Adult Timeline

The Adult Timeline is one of three branches of the series continuity, following the Adult Ending of Ocarina of Time. The games in this timeline include Ocarina of Time, The Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass, and Spirit Tracks.

The Era of the Hero of Time (Adult Era)

The Adult Timeline starts toward the beginning of Ocarina of Time, when Princess Zelda first meets Link and instructs him to gather the Sacred Stones and open the Gate of Time in an effort to beat Ganondorf to the Triforce.^{[citation needed]} Although these events technically flow naturally from the preceding period, the distinction is made to differentiate it from the Child Timeline, which is an abnormal branch resulting from Link being sent back from the future and changing these events.

The Adult Timeline portion of Ocarina of Time consists of Link completing the remaining dungeons after Inside the Deku Tree, defeating Ganon, and culminating in the Adult Ending. Zelda sends Link back in time causing the creation of the Child Timeline, but she remains on the Adult Timeline where Link no longer exists and Ganon is sealed in the Sacred Realm.

Once Zelda has sent Link back into the Child Timeline, she replaces the Master Sword back into the Pedestal of Time, thus sealing the Door of Time.

The Era without a Hero

Many years after the resealing of the Door of Time, Ganondorf breaks the bonds holding him in the Sacred Realm, and once again attempts to take over Hyrule. The people of Hyrule pray for Link, the Hero of Time, to return and once again vanquish Ganondorf, but with Link being in the Child Timeline, this is impossible. Without anything else to do, King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule turned the fate of the kingdom of Hyrule over to the gods.

The gods warned several inhabitants of the kingdom to flee to the highest mountains, and then they flooded all of Hyrule in order to rid the kingdom of Ganondorf and his evil minions. King Daphnes Nohanson Hyrule was also sealed away on the ocean floor, but his daughter, Zelda, takes a piece of the Triforce of Wisdom to the surface, while the other piece remains with King Hyrule.

The Era of the Great Sea

This Era includes the events of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.

Centuries later, Ganondorf is resurrected once again from the bottom of the sea, and the events of Wind Waker follow. Ganondorf attacks the Wind and Earth temples, and kills their respective sages. King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule is ordered by the gods to reawaken from his sleep at the bottom of the sea in order to put an end to Ganondorf's plans. He disguised himself as The King of Red Lions. He begins to search for Link, the new Hero, and Tetra, the descendant of King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule.

Link travels to the two temples and finds the incarnations of the ancient sages, thus unlocking the true power of the Master Sword which was also sealed at the bottom of the sea. After finding the eight fragments of the Triforce of Courage, Link confronts Ganondorf and kills him with Zelda's help. This concludes The Era of the Great Sea, along with The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.

The Era of the Great Sea Voyage

This Era includes the events of The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass.

After defeating Ganondorf in Wind Waker, Link, Tetra, and her crew set off on a journey to find a new Hyrule. On their voyage, they come across a mysterious ship known as The Ghost Ship. Tetra goes aboard the ship and is kidnapped, and Link attempts to set off after her, only to fall into the depths of the sea.

Link wakes up on Mercay Island, in The Realm of the Ocean King, a dimension parallel to Hyrule's, similar to Termina. Link sets out on his mission to rescue Tetra with Captain Linebeck, and he travels all over the seas in search of the Ghost Ship. They eventually find it, along with an evil entity known as Bellum. Link defeats Bellum, and returns to Tetra's ship with Tetra. Tetra's crew tells them that only 10 minutes had passed, implying that this was all a dream. However, Linebeck's ship can be found sailing in the background, which suggests that he may have crossed over to their dimension with them.

After the end of Phantom Hourglass, Link and Tetra set out, continuing their journey to find a new Hyrule. Eventually, they come across a new continent, and Tetra founded New Hyrule.

The Era of Hyrule's Rebirth

This era consists of the events of The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks.

New Hyrule flourishes, and a large kingdom is built. Train tracks are built all over the kingdom, and trains serve as their main method of transportation. 100 years after New Hyrule is founded, these Spirit Tracks begin to vanish. This is found to be the cause of the evil Demon King Malladus, who had been sealed away ages ago before Link and Tetra had arrived. He had been resurrected, and was causing the tracks to vanish. Malladus also steals Zelda's body, leaving her spirit behind.

Link travels the land, causing the Spirit Tracks to reappear. Link gets Zelda's body back after it was possessed by Malladus, and Link and Zelda work together to defeat Malladus, thus returning peace to the land.