#of course it's not like a bunch of the other links haven't been recruited into saving the world young but there's definitely stuff there

[science-lings]

hey, do you know where it was mentioned that botw link pulled the master sword at 12? cuz i've heard a bunch of people treat it as canon, but i cant remember seeing it anywhere?

I don't think that it was explicitly stated in the game, (though it's implied that Link has had the sword for a decent amount of time before the calamity rose) but in creating a champion (the botw concept art book) it says this

It is said that the legendary Master Sword can only be wielded by a hero chosen by the sword itself, and its whereabouts had long been a mystery. The details of how Link obtained the sword a hundred years ago have been lost to the mists of time, but since he was in possession of it for a number of years prior to becoming a Champion, he was likely around twelve or thirteen years old when it happened.

which is where the specific of 12 comes from, I think people latch onto 12 specifically bc it's younger but also it's about 5 years before the calamity which feels about right to me lol. 12 is also the age that WW Link got the sword and thus said to be when OOT Link got it. Though with that guy it's hard to pinpoint ages, he could've also been nine? idk. 12 just seems to be the special age for destiny-bound sword kids I guess.

For botw Link specifically, it makes sense to be earlier as he's literally been kicking ass since he was six (Mipha's diary mentioned this one). So maybe because he was so advanced at such a young age Fi decided to lure him in early to have plenty of time to prepare for the Calamity.