*＊✿❀ I Think I've Solved TOTK's Timeline! ❀✿＊* ❀ Episode 4, Season 1 ❀ Phoenix's Zelda Theories *＊✿❀❀✿＊* *＊✿❀❀✿＊* *＊✿❀❀✿＊* All right. I think I did it. You're going to want to read this. All of it. *＊✿❀❀✿＊* *＊✿❀❀✿＊* *＊✿❀❀✿＊* ❀ It’s long been a fierce debate on where the newest Zelda game, Tears of the Kingdom, is placed in the timeline of Hyrule. With multiple games featuring parallel worlds, several incarnations of Ganondorf, and three timelines, this is no easy feat. Recently, however, I’ve discovered that TOTK’s placement isn’t as complicated as others think, and that many are just overthinking it. Instead of it being a rebuilt Hyrule, it actually occurred right after Skyward Sword, with the present-day occurring at the end of the Child Timeline. If you’re interested, then keep reading, because I’m about to explain the entire Zelda timeline, summarize TOTK’s events, and clarify how TOTK fits into it. After Link and Zelda sealed Demise and descended from the clouds, it’s presumed that they established some sort of civilization on the surface and stayed there. If we accept that as true, then a descendant of Zelda, holding her sacred power, would therefore be on the surface. This is basically established as true, without any theorizing - SS Link and Zelda started the civilization. It can also be presumed that most of Skyloft followed them to start a new life, since they definitely weren’t the only ones going to live on the surface. This leaves the sky pretty much empty. Some time after that, we can infer that the Zonai also lived up there too - it may be that they were on different islands, or that they colonized the ones left behind. Either way, bathed in Hylia’s light, they created the Constructs and secret stones. However, the legends then mention that the Zonai descended from the heavens to join the Hylians on the surface. But wait, didn’t Ganondorf say that Rauru and Mineru were the last Zonai? It isn’t as if Rauru is a descendant of the Zonai who joined with Hyrule - he and Sonia are specifically depicted in the legends as the “first king and queen of Hyrule”, as well as the one who formed an alliance with the Hylians. So at the time the two races combined, Rauru and Mineru were the only ones left. My theory, which I consider to be pretty reasonable and likely canon, is that the Zonai were dying out. For some reason or another- maybe lack of food, or something else entirely- their numbers were dwindling, until there was only Rauru and Mineru left. Fearing that they might go extinct, they brought their technology down with them and combined with the Hylians to create Hyrule, with Rauru taking Sonia, a descendant of Zelda I, as his queen. In addition, the image of the Zonai descending from the clouds looks quite a bit like a certain long-haired goat man - it definitely isn’t some random Zonai. It’s also pretty obvious that Sonia is a descendant of Skyward Sword’s Zelda - not only does she look similar, but the Heroes Wiki confirms this. A little while before the Zonai formed this alliance, Ganondorf was born. A popular theory is that he is an incarnation of Demise’s everlasting hatred from SS, after he cursed the kingdom - and Link and Zelda. This was further specified by Redditor u/Bropiphany. I do think that Ganondorf is a bit more than just a mindless clone of Demise, or possessed by him - he’s his own person, but it’s likely that Demise may have caused his birth, or cursed the Gerudo to have an evil male child every century. After swearing fealty to Rauru, Ganondorf then stole Sonia’s secret stone, probably since she appeared to be the easiest target. This is supported by the memory “A Show of Fealty”, in which he looks over Zelda, Rauru, and Sonia’s stones, before settling on the queen. Once he claimed the stone, Ganondorf’s sage power was activated. Yes, you heard me right. Though not counted as a “Sage” he was a sage. If this sounds confusing, what I mean is that he wasn’t part of Rauru’s band of sages that were supposed to seal him, but he did have a sage name and powers. The proof in the game is that when he holds the secret stone, it engraves itself with a symbol - exactly like all of the Sages’ did when they picked up theirs. However, his symbol is not specified to be any of the others shown in the game, which makes sense - he has completely different powers. So what are they?
❀ (cont.d) It’s highly likely that the BOTW/TOTK timeline is connected to Ocarina of Time (I’ll explain where it would be in the timeline later). Not only do BOTW’s Divine Beasts have names similar to the OOT sages’ (Nabooru/Naboris, Ruto/Ruta, Darunia/Rudania), they also have very similar powers and names. In the game, there are seven sages - a Sage of Forest, a Sage of Fire, a Sage of Water, a Sage of Shadow, a Sage of Spirit, a Sage of Light, and a seventh sage with an unnamed power (Zelda). Though the powers don’t exactly line up with TOTK, it’s quite possible that a few have evolved and changed over time due to historical events. Urbosa also directly states the correlation between the Sage’s and her Divine Beast’s name in this exact quote: “Nabooru... Legend of the Gerudo, celebrated over ages. And you, who were named to honor her— you are a legend as well." For example, the Sage of Forest is not in TOTK, but a Sage of Wind does exist. Since the Rito aren’t in OOT, and the Kokiri not in TOTK, the tribes the sages came from changed depending on which ones there were. In any case, most of the key elements line up. There’s a Sage of Spirit, a Goron Sage of Fire, a Zora Sage of Water, and a Sage of Light - named RAURU. Zelda’s power isn’t named, but it’s likely that she has Time, completing the Sage group. In Tears of the Kingdom, there is a Sage of Lightning and a Sage of Wind that didn’t exist in OOT - and OOT’s Sage of Forest is gone. This can be easily explained. Since the Kokiri are presumably extinct, and the Rito have strangely disappeared from that time, it makes sense that there would be new elements based on the tribes at that time. The elements also shift; for example, Nabooru is the Gerudo Sage of Spirit, but in the past and in TOTK, a Gerudo is Sage of Lightning. The geography may have also changed, and it’s WAY too complicated to explain here. In summary, there have always been Sages, though their tribes and elements may have changed. The locations in OOT and TOTK are also very similar, for example, the Korok Forest. But there’s one other sage that doesn’t seem to appear in TOTK - the Sage of Shadow. Who, or where, are they? The answer is simple. Ganondorf is the Sage of Shadow. Not only do his powers involve malice and corruption, his stone also turns a blackish color and engraves itself with a symbol - likely the symbol for darkness. Why else would it change like this if he wasn’t a Sage? Now, Impa’s powers as the Sage of Shadow in OOT aren’t used like his, but I believe the reason they are so dark and malice-filled is his personality, and the use that he puts them to. It’s also possible that the Sage of Shadow’s power changes over time, like how Forest disappeared and Wind + Lightning became a thing. Now, not all Ganondorfs are Sages, since in OOT, Impa was the Shadow representative. It’s likely that Hyrule just got unlucky - REALLY unlucky - with a Sage Ganondorf. After activating his powers, Ganondorf released his army upon Hyrule, but was stopped by Rauru, who sealed him away deep in the earth. With his last words, Rauru told Ganondorf of how Link was going to stop him. Once everything had settled down, the Hylians built a castle over the two, and sealed them in - sort of like how a cork seals a bottle. The stone tablets were raised into the sky, with history recorded on them, and the old Temple of Time was brought back to the Zonai’s ancient home- the Great Sky Island. This is why it isn’t exactly part of the landscape. After this, there came the Era of Chaos, in which people seeking to steal the Triforce were imprisoned in the Twilight Realm and became Twili. A new Rauru sage built the SURFACE Temple of Time, and it then appears in OOT and BOTW. Then we have the Minish Cap, which…really isn’t relevant XD Many, many years later, Ganondorf 2.0 arose again from the desert - perhaps due to Demise’s last curse. A theory also by u/Bropiphany states that the Twinrova, Kotake and Koume, seen in TOTK behind the first Ganondorf, also raised this one. It’s quite likely that this is the case - after Ganondorf 1.0 was defeated, they raised the next one, perhaps even suggesting his name. Since it’s presumed that they are extremely long lived (they are demons, after all), then it’s very possible that they existed in OOT. After Link, Zelda, and “The Sages 2.0” sealed Ganondorf, the events in the Child Timeline played out. It’s almost certain that TOTK is not part of the Wind Waker/Great Sea Timeline, since a lot of its areas match areas from Twilight Princess and Ocarina of Time, and so do the Sage concepts, the name Rauru, and other important details. I'm going to have to cut it off here :'D The text boxes won't let me write any more. Check out Part 2 for the finished theory! As always, feel free to heart, star, and ask to be added to my ping list!
