A Long Time Ago...
Before life began, before the world had form, three golden goddesses descended upon the chaotic land of Hyrule. They were Din, the goddess of power, Nayru, the goddess of wisdom and Farore, the goddess of courage.
Din, with her strong flaming arms, cultivated the land to create the earth. Nayru poured her wisdom onto the earth to give the spirit of law to the world. Farore's rich soul created all life forms who would uphold the law.
These three great goddesses returned to the heavens, leaving behind the golden sacred Triforce. Since then, the Triforce has become the basis for Hyrule's providence. Where the Triforce stood became sacred land.
In the vast, deep forest of Hyrule, the Great Deku Tree served as the guardian spirit. The children of the forest, the Kokiri, lived with the Great Deku Tree. Each Kokiri had his or her own guardian fairy, except one. His name was Link.
Early one morning, Link was having a nightmare. It was the same nightmare he had every night. During a storm, Link would find himself standing in front of a mysterious castle. A rider on horseback, carrying a girl, would race by. The girl would look at Link as if to say something. Then, another rider would appear. This big man clad in black would look down menacingly at Link. Link would then awaken.
"Link! Hey, get up, Link! The Great Deku Tree wants to talk to you!"
As Link opened his eyes, he saw a fairy floating in front of him. This fairy's name was Navi. Navi was sent to summon Link to the Great Deku Tree.
"Oh, Navi, thou hast returned!" said the Deku Tree. "Thank you, Link, for coming. Thy slumber these past moons must have been restless, and full of nightmares. A vile climate pervades this world. Verily, ye have felt it. The time has come to test thine courage. I have been cursed. I need you to dispel the curse with your wisdom and courage. Art thou prepared?"
Link entered the Great Deku Tree and broke the curse.
"Well done, Link! I knew that ye were worthy of carrying out my wishes. A wicked man of the desert cast this dreadful curse on me. Employing his vile, sorcerous energies, the evil one is searching for the Sacred Realm connected to Hyrule. For it is there that one will find the divine relic, the Triforce, that contains the essence of the gods. Whoever holds the Triforce can make their wishes come true. Thou must never allow the desert man to lay his hands on the sacred Triforce. Thou must never suffer that man to enter the sacred realm of legend. Link, go new to Hyrule castle. There, ye will surely meet the Princess of Destiny. Present this stone to the princess. I have foreseen that she will understand everything."
The Great Deku Tree gave Link the Spiritual Stone of the Forest. Before dying, the Deku Tree's last words were, "The future depends upon thee, Link. Thou art courageous."
Link's heroic mission didn't begin on a very high note, though, because Ganondorf, the wicked man of the desert the Deku Tree had told him about, was able to trick him into opening the sealed doorway to the Sacred Realm in the Temple of Light. Instead of collecting the Spiritual Stones himself, Ganondorf watched from afar as young Link traveled to Goron City and Zora's Domain, risking his life to help the troubled inhabitants there.
Link thought he was helping Princess Zelda to protect the holy Triforce by collecting the Spiritual Stones, but after he had gathered all three magical relics he was in for an unfortunate surprise. As Link approached Hyrule Castle, he caught sight of Zelda's guardian Impa rushing Zelda to safety.
They were being pursued by Ganondorf, but just before Zelda sped away she was able to throw the Ocarina of Time into the moat of Hyrule Castle where Link swam down to retrieve it. Link then had everything he needed to enter the Sacred Realm. He hurried into the Temple of Time and pulled the legendary Master Sword from its pedestal.
The last thing Link remembered was opening the door to the Sacred Realm and watching as Ganondorf leapt from the shadows and placed his tainted hands on Triforce. Though Link did not witness it firsthand, Ganondorf tapped into the power of the Triforce and throned himself as the King of Evil. With heavy hand, he transformed the beautiful Hylian landscape into a barren wasteland. Sadly, even the Golden Land in the Sacred Realm was stripped of its beauty. It was not long before this fallen territory came to be known as the Dark World.
When Link opened his eyes, he immediately sensed that something was different. He lay in the Chamber of Sages before Rauru, sage to the Temple of Light. Rauru explained that Link was, in fact, the Hero of Time, but when he had pulled the sword from the stone, he had been too young to wear the mantle.
His spirit was contained in the temple for seven years until he was able to wield the Master Sword and dispel the evil from Hyrule. Link felt his face and looked down at his hands. He was no longer a little boy; he had become a man.
With the aid of Sheik, protector of Hyrule, Rauru explained to Link that it was his destiny as the Hero of Time to gather the power of the sages and seal Ganondorf in the Dark World he created forever. Link accepted his fate, and toiled ceaselessly to reach his goal. While gathering the power of the sages, he perfected his battle techniques and learned how to travel through time to revisit the Hyrule which existed when he was a youth.
Link eventually gained access to Ganondorf's lair, and challenged the dark ruler to a final battle. During the struggle which ensued, Ganondorf's twisted use of the Triforce's power transformed him into Ganon, the true King of Evil. In the end, Link made up for his youthful mistake by striking Ganon down. The magic of the seven sages was then used to seal Ganon within the dismal landscape of the Dark World.
After ensuring that princess Zelda was safely returned to Hyrule Castle, Link once again traveled back through time.
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