Sacred Realm

The Golden Land (A Link to the Past, Kodai no Sekiban) or, by later translations, the Sacred Realm (Ocarina of Time, The Wind Waker) is one of the more fantastical locations in the Zelda universe. In each of the games, the Sacred Realm is described as a mythical plane, or parallel world, created by three world-creating goddesses to be the holding place of the Triforce, an artifact of great power.



The Triforce
The Triforce is composed of three golden equilateral triangles (themselves arranged as the three corners of a larger equilateral triangle). The three pieces of the Triforce represent the essence of each of the three goddesses that created the game's world, Hyrule: Din's Power, Nayru's Wisdom, and Farore's Courage.

The Golden Land in the story of A Link to the Past
According to the English manual...


 * In Hyrule, there are many Hylian buildings which are mentioned repeatedly in the Legends. These buildings, which now lie in ruin, pale shadows of their former splendor, are closely tied to the Triforce. Some were said to have the Triforce itself...


 * If it were only a symbol of the Gods, the Triforce would be coveted by many. But a verse from the Book of Mudora made the Triforce even more desirable:


 * "In a realm beyond sight,
 *  " The sky shines gold, not blue.
 *  " There, the Triforce's might
 *  " Makes mortal dreams come true."


 * Many aggressively searched for the wish granting Triforce, but no one, not even the Hylian sages, was sure of its location; the knowledge had been lost over time. Some said the Triforce lay under the desert, others said that it was in the cemetery in the shadow of Death Mountain, but no one ever found it. That yearning for the Triforce soon turned to lust for power, which in turn led to the spilling of blood. Soon the only motive left among those searching for the Triforce was pure greed.

Once Ganondorf got a hold of the Triforce, his evil heart and its power combined made the world change utterly. Ganondorf's wish was to conquer the world. The Golden Land withered and died and became a place of darkness and evil... it became the Dark World, a reflection of Hyrule that was meant to serve Ganondorf's wish of conquest. But Ganondorf was not satisfied, and plotted to take over Hyrule to make his wish come completely true. Ganondorf began to use the Triforce's powers to lure others into the Dark World. Once there, they were transformed into reflections of their own hearts. Ganondorf himself became a boar or pig-like creature. Upon this transformation, Ganondorf went by the name Ganon, the King of Evil. Ganon used the men lured into the Dark World by the Triforce to build an army, with which he attacked Hyrule. The 7 Wise Men then erected a barrier to seal the Dark World away, preventing any from entering.

Within time, Ganon sent a portion of his spirit across the barrier to become the wizard Agahnim. Using the wizard as his pawn, he killed the King of Hyrule and began to capture the descendants of the wise men. By using a dark ritual to send them over the barrier into the Dark World, the barrier would break free once again. Although Agahnim is killed, he ultimately succeeds in breaking the seal. Later, upon Ganon's death, the Dark World vanishes entirely.

The realm sealed
The realm remained sealed off from the physical world by a seal that can only be opened with a unique collection of items: The three Spiritual Stones (belonging to different races in the game and also representing one of the goddesses:  The Kokiri Emerald represents Farore, the Goron's Ruby represents Din, and the Zora's Saphire represents Nayru), the Ocarina of Time (which opens the seal of the Temple of Time, gateway to the Sacred Realm), and the Master Sword (which was created to defeat evil and can only be wielded by the righteous).

The seal broken
Link and Princess Zelda, discovering that Ganondorf, the game's antagonist, seeks to possess the Triforce, attempt to stop him by getting to the Sacred Realm first. Unfortunately, their efforts to stop Ganondorf merely unseal the sacred realm for him (which he would have been unable to do as he could not wield the Master Sword). Ganondorf takes the triforce, but because his heart is not in balance, he only ends up with the Triforce of Power, temporarily thwarting his plans for becoming the ruler of the world. The other pieces of the Triforce reverted to their keepers (Princess Zelda gaining the Triforce of Wisdom and Link gaining the Triforce of Courage). Although the Sacred Realm was beautiful (the midday sky was gold, not blue), it becomes warped and twisted under Ganondorf's control, as the realm reflects the heart of the last person to enter it. Only the Temple of Light at the center of the Sacred Realm remains uncorrupted.

The realm restored
At the end of Ocarina of Time, Link defeats Ganondorf, who is then sealed in the sacred realm (which can also be known as the dark world) by the Sages, mythical protectors of Hyrule. It is disputed whether the realm returned to normal after these events.

Dark World
In A Link to the Past, the legend of the Dark World unfolded. It was a corrupt version of the Golden Land where the Triforce, a relic of extraordinary power, lay. When Link drew the Master Sword from its pedestal in Ocarina of Time, Ganondorf, King of the Gerudo thieves, entered the Sacred Realm and used his segment of the Triforce, power, to corrupt the Golden Land and turned it into a reflection of his own heart; the Dark World.

There are 2 Dark Worlds in The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures. One is a location in Hyrule, it is apparently filled with live vegetation, and inhabited by Dekus who guard Ganon's Temple.

The true Dark World is entered through portals that must be activated with a Moon Pearl. Once there, the player must look at the GBA screen to see their Link in the Dark World. Link's shadow can then be seen in its equivalent location in the Light World on the television screen.