Ancient Battle

Hylia leads the forces of all the races on the Surface to battle Demise.

### Occurrence(s)

Demise attacks the people of the Surface in an attempt to steal the Triforce from Hylia.

### Resolution(s)

Hylia seals Demise beneath the Sealed Grounds; Skyloft is created and sent to the sky with the Hylians and the Triforce; Hylia passes from the world to be reborn in the future.

The **Ancient Battle** is one of the earliest battles in Hyrule's history, prior to its founding as a kingdom, and was originally depicted in the introductory cutscene of *Skyward Sword*. The conflict erupted when the Demon King known as Demise broke out of the depths of the earth with his armies and attempted to steal the ultimate power from the goddess Hylia. The aftermath of the battle resulted in the creation of both Skyloft and the Sealed Grounds.

## Overview

The Golden Goddesses created the Triforce. They limited the use of the Triforce to mortals, supposedly as a means to inspire hope amongst them. They left the relic under the protection of the goddess Hylia, ordering her to safeguard it and granting her the authority to preside over the realm they had created. For an unspecified period, Hylia ruled over the Surface, presiding over the various races that existed at that time. This era of peace ended when a fissure opened in the earth, from which came an army of demons led by their ruler, the Demon King Demise. Demise sought to obtain the Triforce from Hylia and use it conquer the world, and to this end he ordered his armies to destroy all in their path.

The goddess Hylia, fearing for her people the Hylians, gathered all the surviving Hylians on an outcropping of rock. She sent them and the Triforce into the Sky to keep them out of Demise's reach. This floating island along with others became the new home of the Hylians, which came to be known as Skyloft. She also created a cloud barrier to separate the realm of the Sky from the Surface and thus prevent Demise's armies from pursuing her people.

The goddess Hylia and the remaining races on the Surface fought and sealed Demise's evil forces. Hylia imprisoned and sealed away Demise in what became known as the Sealed Grounds. Stripped of his true physical form due to the seal that now bound him, Demise was forced into the form of an abomination capable of great destruction should he ever escape from his new prison. To prevent Demise from escaping the seal, Hylia created the sword spirit Fi to be bound to the Goddess Sword to be passed on to her chosen hero, Link, and also gave up her divinity so she could transfer her soul to a mortal—Zelda, the daughter of Gaepora—in the future that could utilize the powers of the Triforce. She entrusted three spirit dragons, Faron, Eldin, and Lanayru, along with the sky spirit Levias, to pass on the four parts of the Song of the Hero to the appointed hero.

## Trivia

* In the *Skyward Sword* manga by Akira Himekawa, Hylia's chosen hero exists in the ancient past, with the Hero of the Sky being a mere reincarnation of him.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "*Before the Kingdom of Hyrule and the royal family exist, the goddess Hylia is reborn as a mortal to the headmaster of the Knight Academy.*" (*Encyclopedia*, Dark Horse Books, pg. 16)
2. ↑ *Hyrule Historia*, Dark Horse Books, pg. 71
3. ↑ "*The gods created the Triforce, yet they specifically designed it so that their own kind could never use its power. Somehow, I think that may have been their way of giving hope to all the mortal beings of the land.*" — Zelda (*Skyward Sword*)
4. ↑ "*Such was the might of the ultimate power that the old ones placed it in the care of the goddess.*" — N/A (*Skyward Sword*)
5. ↑ "*After the three goddesses departed, the Triforce and the world was entrusted to the goddess Hylia.*" (*Encyclopedia*, Dark Horse Books, pg. 16)
6. ↑ "*One dark, fateful day, the earth cracked wide and malevolent forces rushed forth from the fissure. They mounted a brutal assault upon the surface people, driving the land into deep despair... They burnt forests to ash, choked the land's sweet springs, and murdered without hesitation.*" — N/A (*Skyward Sword*)
7. ↑ "*Evil originated in ancient times, emerging from great fissures in the earth. Demons crawled up, led by the powerful Demise, carrying with them an evil in direct opposition to everything the goddesses had created.*" (*Encyclopedia*, Dark Horse Books, pg. 99)
8. ↑ "*In his thirst to make the world his own, Demise readied a massive army of monsters for war. He sought to take the Triforce for himself by force.*" — Zelda (*Skyward Sword*)
9. ↑ "*Hylia's great responsibility was soon tested as evil beings emerged from the ground, seeking the Triforce. Called demons [...], they served an evil power so great it was known only as "Demise".*" (*Encyclopedia*, Dark Horse Books, pg. 12)
10. ↑ "*To prevent this great power from falling into the hands of the evil swarming the lands... the goddess gathered the surviving humans on an outcropping of earth. She sent it skyward, beyond the reach of the demonic hordes. Beyond the clouds.*" — N/A (*Skyward Sword*)
11. ↑ "*The goddess feared for her people. She used her power to send both them and the Triforce into the sky on a slice of earth she cut away from the land. This floating rock became the new home of our people. In time, it came to be known as Skyloft.*" — Zelda (*Skyward Sword*)
12. ↑ "*The islands in the sky where the surviving humans dwell became known as Skyloft.*" (*Hyrule Historia*, Dark Horse Books, pg. 72)
13. ↑ "*Without the power to fight, Hylia's people could only cry out for help to the goddess. She answered, cutting out a portion of their land and, along with the Triforce, moving her people to safety high above.*" (*Encyclopedia*, Dark Horse Books, pg. 12)
14. ↑ "*Until now, a cloud barrier created by the goddess has separated the world you know from the one below.*" — Fi (*Skyward Sword*)
15. ↑ "*The land and sky were then separated by a sea of clouds.*" (*Encyclopedia*, Dark Horse Books, pg. 12)
16. ↑ "*With the humans safe, the goddess joined forces with the land dwellers and fought the evil forces, sealing them away.*" — N/A (*Skyward Sword*)
17. ↑ "*Five races other than the Hylians existed during the age of the goddess Hylia. Those five races stood with the goddess Hylia to fight the demon hordes and the Demon King Demise and remained on the surface after he was sealed away.*" (*Encyclopedia*, Dark Horse Books, pg. 54)
18. ↑ "*After a long and fierce battle, the goddess, Hylia, succeeded in sealing away Demise.*" — Zelda (*Skyward Sword*)
19. ↑ "*He was imprisoned in the Sealed Grounds after a fierce battle with the goddess Hylia.*" (*Encyclopedia*, Dark Horse Books, pg. 174)
20. ↑ "*Stripped of his true physical form by the seal that binds him, he takes the shape of an abomination. But even in his hideous state, he's more than capable of devouring this land if we allow him to do what he desires.*" — Zelda (*Skyward Sword*)
21. ↑ "*Sealed by the goddess Hylia, Demise revives twice in Skyward Sword. The first time, he returns as a twisted, incomplete monster known as the Imprisoned.*" (*Encyclopedia*, Dark Horse Books, pg. 293)
22. ↑ "*In order to put an end to the demon king, Hylia devised two separate plans and set them both into motion. First, she created Fi. She made the spirit that resides in your sword to serve a single purpose: to assist her chosen hero on his mission.*" — Zelda (*Skyward Sword*)
23. ↑ "*Fi A sword spirit created by the goddess Hylia. She resides inside the Goddess Sword, and calls Link "Master" after he pulls the blade from its pedestal.*" (*Encyclopedia*, Dark Horse Books, pg. 293)
24. ↑ "*Her second plan...was to abandon her divine form and transfer her soul to the body of a mortal. ...She made this sacrifice, as you have likely guessed, so that the supreme power created by the old gods could one day be used. For while the supreme power of the Triforce was created by gods, all of its power can never be wielded by one. Knowing this power was her last and only hope, the goddess gave up her divine powers and her immortal form.*" — Zelda (*Skyward Sword*)
25. ↑ "*Zelda Daughter of Gaepora, the headmaster at the Knight Academy. She later faces her destiny to be awakened as the goddess Hylia.*" (*Encyclopedia*, Dark Horse Books, pg. 293)
26. ↑ "*In the time of* Skyward Sword*, three spirit dragons watched over the Surface: the water dragon Faron, guardian of forests and sources of water; the fire dragon Eldin, overseer of volcanic lands; and the thunder dragon Lanayru, who had domain over the deserts. In addition to being entrusted with the land by the goddess Hylia, alongside the sky spirit Levias, their role was to pass on the four parts of the Song of the Hero to the hero.*" (*Encyclopedia*, Dark Horse Books, pg. 22)