#game ends when hyrule is back to its former glory

[tw1l1te]

Whispers From the Sky: Chapter V

A/N: I finished finals, so here’s a little treat for y’all! I have to warn you, there are some dark themes in this and some blood descriptions, so if you’re uncomfortable with reading this chapter, I totally understand! More is coming soon!!!!

TW: Dark themes, descriptions of blood.

~

Thump.

Thu-Thump.

Thump.

Blinking your eyes open, you were met with pitch black.

Was it still nighttime? You’ve felt like you’ve slept a millennia.

You were standing, so you looked around trying to see where you were. You were starting to grow anxious that you could see anything, but then you saw a light in the distance.

You started walking towards it, quickly moving into a jog to reach it faster.

As you neared it, it turned into a structure. A quite familiar one at that.

The Temple of Time.

Yet, it wasn’t in ruins like it was in Wild’s Hyrule… but back to its former glory.

You hesitated walking in, peering up at the temple and how it seemed to look down upon you. You clenched your fists and walked in, itching to get rid of the ominous feeling itching up your neck.

The doors creaked heavily as you pried them open, as if they weren’t opened in centuries. Peering inside, it was dark.

A stray candle here and there was dimly illuminating the place, but hardly enough to see where you were going.

Maybe you could find Time or Wild somewhere? After all, the Temple of Time played a big role in their games.

Your thoughts quickly halted when you heard footsteps. They were so, so quiet, your ears strained to pick up the noise.

Picking up a torch, you waved it around to try and make out the figure in front of you.

Red eyes.

You gasped, dropping your torch.

Dark Link… or the shadow? You couldn’t be too sure if they were the same person or being, but this one definitely looked Hylian.

“So I see you’ve been enjoying your adventure so far… tell me, how is it pretending that you are oblivious to their deeds? Heroics?” he asked, voice velvety smooth and yet so raspy and vile at the same time.

“And how would you like to know?! You fucking kidnapped me and forced me to be here! You’re playing with my head!” you snapped, hoping to intimidate him.

He hummed, “Perhaps, I did put you here… But for a reason. I don’t like wasting my time on meaningless things, much less weak ones.” 

He suddenly started walking towards you, causing you to quickly back up.

“You want answers? Fine then. Allow me to show you.” 

He walked past you, down a dark set of stairs. There seemed to be no light coming from downstairs,  so you grabbed your previously dropped torch.

You didn’t know why you trusted him so easily to follow him down a dark stairwell, but it’s not like you had any other reason to stay up here, so down you went.

The stairs seemed ongoing. You lost track of how many steps you went down, almost fearing that the Shadow had pulled you into a never-ending nightmare, but the swirling thought ended when you reached the last step.

Looking around you, you could see the dimly lit walls of the room, which seemed to be incised with strange-looking hieroglyphics and images. You walked around, completely forgetting the shadow was with you, feeling the dusty walls and trying to figure out what the images meant.

“This isn’t what I brought you here for.” the shadow rasped.

Turning around, you gasped at the monumental statue in front of you.

Hylia.

But…. it wasn’t like the serene statues that you’ve seen in game, rather, it felt like she was staring right into your very soul.

She seemed to be grasping something as well.

Your ring.

“How did this get here?!” you exclaimed. The ring never left your finger, ever. So it being in a place you’ve never been to, much less seen? Impossible.

“That’s what is going to become of you in the future. If you’re not careful with your choices. But, I suppose you never had any to begin with.” he stated.

You looked back at the statue and walked towards it to retrieve your ring.

The second you grasped it, a piercing shock overcame your body.

Sparks flew up your arm, encasing it with what felt like fire, hotter even.

You wailed, trying to put out your arm, even begging the shadow to do something, but he simply watched. And watched.

You glanced back up at the statue, and the pain stopped.

Hylia was smiling. But something was wrong. Very, very wrong.

She was dripping in blood, streaks of it all over her.

There were words.

Mine.

Mine!

Minemineminemine

MINE.

The statue moved, towering over you.

It opened its mouth.

“Pray for your FATE.”

Your eyes rolled back.

~

Wake up! WAKE UP!

You gasped, coughing out blood as you sat up, tears gathering in the corner of your eyes.

After you composed yourself, you looked around you, all nine heroes staring at you with surprised or worried expressions. You don’t remember anything that you dreamt about, you just remember falling asleep under the tree with Wild and the others.

“What happened?” you choked out, wincing at your sore throat.

Warriors glanced at Wind.

Hyrule spoke up.

“ We thought you were having a nightmare when we were starting to wake up, so we tried waking you up, but as soon as we touched you, you stopped. And then you began screaming, repeating over and over again “Hylia forgive me”, but your eyes were wide open, almost as if… she was right above you.” he wrung his hands on his lap, uncomfortable with what had happened.

Time spoke.

“It was like you were in a trance, but that wasn’t what shocked us. Y/n there was a triforce carved onto your hand. And it was on fire.”

[rabbitholeresearch]

Glory To Master Kohga: The Final Boss

Okay, so before going into this: Spoilers. I'm literally talking about the end of the Yiga Clan quests and what is nearing the end game of Tears of the Kingdom so please, bear this in mind.

Alright so, let's go over what we know about Kohga. He's an incredibly fun character, displaying a fresh new take on Zelda related villains as former Sheikah members that felt betrayed by the royal family and turn to Ganondorf instead because "Hey. We sealed you away and they said they wanted us to destroy all our super cool advanced technology cuz they were scared so we're going to worship you."

Honestly? Fair. I don't even fault the Yiga for the bitter retort. Even so, to have held such a hard grudge for over 10,000 years is insane!

10,000 years. It has been 10,000 years since the First Calamity and longer since Ganondorf was sealed away.

Given that the Sheikah had Camel and Elephant Gundam, I would say their technology had vastly advanced over their time between Ganondorf being sealed and the First Calamity.

But refocusing on Kohga: Kohga is the leader of the Yiga Clan. He is, in BOTW, a rather lethargic character. While he does mobilize forces as soon as Link's awakening has been confirmed, he is rather comically unprepared when the Hero storms into the base to retrieve the Gerudo's sacred Lightning Healm.

At the end of this fight, Kohga plummets, by his own hand, down a bottomless pit, which is later to turn into a chasm in TOTK.

Perhaps this was just a happy coincidence, until you remember another bottomless pit from BOTW. I'm talking about the tower we can see Kass standing on. AKA the Gerudo Tower, this tower is one that is never climbed. In order to truly climb this, the Player would need to either spam Stamina Potions/Foods or otherwise have an upgraded stamina wheel.

Like me, most players abused the ability to glide to it from a higher point.

This bottomless pit, now Birida Lookout Chasm, leads the player into the Depths near the Yiga Clan Depths base.

But what does all this mean? It means Kohga not only led the Yiga into the Depths but led us to it as well!

So how? How is Kohga being the final boss?

I bring in Subject T, AKA The Triforce. If there is one thing about the LOZ formula, it is threes.

Three bearers of the Triforce.

Three sacred dragons.

Three people needed to HEAL Princess Zelda after subjecting herself to draconification, something said to be irreversible. The Triforce would be the one thing that would reverse something like that.

How does the Triforce work? Someone with pure heart is desired a wish. I think Link wished for his wyrm wife to come back home and boom. Wish granted.

With Sonia and Rauru's passing into the afterlife, I think it's safe to say that if–IF the Triforce is out there, it's in the Sacred Realm.

Why do I say this? We've never gotten actual confirmation of the Triforce in the BOTW-Era of Zelda games. We've seen the symbol all over Hyrule and even on the back of Zelda's hand, but her power is only ever referred to as "Sacred Power."

Wait…Sacred Power? Sacred! That's it!

Sonia and Rauru passing on was the final key! The Triforce is in the Sacred Realm!

But wait, how does this deal with Kohga?

Because of his defeat in TOTK.

When you complete the quest, we once again see our favorite Yiga man blast himself off Team Rocket style…up into the dark sky.

That's it!

Kohga, after another humiliating defeat by Link, and bearing witness to the death of his god, Lord Ganondorf, will seek out an ancient relic forgotten even to the royal family of Hyrule with the intention of using it to bring back Ganondorf and bring Hyrule to its knees.

Unfortunately, this is something that often befalls antagonists who try to obtain this sacred relic. They fall to greed.

I think Kohga will go in, intending to bring back Ganondorf, but the power will just be too much for him to resist and ultimately twist him into a new powerful being such as Bellum of the Great Seas, or of Vaati of the Winds.

[gerudospiriit]

Promises, Promises...

[Happy holidays, ya'll! I'd say this is a present to all of you, but if I'm honest, it was just me wanting to feed the incredible lack of Nabsgan in my life (and yours if we're honest xD) and...cure some of the holiday blues, I suppose. Ish. So enjoy!

For a little context, this is based in the child timeline and on the headcanons I have for the Gerudo and what happened to them in that particular timeline.]

How long had it been since she traipsed along these halls? The labyrinthine corridors of sandstone that she called home for the greater portion of her life? Halls that once housed her proud people, that teemed with guards on their beats, children darting between their legs to hurry off to lessons or to play games, artisans and architects worked in their shops or outside, blacksmiths hammered weapons, priestesses prayed, and the healers mended wounds and tended to the sick in the healing ward. Where the finest warriors in all the land trained and horse trainers and stable hands worked with the mighty steeds of the Gerudo. 

Now, Nabooru trudged through rubble of walls blasted by cannons, tatters of flags and banners and art ripped from the walls and shredded, moonlight filtering in as she passed under damaged portions of the ceiling. A broken shell of its former glory. 

Forced to abandon their home to protect themselves, Hyrule’s army took it upon themselves to ransack the fortress in hopes of arresting their most wanted criminal: Ganondorf, king of the Gerudo. Seemingly overnight, Ganondorf shifted from a loyal favorite of the king to public enemy number one. And, when news of his attempts to steal their sacred treasure, details and knowledge of events and plans that had yet to come to pass as if some clairvoyant whispered a future in their ear. Certainly, even she knew he had already begun making moves to achieve this dangerous scheme of his despite her protests and best efforts to persuade him, but the new charges whipped all of Hyrule–Hylian, laymen and women and soldiers alike, Goron, and Zora–into a panicked frenzy that placed the Gerudo in the crosshairs. Gerudo women were arrested on sight and taken in for questioning, many to never see their home again. Groups of mercenaries, soldiers, and even assassins marched over their borders to harass them, sometimes violently, and demand they release Ganondorf to them for execution. It led to skirmishes where the Gerudo were forced to defend themselves and, thus, only made the perception of them worse in the eyes of the rest of the country.

In the end, despite their differences, even Ganondorf could not deny the need to flee. To regroup and reform a new plan to deal with the new hostility. The radical changes in Hyrule’s attitudes finally placed Nabooru and her king on the same page: they were left with no choice but to find a way to fight back.

All the change and devastation wrought on the fortress could never make her forget how to navigate its halls, and she found herself in front of the familiar red door embellished with intricate, gold patterns scrawling along the wood. Its splendor tarnished, time and the attack shown in the damage it sustained, she still recognized the door she pushed open alone or with the room’s main occupant so many times before. The same one she pushed open now–more carefully than she used to–to enter into the king’s bedchamber. Like the rest of the fortress, the room had been ransacked, everything they didn’t take with them stolen or in some state of damage. The beauty and comfort of the space nearly obliterated, but habit died hard; for as little time as they would spend there, Ganondorf, and by extension Nabooru, decided his old chambers would serve as their room for the single night they would spend there.

“Any trouble?”

Nabooru leaned her weight on the door to close it behind her, noting how his gaze remained fixed to the map tacked up on the wall in front of him. “Everything is in order,” she responded, stepping away from the door and striding over to his side. “The guards are in place and the warriors are resting for the night. Or as much as they can knowing what’s coming.”

Gold eyes scanned over the map and her hand instinctively shifted his forearm, the lines and landmarks etched across it memorized through weeks of planning and ensuring every woman understood their assignments. “Which is what you’re supposed to be doing, if I remember correctly.”

The king’s gaze finally shifted to his second in command. “I wanted to be sure our strategy was sound, and that your final inspection didn’t turn up any surprises.” He turned, a corner of his lips twitching upward. “And if this is to be our last night together for a time, I wanted to wait until you joined me.”

“You won’t be saying that if you’re falling asleep atop your horse.” Despite her mood, the uncertainty and worry gripping her heart ever tighter with every passing moment, a smile curled her lips. If Ganondorf shared her apprehension, he had yet to show an ounce of it. From the moment they settled on a plan, risky and high stakes as it was, he radiated confidence. Eager to finish what he started.

Resting a hand on his cheek, fingers brushing along the edge of his beard, she pulled him down for a soft kiss. “Mm, when we left here, you were clean-shaven.” Her other hand slid over his shoulder and into his hair. “And your hair was a whole lot shorter. Which made putting your crown on much less complex.”

“I can always use magic or ask one of the others to do it if you wish.”

Nabooru scrunched her nose, playfully tugging a lock of his hair. “I never said I wouldn’t do it. And the others don’t have as much practice as I do with it.”

A calloused hand rose to grasp her chin and his lips curled into a smirk, and her heart skipped a beat in response. “My, my Nabooru. You’re not feeling possessive of your king, now, are you?”

“No,” she insisted with a sniff, “but I do think I’m entitled to spending as much time with you as possible since you won’t let me fight with you and the others.”

“You know I want nothing more than to have you fight alongside me and our sisters.” Ganondorf released her chin in favor of grasping her hand, lips grazing over her knuckles. “There is no more thrilling sight than seeing you in the throes of battle, the picture of grace and power. But I need to know our people are in good hands in my absence. That they’ll be protected by my most capable and intelligent warrior.”

Nabooru huffed but leaned against him, draping her arms around his waist and burying her face in his chest. She inhaled his scent--a mix of spice and earthiness combined with his natural scent--listened to the steady, firm beating of his heart. Traced the valleys and peaks of his firm musculature she could reach. Committing it all to memory. She wanted to have faith in him, in all of them. And she did. But…she knew what they faced. How high the odds of success were stacked against them. Save for her and a few others who would return with her, the ones who guarded the fortress so the others could sleep, Ganondorf would be accompanied by the finest warriors the Gerudo offered. Plus, he had his magic and, over the last few years, she came to truly understand how powerful he truly was. Terrifying as it was reassuring.

“Promise you’ll come home. To me. The others.” She tilted her head back, brow furrowed in determination. “Maybe I truly was naive to think it would never come to this, but perhaps it was only a matter of time no matter what we did. But…do what you must and don’t forget why you fight. Okay?”

One arm wrapped around her frame in an embrace as the other cupped her cheek. “You have my word, Nabooru. I will return to you and our people with the king’s head on a pike. This world will soon be ours.”

A nod, and she turned her head to press a tender kiss to his palm. “I’m holding you to that.” She took his hand and kissed it again, eyes shifting back to his face and a wry smile curling her lips. “I want to be the sort of queen who makes love to her king every night. I can’t do that without a king.”

“Every night, hm?” Ganondorf’s free hand rested on her upper arm, upon the band she wore. His thumb traced along the flesh between the gold. “That’s quite the promise. And the incentive.”

Shifting onto her tiptoes, she stole another kiss, turning her hand over to lace her fingers with his. “Good,” she breathed against his lips. “Whatever helps motivate you.”

Ganondorf’s arm dropped to her waist and he forced her closer, nearly lifting her off her feet and bringing her body flush against his. He captured her lips in another kiss, deeper and more passionate than those that preceded it. She returned it with equal fervor, adding his taste to the memory. A hope that it would linger on her lips until he returned. Her arm looped around his shoulders and she lifted herself up, legs wrapping around his waist.

A pleased growl rumbled in the king’s chest, his hand sinking to cradle her backside. He nipped her bottom lip then trailed his lips to her ear. “Do I get a sample of that promise beginning tonight?”

His hot breath against her ear, the husky tone of his voice, sent a shudder racing through her body. Eyes hooded and lips curled in a smirk, she nodded. “Of course,” she purred back. Another kiss, her fingers tangling into his hair and resting on the back of his head. “I want to make sure this night is forever burned in our memories. No matter what happens.”

[happymeishappylife]

Games I Played in 2022

1. Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

I waited so long to play this game, refusing to watch any videos on it or learn about it because I knew when I finally got it I just wanted to fully immerse myself in it and so I did. AND IT WAS FANTASTIC! I was not disappointed in the least and had an absolutely magical time travelling the land of Hyrule, doing side quests, and honestly enjoying the story so, so much! I played this game for hours sometimes even just hopping on a horse and letting it go to enjoy the beauty this game has too. I can’t wait for the second one and I am absolutely so elated to have finally gotten to play such a masterpiece.

2. Assasin’s Creed 2

Having wanted to play the Assasin’s Creed games for forever, I’m glad I finally got a chance to start from the beginning and jump into them. After the first I was worried about the game mechanics being boring but this second installment really amped it up and made for such a fun time. I love the story of Ezio Auditore and I also love running around Italy, building up places to their former glory, and getting help by Ezio’s boyfriend Leonardo DaVinci, lol. Knowing what leaps and bounds between the first and second game also makes me excited to play through the rest of the series and see the rest and all the incredibly immersive stories they have to tell.

3. Fall Guys

Another game I’ve wanted to play for years, but I don’t have Playstation Live so never did, but now that this is on the Switch, my goodness I’m having a good time. Plus now I can play as a Dalek and its hilarious. Also what I love about this battle royale game is that while you can be a jerk and sabotage other players, at the end of the day its mostly based on skill to determine if you win. And while I haven’t won a lot of games, it is soooo satisfying when you do.

4. Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood

Much like the second game, we get the same great characters, same fantastic exploration and building up Rome mechanic as the first game that made this one just as much fun. After the slightly disappointing ending in the second game it felt good to finally stop the Borgia too. My only complaint was I thought the mechanics of the second game were perfect and fun to play, but introducing the full sync mission quests to everything annoyed me and though I learned to ignore them after a bit, it felt bad to have ‘Failed’ a full sync mission even if doing it my way was more fun. Also I really enjoyed the twist ending with Desmond at the end and can’t wait to see the fallout of killing Lucy.

5. Pokemon Legends Arceus

I always wondered what it would be like to run around with Pokemon and actually really understand the scale of being around such wild creatures. That part of the game was fun and I had a good time. But unlike other Pokemon games where you can delay story and collect and grind, this game felt a little staler because you had to advance the story in order to do everything you needed to do and then after beating it, it sort of felt like what’s the point to staying in the world? Still had fun with it, but I’m hoping hopping back into the regular games satisfies me more especially since they have taken this open world approach.

6. Assassin’s Creed

As I said, finally picked this game up to play the series and while it was good to get the origins of the game and the story of Altaire, the mechanics felt a little boring and monotonous so I was nervous that’s what most of the games were going to be like. Still at least the scenery and story was interesting enough to continue with and it was a good first game that I’m sure was a bit of a step up for it’s time.

7. Animal Crossing: Happy Home Paradise DLC

Started playing this when it came out to continue with my Animal Crossing love. Played it for a while and enjoyed the decorating of the vacation homes a lot. It also felt like a nice way to extend my play of the game past what I previously thought I was going to do. But after a while I also got bored and gave it up so I haven’t been back since.

8. House Flipper

Not wanting to go through the motions of travelling to the vacation island just to decorate homes, I thought I would get a simpler game to play instead. Having seen youtubers play I soon realized that the Switch version is pretty limited in what you can do compared to PC, but it was still relaxing and a nice thing to do with my hands if I have friends over and want to talk, but have background noise too.

Games I Replayed in 2022:

Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

[faroreswinds]

Oh I know the part about the Prince ordering all daughters born to the royal family be named Zelda is in the Z2 manual, thats not what I have a problem with. Its Historia putting this event at THE END OF THE TIMELINE, when all daughters have already been named Zelda, LoL!

Well.... where else would it go? That's kind of how the games build around it.

Please see below the cut for the lengthy supported timeline claims:

Obviously, LoZ came first. Then AoL is a direct sequel to that, that is no secret.

LttP was actually considered Zelda III publicly before it was released. Now the nature of how it relates to the first two games can be somewhat hit or miss, depending on what sources you read. From the back of the LttP box, it says “The predecessors of Link and Zelda face monsters on the march when a menacing magician takes over the kingdom.” This implies that this was intended as a prequel to LoZ, directly on the box itself. 

If we look at the Japanese version, it says “In this game, this stage is set far before Link started his adventures; a time when Hyrule was still united as one kingdom.” Again, implying that this is a prequel to LoZ. And then we have the LttP player’s Guide: “Although The Legend of Zelda appeared first in the series of Zelda adventures, it actually takes place many years after the third game. In this time, Hyrule had declined, becoming a rustic land with few remaining signs of its former glory.”

However, this interview released on April 1,1999 has Miyamoto saying the intended order is OoT -> LoZ -> LttP. We also have this interview from Miyamoto released on November 13, 1998 that says the same thing: OoT -> LoZ -> LttP. With LA (which we will get to OoT and LA in a moment) being a “not very clear” where it fits, just after OoT. 

There is also this weird interview with Dan Owsen from February 22, 1998, who was a localizer for OoT for the NA release of the game, which goes like this:

Total RPG: Dan, it appears something about A Link to the Past translation is jumbled. It is said the events played out in Ocarina of Time were the events that happened in the story of A Link to the Past, and therefore were to solve many story holes. But if Zelda 3's instruction manual is read, these events sound completely different, and now there seem to be more holes than ever. It clearly states on the back of the box of A Link to the Past that it was a prequel to The Legend of Zelda and The Adventure of Link, but Miyamoto says it comes after them. What's the truth?

Dan Owsen: The truth is, the text on the box (and possibly the Nintendo Power guide) is wrong. D'oh! If you just ignore the box text, the stories fit together better. Basically, the events in Ocarina of Time are the "Imprisoning War" described in the SNES version's story. The Golden Land was the Sacred Realm before Ganondorf corrupted it. The order of the stories is: Ocarina of Time, Zelda 1, Zelda 2, A Link to the Past. Since Link's Awakening was a dream (or was it?) it's hard to say where it fits.

In other words, Dan is saying that the text on the box is... wrong? He’s basically saying if you ignore that text, the events of the games line up in such a way that it’s OoT -> LoZ -> AoL -> LttP. Which is an interesting claim, because the games don’t really have much of the way of lore or story at this point to really make that claim strongly. 

But it’s pretty well-known that Miyamoto gets the information of his own game a bit mixed up, and in another interview with Miyamoto from Jan 1999, he states the intended order is OoT -> LttP -> LoZ, which is more in-line with the primary sources like the game guides and the back of the boxes claim or imply. Unfortunately, finding this particular primary source for this interview has been so far impossible. The closest we can find is this Japanese wiki site, with links to the interviews that are now 404 links. Some translation fans discuss this particular interview here if you are interested. 

So why would Dan claim that the boxes got them wrong? It wasn’t really a translation error- both the Japanese and English say that LttP takes place before LoZ. Well, according to Dan.... Miyamoto didn’t know his own timeline.

Heh, well, all I can tell you is, when I asked Mr. Miyamoto about the order of the games, he admitted that he didn't know! I really think the order of the stories is not that important to the game's creators. Each game is a stand-alone piece, and if there are connections between them, that's great. But they never intentionally do things in a game just so it will connect with another. The creators did tell me a few times that they didn't want to set any story points in stone, as that would restrict them in future games. I worked on three Zelda games screen text. Even when writing the text, it was funky because they were very picky about the wording so it wasn't specific. It made it sound strange, but hey it was their game so I did the text the way they wanted.

I couldn’t find a primary source on this particular interview, which kinda sucks. But I’m not sure if I fully agree with him. I mean, he’s not entirely wrong either. Aonuma has admitted in other interviews that they don’t like to be restricted by the story since it will restrict future games. 

But honestly, when we start to think of a new Zelda, respecting the timeline is a constraint for us. We would like to be free to imagine whatever we want without having to worry about the timeline.

However, the idea that the order of the stories is not important, or that the don’t consider other games stories for new ones is silly. Other interviews admit that they considered elements from previous games (SEE: OoT interviews below) and from the same interview where Aonuma says they find the timeline constricting, he also had this to say:

When we start to work on a new Zelda, we of course think about all this timeline stuff. Nintendo has a lot of IPs today. And Shigeru Miyamoto asks that we do our best to keep the timeline coherent. So we do it.

Let’s not forget that Dan was just a localizer and not a developer for a Zelda game as well, so his opinion on the order of the games is really not as important.

Plus, it’s not like some of the lore doesn’t line up! 

MANUAL (THE ADVENTURE OF LINK) 昔、まだハイラルが１つの国だったころ、偉大なる王がトライフォースを使って、ハイラルの秩序を保っておったそううじゃ。 Long ago, when Hyrule was still one country, a great King was said to have used the Triforce to maintain order in Hyrule.

BACK COVER (A LINK TO THE PAST) 今度の舞台はリンクが活躍した頃よりも遥か昔、ハイラルが、まだ一つの王国であった時代。 This time, the game is set a long time before Link's adventures, in an era when Hyrule was still one country.

DEKU TREE SPROUT (OCARINA OF TIME) まだ　ハイラル王がこの国を　統一する以前・・・はげしい戦争が　あったデス。 Before the King of Hyrule had unified this country... there was a violent war.

You mentioned that you were bothered by AoL being at the end of the timeline, but didn’t consider that the events of the Prince making his law about Zelda’s name maybe happened long before some of the other games. Based on the quotes above, Hyrule was united as one country, and during a time when that country was still a single country, the King used the Triforce to maintain order. LttP happened during this time when Hyrule was still a single country! And after this King died is when the Prince made the law. 

Ok, so after all that, the general sense is that at this point, the most likely intended order is up to this release point is LttP -> LoZ -> AoL unless you think the interviews are more important than the released materials. Then comes LA release. 

LA is a bit tricky because there isn’t a whole lot on it in general. It was a smaller title that was originally a passion project being created by a small dev who stayed after work hours to make it, before it was developed into a fully realized Zelda game. From that April 1, 1999 interview I linked earlier, Miyamoto says that LA takes places after OoT, but beyond that isn’t very clear where it fits. We also see Dan say the same thing from his Feb 1998 interview I showed earlier: that since the game is a dream, where it fits is harder to say. But remember, when LA was released, OoT had not been released yet. 

And if we look at other sources that were released with LA at the time, it’s heavily related to LttP more than anything else. For instance, we have the Japanese manual for LA which reads: “You, who regained the peace of Hyrule from the demonic hands of the King of Evil, Ganon, had not enjoyed the achieved tranquility for too long, and had embarked on a journey of training in preparation for a new calamity.“ They use the term 邪悪の王, which is the same title they used for Ganon from LttP specifically. 

Couple with that the Nintendo website for the game, we have this: “Link, who restored peace to Hyrule after defeating the evil king Ganon and taking it back from his evil hands, didn't spend much resting, as he left in a training travel to get ready for the next calamity. From The Legend of Zelda: Triforce of the Gods (SUPER FAMICOM Screen QT  Move1 [631K])” The movie you can download is Link defeating Ganon from LttP. [FYI, Triforce of the Gods is the Japanese title for LttP).

Unfortunately, I cannot see a date for when that webpage was uploaded, but based on how... simple and old it’s design appears to be, I’ll say it isn’t very recent at all.

After that comes OoT, which was supposed to be the Imprisoning War mentioned in the LttP manual, which makes it an intended prequel to LttP. We know OoT was meant to take place before LttP from a few different interviews:

November 26, 1997, Miyamoto said: “During the time when Link is an adult, conditions are intensified. Ganon, from the Super NES game, is a human form before he transforms into a monster. Ganon's elements change during the adult, since he changes into a monster.” In other words, this is the story about how Ganon was a human before he became the monster we see in the SNES games.

November 13, 1998, which we have already discussed earlier. 

November 11, 1198, from Takizawa (who was a character and enemy designer for OoT): “This time, the story really wasn't an original. We were dealing with the "The Imprisoning War of the Seven Sages" from the SNES edition Zelda. To give that game a little "secret" recognition, I thought that keeping the "pigness" in Ganon would be the correct course. So we made him a beast "with the feeling of a pig." ”

December 8, 1998, from Osawa (who was the script director for OoT): “In the SNES edition game, the story "Long ago, there was a war called the Imprisoning War" was passed along. A name in the Imprisoning War era is the name of a Town later. They were like "pseudo-secrets." We wanted to throw these out through the entirety of the game. That thing from then is now this. Though in this game Zelda is now included in the Seven Sages, the other six have the names of the town names from the Disk System edition "The Adventure of Link." “

January 1999, from Miyamoto, which we have already discussed earlier. 

February 22, 1198, from Dan, which we have already discussed earlier. 

April 1, 1999, from Miyamoto, as discussed earlier. 

February 27. 2007, from the virtual console website: “The names of the in-game characters happen to be the same as the Famicom (NES) software "The Adventure of Link", or there happens to be things that resemble to old tales narrated in "Triforce of the Gods"... There are things set up so that fans of the series will be glad at them. There also might be easter eggs that would make fans grin at them”

November 2008, from Aonuma: Each of the races has a character fated to become on the sages later on. We named them after towns in The Adventure of Link so it would appear that the towns had been named after them. (In the world of Zelda, the ventus of Ocarina of Time occur before the events of The Adventure of Link.)

Ok, that was a LOT. But basically, we now have a timeline of OoT -> LttP -> LA -> LoZ -> AoL. Majora's Mask is obviously a direct sequel to OoT so that's not anything crazy. So now it’s  OoT -> MM -> LttP -> LA -> LoZ -> AoL.

At this point, we still have AoL at the end of the timeline.

----------

Ok, I don’t think I have to go on. You can see here how much the games have continued to build up with AoL being the last game in the timeline. Which has been intentional. It’s just that Aonuma and co don’t care too much because they would rather be free to create whatever they wanted without being constricted too much to the timeline and how things worked.

[leafmutual]

breath of the wild 2: electric boogaloo where we get to play as link AND zelda as they go around fixing hyrule and tying up the loose ends that didn’t really get tied during the first game. nintendo hire me

[kaijtxri]

open starter - BOTW Muses only (From Kass! - Post-Game)

-

Hyrule Fields: Of course after Link had defeated Calamity Ganon, the world, land of Hyrule had returned to its former glory a century back before the Calamity had struck. Kass hasn’t been able to be safely in Hyrule Fields in years now. Maybe that was for the better he rarely visited wide upon fields without protection. The Bard stands upon a tree stump, his Bandoneon sitting upon the grass as he hummed a small tune. Was it a new song he was creating? Or maybe a reprisal? It seemed as if it was neither, in this case! Kass spins himself around, pivoting his talons in tune with his movements.

Whatever Kass is doing, he’s definitely having the fun of his life. Simple pivoted movements turn into free-flow spinning and dancing through the summer fields of Hyrule. He doesn’t seem to be singing from a far away position, but there is expression of his moving beak. Yeah, he’s definitely singing, his deep, gruff, albeit smooth toned voice rings out in the small vicinity of the area.

It’s something you could see at maybe a ball or party, but, here Kass is, alone. Flower petals flow up into the wind’s gasp, the Ritz’s talons gracefully stepping around the blooming flowers, if one got closer, the Bard was singing with so much more thought and emotion than his usual tales and tunes, his Bandoneon probably wouldn’t even fit this kind of lyrical song.

“Though time keeps ticking everything topples down.      
Like the end is coming faster around
    Hesitating, seeing you in the stands
         Just laugh dance with me in this Wonderland.

      The heaven’s covered up with the starry sky 
Like that day when all this started, I tried
    To weave a tale of warmth so I could melt
 All the words that froze me, that I felt.”

[bunwithabox]

[ My Zelda Drabble ]

[ So when I made that post, I didn’t really have a plan of whether or not I was going to actually post the little fanfic, drabble thing I was talking about - but I got quite a few people actually asking me to post it - so here it is I guess! A little drabble of a scene that I’ve had in my head for a while from Breath of the Wild! To my knowledge this hasn’t been done in game or in another fic, so if it has, my apologies!. Enjoy I guess? haha ]

  It's been months since the fall of Calamity Ganon and the resurgence of  Hyrule Castle and the bordering towns. Reconstruction has been slow as many have been tentative to return to what was once a beautiful landscape scourged with lumbering mechanical beasts known as Guardians; things of nightmares that had taken the lives of thousands and made living in such a place nearly impossible without the constant fear of being obliterated.   Castle Town itself has been slowly rising from the ashes to form a beautiful amalgamation of all the different cultures over Hyrule all coming together to bring back the once capital into its former glory. Gerudo, Rito, Goron, Zora, and Hylian architecture can all be pinpointed and seen with ease if one were to walk through the streets, and even if the cultural aesthetics of each race differed greatly, it all came together in one big group effort that made it look almost... Natural in its entirety. The open nature of the Gerudo's beautifully simple and cubic taverns, to the Gorons' rough and slightly ramshackle forges, to the ornate, and curvaceous, and silvered pathways and docks, to the nicely simplistic and somewhat rustic roosts of the Rito, set atop other buildings to give beautiful views of the entire town.   The populace is still fairly scarce compared to what it used to be as it is still shocking to the people of the land that this once hellish place is now able to be resettled. Most of those who lived through the fall of the Calamity creature saw this place as death incarnate with massive pools of Malice slowly creeping over the landscape like sentient, acidic ink with a mind of its own; so seeing it now begin to thrive is almost a culture shock to them.   There is one thing, however, that had never been thought of until the rebuilding began which brought a rosy tint to the Hero who saved them all's cheeks; and that is a statue in his honour, alongside a statue of the new Queen of Hyrule. The two who were responsible for the fall of Calamity Ganon, The Hero, Link, and The Princess who held the beast at bay for 100 years, now Queen, Zelda. The two statues are locked in a never-ending pose of heroism as Link stands aside Zelda, the Master Sword raised to the heavens and Zelda in the same pose, with her empty hand emitting a spray of colour made from a myriad of stained glass spires and gems, courtesy of the Accessory Shop owner from Gerudo Town who was once helped by Link himself, Isha.   The rest of Hyrule has been slowly recovering as well; multiples of more stables have sprouted all over the map where once there was nothing but open fields and monsters. One such field would be Hyrule field, and roughly ten miles out, the Heroes who assisted in the slaying of the Calamity Beast have decided to take a break from all the research and rebuilding to relax and take in the scenery of the place they spent so long to protect.   A small picnic was held by the Hero and the Queen for those who assisted in the pacification of the Divine Beasts, as a sort of nice get together to acquaint each of the Divine Champions with one another.   First off, Yunobo, a Goron Youth with a quaffed tuft of white hair and a blue scarf wrapped around his neck sitting at the edge of the water with a large smile on his wide face. Being a Goron from Goron City, he wasn't too privy to the splashing waves and the calm, cool breeze of Lake Hylia that bordered the eastern side of Hyrule fields, so to him, this was astounding. It was still fairly early in the morning, so the stones that protruded from his back - a significant feature that all Gorons possessed - were slightly glistening with little droplets of dew. He didn't seem to mind though, as his full attention was on the lazily lapping waves at his feet on the shoreline of the fields, a light mist hanging low over the water's surface, giving him the intense curiosity of almost childlike splendour.   Next was Sidon, the extremely tall, red Zora Prince who was standing tall and smiling wide, with a gold and bejewelled necklace hanging loosely around his neck. He was no stranger to Lake Hylia, but for some reason, the lake never looked so pretty to him as in this moment. The glistening waves in the morning sunlight, the low hanging mist giving it that mysterious glamour that nature allowed, and the sound of the rustling leaves in the trees flanking the small party of relaxing Champions. He turned every now and then to comment on the ongoing conversation between Yunobo and himself about how the currents of the Lake worked and how wonderfully vast it all seemed to the Goron. Sidon relished in the idea of teaching another person about this where his entire race was born with the natural instinct of how to read all the currents at just a split second's glance. He tried to act cool and collected as he was now appointed Champion of the Divine Beast that sits atop Zora's Domain, but his shark-like tail was swishing in such a way that betrayed his attempt at seeming collected.   Then there was Riju, the child Chief of the Gerudo people, with her bronzed skin glistening with beads of water as she had tripped over a rock and fallen into the lake, something that she will never actually admit to. Her carmine hair plastered to her forehead in little rivers of red. She was still wearing her Gerudo Chieftan raiments which were not meant for the chilly morning breeze in the Central Hyrule regions, and was now wrapped up in a fur blanket that was packed by Zelda; you know, just in case. She swore up and down to Zelda that she was pushed into the water, to which the Queen giggled and nodded, reassuring Riju that she definitely saw someone push her, though she wouldn't name who.   And lastly, out of the Divine Champions, there was Teba, the Rito who was slightly standoffish at first, but quickly warmed to the group after spending some time talking to them. He was sitting on a small blanket that was laid out for the picnic-esque gathering, cross-legged, sipping a small cup of tea which looked rather comical in his large, wing-hands. The pot of tea was sitting next to him on the blanket, small ornate Rito designs covered it with dark blues and reds, and gave off a very gentle chamomile tea smell. His white feathers were a bit ruffled around the shoulders as he was constantly changing the position of the blue scarf that each Champion was given to show their connection with the royal family. For some reason it just never felt quite right on him; one minute it would be around his neck, then another around his waist like a sash. The other Champions giggled at this and Sidon even went so far as to call him a "Prissy Bird" once. Only once though.   Link and Zelda were both wearing their outfits that they remembered each other in all the way back, 100 years ago; Link in his blue Champion's Tunic, and Zelda in her white woollen top and blue half-shirt. The two of them sat close to where Teba was drinking his tea, Zelda talking to him about some of the things she now had to put up with while being Queen of Hyrule, while Link in his normal fashion, sat silently and listened intently.   Once upon a time, Zelda would have found his silence infuriating, but now knowing what she knows, just knowing he's listening so intently was comforting, almost in a therapeutic sense to her. They had become closer than they had ever been before, Queen and Queen's Knight, best friends till death, and it showed. Zelda was never this forward or open to anyone else but him, and even though she was amongst others, just being within Link's presence gave her a calm feeling.

  As the hours progressed onwards towards mid-morning, the sun cresting ever so slightly over Crenel Peak to the east, the morning mist faded from the lake and the dew of the grass (and on Yunobo's back) dried and warmed the party of Champions sitting at the lake's edge. They had all breakfasted on meat and vegetable sandwiches, as well as a hearty broth to go with it, which were prepared by Link himself - something that Zelda had requested personally from her Knight, knowing his cooking as well as she did.   After a while more spent chatting and enjoying one another's company, a silence had fallen over the entire group as they all watched the sun rise above the Crenel Peaks and the far off Ploymus Mountain which kept Zora's Domain safe from any westward blowing storms. The clouds in the sky drifted lazily across the sun's path, casting the group in a cool, springtime shadow. Riju shivered at the sudden drop in temperature and they could all hear the girl complain openly that the temperature in Central Hyrule fluctuated too much, which brought a laugh from everyone but her, before they all fell into a comfortable silence once more.   As the silence dragged on, Link left his spot aside Zelda and walked up to the water's edge where the waves were lazily lapping against the shoreline. His boots sank into the damp sand a bit as he walked, and he could feel the eyes of everyone on his back, but he didn't' mind one bit. These people were his friends, his new family even. He was comfortable with them as they were with him.   After a moment, he drew the longsword off his back; the sword to banish all evil and to seal the darkness, The Master Sword itself. As he drew the sword, the cloud coverage drifted away from the sun, and the blade seemed to glisten in the light. Everyone back at the blanket of the picnic seemed confused and quite interested in what he was doing, and all raised their eyebrows as he turned the tip downwards and drove the blade into the sand, his hand resting on the pommel of it.   No one really knew what to make of this - the Hero of Hyrule, taking the sword that seals the darkness and driving it into the sand, staring off over the water, his hair gently swaying with the breeze, what could he be thinking?   As if Zelda had figured it out, she stood up and joined him, standing next to him with a hand on his shoulder; out of assurance, comfort, or just kinship, no one else could tell but Zelda and Link themselves. A silent conversation was going on between the two of them through that one touch, one that no other was privy to.   A few moments passed like that, Link and Zelda standing at the water's edge with the Master Sword acting as a glorified walking stick, jutting from the sand tip down - that is until Riju stood as well and joined them, standing next to Zelda and smiling up at her.  Yunobo, not wanting to feel left out of whatever it was that was going on, joined them as well, then soon after Sidon too. Teba wasn't sure what to make of the whole thing, as it seemed pretty silly and he almost wanted to call it quits there and head back home to his child and wife, but something odd tugged at him. This strange urge to join them in their unknown vigil at the lake's edge.   After losing a mental argument with himself, Teba shrugged and stood, joining the line of Champions at the far end, staring off out over the lake like the rest. It wasn't clear to even Teba what they were all doing, but somehow... Somehow it felt right to stand by all of them.

  A few moments passed in complete silence, with everyone looking over the clear blue water glistening in the late-morning sunlight. No one broke the silence, and no one really moved either, aside from their hair blowing in the breeze. It was a breathtaking site to behold, and it was only made better when Link finally turned to see all of his newly founded family standing beside him.   It made him smile, a gentle, sweet smile. A smile that had seen a lot of pain and hardship that had finally found its home. But as he turned his gaze back towards the water, the smile widened, and tears started to well in his eyes as he looked at the lake and saw their reflections, for their reflections were not their own, but those of the previous champions that had stood besides him and Zelda 100 years ago in the first clash with Calamity Ganon.   Riju's reflection was none other than her ancestor Urbosa, Yunobo's reflection bore the image of Daruk, Sidon's was replaced by Mipha, and Teba, Revali. Even 100 years after their deaths, and another few months after freeing their spirits from the prison that was the Divine Beasts under Calamity Ganon's control, they were still with him. They never left his side, not one of them. They just came in a different form each time. And this time, this time the form they took were his family.

  He and Zelda were home.