The Legend of Zelda Timeline Story & Lore, Explained
The Hero of Time and Splitting of the Timeline
(The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time)
After some time passed, a large conflict broke out across the land of Hyrule dubbed the Hyrulean Civil War, though the reasonings and those involved have remained a mystery. At the peak of the war, a young Hylian woman fled into the woods with her infant boy in search of the Great Deku Tree. Leaving him there, her young son named Link was raised by the Kokiri, a race of children that never age into adulthood and thus live away from the rest of society.
Eventually the war ended, and once Link was a young boy, he suffered from a terrible nightmare that foresaw an evil force stalking Princess Zelda. This caused the Great Deku Tree to dispatch a the small fairy Navi to summon Link and watch over him during his forthcoming adventure. Once Link arrived, he was informed by the Deku Tree that a powerful evil known as Ganondorf has begun his rise to power, and that in order to warn Zelda, he’d need to take the Spiritual Stone of Forest to her.
After arriving in the Hyrulian Castle, Link met with Princess Zelda and warned her of Ganondorf’s scheme. She then explained that in order to stop him, Link would need to obtain the other two Spiritual Stones as they were keys for the Temple of Time, which currently housed the legendary Master Sword.
Setting off on his adventure, Link eventually retrieved both the Fire and Water Spiritual Stones and returned to the Temple of Time. However, when returning to Hyrule Castle, Link witnessed Zelda fleeing for her life. Ganondorf chased after her, looking to secure her piece of the Triforce. Before vanishing from sight, Princess Zelda threw to Link the Ocarina of Time, which is a magical instrument whose songs can alter everything from the weather to Link’s location, and even the fabric of time itself. Returning to the temple, Link seized the Master Sword and was thrown seven years into the future, where Ganondorf had become the supreme ruler.
We should also note that it is believed the Great Cataclysm occurred somewhere during this time, a moment where Ganon broke into the Sacred Realm, touched the Triforce, and caused it to break apart again, him acquiring the Triforce of Power.
Link was then instructed by the mysterious Shiek, a member of the Shiekah’s tribe, that in order to stop Ganondorf he’d need the help of the seven sages. These mystical people would first need to be saved, as their temples have been taken over by Ganondorf’s monsters. After a long journey, Link would eventually save every single sage, only to learn that Shiek was in fact the seventh sage. The slender man then revealed that he was none other than Princess Zelda in disguise, and with these powerful beings supporting Link, he fought his way towards Ganondorf at the very top of Hyrule Castle.
This is where things get a bit complicated, as The Legend of Zelda timeline will now split into one of three different stories based on the outcome of Link’s battle with Ganondorf. If he is killed and Ganondorf is victorious, the timeline will shift to the “Hero is Defeated” story arc. However, if Link is victorious, his timeline will follow the “Hero is Triumphant,” which then splits into two based on if Link was an adult or child when vanquishing Ganon. These three timelines have since never intersected with one another, and the events of each one are radically different. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time marks the last moment when this series had a single narrative.
