknown reason the seal that held Ganondorf weakened. This lead to Ganondorf ultimately breaking the seal and he intended to keep the promise he made to the Hero of Time before he was sealed. Hyrule once again was covered in darkness, the people of Hyrule prayed for the Hero of Time to show up once again, however he was no where to be seen.
Left hopeless, Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule decided to leave the fate of Hyrule with the Goddesses. The three Goddesses Informed the people of Hyrule to climb to the mountain tops, as they preceded to flood and seal all of Hyrule and Ganondorf in the process. This event was known as the Great Flood. King Daphnes decided that he would remain within the sealed Hyrule. The people who were able to take refuge on the mountain tops went on to build a new civilisation on the land now known as the Great Sea.
Era of the Great Sea
Era of the Great Voyage
Era of Hyrule's Rebirth
History
References
- ↑ Electronic Gaming Monthly, June 2005
- ↑ Official Nintendo Magazine, July 21, 2005
- ↑ Camp Hyrule, August 15, 2005
- ↑ GameTrailers, October 28, 2011
- ↑ "The golden goddesses departed from the world they created and left the Triforce in care of the goddess Hylia.", Hyrule Historia, pg. 70
- ↑ "Only a few individuals on the Surface knew of the existence of the goddess and Skyloft. After a few thousand years, their story was forgotten and became legend.", Hyrule Historia, pg. 72
- ↑ "Gaepora, the keeper of the legends that had been passed down through his family, built the Knight Academy. Gaepora brought kendo training and Loftwing riding together and established the order of the knights.", Hyrule Historia, pg. 72
- ↑ "Created by the Golden Goddesses and protected by the goddess Hylia, the world eventually became known as Hyrule. The Hylians, descendents of Hylia, lived in Hyrule and possessed magical abilities.", Hyrule Historia, pg. 77
Resources
- Interview:Game Informer October 2011 - The reason Aonuma didn't want to reveal an official timeline