#The Zelda timeline both makes me smile and makes me want to smash my head in a wall

[sailorsnightmare]

When and where does Hyrule take place in TOTK?

Spoiler warning for the game below (I haven’t finished it yet, just got through all the memories)

We’re back in the era of “how the fuck does the Zelda timeline work” again and I’m here to contribute as I’m just as confused as the rest of you

I finished the Tears of the Dragon quest a few days ago (I feel no joy anymore) and its been making me question when exactly, or even where exactly, Sonia and Rauru’s Hyrule takes place.

I’ve got two very messy ideas:

First, their Hyrule takes place a few generations after Skyward Sword. I personally theorize Sonia is a descendant of Skyward Sword’s Link and Zelda if this were its placement in the timeline but I’m not exactly sold on it being around this time period. In Skyward Sword, we saw the zora begin to evolve, compared to how they resemble the modern zora in TOTK. Not to mention the Rito’s presence within the memories in general, who we know evolved far later on from the Zora due to Wind Waker. Were Hyrule’s first founding to have taken place after Skyward Sword, Hyrule itself wouldn’t have been established for hundreds to even thousands of years after the people of Skyloft began to settle upon the surface again, not to mention the time it takes for a species to evolve to the extent shown in the memories. Is it possible? Sure, but it just doesn’t sit right with me. There’s also Zelda herself, who we know transformed herself into an immortal dragon to restore the master sword for Link in the far far distant future. Were Sonia and Rauru’s Hyrule to have been established after Skyward Sword, there would have had to be two master sword’s present at the same time: one following the original zelda timeline and the other held by the light dragon herself. This is the only way I could think of the following games working out with this addition to the timeline and the master sword’s new placement (and extreme damage).

Second, it takes place after all the previous games but before Breath of the Wild. For this, it would have had to take place significantly before what was present in the tapestry 10,000 years ago. My thoughts for this follow what’s present in Wind Waker and it’s following sequels. Hyrule itself has a history of kinda collapsing into ruin during the destined fights between Link, Zelda and Ganon. A few examples of this being whatever the hell happened in the “hero remained in the future” timeline from Ocarina of Time, Hyrule castle literally exploding in Twilight Princess, and most importantly to this point, Hyrule itself being completely submerged in water in Wind Waker. As shown in Wind Waker’s era, Hyrule itself moved! Immigration to another land and the establishment of the same kingdom, just not within the same area, is possible. I feel as if Sonia and Rauru being recorded as the first king and queen of Hyrule within history doesn’t actually mean they’re the first of the first. They very well could be the first king and queen of the newly established Hyrule rather than being the first overall. I feel this idea makes a bit more sense as it falls more in line with each species evolution, land establishments, and even how there can only be one master sword present at a given time.

I haven’t gone through and analyzed the rest of the games again to make this theory more sound, so I very well could have missed something I couldn’t remember off the top of my head. If anyone else has anything else to add or any new ideas in general, I’d love to hear them!