The Legend of Zelda timeline

The Zelda Timeline refers to the fictional chronology of .
Though the series began in 1986, Nintendo did not publish a master timeline until in 2011, during its 25th anniversary. The timeline had previously existed in a highly confidential document conceived of at least by 2003 in the release of The Wind Waker. In 2007, producer Eiji Aonuma confirmed the existence of two parallel timelines branching from Ocarina of Time, now officially named the Child Timeline and Adult Timeline. released a third branch named the Fallen Hero Timeline, which resolved timeline contradictions with respect to the titles released before . The portion of the timeline preceding the three-way split is known only as Hylia & the Hero of Time. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Creating a Champion states that everything before the backstory has faded to myth. Which timeline Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom take place in is meant to be deliberately vague and up to player interpretation.
Nintendo intends for the timeline to be flexible and open to player interpretation, allowing for more creative freedom, and less restrictions. Whenever a Legend of Zelda game is created, the developers keep the timeline in mind, but only to an extent, as being too detailed in timeline placements can limit their creativity.
==Hylia & the Hero of Time==
The beginning of the timeline encompasses the events of , , , and , in that order.
===Creation of the World===
Before time began, there was only a formless void known as the Still World, where Null would devour anything that tried to form. The three Golden Goddesses descended upon the chaos. Din, the Goddess of Power, created the earth. Nayru, the Goddess of Wisdom, bestowed order upon the world. Farore, the Goddess of Courage, created life. As a result of their efforts, Null was imprisoned. However Null attempted to create Rifts that would devour the world and return it to the void, so the goddesses created the Tris to mend the Rifts.
Their labor complete, the goddesses departed for the heavens. They left behind the Triforce, an all-powerful artifact which would grant its holder their heart's desire.
===Era of Hylia===
The Triforce was entrusted to the goddess Hylia during the Era of Hylia, known more fully as the Era of the Goddess Hylia. 
One day, the Demon King Demise sought to take it and make the world his own. He raised an army of malevolent forces against Hyrule. Hylia gathered the surviving humans on an outcrop of earth and sent it to The Sky beyond a Cloud Barrier of her creation. The outcrop would later become known as . She hid the there as well.
Hylia rallied the Surface tribes of the Gorons, Kikwi, Mogma, Parella and the Ancient Robots, to fight back the evil forces led by Demise, and sealed them away. She suffered grave injuries in the battle. Knowing the seal on Demise would not hold, she devised a plan. As the Triforce could not be wielded by a god, Hylia renounced divinity and transferred her soul to the body of a mortal who would come of age when Demise returned. She created the Goddess Sword and the spirit Fi to aid her chosen hero, who would reveal himself when he drew the sword from its pedestal.
===Sky Era===
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Thousands of years later, during the , Hylia is reborn as Zelda in Skyloft. On the day of the 25th annual Wing Ceremony, she is taken down to the in a tornado created by , who attempts to have her kidnapped to revive his master . is rescued from his minions by , whom Hylia had sent through time to help her mortal self.
Zelda regains her memories as Hylia. Her childhood friend, , is led by to draw the , and so is revealed to be Hylia's chosen hero. At the , and flee from by going through the and destroying it behind them. Link seeks out the three Sacred Flames to temper his sword into the Master Sword, which he uses to activate the second Gate of Time at the Sealed Temple. He finds by using the to travel back to the Era of Hylia, to a time shortly after when Demise was sealed. Zelda places herself in a thousand-year slumber to sustain the seal. 
Link returns to the present, gathers the Triforce, and uses it to destroy Demise. Zelda awakens from her agelong slumber only to be kidnapped by Ghirahim. Ghirahim takes her to the past, where Demise is still alive, and uses her soul to revive his master. Link defeats Demise in battle and the Demon King is permanently sealed away in the Master Sword. With his last words, Demise vows an incarnation of his hatred (Ganon) shall ever follow "those who share the blood of the goddess and the spirit of the hero" in a cycle without end.
Link thrusts the Master Sword into a pedestal in the ; Fi becomes forever dormant in the sword. Link and Zelda return to the present, but Impa stays in the past—in her own time—to watch over the Master Sword. Zelda and Link resolve to live on The Surface and watch over the Triforce.
Princess Zelda (Hylia reincarnate), Link, and others from Skyloft repopulated the surface world. Their descendants became known as Hylians. During this time, the land was named Hyrule.
===Era of Chaos===
After many years of peace in Hyrule, word spread of the supreme power of the Triforce. War engulfed the land, heralding the . In particular, a group of powerful sorcerers known as the Interlopers sought dominion over the Sacred Realm, where the Triforce was located. The goddesses sent the Spirits of Light to banish them to the Twilight Realm. To protect the Triforce, the sage Rauru built a new Temple of Time at the location of the Sealed Temple, around the pedestal holding the Master Sword — the location of the only entrance to the Sacred Realm. He placed the Triforce in the Temple of Light and sealed off the Sacred Realm with him inside it in an event called . The Master Sword became the key that joined the Temple of Time to the Temple of Light. It was closed behind the Door of Time.
===Era of Prosperity===
During the , Zelda's descendants established the kingdom of Hyrule and became its Royal Family. The also participated in Hyrule's founding.
Many members of the royal family were born with special powers given that they were blood relatives of the goddess Hylia. Princesses born into the royal family were named Zelda after the goddess reincarnate.
===Force Era===
====The ====
During the , Hyrule was attacked by evil beings. The Minish, known to the Hylians as Picori, descended from the sky to save Hyrule. They brought the Picori Blade and the Light Force to the Hero of Men. The Hero sealed the evil beings in the Bound Chest and locked it with the Picori Blade. To commemorate the event, a Picori Festival was held once a year. During the festival, the champion of a sword-fighting tournament would earn the right to touch the Picori Blade.
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On the hundredth anniversary of the Picori Festival, a corrupted, power-seeking Minish named Vaati wins the sword-fighting tournament. During the award ceremony, Vaati breaks the Picori Blade and opens the Bound Chest, hoping to find the . This unleashes evil onto the Hyrule. He turns Zelda to stone and later kidnaps her when he discovers the Light Force is within her. He uses the Light Force to transform into a winged demon.
Link, a blacksmith's apprentice and Zelda's friend, is enlisted by King Daltus to have the Picori Blade reforged so it can break the curse on Zelda. He teams up with Ezlo, a Minish sage and Vaati's former mentor—Vaati had gained his power when he stole the Mage's Cap from Ezlo. With the help of and other , Link reforges the Picori Blade and infuses it with the to create the . With it in hand, vanquishes , breaking the curse on . Zelda uses the to wish Hyrule back to normal.
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Vaati was presumed dead, but soon reappeared. Having no memory of his previous life as a Minish, he declared himself Wind Mage and claimed the Palace of Winds. He brought terror to the land by kidnapping young maidens. A Hero appeared carrying the Four Sword. He sealed the demon inside the sword, which was then enshrined in the Four Sword Sanctuary.
Generations later, Vaati the Wind Mage breaks free and kidnaps Princess Zelda, taking her to the Palace of Winds. Link, who witnessed the kidnapping, draws the Four Sword and is split into four Links. The Links gather three keys to Vaati's Palace from the Great Fairies in the Sea of Trees, Talus Cave, and Death Mountain. The Links defeat Vaati in his palace and rescue Princess Zelda. The Wind Mage is once again sealed in the Four Sword, which is returned to its pedestal. Link regains his original form.
===Era of the Hero of Time===
Hyrule enters a long period of civil war. During the war, a dying Hylian woman flees to the Kokiri Forest and entrusts her baby boy to the Great Deku Tree. The boy is raised as a Kokiri. Eventually, the King of Hyrule ends the war and unifies the kingdom.
Around this time Ganondorf was born. This new evil would cause endless destruction across Hyrule over millenia, 
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, leader of the , openly swears fealty to the king, but plots to open the to obtain the . To that end, he curses the Great Deku Tree in an attempt to wrest from him the Kokiri's Emerald. With his dying breath, the Great Deku Tree sets and the fairy on a quest to stop .
 meets , who, like , had premonitions of 's treachery. The two plot to open the and get to the Triforce before Ganondorf. When opens the Door of Time and draws the Master Sword from the Pedestal of Time, he is sealed within the Chamber of Sages for seven years. He reawakens as the Hero of Time. In this time, Ganondorf had entered the Sacred Realm, seized the Triforce and transformed Hyrule into a world of monsters. However, the Triforce had split in three and Ganondorf retained only the Triforce of Power. Link gained the Triforce of Courage, and Princess Zelda the Triforce of Wisdom. Ganondorf had used his power to take control of Hyrule Castle, and the Sacred Realm was transformed into the Evil Realm due to his evil heart.
Using the combined power of the and the , and seal in the Evil Realm after a grueling battle. Ganondorf vows to destroy Link, Zelda, and the Sages' descendants when the seal is one day broken.
Princess Zelda uses the to return Link to his own time. Link places the Master Sword back in the pedestal and closes the Door of Time. Navi, her mission complete, disappears.
The timeline splits into three branches after . The Fallen Hero Timeline is a branch in which Ganon defeats the Hero of Time. The branch where Link defeats Ganon is itself split in two when Princess Zelda sends Link back in time to childhood. The Child Timeline is the branch that follows Link back to his own time. The Adult Timeline is the branch where the Hero of Time has disappeared from the world. Inexplicably, the Master Sword exists in both branches. In the Child Timeline, Link returns it to the Pedestal of Time. In the Adult Timeline, Zelda does it herself.
==Fallen Hero Timeline==
The Fallen Hero Timeline or Downfall Timeline, is an alternate timeline in which Ganon defeats the Hero of Time in battle. Ganondorf ultimately takes Link's Triforce of Courage and Zelda's Triforce of Wisdom, thus gaining the power of the complete Triforce. As a last resort, the Seven Sages, led by Princess Zelda, seal Ganon and the Triforce within the corrupted Sacred Realm, now the Dark World.
This timeline branch contains the events of , , and , , , , and .
===Imprisoning War===
After a brief time of peace, the doorway to the Sacred Realm re-opened. 
People fought each other to claim the Triforce, but none who entered the Sacred Realm returned. Instead came forth an army of Ganon's demons. 
The King of Hyrule commanded the Seven Sages of that era to seal the gate to the Sacred Realm. They succeeded, though the Knights of Hyrule who defended them were nearly wiped out. Due to the cost of resources and lives in the fight over the Sacred Realm, the Imprisoning War left Hyrule impoverished. The Imprisoning War occured many years after Ganon defeated the Hero of Time in battle.
===Era of Light and Dark===
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Following the Imprisoning War, the Era of Light and Dark began. Many years later, the dark wizard Agahnim brainwashed all of Hyrule's soldiers, murdered the King of Hyrule, and made six of the Maidens, descendants of the Seven Sages, disappear into the Dark World. He did this to break the seal on Ganon. The last remaining victim was Zelda. She used telepathy to call out to Link. Using his dying uncle's sword, Link freed Zelda from her cell in the dungeon of Hyrule Castle, and collected three Pendants of Virtue to prove he could draw the Master Sword, which recognized him as the Hero.
Link fought Agahnim, but he was too late to stop Agahnim from using Zelda and the other maidens to break the seal, which opened a portal in the castle. Link traversed Hyrule and the Dark World to rescue the six maidens along with Zelda, who together broke the barrier to Ganon's Tower. Link killed Agahnim and Ganon in battle before Ganon could reach Hyrule, and made a wish on the Triforce to restore everyone who died to Ganon's evil. The Royal Family now possessed the Triforce.
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While journeying back to Hyrule, Link's boat was sunk at sea. He awoke on Koholint Island. The island existed in the dreams of the Wind Fish, who slept in an egg atop Mt. Tamaranch. He learned from the Owl that the only way to get off the island was to collect the Instrument of the Sirens and wake the Wind Fish. As he did so, various demons attacked Link to preserve their existence. Link journeyed to the top of the mountain and played the Ballad of the Wind Fish with the instruments and fought the Shadow Nightmares.
Once Link had defeated the Shadow Nightmares and awakened the Wind Fish, he awoke clinging to the driftwood of his ship, adrift on the open seas. According to the interpretation of , the events of and come afterwards.
==== and ====
After the defeat of Ganon, his surrogate mothers, the witches Twinrova, plotted to revive him. For this ritual, they required three flames to be lit: The Flame of Destruction, the Flame of Sorrow, and the Flame of Despair, and follow these with a human sacrifice. In order to obtain these flames, the witches sent their minions: General Onox, General of Darkness, to Holodrum; and Veran, Sorceress of Shadows, to Labrynna. One day, when Link visited Hyrule Castle, the Triforce beckoned him into its chamber. Once he placed his hands on the Triforce, it transported him to the distant land of Holodrum, where a new adventure began.
Upon awakening in Holodrum, Link met with a group of traveling performers who were watching after a dancer named Din. Link danced with Din, but suddenly a whirlwind appeared and snatched Din away. Din was actually the Oracle of Seasons, and her capture by Onox meant that the seasons in the land of Holodrum were thrown into chaos. The only way to restore balance to the seasons was to collect the eight Essences of Nature scattered around Holodrum. Link quested for the essences, using the mythical Rod of Seasons in order to manipulate the seasons as he went. Once Link defeated Onox and rescued Din, he was magically transported to the land of Labrynna, the setting of his second trial. However, even after his death, Onox's actions caused the Flame of Destruction to be lit.
Upon waking up in Labrynna, Link met Impa, who had been attacked by monsters. He helped her by moving a block with the Triforce crest on it. Then, both of them met Nayru, who was singing to animals. Suddenly, a shadow came out of Impa and possessed Nayru, who was actually the Oracle of Ages. It was Veran, who had used Impa's body to trick Link. Veran used Nayru's time-traveling abilities to go back in time and alter the past. Veran influenced Queen Ambi in the past to build the sinister Black Tower. Link had to use the Harp of Ages to travel back and forth between the present and the past in order to collect the eight Essences of Time and challenge Veran atop the Black Tower. Link was able to drive Veran out of the body of Queen Ambi and defeat her, but he was too late: the Flame of Sorrow had been lit.
In order to light the third and final flame, Twinrova kidnapped Princess Zelda who had arrived in Labrynna. This would complete their dark ritual and light the Flame of Despair. However, Link challenged them and killed them in battle. As a last-ditch effort to complete the sacrifice needed to revive Ganon, the witches offered their own bodies and revived the King of Darkness. However, because the ritual was incomplete, Ganon returned as a mindless beast. Link battled Ganon and defeated him, restoring peace to Holodrum and Labrynna.
His quest to stop Ganon's revival complete, Link departed Labrynna by boat.
====The Triforce Separates====
After Link's adventures in Holodrum and Labrynna, the Triforce was split apart. Ganon, despite being sealed in darkness following his defeat at the hands of Link, obtained the Triforce of Power, which remained sealed with him. The Triforce of Courage's location is unknown, but said to be hidden in the heart of the eternal hero.
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Centuries after Ganon's defeat, the peace of Hyrule is once again shattered by the sudden appearance of a mysterious and enigmatic wizard known as Yuga. With his cruel magic, he invades Hyrule from another world, transforming the descendants of the Seven Sages into paintings. Link, a young apprentice of the Blacksmith attempts to halt Yuga in his ambitions, but Yuga succeeds in not only acquiring all Seven Sages in the form of paintings, but Princess Zelda as well. He retreats to his world, that of Lorule, while Link chases after him, using the power of a bracelet given to him by the mysterious peddler, Ravio.
Link is too late to stop Yuga. Using his magic and that of the Seven Sages, he is able to release Ganon. Along with the Triforce of Power, Yuga and Ganon are joined as one, and using this power, Yuga desires to consume both Hyrule and Lorule. Link is protected from the beast's onslaught by Hilda, the princess of Lorule and the dark counterpart of Zelda, who urges Link to rescue the Seven Sages who have been sent to the far reaches of Lorule. With Hilda holding back Yuga and guiding Link in his quest, he succeeds in rescuing the Seven Sages and, with their power, awakens the Triforce of Courage in himself. 
Taking the Triforce, he rushes to challenge Yuga in Lorule Castle, only to find Hilda waiting for him in the Throne Room. Here, she reveals the truth; it was her who sent Yuga to obtain the Seven Sages and release the Demon King. Taking the Triforce of Wisdom from Princess Zelda's portrait, she explains the history of her kingdom. Lorule once had its own Triforce, but was destroyed by her ancestors long ago to stop endless wars over its power. However, with the Triforce gone from her world, the kingdom crumbled, monsters arose and the world turned to darkness and corruption. Upon hearing of another world with its own Triforce, she sent Yuga to obtain the keys to unlocking the Triforce of Power, and manipulated Link into obtaining the Triforce of Courage. Summoning Yuga, she demands he obtain the Triforce of Courage from Link. Yuga, using Ganon's power, unleashes his might upon the hero. Link fights valiantly however, and defeats Yuga, upon which point Hilda demands he relinquish the Triforce of Power to her. However, Yuga disobeys his ruler, and using his magic upon her he takes her portrait and her Triforce of Wisdom into himself, becoming stronger than ever. In a desperate final battle, Link, with the aid of Princess Zelda, finally defeats Yuga. Upon his defeat, Hilda and Zelda are returned to normal, yet Hilda still desires the Triforce to save her doomed kingdom. At the last moment, Ravio appears and reveals himself to be Link's Lorulean counterpart and once Hilda's loyal subject, and pleads with her to let Link and Zelda return to Hyrule with their Triforce. Finally relenting after seeing the senseless fighting that had led to this was not what her ancestors wanted, she helps Link and Zelda return to Hyrule with the last of the bracelet's power, through the first crack to appear between the worlds in Lorule's Sacred Realm.
Returning to their own Sacred Realm with the connection between worlds gone, Link and Zelda find the Triforce once again whole. It awaits for Link to make a wish upon it, and with his wish, Lorule's Triforce is restored to its former glory, and a new, brighter age dawns upon both Lorule and Hyrule.
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Link leaves the kingdom of Hyrule and ventures to the kingdom of . There he is recruited by the to defeat the evil witch . The witch had cursed into wearing an irremovable brown jumpsuit.
Link teams up with two other lookalike heroes to gather the pieces of the . They obtain the last piece by defeating Lady Maud. The witch's younger sister, , assembles the . With the complete Lady's Ensemble, Princess Styla is freed from her cursed one-piece.
===Golden Era===
Following the recovery of the Triforce in , Hyrule enters a . Successive Kings of Hyrule govern the land with the strength of the united Triforce. The Kingdom of Hyrule flourishes.
The last such , doubting his son's worthiness, hides the in the . Upon his death, he casts a spell on Hyrule such that a crest will one day appear on a young man worthy of wielding the Triforce of Courage. The King confers the secret location of the Triforce of Courage to his daughter .
===Era of Decline===
The ascends to the throne but inherits only the Triforce of Power and the Triforce of Wisdom. Abetted by a , the new King questions Princess Zelda on the location of the missing Triforce. When she refuses to reveal her father's secret, the enraged Magician places her under a spell of eternal sleep. Filled with regret, the new King places the princess on the altar in . He decrees that all women born into the royal family are to be named "Zelda". The cursed princess becomes known as Princess Zelda I.
The repentant king governs Hyrule to the best of his ability, but without the power of the full Triforce the kingdom falls into decline and its borders recede. The Triforce of Power and the Triforce of Wisdom continue to be passed down within the Royal Family. The existence of the Triforce of Courage is forgotten.
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Many years later, an evil army led by a revived attacks and steals the Triforce of Power. To keep the Triforce of Wisdom out of Ganon's hands, (a descendant of Princess Zelda I) splits it in eight and hides the pieces throughout Hyrule. The Princess sends her nursemaid to find someone with the courage to defeat Ganon. Ganon imprisons Zelda and sends a search party to find Impa.
A traveling (possibly a descendant of the hero from the Era of Light and Dark) happens upon Impa as she is accosted by Ganon's henchmen. Link drives off the evil minions and learns of Ganon's invasion from Impa. He sets off to recover the eight pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom. Having collected them from eight in the land, Link confronts Ganon in and defeats the Demon King using the Triforce of Wisdom, the , and . Zelda declares Link the hero of Hyrule.
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 is beleaguered by Ganon's minions who remain after the death of their leader. remains in to help with its restoration. On his sixteenth birthday, six years after 's defeat, a glowing mark appears on the back of Link's left hand. guides him to and presses the back of his hand against the sealed doorway. Inside they find the altar of the sleeping . Impa recounts the story of Princess Zelda I. She entrusts him with six and an ancient scroll written by the who had hidden the . learns from reading the scroll that the crest on his hand is the result of a spell cast by the King, marking him as worthy of the hidden Triforce of Courage. The scroll indicates that the Triforce of Courage is located in the . To undo the binding force around the Great Palace, must go to each of the six in , defeat the defending it, and set the in the heads of statues located in the . tells that by uniting the three pieces of the Triforce, he can undo the spell cast on the sleeping and bring peace back to .
Link defeats the six Guardians and places the Crystals to gain access to the Great Palace, where he defeats the last . In a final trial, defeats his own shadow to obtain the Triforce of Courage.
Link returns to North Castle. The three pieces of the Triforce unite before the altar. The sleeping Princess Zelda awakens, her curse broken. Peace returns to .
==Child Timeline==
The , or , is the branch of the timeline that follows Link back in time at the end of . The legendary Hero of Time warns the Royal Family of Ganondorf's treachery during the , thus averting his rise to power and thwarting him from the start. Link leaves Hyrule on Epona to search for his Fairy friend Navi. Years later, Ganondorf is sealed within the Twilight Realm.
This timeline contains the events of , , and .
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Several months into his search for Navi, Link becomes lost in a mysterious forest. He encounters the Skull Kid wearing . Skull Kid steals Link's horse. Link chases after him into the parallel world of Termina.
The Skull Kid, corrupted by Majora's Mask, aims to destroy Termina by bringing the Moon down upon it. Link has only three days to stop the apocalypse, but he is able to return to the First Day by playing the Song of Time. He ventures to the four outer regions of Termina, using transformative masks to free the Four Giants. On the Final Day, the Four Giants hold up the Moon. Link thwarts Majora, the demon inhabiting the mask, and destroys it.
The Hero of Time leaves Termina to continue his search for Navi, and is not again seen alive. Upon his death, he becomes the Hero's Spirit.
===The Failed Execution of Ganondorf===
Several years after , Ganondorf is sentenced to death. The Sages attempt to carry out the execution but Ganondorf survives, blessed with the Triforce of Power by the gods. Instead, the Sages use the Mirror of Twilight to banish Ganondorf to the Twilight Realm, which had become inhabited by the Twili, descendants of the Interlopers.
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Many years later, in the , Ganon appears before Zant, a disgruntled servant of the Twili royal family. Ganon grants Zant his power, which he uses to usurp Midna, the Twilight Princess. Midna flees to the Light World. Zant invades Hyrule with an army of Shadow Beasts, who steal the light from the Spirits of Light, bringing Twilight to Hyrule. Princess Zelda is held captive in Hyrule Castle. 
In Hyrule, Midna encounters Link, a ranch hand from Ordon Village. Link had been in pursuit of Bulblins who had kidnapped the children of the village. When he entered the Twilight, he was transformed into a wolf by the power of the Triforce of Courage, which he had inherited from his ancestor, the Hero of Time. Together Link and Midna restore light to Hyrule. In so doing, Link regains his original form. To defeat Zant, they gather the pieces of the Fused Shadow, which holds the dark power of the Interlopers. During their quest, Link receives sword training from the Hero's Spirit.
Zant curses Link back into wolf form with the Shadow Crystal, steals the completed Fused Shadow from Midna and injures her fatally. Link takes Midna to Princess Zelda, who pours her spirit into Midna to save her life. Link and Midna seek out the Master Sword in the Sacred Grove where the Temple of Time once stood. The sword dispels the curse on Link. Link and Midna gather the shards of the Mirror of Twilight, which Zant had broken. Link defeats the usurper in battle. Midna takes back the Fused Shadow and kills Zant with it. The duo returns to Hyrule Castle where they save Zelda from a resurrected Ganondorf. Link ultimately kills Ganondorf with the Master Sword.
Midna returns to the Twilight Realm. She shatters the Mirror of Twilight, severing the link between the two worlds.
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Hundreds of years after Ganondorf's death, the people of Hyrule had reconciled with Ganondorf's tribe, the Gerudo, and it seemed for a while that peace would prevail in the land. However, a new Ganondorf was born to the Gerudo tribe, who was the reincarnation of the King of Darkness that was defeated by the Hero Chosen by the Gods, and violated their taboo on the Ancient Pyramid. He stole the Trident from the pyramid and then stole the Dark Mirror from the Temple of Darkness. The mirror served as a prison for a dark tribe that, long ago, invaded the kingdom. It had the ability to reflect the evil heart of its bearer, giving birth to demonic creatures.
Ganondorf schemed to release the ancient sorcerer Vaati from his prison within the Four Sword, and created a dark copy of Link, Shadow Link, with the Mirror. The clouds of darkness covering the land made Zelda uneasy, so she gathered the six shrine maidens to renew the seal upon Vaati. At that moment, Shadow Link appeared and scattered the maidens with his powers. Link drew the sword from its pedestal, splitting into four just as in ancient times. However, this released Vaati from his prison to cause chaos. Ganon used Shadow Link to tear open rifts to the Dark World, pulling the four Knights of Hyrule into his sway and transforming them into Big Dark Stalfos.
The four Links journeyed throughout Hyrule to rescue the Shrine Maidens, and learned that Ganon was the mastermind behind the darkness plaguing Hyrule. They obtained the four jewels from the Knights, and made their way to the Tower of Winds, where they battled Vaati and Ganon himself, destroying Vaati and sealing Ganon inside the Four Sword forevermore.
==Adult Timeline==
The Adult Timeline, or , is the branch of the timeline in which the Hero of Time has disappeared from Hyrule after being sent back in time at the end of . In this timeline, Ganondorf is sealed within the void of the corrupted Sacred Realm along with the Triforce of Power. The Triforce of Wisdom remains in Zelda's possession. When Link goes back in time, the Triforce of Courage is left behind, shattered into eight shards scattered across Hyrule. Zelda returns the Master Sword to the Temple of Time.
This timeline contains the events of , , and .
===Hyrule Submerged===
Ages passed and the Hero of Time faded to legend. During the , the seal of the Seven Sages ultimately broke. Ganon escaped from the Sacred Realm and used the Triforce of Power to bring darkness to Hyrule once again. When no hero appeared, King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule and his people pleaded to the gods for deliverance.
The gods responded by bringing forth a deluge that would seal away all of Hyrule and Ganon with it. The gods chose those who would build a new world and commanded them to take refuge on the mountaintops, which became the islands of the new world known as the Great Sea. The Triforce of Wisdom was split in two: one part remained with King Daphnes beneath the waves, the other with his daughter the princess, who ascended to the new world. The Triforce fragment passed on to her namesakes, from daughter to daughter. Beneath the waves, Hyrule remained frozen in time.
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Hundreds of years later, during the , Ganondorf escapes to the surface world. Seeking to regain the Triforce of Wisdom, he commands the Helmaroc King to kidnap young girls with pointed ears, in the hopes of capturing Zelda. The Helmaroc King kidnaps Aryll, Link's younger sister. Link, a resident of Outset Island unrelated to the Hero of Time, sets out to rescue her. He is guided by the King of Red Lions, a boat sent forth by the gods.
Link proves his worth as a hero by gathering the Goddess Pearls and completing the goddesses' trial. A way opens to Hyrule beneath the waves. Link draws the Master Sword from a pedestal within Hyrule Castle. With the help of Tetra and her pirate crew, Link rescues his sister. However, he is unable to defeat Ganondorf. The Master Sword had lost the power to repel evil when Ganondorf killed the sages of Earth and Wind. Link and Tetra escape Ganondorf's grasp and return to Hyrule, where Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule reveals himself to be the King of Red Lions. He mends the Triforce of Wisdom, while Tetra carries the other piece. She awakens as Princess Zelda. 
Link restores the power to repel evil to the Master Sword. He gathers the shards of the Triforce of Courage to reopen the way to Hyrule. Upon returning to Hyrule, he discovers Zelda has been kidnapped by Ganondorf and taken atop Ganon's Tower. When Link purses them to the top of the tower, the full Triforce is reunited. Before Ganondorf is able to touch the Triforce and make his wish, Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule steps in and wishes for Hyrule to be washed away forever. Together, Link and Zelda defeat Ganondorf. They return to the surface, but Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule stays behind and vanishes along with his kingdom. Above the waves, Zelda becomes Tetra once again. Link and Tetra set sail in search of a new continent.
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During the , Link and Tetra happen upon the World of the Ocean King. To investigate a rumor about disappearing ships in the area, Tetra boards the and is taken away by it. Link falls into the ocean trying to rescue her and washes up on Mercay Island. There he meets the fairy Ciela and her so-called grandfather Oshus. 
Link teams up with Ciela and steamboat captain Linebeck to find the Ghost Ship. He obtains clues from the Temple of the Ocean King, which he navigates using the Phantom Hourglass. Link finds the ship after rescuing the Spirits of Power, Wisdom, and Courage (Leaf, Neri, and as it turns out, Ciela). On the ship, Link finds Tetra turned to stone—her Life Force had been drained by a malevolent creature named Bellum. To defeat Bellum, Link searches the seas for three Pure Metals to forge the Phantom Sword. Oshus reveals himself to be the Ocean King and fuses the Phantom Hourglass into the Phantom Sword.
Phantom Sword in hand, Link defeats Bellum and frees Tetra. The Ocean King regains his true form. Link and Tetra return to their world and continue their search for a new continent once again.
=== Era of Hyrule's Rebirth ===
Link and Tetra's pirate crew eventually discovered a new continent. Spirit Tracks spanned the land, at the center of which stood the Tower of Spirits. These were created by the Lokomo to bind the Demon King Malladus to the land. Tetra christened the land New Hyrule. Over a hundred years, the land of New Hyrule thrived.
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One hundred years later, the Spirit Tracks begin to disappear. Link, a Royal Engineer, and Princess Zelda, Tetra's descendant, head to the Tower of Spirits to investigate. Their train is derailed by Chancellor Cole and Byrne. Chancellor Cole, advisor to Princess Zelda, reveals himself to be a demon who aims to revive Malladus. Byrne, Cole's ally, separates Zelda's spirit from her body. Her body is carried off to the top of the Spirit Tower, to be used as a vessel for Malladus. The Spirit Tower is fragmented into floating pieces.
Link and Princess Zelda's ghost travel to four temples to restore the Spirit Tracks and the Tower of Spirits. They climb to the top of the tower, but are too late to stop Malladus from possessing Zelda's body. They pursue Malladus into the Dark Realm. Together, they defeat Malladus and Cole using the Bow of Light and the Lokomo Sword. Zelda regains her body and peace returns to Hyrule. Their protection no longer needed, the Lokomo sages return to the heavens.
== Arrival of the Zonai ==
The events of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom take place during an era long after the events of earlier games, which have since become myths and take place at the end of a timeline branch, but which timeline branch is up to the player's interpretation.https://uk.ign.com/articles/2018/08/06/the-legend-of-zelda-breath-of-the-wild-now-has-an-official-place-in-the-series-timeline-sort-of It is impossible to tell which myths are historical fact and which are mere legends. The Zonai descend from Sky Islands far above, appearing to the people of Hyrule as though gods, long before the founding of Hyrule by King Rauru and Queen Sonia."When your Zonai ancestors first descended upon these lands long, long ago, they must have seemed to be gods." — Ganondorf (Tears of the Kingdom) It is possible that Hyrule may have been destroyed once before their founding.
=== The Founding of Hyrule by King Rauru and Queen Sonia ===
The last two descendants of the ancient Zonai are Rauru and his sister Mineru."It is unfortunate, that the noble Zonai no longer grace this world with their presence. All except you and your sister, that is." — Ganondorf (Tears of the Kingdom) Sonia is a hylian priestess, born in the land of Hyrule."Sonia, quen to Hyrules kyng, bi birthe Hylian preesterresse, hirself yborn or londe, nat of skie aboven. — The Strong Queen and the Receptive King (Tears of the Kingdom) Sonia marries Rauru and they the kingdom of Hyrule,"We are the king and queen who founded Hyrule, after all. Or at least we were the last time I checked." — King Rauru (Tears of the Kingdom) potentially a later iteration of it. They create Shrines of Light to seal away monsters plaguing the kingdom at the time."The subject here is the actions King Rauru and Queen Sonia undertook not long after Hyrule's founding. With the kingdom established, they were worried for their people, so they set out to eradicate the monsters troubling them. They created structures called Shrines of Light to seal the monsters away so that they could never be revived." — Wortsworth (Tears of the Kingdom) Princess Zelda arrives in this time from the far future Upheaval and witnesses the events leading up to the Imprisoning War as well as the war itself. An incarnation of Ganondorf is born, becoming the king of the Gerudo tribe. Ganondorf initially attempts to take the Kingdom of Hyrule by force, but his army of Molduga is defeated by the sacred powers of Rauru, Sonia and Zelda. He then pretends to ally with them and despite their precautions, successfully assassinates Queen Sonia, taking her Secret Stone and corrupting it, thus amplifying his power to become the Demon king.
=== The Imprisoning War ===
A large war is waged by Ganondorf, the Demon King and an army of monsters he unleashes upon the kingdom following the death of Queen Sonia. King Rauru recruits 5 ancient Sages (one from each of the races, Rito, Zora, Goron, Gerudo and his sister Mineru) to fight demon king Ganondorf. Ultimately they cannot kill him, but Rauru manages to seal him away, but is required to sacrifice his own life to do so, bringing an end to the imprisoning war.
=== The Arrival of the Master Sword ===
Zelda stands on the Sky Island of the Temple of Time, when the decayed Master Sword arrives in the past from shortly after the Upheaval. She had been told by the Deku Tree that the sword can be healed if bathed in sacred power."It can do more than heal. The sword will continue to gain strength if bathed in sacred power. The stronger the power, the more powerful the sword becomes." — The Deku Tree (Tears of the Kingdom)
 She swallows a Secret Stone, thus turning into the Light Dragon, the sword imbedded in its' forehead to absorb her sacred power and heal over the coming millennia.
=== Calamity Ganon ===
An entity referred to as the 'Calamity Ganon' is unleashed upon the kingdom of Hyrule time and time again over the centuries."The history of the royal family of Hyrule is also the history of Calamity Ganon, a primal evil that has endured over the ages." — Impa (Breath of the Wild)
===The advanced Sheikah civilization===
10,000 years before Breath of the Wild, the Sheikah tribe developed highly advanced technology and Hyrule flourished. The Sheikah build the Guardians and Divine Beasts in preparation for Ganon's return. When Calamity Ganon appears, the then-present reincarnations of Zelda and Link are able to seal him away with the support of the Guardians and Divine Beasts and their ancient pilots. Despite this success, the King of Hyrule becomes paranoid, fearing a possible betrayal by the Sheikah. On his orders, the Divine Beasts are buried underground in locations across Hyrule. At some point, a militant faction of the Sheikah, who are enraged at the royal family for the order to bury their technology, split off to become the Yiga clan, and swear allegiance to Ganon. With the Sheikah scattered across the land and many of them abandoning their technology, civilization in Hyrule declines to a primitive state over the following millennia.
===Signs of Ganon's return===
About 9,883 years after the Calamity's defeat, a new princess is born and named Zelda in line with tradition. Around this same time, a prophecy warns of the return of . The ban on the Sheikah's technology is lifted by King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule, restoring relations with the Sheikah."In the face of this unorthodox crisis, King Rhoam made the decision to ally and work with the Sheikah once again. The battles between their people had faded into legend, and there were no longer those who felt that the Sheikah posed a threat. Even then, peace between them was a significant event and was only possible due to the peaceful group of Sheikah whose descendants remained in Kakariko Village and to King Rhoam's political prowess." — Creating a Champion, Dark Horse Books, pg. 374 Hoping to prepare in the same fashion as their ancestors, the people of Hyrule begin working to locate and excavate the Divine Beasts and Guardians, which they eventually managed to restore and activate. Subsequently, four warriors from each of Hyrule's races were selected to pilot the Divine Beasts. Around that time, the chosen bearer of the Master Sword was found to be a Hylian knight named Link, the only one who was able to pull the sword from its resting place in the Korok Forest. The four pilots and Link were then dubbed Champions.
===The Day of the Great Calamity===
A now 17-year-old Princess Zelda worked to awaken her sealing powers while being accompanied by Link, who had been appointed as her protector. Zelda was determined to awaken her power and prayed at the springs of the goddesses in Hyrule, but she was unsuccessful. Minutes after she had finished praying at the Spring of Wisdom, the Calamity broke its seal and rose up around the castle. Immediately after, it managed to corrupt the entire Guardian army by possessing it with Malice and turned it against Hyrule. The Champions, who were with Zelda near the Spring of Wisdom at the time, then rushed to their respective Divine Beasts hoping to still be able to defeat Calamity Ganon in time. By that point, Ganon had already sent four incarnations of Malice after the Divine Beasts and possessed them, killing the Champions inside. With their strongest weapons lost, Hyrule was laid to ruin and Link was fatally injured while protecting Zelda, who had awakened her sealing powers while fleeing from Guardians, requiring him to sleep in the Shrine of Resurrection for 100 years. Princess Zelda, after returning the Master Sword to the Korok Forest, then went to confront alone and managed to seal it, though this required her to become imprisoned inside it in order to maintain the seal, as she could not completely seal Ganon away while he was undamaged by the Master Sword.
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One hundred years later, Princess Zelda's sealing power had weakened, and Calamity Ganon's return as well as Link's awakening were imminent. In response to both, the still possessed Divine Beasts began to wreak havoc around Hyrule. With the healing process complete, Link eventually awakened in the Shrine of Resurrection without his memories, and ventured forward with the Sheikah Slate left for him there by Zelda. Outside the Shrine of Resurrection, the spirit of King Rhoam explained to Link what happened in the past century. At some point, Link re-obtained the Master Sword from within Korok Forest, and is ultimately guided by Zelda's voice toward Hyrule Castle. Although he could have chosen to go entirely alone, Link instead takes back the Divine Beasts from Ganon's influence and frees the spirits of the deceased Champions, who also lend him their powers. With their help, Link is able to critically injure Calamity Ganon inside Hyrule Castle using the Master Sword, scattering the Malice covering him. Immediately after, the scattered Malice gathers outside of the castle and transforms into Dark Beast Ganon. Zelda, still imprisoned, summons the Bow of Light, and Link uses it to weaken Ganon enough to allow Zelda to free herself and seal him away.
After defeating the Calamity, Hyrule begins to slowly flourish again. Princess Zelda focuses on rebuilding the Kingdom, while Link continues to support and protect her.
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Citizens of Hyrule have been falling ill to a substance they have begun to call gloom, emanating from beneath Hyrule Castle."People have been falling ill after coming into contact with the gloom drifting through these caverns" — Princess Zelda (Tears of the Kingdom) and volunteer to seek out the source of the Gloom. They discover an ancient mummy dressed in jewellery, revealed to be Ganondorf. Rauru's right arm, which had been sealing away Ganondorf, falls off, his Light Secret Stone attached to the back of his hand falls and is picked up by Zelda. The Demon King's corpse awakens, attacks Zelda with a concentrated jet of gloom. Link jumps in the way, causing his right arm to be severely injured, much life force drained from him and the Master Sword to shatter. Ganondorf causes Hyrule Castle to rise from the ground, causing tremors to affect the cavern. The earth cracks and Zelda falls into the depths below, narrowly missing Link's attempt to catch her, before accidentally activating the Secret Stones' ability and time travelling back to the founding of Hyrule.
Link travels around Hyrule, awakens the new sages and ultimately defeats Ganondorf. Ganondorf then swallows the secret stone originally belonging to Queen Sonia and becomes a Demon Dragon. Link defeats him. The Spirits of Queen Sonia uses her time power and the Spirit of King Rauru uses his light power and together their sacred powers fully restore Link's right arm and transform the Light Dragon back into Zelda. Link and Zelda fall into the body of water near Mabe Prairie and Lookout Landing. 
Mineru departs for the afterlife with Rauru and Sonia. Zelda swears to dedicate her life to providing eternal peace to Hyrule.
== Trivia ==
* The Zelda Timeline as well as Hyrule Historia is met with considerable controversy among longtime fans of the franchise, as they often find the placement of the games' stories confusing or believing the whole concept not making sense at all, especially for the Fallen Hero Timeline, as well as older games prior to The Wind Waker have no clear evidence of different Links, Zeldas, or even Ganon, and timelines in their plot or connected events to later titles. Despite this however, there are evidences of a Timeline and different Links as back as 1991 with the release of A Link to the Past
==Gallery==
File:Timeline Hyrule Historia.jpg|The timeline revealed on page 69 of 
File:Zelda Series History 2011.jpg|The Legend of Zelda series history since 2011
File:Japanese Updated Timeline.png|The timeline since 2016
==See Also==
* History of the Zelda Timeline
* Archive:Timeline Theories
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