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 Dark Tribe to take the Triforce for himself. To protect the Triforce and her people the Hylians, 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
Era of Chaos
Post Skyward Sword after the defeat of Demise, the surface world that the Goddesses created became known as Hyrule. In respect to the Goddess who ruled over the land previous, Hylia. The people who descended from the sky, previously protected by Hylia herself became to be known as Hylians. This ancient race were born with distinct features such as their known to be famous pointy ears. These features were said to enable them to hear messages from the Gods. Hylians were also said to be born with a mysterious power.
The Hylians became established on the surface after the defeat of Demise. It continued to be peaceful place for many years until a new Era was about to commence, an Era filled with Chaos. By old tales and folklore, word got about the sacred power known as the Triforce. Many people sought to claim domain over this great power and it seemed the chaos had no end.
One of the six Sages sworn to protect Hyrule Rauru, the Sage of light decided to put an end to the chaos. He decided to build the Temple of Time to seal the only known entrance to the Sacred Realm. Further protecting the entrance to the realm was the Master Sword and the three Spiritual Stones. The stones were the key to unlocking the Door of Time where the Pedestal to the Master Sword layed. Within the Sacred Relam itself was the Temple of Light, this is where the Triforce remained, guarded by Rauru himself.
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
Era of the Hero of Time
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
Resources
- Interview:Game Informer October 2011 - The reason Aonuma didn't want to reveal an official timeline