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crowroboros · 4 months ago

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Tears of the Kingdom, Master Works, and the Zelda Timeline

Okay! So the Tears of the Kingdom Master Works has dropped and some translations have popped up online, including the Hyrule Chronology section of the book.

Why am I making this post? Simply put, I just want to get my thoughts on how the lore presented here and other materials such as interviews have changed my perspective on how Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom fit into the greater Zelda timeline.

Before TotK's release, I was in the camp that Breath of the Wild was in one of two places; At the end of the Child Timeline long after Four Swords Adventures in the same Hyrule. Or in a convergent timeline. I leaned more towards the Child Timeline placement however, as there being no mention of an inciting event that would merge all three timelines didn't sit right with me. Furthermore, I didn't think that the old world—the Hyrule that was established after the Interloper War—would survive such an event, and everything we had up till that point suggested that this was the same Hyrule as the past games.

With Tears of the Kingdom's release, I no longer believe that to be the case.

This stance has only been backed up as more and more lore details have been released. Everything points to the Hyrule we see in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom to be a separate kingdom than the one present in the old games. So what makes me think this?

Well to start, let's cover Hyrule's history as seen in the old games and compare it to the history that Tears of the Kingdom presents.

The Repopulation of the Surface and the Birth of Hyrule:

After the events of Skyward Sword, humans returned to the surface after millennia and began settling alongside the Goron, Parella, Kikwi, and Mogmas. These different groups end up developing and creating their own civilizations with the Triforce in the hands of the Hylians. Now, despite the defeat of Demise and the Era of the Sky having mostly faded into myth and legend, word of a powerful artifact still floated around the surface. These rumors fed into the greed present in some people, wishing for power to do with what they wish. Of course, the artifact in question was the Triforce. A group of sorcerers known as the Dark Interlopers began to organize and raged war against the Hylians in order to obtain the Triforce.

This is what is known as the Interloper War, and which led to the birth of the Kingdom of Hyrule.

To protect the Triforce, the Three Golden Goddesses sent in the Spirits of Light—Faron, Eldin, Lanayru, and Ordona—to use the Mirror of Twilight to banish the Interlopers into the Twilight Realm. After the Banishment of the Twili, the Hylian ancient Sage of Light Rauru hides the Triforce within the Temple of Light within the Sacred Realm, which could only be accessed from the Sealed Grounds within the Light World (Hyrule). Rauru then constructs the Temple of Time over the ruins of the Sealed Grounds and uses the Master Sword, the Pedestal of Time, and the Door of Time as a gateway and the Three Spiritual Stones serving as keys to opening that gateway.

To protect the Sacred Realm, the Master Sword, and the Temple of Time, the descendants of Skyward Sword Zelda—the Goddess Hylia reborn—then establish the Kingdom of Hyrule and entrust the Three Spiritual Stones to the Zora, Gorons, and Kokiri as a showing of trust between the groups.

This is the birth of Hyrule as we see it in every Zelda game prior to BotW/TotK. With the Kingdom being established long after the events of Skyward Sword, and before the events of The Minish Cap. So how does this compare to what Tears of the Kingdom and it's book Master Works presents?

The Zonai, The Imprisoning War, and the birth of Hyrule:

To start, we actually have to go back to the Creation of the World. The Creation Myth of the World presented here is pretty much identical to the one seen in Ocarina of Time and other Zelda games with one key addition: The Golden Goddesses also created the Secret Stones and put them in the care of the Goddess Hylia.

While the Triforce isn't mentioned here, I have no doubt that it exists as well in the same state as it did in the past games: Triforce imagery is seen all throughout Hyrule in both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. So while it isn't directly mentioned, I don't doubt that it exists as well.

Long after the Secret Stones and the Triforce were created and the Golden Goddesses left the world to the Heavens, Hylia entrusted the Secret Stones to the Zonai people to protect and use them wisely. The Zonai then populate the surface and the depths, beginning their own civilization and mining operations for Zonaite to power their machinery. Eventually the Zonai abandon the surface and ascend to the sky, however their mining operations in the depths continue. During this period many different tribes spring up and form communities on the surface; The Rito, Gorons, Zora, Gerudo, and Hylians.

Facing the danger of a collapse, the Zonai abandon the depths and begin mingling with the surface people. They help out where they can using their knowledge and powers, however their population rapidly declines. Eventually, Rauru of the Zonai people and a Hylian Priestess Sonia meet and fall in love. The pair get married and begin the Pilgrimage of Light, purging the surface demons and placing Shrines of Light over the demon's point of destruction to prevent its reappearance.

The two, having gained a lot of respect and trust for their efforts to protect the surface-dwellers from dark forces, ascend as King and Queen of the Hylian people in a new Kingdom known as Hyrule.

However, not everyone on the surface is happy about the cleansing of the demons: Ganondorf, King of the Gerudo, sees the change as the weakening of the surface-dwellers. He believed that only the strong had the right to exist, and that by exterminating the demons and dark spirits that terrorized the people of the surface that it would weaken the world and those within it. Thus he began a plot against Hyrule and the Zonai, which we see in Tears of the Kingdom as The Imprisoning War: Sonia is killed by Ganondorf—who takes her Secret Stone and becomes Demon King Ganondorf. The Gerudo split into two groups, those who are against Ganondorf and those who are with him. The Rito, Zora, Goron, and anti-Ganon Gerudo meet up with Rauru and the Hylians to stop the world from falling back into the war-filled, chaotic land it was before the Pilgrimage of Light. One member of each tribe becomes a Sage entrusted with a Secret Stone to help fight against Ganondorf. Rauru sacrifices his life to seal Ganondorf in the Temple of Light deep in the depths underneath the surface, and Zelda transforms into the Light Dragon to repair the decayed Master Sword that was sent back in time.

How does this connect?

So we have two very different origin stories for Hyrule that have some strong parallels: A Sage of Light named Rauru is alive to see the birth of the Kingdom and a war against dark forces; the war centers around mystical, powerful artifacts created by the Golden Goddesses; The Temple of Light plays a major role in the war; and stone-like artifacts are entrusted to different tribes across the land as a sign of trust and community.

What do I make of this? If one thing is clear, it is that these two origin stories parallel each other. One of the meta themes of the Zelda series at large is the idea of the cyclical nature of the world: The Curse of Demise, the rebirth of the Spirit of the Hero, the way Hyrule is locked in a cycle of prosperity and decline, etc.

It is my belief that the Hyrule we see in Tears of the Kingdom and Breath of the Wild are yet another example of this. It is a kingdom that mirrors the Hyrule from past games with a similar, yet notably different, history.

Under no circumstances can one claim that these are the same event. Even if you ignore all the differences between the origins themselves, the aftermath still shows that these two stories surround two different Hyrules: In TotK's Hyrule, after the Imprisoning War the Gerudo outright banned any male Gerudo from being king and established the Chieftain position to take over rule. This cannot happen if these two Hyrules are the same as in both Ocarina of Time and Four Swords Adventures, Ganondorf is the King of the Gerudo before becoming Ganon. Hyrule Castle was also built over the Temple of Light to hide away Ganondorf's sealed body and Rauru which survives over 10,000 years till the events of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. Whereas in the other Hyrule, there are several different Castles that are destroyed and built elsewhere. These cannot be the same origin story and these kingdoms cannot be the same Hyrule. But when what about the clear references to games such as Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess, Wind Waker, A Link to the Past, and others? How can they be referenced as real events while also being in a different Hyrule?

Well that is when we turn to an interview with series director Eiji Aonuma and the director of Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom Hidemaro Fujibayashi. When asked about how this version of the Hyrule origin story connects to the version seen in the past games, Fujibayashi states that the lore and story of the series is meant to fit together and not to collapse on itself. He says that perhaps there was a Hyrule before the kingdom we see in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, that maybe it was destroyed and forgotten to time.

So is that it? Case closed? Maybe! But I'm hesitant to say so, what could've caused such an event? Why was it forgotten to time yet events that came before it wasn't? Well, it is this and Master Works that push me to two different ideas for how BotW/TotK fit into the overall Zelda timeline: A timeline convergence, and a new timeline split. Each with their own pros and cons and evidence.

The Timeline Convergence Theory

I think the Timeline convergence theory is the easiest one to articulate so lets start there.

It really is just as it sounds; Sometime long after Adventure of Link, Four Swords Adventures, and Spirit Tracks the three timelines converge into one, collapsing the civilizations of the Old Worlds and bringing things to a similar state seen back during the Era of the Sky. From there, everything we get in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom occurs. Legends and myths of the world long past still persists, but no one is able to prove that these events actually occurred. I have made a graphic to show what the timeline would look like in this scenario.

(You may have noticed that I put Echoes of Wisdom—a game that has not released—on the timeline after Four Swords Adventures. I'll make a comment thread on this post explaining why I think that the game might take place there. That too is just a theory.)

What does this theory have going for it? Well it seemingly explains any contradictory evidence: A Link to the Past, Twilight Princess, and Wind Waker are all heavily referenced despite all three of those games taking place in separate timelines? Not a problem if all of those merged back into one! An event such as that wouldn't be smooth sailing for the people alive during it either, Hyrule is in such a different state in all three branches of the timeline that if they were to converge again it would be akin to a universal reset. It also follows the series trend of death and rebirth and story parallels: The convergence—which I have called "The Great Consolidation"—would be a parallel to the three Golden Goddesses creating the world. The event would have killed off the Old Worlds, yes, but it allows for something new to spring up in its place—which the series again is no stranger to with the Adult Timeline.

Things like the Rito and Zora coexisting, the Tunics of past heroes found in the depths, locations referencing characters across the series; It can all be explained if it all simply happened.

But my biggest issue with that theory was this; Why would the timelines converge? What event could cause this and why is there not even a hint of such a thing occurring? It just doesn't make sense to me that three timelines with hundreds of years worth of history would all be remembered and passed down through legend, yet the incident that brought them together with such force and chaos would be completely forgotten.

That just doesn't sit right with me, and I have no answers to any of those questions even though it is what I had settled on for the past year or so.

Which leads me to the next theory.

The Era of the Goddess Hylia Timeline Split Theory

This theory proposes that the events of Skyward Sword—much like that of Ocarina of Time—create a timeline split. This one however as a result of Link's use of the Triforce at the end of the game.

Just like with the timeline convergence theory, I made a little graphic of what the Zelda timeline would look like if this theory would end up being true.

Like I said earlier, this theory centers around the idea that a timeline split occurs during the events of Skyward Sword when Link uses the Triforce to kill Demise in the present day. Now to be honest, before recently I did not subscribe to the idea. I just didn't think there was much merit to it. But recently I had thought about it a bit more, and I'm much more open to the idea now.

It isn't killing Demise in the present with the Triforce that is the cause of the split, but rather the aftermath. To recap the end of Skyward Sword for anyone who hasn't played it or may have forgotten; After using the Triforce to eradicate Demise, Zelda awakens from her slumber and reunites with Link, Groose, and Impa. Ghirahim however is pissed that his Master is dead and thus swiftly incapacitates the four before taking Zelda through the Gate of Time and thousands of years into the past during the Era of the Goddess Hylia, shortly after Demise was imprisoned in the Sealed Grounds.

It is here that Ghirahim uses Zelda's soul to bring back Demise, freeing him from his prison and revitalizing him. Groose and Link follow Ghirahim and Link fights Demise. Using the Master Sword, Link kills Demise in the past—freeing Zelda's soul—before returning with Zelda and Groose to the present day.

The theory is pretty self-explanatory now isn't it? It is a similar premise to the Child/Adult Era split in Ocarina of Time; Something happens in the future, and characters do something in the past that would stop that future from occurring—splitting the timeline as a result. In this case, rather than closing the Door of Time and then warning the Royal Family of Ganondorf's plans, it is the killing of the Demon King Demise in the past that splits the timeline. He can't die in the present if he's already dead after all.

This would then lead to a completely different history, one that mirrors the one that we have come to know in love over the past 38 years of this series. Hyrule is established—this time by the Zonai—Ganondorf threatens the Kingdom, and the Princess and Hero group up to stop him time and time again. It allows for both the TotK Hyrule origin story to occur as well as the original Hyrule origin story without having the big massive question of how the timelines could converge and not be remembered.

But what about the Twilight Princess references? Or the Wind Waker references? Or the Tunics we can find? What about the "Whether Skyward Bound, Adrift in Time, or Steeped in the Glowing Embers of Twilight" line from Breath of the Wild? This theory doesn't explain why the past games are referenced time and time again, it only explains the two different Hyrules...right? Well that's where we return to the idea that this series likes to tell stories that parallel each other. With TotK's Master Works again confirming that there were many appearances of Calamity Ganon before the creation of the Divine Beasts, I believe that the past games did also happen in this timeline—or at least, a version of them.

Let's go back to the beginning when I was comparing how similar the two versions of Hyrule's origin story are and how they're distinctly different enough to clearly be two different events despite their broad similarities. Well, the story of The Imprisoning War doesn't just reflect the Interloper War; It also reflects the story of Ocarina of Time.

After a failed attack on Hyrule, King of the Gerudo—Ganondorf—swears fealty to the Royal Family of Hyrule. This is a ruse, however. One that conceals his true plan to betray the Royal Family and steal a mystic artifact that the Royal Family safeguards to gain godlike power and to take the land for himself, shaping it with his own views. Zelda sees through this ruse, and tries warning the King of Hyrule to Ganondorf's plan. The King of Hyrule doesn't take action however, leading to Ganondorf taking the artifact and gaining immense power. Ganondorf with his newfound power wreaks havoc across the land, forcing other groups living in Hyrule—including the Gerudo—to band together and form the Seven Sages and defeat Ganondorf. There is also the Master Sword traveling through time.

Which story did I just explain? The answer is both Tears of the Kingdom's Imprisoning War and Ocarina of Time. Of course, there are some differences; The Sages in OoT are Light, Forest, Fire, Water, Shadow, Spirit, and Zelda (implied to be time). In TotK the Sages are Light, Time, Wind, Fire, Water, Lightning, and Spirit. Notably there is no Hero present during the Imprisoning War, which is likely a reason why the Sages were getting their asses handed to them until Rauru sacrificed himself. Not much time travel happens beyond Zelda getting sent to this era from the future before the War broke out and the decayed Master Sword being sent to Zelda from the future shortly after the War. And King Rauru is also aware that Ganondorf is not to be trusted, while the King of Hyrule in OoT outright rejects the idea.

But the broad strokes still remain, and it cannot be denied that Ocarina of Time was a major influence on the story of the Imprisoning War.

So if these major events can be paralleled, then why not others? Again, we know that there were many appearances of Calamity Ganon; Perhaps one of those appearances broke the barrier between the Light world and the Twilight Realm? Maybe another caused the Hero to have to traverse the seas beyond Hyrule to try to stop it? Maybe another caused the Royal Family and the Hero to journey to the Sacred Realm? Under this theory there is still a Hero of Twilight, a Hero of Winds, a Hero of Legend, etc. But they aren't the ones we're familiar with. All the references to past characters and events are still canon, though the stories surrounding them might be a little different.

It could explain why the Rito and Zora can coexist; In this timeline, they simply evolved separately rather than the Rito evolving from the Zora. Perhaps they shared a common ancestor in the Parella in this timeline rather than just the Zora evolving from them.

Now there are a few issues with this theory as well.

For starters, I admit the idea of the references to the past games not actually being the past games but rather some similar version of the past games kind of feels like a cop-out and likely wasn't the original idea when making Breath of the Wild (whether that changed later on is to be debated).

Furthermore, the Gate of Time was opened when Link killed Demise in the past, and we know that the Door of Time was constructed over the Sealed Grounds where the Gate of Time used to be. So it could be argued that it follows similar rules to the Door of Time in which if the Door/Gate is opened, then one can freely do what they need in the past and the future that has already been created would then reflect that. But I don't think that alone disproves this theory. If that is the case, then Demise being killed in the past should then completely change everything that happens after. Skyward Sword as it is occurs because Demise isn't dead and is Imprisoned in the Sealed Grounds.

Killing Demise in the past means that Link then wouldn't need to go on the journey to find Zelda in the present because she never would've been captured to begin with.

It's a paradox.

And while the series isn't new to tackling paradoxes (The Song of Storms and the events of BotW/TotK are both examples of Bootstrap paradoxes; With Adult Link learning the Song of Storms from Guru-Guru and then going back in time to teach Guru-Guru the same song; and Zelda in TotK going back in time to help imprison Ganondorf which led to the creation of Calamity Ganon and the events of BotW which then led to Zelda finding Ganondorf and getting sent back in time), I don't think that this aligns with those paradoxes. The two deaths of Demise is much more similar to Link preventing Ganondorf's rise to power at the end of OoT, thus preventing much of OoT from happening. And yes, that happened after Link closed the Door of Time so it can be argued that it wouldn't have caused a timeline split if he did it beforehand. I just think that it makes a bit more sense that a reality following Demise's death in the past would be created separate from the reality we follow throughout most of Skyward Sword.

However there is another issue with this idea: At the end of Skyward Sword, Link puts the Master Sword in her pedestal in the past before returning to the present, where the Master Sword still stands in the very same pedestal—suggesting that it is the same continuity as the one in which Demise was killed in the past.

This one I admittedly have no answer for.

All I can say is that we again see a similar thing in Ocarina of Time. Link takes the Master Sword back to the past and puts her in the Pedestal of Time and then the timeline splits, yet the Master Sword still exists in the Adult era. Maybe the sword's status as The Sword of Time means that she isn't bound by time and is a constant in every timeline? I'm not sure.

The TotK Master Works book is also ambiguous as to how long after the Creation of the Secret Stones by the Golden Goddesses it took for the Zonai to then populate the surface and the depths. It could be a few hundred years, or a few hundred-thousand years. There just isn't enough to say.

Conclusion:

As of right now, these two theories are what I operate around when it comes to the placement of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom in the Zelda timeline. I've been a massive fan of this series for most of my life, and it really sparked my love for storytelling and lore. So while the contradictions and confusion that Tears of the Kingdom's lore and story has caused in the Zelda community has admittedly been terrifying, I do think that it still has its place and that the Zelda universe is still in one cohesive piece.

I'll definitely be making adjustments to this when Echoes of Wisdom releases and I can really dive deep into that game! There are already parts in the trailers that has me questioning if this game has any lore connections to Tears of the Kingdom and Breath of the Wild and I'm excited to learn more about the Zelda universe when that game releases. Maybe it'll completely change my stance once again.

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skyloftian-nutcase · 5 months ago

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Prisoner of War (Imprisoning War)

Despite the chaos of the battle, something distinct caught Ganondorf’s attention. In a sea of red hair and brown skin paired with leather and steel, in a sea of armor and white banners, there was light gold, like the pale yellow chrysanthemums Orik had gifted to Hemisi.

Orik. Link.

Link was here.

Damn that child. He’d told him to stay away. He knew the boy hadn’t listened, but to have the audacity to fight where Ganondorf himself was…

Well, he had to admit the boy had far more gumption to him than he’d realized. It was no wonder Hemisi had fallen for him.

Ganondorf caught the attention of his commander. “Bring Link to me. Alive.”

XXX

It had been no small feat.

Link was a menace on the battlefield. The boy had gotten far better with that blasted sword, swinging it with ease, dodging and weaving around the Gerudo and monster attacks. He clearly still favored getting in close and personal, often tripping up his enemies so they’d lose their footing before he dove in for a finishing blow. There was no hesitation to it, either – the young fighter was no stranger to killing at this point.

Nevertheless, he went down when Ganondorf cut off the reinforcements that were around him, leaving him to be overwhelmed.

With their Hero captured, the enemy forces had to fall back. It seemed Link was enough of a powerhouse that they couldn’t win the fight without him – at least their general thought so.

Ganondorf waited in his tent, adrenaline fresh in his system, slowly taking his armor off as the guards dragged the boy to him. He heard their approach easily; Link was moaning, clearly hurt, and it made the Gerudo king tense up instinctively.

When they entered the tent, the women tossed the boy on the ground, and he let out a cry of pain. Ganondorf watched him a moment, eyes flicking up to his soldiers, and he dismissed them. Link shriveled into himself a little, though he didn’t seem to move his right leg, which looked misshapen.

Broken, most likely.

A part of the king felt vindicated. This is what happens when you don’t listen, he wanted to growl. But the way Link squeezed his eyes shut, tears mixing with sweat, face stained with blood and dirt…

Ganondorf sighed, kneeling down in front of him. “I told you to stay out of this, boy.”

Link grunted, breaths sharp and unsteady.

Ganondorf supposed there was little need to drive the point home. He’d said what he needed to. The lack of apology or acknowledgement was irritating, but understandable given the boy’s state.

The boy’s state. He remembered seeing the teenager laughing, throwing powders that matched every hue of light into the air during the Festival of Colors. He remembered seeing the boy smiling as he taught Hemisi traditional Sheikah dances and songs. He remembered the young man’s keen eyes glowing with wonder as he’d listened to him tell stories. He remembered the child’s desperate look for comfort, his fear and trust when he’d been so ill he could hardly breathe. He remembered the warmth in his heart when he’d taught the boy how to shave, how those expressive red eyes watched his every move, reminding him so much of Merovar’s younger years that it almost hurt.

And here now, he saw a warrior, bloodied and bruised and broken and in pain.

Ganondorf bit his tongue. Then he sighed, gently picking the boy up and laying him on the cot nearby. Link hissed in pain, jerking his entire body as his broken leg was jostled. The Gerudo didn’t bother to apologize for hurting the boy, still irate, but there was little point in arguing with the softer side that was screaming he clean the child up.

What would he do with him? He wondered as he slowly stripped the boy of his armor, removing first his belt and scarf, then his boot off his uninjured leg. He should have the boy taken back to Lagema, where he could be kept safe and out of the way. Hemisi would no doubt be thrilled.

Hemisi. He definitely wasn’t going to tell her about this until the boy was secured in the Gerudo capital. The last thing he needed was for her to get distracted. Though, perhaps she’d be even more motivated to ferociously defend the desert knowing she was protecting him as well as everyone else, rather than fighting against him. Who knew. The teenage drama that had been unfolding between the pair because of this conflict was an entirely different matter that Ganondorf did not have patience for at the moment.

Perhaps it was best Hemisi didn’t know for a good while. She would remain at her station on the edge of Hyrule territory, safe from the main conflict.

But if he wasn’t saving this boy for his daughter’s sake, then… what was he doing??

You know damn well that you’ve gotten attached too, his mind taunted him as he sighed heavily. He reached carefully for Link’s other boot, shushing him as he winced and moaned while he removed it.

Link lay trembling on the cot now, looking far too broken and beaten down for the Gerudo king’s liking. He pulled away the dark mask the boy wore, showing his young face, showing the tear tracks and the way he bit his tongue to stop himself from screaming and showing weakness.

He told himself he’d clean the boy up once he’d stripped off some more layers, reaching for his gloves next. Link needed a bath and a potion (a part of him wanted the boy to stay injured, as a lesson and a means to ensuring he didn’t escape, while another part of him screamed to heal him now, to stop his moans and cries and soothe his tears).

The right glove came off easily. The left—

Link hissed, pulling his hand away. Ganondorf gently reached for it again. “Let me look, child.”

Link glared in return, breaths coming in shaky heaves.

The Gerudo king huffed. “Of my three children, you were the gentlest and sweetest. Strange that you went to war first.”

“You started it!” Link snapped before wincing as he tried to sit up.

“I do remember your temper,” Ganondorf remarked, gently pushing him back down. “I warned you not to get involved, Link. I had you captured to protect you, and you still don’t think I’ll help you? Let me see your hand.”

“You betrayed—” Link cut himself off, lips trembling.

“Betrayed who?” Ganondorf asked, mildly annoyed. “You?”

There was silence for a long time, neither man breaking eye contact. Then Link muttered, tiredly, brokenly, “You’d said you cared. That you…”

The boy swallowed his words, doubling down on an attempt to be stoic and strong.

I put my entire operation at risk for you, idiotic child, he almost snapped, but Ganondorf didn’t voice it. He had no reason to justify himself to this boy. Instead, he said, “The Triforce is mine, Link.”

“It belongs to—”

“A foolish king!” Ganondorf interrupted. “Who throws his power away at anyone who grovels enough! Such a man is unworthy of divine power!”

“Ozen isn’t king anymore!” Link argued, sitting up again, breath growing erratic as he fought through the pain to make his point. “Zelda is the rightful ruler of Hyrule, and she’s a far better leader than you ever will be! She doesn’t put her people in peril for her own selfish desires! You ingratiated yourself to everyone so you could steal the Triforce, you never cared!”

Anger surged through him, and Ganondorf channeled it quickly, backhanding the defiant teenager. The force of the blow nearly sent the boy careening off the cot, but Link recovered quickly, glaring at him as if he hadn’t felt it despite how his lip bled.

They were getting nowhere. This boy wouldn’t listen! Ganondorf should just kill him and be done with it!

“Did your time with us mean so little to you?” he said in a low voice, surprising himself at the regret panging in his chest all of a sudden. Where had that come from? “Did Hemisi mean so little to you?”

Link’s anger melted in an instant, eyes widening, hurt evident. For a moment, Ganondorf saw the sweet, placating child he’d known, the fierce warrior fading into the background. “I… it… sh-she… she meant everything to me.”

That was a lie and he knew it. But the tears in the boy’s eyes were genuine, and Ganondorf hated how it was working on him.

“Yet you fight her people, her father,” he snapped in return.

Link’s tears vanished, replaced with a rage he hadn’t seen in the boy. “Did you expect me to lay down and let you try to destroy my country?”

“I expected loyalty if you truly loved her,” Ganondorf rebuked, voice darkening.

“You expect groveling,” Link hissed. “You expect slavery. My loyalty isn’t blind, I’m not the idiot you think I am!”

This was going nowhere and he knew it. His own temper was rising, and Link was working himself up so much his face was actually draining of color like he was about to pass out.

Idiot child, he berated the boy in his mind. And he berated himself – why had he thought it was a good idea to capture him?

It was honestly pointless denying that he’d grown attached to the boy. But it was equally pointless to see this ending well. Link was too far gone… wasn’t he?

He’d spared that boy when Link had found the Master Sword. Of all the times—if Ganondorf were to have ever killed him, it would have been then. It wasn’t as if the Gerudo king hadn’t been surprised, perhaps even horrified at the sight of it – a sword of destiny, imbued with divine power to defeat darkness, etched into the fabric of destiny and history as a beacon of hope for Hyrule against its enemies… and it was in the hands of a child Ganondorf had grown to love.

Link. It was supposed to be an anomaly. That name wasn’t supposed to mean anything. Destiny wasn’t supposed to meddle with his family.

Ganondorf gritted his teeth. Din’s warning echoed in the back of his mind, and he grew angrier for it. How dare she try to torment him like this? She, who had given him a second chance at life, who had placed him in this land after he’d nearly died at the hands of the sages, who had listened to his plea when she’d offered him an alternative, only for her to tear his family apart?

He felt his eyes widen a little at the thought of it. Since when had he started viewing Link as family, anyway? He’d known from the beginning, even from the night before the assault, that the boy would not join their fight.

Link fell back on to the pillow of the cot, whimpering a little at the sudden movement as he lost his strength. He tried to save face, scrunching his face and refusing to look the king in the eye. Ganondorf sighed, taking a step back to give them both some space.

He supposed he had presumed Link would join them when it was done. Because there wasn’t supposed to be a war. Not like this. It was supposed to be swift, decisive, quick and clean. The original plan was to take the Triforce and immediately take Hyrule with it. That would have simplified things. Ganondorf didn’t mind getting his hands dirty, and a war wasn’t going to stop him, but if it had gone the way it was supposed to, he’d already be ruling all the lands, his wife at his side, and his children would be happy.

Besides… now that war had broken out and he was seeing Link as a fierce warrior, he felt… even more admiration for the kid. The sweet Sheikah who was always so shy and quiet and acquiescing, who held a little mischief to his eye whenever Hemisi pulled him into silliness, who was always respectful, who had enough grit to prove to a culture of warriors that he could hold his own in a fight at twelve years old… he was really coming into his own. Ganondorf had to respect the boy’s determination, had to smile at how the little glimpses he’d gotten of the iron will the boy held were finally shining through. The Gerudo king had always loved a challenge, and the boy was certainly both presenting himself as one and rising up to meet the one he was facing.

Either way, he had to figure out what to do with the boy now. He’d mull it over more as he finished cleaning him up. The fewer words they said to each other, the better. He knelt down carefully, putting a hand over the boy’s chest to quietly let him know he was there.

Link’s eyes barely opened, sluggish and exhausted. Ganondorf gently pulled the hair tie out of the knots that had formed around clots in his hair, letting it fall down into the mess that it was. The boy feebly moved at the touch, sniffling. He was too tired to put up a fight anymore, as the king suspected he might be. The vulnerability that was laid bare as a result made Ganondorf’s heart ache far more than it had any right to.

“Oh, Link,” he sighed.

At the sound of his name, Link’s eyes opened entirely now, tracing around confusedly at the ceiling before settling on the king. The blood from where he’d hit him earlier had started to clot, leaving a trail of red syrupy crust from his lip to his ear. Ganondorf’s gut churned a little at the sight of it, and he was strangely on edge.

He’s not family yet, he reminded himself. He’s still fighting for the enemy.

This conflicting loyalty was growing tiring and irritating, but he still needed to follow through with the original plan. He was a man of action, not indecisive debate based on sentimentality. Looking the teenager over, he saw where he’d left off, one fingerless leather glove remaining on Link’s left hand. The boy had pulled away when he’d touched it, so it was likely hurt.

Ganondorf took the boy’s hand in his own. Whatever injury Link had, he could—

The glove slipped off Link’s trembling fingers easily, revealing a sacred mark.

The blessing of Farore was etched on his skin, like the remnants of a kiss from the goddess herself.

Ganondorf stared.

What?!

All this time, he’d been looking for the other pieces of the Triforce. All this time, he’d been waging war with little idea how he would actually obtain his goal.

And it was hidden in his child.

The goddesses truly did love to torment him, didn’t they? Or was this some sort of sign that he should bring the boy into the fold and protect him?

But Link knew. He knew what this signified, because he was trying to hide it, because the boy still tried to pull his hand away, succeeded in doing so as Ganondorf’s grip went slack.

He felt his temper rise to the forefront, and he rose with it. “You have one of the pieces?”

Link tucked his left hand into his armpit as if it could hide the evidence, eyes halfheartedly glaring behind a very thinly veiled fear.

He was afraid of him. Of course he was afraid of him. Ganondorf was his enemy.

Link had chosen that path! Ganondorf had warned him at their last confrontation, despite the obvious signs that he should kill the boy! He’d told him to stay out of the fight! And now, after ignoring such an order, he willingly kept the Triforce of Courage away from him! It was clear the boy’s loyalty was to the crown, as Ganondorf had always known it would be, and nothing would change that. He wasn’t going to swear his fealty to Hemisi or Ganondorf. He never would!

To think he was so close to achieving everything that he wanted…

Ganondorf swallowed, swallowed his temper and tried one last time.

“Give it to me,” he said as calmly as he could, reaching his hand out.

Link’s fear evaporated, replaced only with determination, eyes hardening.

Ganondorf’s patience snapped, and he threw his hand down, ramming it into the child’s broken leg. “GIVE IT TO ME!”

Link screamed. It tore into Ganondorf’s mind, shredding the red haze that clouded his vision, but his heart raced and his desire for power thrummed just as loudly.

He wasn’t giving up his plans for a boy who wasn’t even family, who purposefully chose to not join his family. He refused. He gripped the warrior’s broken leg more firmly and, with his other hand, reached for his left wrist. Link couldn’t fight him, completely overrun with agony, but despite the sacred relic staring at him and mocking him, he couldn’t access it.

“Give up the Triforce of Courage or perish!” Ganondorf threatened.

Link gasped for air before seeming to get a hold of himself. He watched Ganondorf a moment, giving the king a moment of hope, before the boy spat at him, eyes vicious.

Ganondorf grabbed the brat by the throat, raising him into the air, snarling with fury. Link struggled, left leg trying to kick, tears freely falling as he clutched desperately at the man’s grip around his neck.

Tears. Tears.

He’s crying. You’re killing him.

He was a traitor!!

He’s a child!

He was standing between Ganondorf and victory!

Hemisi won’t forgive you for killing him.

Hemisi had to learn how to handle the cruelty of the world. This boy was a traitor to her as well as him.

You love him too.

Ganondorf’s grip tightened. Link’s struggling grew weaker.

The Gerudo king let out a shaky exhale, letting his fingers relax a little, other hand reaching up to grip the boy’s tunic instead as he finally released his throat. Link rasped, a wretched, unhealthy sound, and Ganondorf felt his stomach churn, remembering when the boy had sand fever and he’d cared for him.

Look what you did.

He deserved it! The boy was an enemy!

Ganondorf grit his teeth, letting magic surge through his arm. It hardened, crystallizing around the child, leaving Link floating in an amber prison within seconds. The boy tried to cling to consciousness, hands desperately pressed against his cage, exhaustion evident, emotions raw. He leaned his head against the amber, and Ganondorf’s hand hovered over his forehead, touching cool, magical stone instead of soft, bloody skin.

He needed to calm down. He couldn’t kill Link. If nothing else, it could make the Triforce of Courage disappear entirely.

The boy’s screams still echoed in his head, despite the silence from him now. He doubted Link could make a sound through his damaged throat. His breaths came in high pitched gasps, alarming some part of his mind that told him his breathing could get worse.

Ganondorf shook his head. He couldn’t stay in here. He walked away, leaving Link’s fate to the goddess who cursed him with her grace. If the boy was still alive when he returned, cooler heads would prevail. Perhaps Ganondorf would clean him up and heal him then.

Perhaps.

XXX

Impa barely listened as the officers around her bickered.

Their loss was catastrophic in nearly every way. The majority of their battles up to this point had been skirmishes, aside from siege on the Wastelands and the Battle of Hyrule Field. It had been a back and forth between the warring factions, monster camps taking military bases, Hyrule soldiers tracking down Gerudo pockets. But this…

To attack the lands of the Mountains and Forests of peace, the seat of power for the sages and the land of the forgotten temple where the Master Sword had been rediscovered, was to attack the soul of Hyrule. Ganondorf had been very precise in this battle, and he’d brought all his power and soldiers with him. The Sage of Lightning had been killed, and—

Orik.

The chief of the Sheikah felt her heart clench at the thought of her youngest brethren in war. She’d tried, as best she could, to look after the young man ever since he’d passed his trials – he was the youngest ever to do so, and it made her worry, despite knowing that he’d earned the right and had no need to be coddled. Nevertheless, as his chief, he was her responsibility as much as anyone else.

Link had stepped up in every way possible, and had even been chosen by the goddesses to truly deserve the Hylian name his mother had given him. He’d helped Impa fight for Zelda during the coup to overthrow King Ozen. He was one of Hyrule’s best soldiers.

And now, he’d been captured.

The Hyrulian army was in a frenzy. They’d lost a sage and the Hero. They’d lost their sacred grounds, watching the sacrilege of Gerudo banners lay claim to the land after their leader had desecrated their most sacred relic.

And Link held a piece of it.

Impa’s heart thrummed in her chest. Ganondorf will kill him to claim it. If he hasn’t already.

She couldn’t just sit on this. They couldn’t limp away and lick their wounds and prepare for an entirely new battle. They had to act quickly.

But the officers were too busy panicking, bickering. She listened halfheartedly, mind buzzing and clouded at the same time, before she bit her tongue to help her focus. Their soldiers were still trying to recover, having retreated to the fortress near the Lost Woods. She’d sent word to the capital to ensure that Castle Town was fortified, as Ganondorf’s forces were closer than ever to try another assault.

They couldn’t sit on this failure. They had to retaliate.

But they needed more soldiers for a full-frontal assault. Her Sheikah warriors had been nearly cut in half due to the coup – there were still many who were injured and some who were imprisoned and had yet declared their loyalty to Zelda over Ozen. General Enos’ army had been fairly depleted form this fight. House Serenne could perhaps loan their personal militia as this was their territory, foolishly given to them by the former king. While Serenne looked out for its own agendas, this was a matter of survival. Impa vaguely heard the general speak as much, claiming to send word to them. It could take a day or two to get a response and organize a counterattack.

Impa finally interjected the inane babbling in the war tent. “We don’t have time. We don’t have time for any of this. We need to attack their camp now.”

“And how exactly do you propose we do that?” the general asked, frustrated. “We hardly have the men.”

Impa bit her lip. “Retaking the land is the ultimate goal, but it shouldn’t be our priority right now. Link holds both the Master Sword and the Triforce of Courage. Our focus should be on getting him back before they can kill him or extricate him.”

The other officers murmured worriedly, an anxious energy filling the air.

“I can gather my people to infiltrate the camp,” Impa continued. “But we’ll need a distraction.”

The general’s brow lowered heavily over his eyes. “You’re suggesting we use my troops as bait.”

Impa met his gaze, face stony. What other options did they have? There was no time to gather a larger force. “I am. But we just need to rescue the Hero. With that as our objective, we can retreat as soon as we have him.”

Hopefully too many won’t die, she implied.

General Enos sighed heavily. “Gather your forces, then. We will attack at dusk. The cover of nightfall should help. I will send someone to contact House Serenne for reinforcements in the larger assault. In the meantime, we’ll wait for word from Queen Zelda.”

Impa nodded, leaving the tent. Hang in there, Link. We’re coming.

XXX

Ganondorf had to admit, he’d definitely been finding reasons to avoid the tent. However, they were valid reasons. He had to ensure that they held this territory – he’d attacked Hyrule’s most sacred land in the hopes that it would reveal the location of the other two Triforce pieces, and it had certainly done that. But now he had to hold this land, both to potentially find the Triforce of Wisdom and to rub it into Hyrule’s face. Such a victory was hugely impactful, and it could break the enemy’s spirit entirely, especially given that its new ruler was so young and inexperienced.

But after twenty-four hours of taking tally of the casualties, making plans to fortify their stronghold, and looking at maps to see where they should investigate and attack next, he could no longer avoid visiting the makeshift prison cell he’d created.

He’d given himself time to calm down, at least, and the distractions had helped. He still wasn’t happy with Link – the boy was actively in defiance of him, refusing to give him the Triforce of Courage. He wondered if killing him would extract it, or if it would simply make it move to another location. He couldn’t risk losing the sacred relic, and…

He wasn’t ready to go that far yet. Not… not yet.

He still had to clean the boy up and heal him. Mostly. He would send him back to Lagema where Hyrule’s forces couldn’t reach him, where the boy had no chance of escaping. And perhaps he’d eventually come to his senses, but Ganondorf wasn’t really holding out hope. It was foolish to assume such a thing would happen, even if his heart ached for it.

A pity, really.

The Gerudo king’s walk back to the tent was interrupted, however, when there was a cry from one of the sentries. “Enemies spotted to the south!”

Ganondorf immediately changed directions, moving towards the guard’s post to see what she was talking about. It was a fairly large group, seemingly the remainder of the army they’d encountered yesterday. He hadn’t expected a counterattack so quickly, not after they’d retreated as they had.

“Send the beasts,” he ordered. The monsters could handle the first wave – his women were recovering as well. This would thin the enemy’s numbers first.

The hair on the back of his neck stood up. He had a bad feeling about this.

On the other end of the Gerudo camp, ten Sheikah snuck in through the shadows, quickly killing the guards in the area. Impa motioned silently, ordering her brethren to fan out, and they spread across the camp while the majority of its inhabitants lined the southern border.

Impa moved towards the center of the camp, figuring Link would be somewhere well guarded, but saw no structures that might indicate a prison of sorts. When she found the largest tent in a cluster, she peeked inside and gasped.

Link was there, floating in an amber magical crystal prison. His head was drooping, brow slightly furrowed in pain, shadows across his face even in the glowing light. His green tunic was stained with blood and dirt, right leg bent the wrong way, brown trousers darker than they should be, saturated with blood and heaven only knew what else. His hair was matted, colored like an artist’s palette where light gold and crimson mixed together, patches of blood clot and dirt holding clumps of hair hostage.

Goddesses.

Impa rushed forward, tracing her hands along the smooth crystal, wondering how in the world she was supposed to release him. She pulled out a knife first, whispering his name desperately as she slammed against his prison. The knife was getting her nowhere, though, and she knew she’d have to use magic to break through. Link didn’t budge, limp in midair.

Thankfully, all Sheikah knew magic, and she focused hers to her hands, pressing her palms to the amber. Although her magic was hardly ever used for brute force, she could connect it enough with the magic encasing him that it started to crack. She heard some noise outside and overhead, and she whirled around as the crystal continued to fracture, armed and ready for a fight. When no one entered the tent, she listened closer and realized it was beginning to rain.

Good. That would help cover their escape. It would make sending off the signal difficult, though.

When Impa returned her attention to the amber in the center, it was falling to pieces, chunks of crystal dissipating into the air, until she could reach in and grab the young warrior. The prison faded immediately as soon as she pulled him to her, and his full weight bore down on her. Impa drew him close, trying to support the dead weight by bringing his center of gravity to hers, but she still stumbled as she held him to her chest.

“Link,” she whispered, strained and desperate and scared for him.

The teenager groaned in reply, hissing when his right leg scraped against the ground. Impa knelt down, lowering them both to the earth so she could rearrange him a little, slinging an arm over her shoulders. He flinched and almost cried out until she slammed her palm over his mouth to muffle the sound.

“I’m getting you out of here,” she told him softly, gently, as reassuringly as she could, heart breaking for the kid. She braced herself and stood once more. Link, addled as he was, tried to put some weight on his good leg, and she was grateful for it. “You must stay quiet. Understood?”

Across camp, Ganondorf picked up his pace as he listened to battle break out in the open field. Rain started to pelt against him before it became a steady downpour, decreasing visibility. This attack was so abrupt, and it didn’t seem like they had the numbers for an assault like this. It was either utter desperation, or…

He had to move quickly.

When he reached his tent, he got as far as opening the flap to enter when he saw the empty space in the center. His heart felt it stopped a moment, cold ice filling his veins, and he snarled, drawing his swords and prowling the surrounding area as he alerted his troops. They couldn’t have gotten far.

A few rows of tents away, Impa dragged Link as best she could, her grunts of exertion covered by the torrential rain. Link had tried his best to assist, but he was mostly dead weight hanging off her. He was spending all his energy gritting his teeth and trying not to make a sound as his broken leg was scuffed along the earth and stones. Impa just needed to get somewhere they could pause and she could concentrate long enough to get them out of there. Then she could worry about sending the signal to everyone.

Ganondorf’s voice echoed across the way, disappearing in a peal of thunder. Impa froze nonetheless, swearing she heard something, heart skipping a beat. Her breath quickened, and she tried to move faster.

The Gerudo king rounded another corner, and the opposing combatants froze as their eyes met.

“Link, hold on to me,” Impa ordered breathlessly, standing her ground. Ganondorf charged, a snarl on his lips, blades at the ready. The young Sheikah moved feebly, and she repeated, more frantically, “Link, hold on to me!”

She felt him put enough weight on her with a trembling grip that she could release him and focus her energy and magic. Ganondorf was ten paces away and closing, hunger and rage in his eyes, and he moved in to strike.

Her body warmed despite the frigid rain and her adrenaline. Link moved abruptly, throwing her off for a second, and Ganondorf flinched a moment as a kunai sliced his cheek open. It didn’t quite stop his attack, but it did make him stutter a moment, surprised and confused and realizing—

Link glared at him, balefulness painted in every aspect of his face, hand still thrust outward from the toss that could have taken out an eye if he’d aimed better. The shock of the move didn’t last long, and Ganondorf was on them in an instant, massive swords held over his head as if to crush them.

Impa finally had enough energy summoned, and she and Link vanished in a heartbeat as the Gerudo’s blades sank into the earth.

His battle cry echoed in the air, absorbed in the rain like water to a sponge. Ganondorf didn’t move for a long while, and the downpour was deafening.

XXX

It was honestly a near miracle that everything had worked out as it had.

Once the signal from the Sheikah chief had been fired into the air, the remainder of her task force and the Hyrulian army retreated before being reinforced by House Serenne’s militia. Queen Zelda herself also sent more troops from Castle Town, leaving the capital’s defenses unnervingly thin, but that changed when the Hero was escorted back there to recover.

Zelda found herself wandering one of the many castle halls that had been converted into a hospital area, trying to help out as best she could. She didn’t have the time she did when she was a princess, but she still tried to assist the overworked healers. She hated to hear the moans of the dying and injured, but she’d started to grow accustomed to it.

When she didn’t see the Hero anywhere, though, she started searching other areas for him.

She eventually found him sitting on a cut down tree at the edge of the city, its base large enough to fit three Hylians. He stared off at the sunset, his back to her, posture slumped, hair a disheveled mess. She could see the tears in his clothing, and she grew worried as she moved faster to reach him.

“Link,” Zelda called gently, walking into his periphery. He didn’t bother acknowledging her at first, and so she hesitantly sat beside him. “You shouldn’t be out here. They said you were hurt pretty badly. Let me take you back to the castle, okay?”

“I’m fine,” he replied quietly, glancing down at his hands. “I drank a potion. They patched me up on the way to the capital, anyway.”

To emphasize his point, he played with the empty bottle in his hands, and then gave her a halfhearted smile. His face was still bloody, exhaustion etched into every corner of his being, emphasized by the lines under his eyes. Zelda had never seen him in such a state, and it frankly left her so unsettled that for a moment, she didn’t know what to say.

“You still need to rest,” she tried to insist, not entirely used to him ignoring her.

Link said nothing for a long time, the air around them stilling. Then he said, softly, “I’m sorry you had to fight your father for the throne.”

Zelda blinked, a little caught off guard, wondering why this was being brought up. Was he going to mention how she’d cried that night?

Wait. She… she remembered seeing him with the Gerudo delegation often before the war.

“Not that he didn’t deserve it,” Link continued with a dark huff of a laugh. “He was a terrible king and a terrible man. But… I’m sorry you had to overthrow him, to…”

Her friend swallowed, face hardening, glaring into the sunset, its light reflecting fire in his eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he repeated before putting the bottle down between them and patting her on the shoulder. He rose, walking to the western end of camp, his silhouette cutting into the dusk’s light, shadow growing ever longer. Zelda watched him go uncertainly, heart aching at her own confrontation and what she was beginning to assume must have happened when he’d been captured.

Link moved in silence, ignoring the world around him, until he reached the basins of water where he could wash his face. Some sanitary supplies were nearby, and he wordlessly rinsed the blood and dirt away. He paused when he grabbed a shaving foam, staring at it and the razor beside it.

The area was deserted. The Hero stood alone in the center, eyes fixed on the shaving supplies. And then he burst into tears, burying his face in his left hand, Farore’s blessing dully shining through the blood that dripped off his knuckles.

#Y’ALL #I’m pretty sure this is my first like full on FIC that takes place in this era #Like not just little scenes or whatnot but a FIC #What have I done #I’m pretty happy with it honestly :D #Even if it did break my heart #Anyway lmk what you think! :)#writing #imprisoning war #hero of power #Ganondorf #imprisoning war zelda #Impa #legend of zelda

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