Hyrulean Forces

The Hyrulean Forces are one of the main factions that appears in Hyrule Warriors. As their name implies, it is the Hyrulean Army that serves Hyrule's crown Princess Zelda. Its main goal is to defend the land of Hyrule and its people from evil, as well as defend and serve the Royal Family of Hyrule. The army is mostly made up of Hyrulean Soldiers, however it also employs Gorons as well. Link is originally a talented new recruit before it is discovered during a battle with Cia's Dark Forces that he is actually the chosen Hero reborn.

Background & History
The Hyrulean Forces came into existence at some point around or after the foundation of the kingdom of Hyrule. Its main function was to serve the Royal Family of Hyrule and defend the Kingdom of Hyrule from its enemies such as the evil Demon King Ganondorf/Ganon and the Usurper King of Twilight Zant during the Era of Twilight. Composed mainly of Hylian (and possibly Human) soldiers, the Hyrulean Forces are Hyrule's main line of defense and army in times of war.

Dark Forces Invasion Begins
In Cia's Tale: The Invasion Begins, Cia and her Dark Forces had begun hunting the Fairies of Hyrule in order to prevent them from aiding the Hyrulean Forces as precursor to invasion. One fairy named Proxi manages to escape with the aid of a mysterious sorceress named Lana and alerted to the Dark Forces presence on Hyrule Field, the Gorons rush to alert Princess Zelda and the Hyrulean Forces of the Dark Forces. Princess Zelda is surprised to see the sudden appearance of some many monsters, while Cia decides to take Princess' appearances as a chance to kill Zelda and seize the Triforce of Wisdom and orders her forces to attack. Worried that her soldiers may not be able to handle so many monsters, Impa decides to enter the battle but is defeated and forced to fall back, stopping the Hyrulean Forces advance. Refusing to stand idly by as her kingdom is threatened, Zelda decides to join the battle herself and summons her Rapier. Determined to protect Zelda, Impa returns to the battlefield and advances towards the Dark Forces' base. However they are defeated and forced to retreat back into Hyrule Castle, where Impa and Zelda prepare to rally their troops to defend Hyrule Castle.

The Armies of Ruin
At the beginning of the game, Princess Zelda has a prophetic dream of darkness descending on Hyrule and tells her trusted advisor the Sheikah General Impa of her fears. The two realize they must find the reborn spirit of the Hero. Zelda decides to see if the reborn Hero is among the new trainee recruits, though Impa is skeptical that the Hero could be found among them. However Zelda notices a young recruit named Link who demonstrates great skill and unnatural power while wielding a simple Wooden Sword and Wooden Shield during sparring practice. However she and Impa receive news that an army of monsters is headed for Hyrule Castle. Zelda has Impa ready the troops to defend their home from the invading monsters and the two women enter the battle to lead the forces of Hyrule in a battle against the monsters lead by the Dragon Knight Volga and the Dark Wizard Wizzro. Despite being a simple trainee, Link bravely equips himself a Knight's Sword and a Shield, then courageously rushes off to aid the Zelda and the forces of Hyrule. During the battle, Link saves a Fairy named Proxi who becomes Link's Fairy Companion and then confronts the Dragon Knight Volga. He manages to put up a decent fight, but knocked down by a hit from Volga's dragon claw. Fortunately, the boy is saved by the timely arrival of Impa. Just as it seems as if Volga has managed to finish them off with his fire breath, the light from the mark of the Triforce of Courage shines from the back of Link's left hand, shielding himself and Impa from the blast and causing Impa to wonder if Link is the chosen Hero that she and Zelda have been searching for. After Volga retreats, Link aids a Goron Captain fight off a Lizalfos near the northern mine and rewards Link by opening the door to the mine. Inside the mine, Link finds a chest containing Bombs which he uses to remove some boulders some Bokoblins had used to seal the entrance of the mine. Link uses the Bombs to access the West Field Keep in order to link up with Princess Zelda and her forces that had gotten cut off from Link and Impa's group. Zelda recognizes Link as the trainee she had seen in the training yard and Impa tells her of Link heroism. Zelda then orders her forces to capture the Central and East Field Keeps to close their northern gates as part of Zelda's plan to deal a devastating blow to the Dark Forces lead by Wizzro. After capturing these two vital keeps, Link supports Zelda as she heads to the south-eastern Fairy Fountain to summon the aid of the Great Fairy. After using a Bomb to open the Fountain's entrance, Link and Zelda pray to the Great Fairy who appears to assist the forces of Hyrule. Using her fairies to gather bombs from Link and the Goron Captain, the fairies create a giant Super Bomb which is then dropped on the Dark Forces trapped in the northern portion of Hyrule Field decimating the Dark Forces. Believing the battle to be won, Impa tells Zelda to retreat and leave the rest to her and Link. Zelda complies with Impa request and retreats to Hyrule Castle. However Wizzro summons the mighty King Dodongo to the battlefield and it easily breaks through the north gate of the Central Keep. Impa and Link find themselves in an epic battle with the ancient dinosaur, but Link manages to take advantage of its weakness to Bombs and deals a crushing blow to King Dodongo, killing the beast. However while they where fight King Dodongo, Wizzro infiltrated the castle. After the defeat of King Dodongo, Princess Zelda is nowhere to be found in Hyrule Castle and it is assumed that she was captured by Wizzro. As Link returns to Hyrule Castle, he is attacked by a group of Bokoblins but is saved by Impa (repaying him for saving her earlier) who gives Link the Hero's Clothes in recognition of his status as the chosen Hero of Legend.

The Sheikah Tribesmen
Following the battle with the Dark Forces lead by Wizzro and Volga, Hyrule Castle had fallen into enemy hands and Princess Zelda was no where to be found, Impa and Link searched the battlefield but failed to find any trace of her. Knowing the despite their victories, the battle had been lost, Impa saw Link's importance in the coming war and bestowed upon him the green tunic, a sign of the legendary Hero. Link did not consider himself worthy of the honor, but was determined to help Impa and her remaining soldiers in located the Princess. Weeks pasted and Impa heard a rumor that a band of soldiers were holding off against the monsters in Faron Woods. The leader of this resistance was supposedly a young woman, Impa dared hope the unknown woman was Zelda. Hoping to find Zelda, Impa and Link decided to make their way to Faron Woods by way of the Eldin Caves, a path filled with its own dangers.

In the Eldin Caves, Impa and Link found that they have to go around from the north of the cave to reach the south-east exit. However some of their troops who had gone on ahead ended up getting cut off from Link and Impa forcing them to rescue them. After saving the soldiers, Impa and Link find their path to north blocked and require the use of a Bombchu to clear a path for them while protecting it from Wizzro's troops. After destroying the stone spire blocking their path the Hyrulean Forces advance to the North Square Keep where they encounter and army of Stalchildren lead by a Big Poe and are quickly surrounded. Fortunately, a mysterious warrior arrives and destroys the monsters saving the Hyrulean Forces. The warrior declares that the Princess is not dead and that they will meet her later on during their journey. The warrior introduces themself as Sheik a warrior of the Sheikah Tribe that defended the Royal Family of Hyrule. However Impa being a Sheikah herself is doubtful of Sheik's claims, however Sheik suggests she save her questions for later until they get out of the cave and Sheik joins the Hyrulean Forces in fleeing the pursuing Dark Forces. After capturing Tunnel Square Keep, Proxi and Sheik point the Hyrulean Forces into finding and defeating the Spirit of the Caves, while Sheik acts a rear guard. Defeating the Spirit opens up the tunnel gate allowing the Hyrulean Forces to continue onward. However they find their path blocked once again by not one but two stone spires. The Goron Captain arrives with a Bombchu but reveals that one Bombchu is not enough to destroy both spires. Fortunately, one of the Gorons remembers that one of his fellow Gorons left a Bombchu in the mine and suggests they look for it. Eventually the Hyrulean Forces discover a Bombchu in Central Square and after capturing the keep, they unleash their two Bombchus to destroy both spires. However Wizzro decides to take matters into his own hands and destroy the Bombchu. Eventually the Hyrulean Forces manage to defeat Wizzro forcing him to return while protecting both Bombchu. With the spires destroyed, the Hyrulean Forces finally manage to reach the cave exit.

The Sorceress of the Woods
Joined by their new ally Sheik, Impa's troops exited the cave and made their way to Faron Woods, where they find a hidden village built near the Great Deku Tree overrun with monsters. Link and Impa wanted to continue their search for Zelda, but could not ignore the plight of the villagers. Without hesitation, they sprang into battle. During the battle they encounter a young sorceress named Lana who they learn is the woman leading the local resistance. From Lana they learn that she is part of the same tribe as the person who started this war and the Supreme Leader of the Dark Forces, a Sorceress called Cia. Lana offers to tell them about what Cia is planning, in exchange for them assisting her in defending the forest from Wizzro and his troops. After removing Deku Babas from the village, Lana orders the Hyrulean Forces under her command to retreat to the Deku Tree to allow her troops time to rest up for a bit, while Impa, Link, and Sheik hold off the enemy and protect them from the Gibdos that Wizzro sends to take the Deku Tree Keep. With his Gibdo Forces defeated, Wizzro sets the Deku Tree on fire, forcing Lana and the Hyrulean Forces to seek the aid of the Great Fairy. The Great Fairy commands her fairies to create a rain cloud which puts out the fire, improving the morale of the Hyrulean Forces, while Link and Proxi are angered Wizzro's attempt to burn down the Deku Tree and Impa believes that Wizzro may hold information as to Zelda whereabouts, as a result both Link and Impa resolve to defeat the evil wizard. However upon invading the Enemy Base, Wizzro retreats and summons Gohma to deal with the Hyrulean Forces. Taking advantage of Gohma's weak spot, the Hyrulean Forces manage to overcome the beast and successfully defend the forest from the Dark Forces. Impa laments that she had hoped Zelda would be there and wonders where she may be, while Lana heals the injured soldiers with her magic.

The Sorceress of the Valley
Following their victory in Faron Woods, Lana reveals to Link, Sheik, and Impa that she has been fight Cia's army since it started and that Cia sought to complete the Triforce and use it to conquer Hyrule. Link and Impa decided to join forces with Lana to prevent further tragedy. Although the monsters of Faron Woods had been defeat, Cia still controlled most of Hyrule and everyday more creatures appeared and swarmed the land. Link and Impa fought on against the darkness, while sorely missing Zelda's leadership. Only one solution remained, to stem the tide of monsters by closing the Gate of Souls. The four heroes (Link, Impa, Sheik, and Lana) lead their troops to the Valley of the Seers to end the bloodshed and put a stop to Cia's plans. During the battle, Lana suggests they split into two teams: with Lana & Link taking one keep while Sheik and Impa take the other. However Impa unsure if she can trust Sheik, decides to go off on her own and ends up facing Volga. After capturing two vital keeps while fighting off Volga, an Engineer from the Hyrulean Engineering Corps arrives to assist with lowering the east bridge. Link and Sheik manage to fight their way to the summit, where they confront Cia, who they discover possesses the Triforce of Power. Cia is pleased to find that not only does Link possess the Triforce of Courage, but learns that Sheik is in possession of the Triforce of Wisdom. Cia summons Manhandla to defeat the Hyrulean Forces. After damaging the planet monster and defeating its Manhandla Stalks to force it out of hiding, the Hyrulean Forces manage to kill the monster. Back at the summit, Link, Sheik, Impa, and Lana confront Cia, however Link triggers a Magic Circle that ends up trapping Link, Sheik, and Impa while Lana manages to jump out of the circle before it is completely triggered, but is powerless to stop Cia from stealing the Triforce pieces from Link and Sheik. Using the power of the complete Triforce, Cia bends the fabric of time and space connecting various eras from Hyrule's past with the present, transforming the landscape of Hyrule.

Separate Ways
Lana manages to shield herself, Link, Shiek, and Impa from the warping of time & space. Following these events, Lana explains to the others that a Gate of Soul had been opened in three eras, and it was through these gates that the monsters of Cia's army came. By opening these gates, Cia had released the fragment of evil's spirit imprisoned in each of the three eras. The task before the Hyrulean Forces was therefore to travel through each portal and close its gate. Once all the gates were closed, they could begin repairing the damage Cia had inflicted on their land. With time growing short, Link and his allies split up to handle all three gates simultaneously. They each vowed to close their gate and return safely.

Overall Strength
Unlike most games in the Zelda series, the Hyrulean Soldiers in Hyrule Warriors are shown to be more competent, courageous, and somewhat capable of holding their own against the hordes of monsters (save for bosses and high-tier enemies) they fight against in the game, albeit thanks to the support and leadership of powerful figures like Princess Zelda, Impa, Link, and Lana. The game also introduces the Knight-like Hylian Captains who wear full armor and fight wielding a Sword and Holy Hylian Shield, as well as Hylian Archers who attack enemies from afar using Bows & Arrows. There are even Hylian Summoners who wield a staff and use magic to summon additional troops onto the battlefield. Trainee Recruits like Link (in The Armies of Ruin), are first trained in combat using Wooden training weapons such as Wooden Swords, Wooden Shields, and Wooden Spears, before they are introduced to standard metal weapons such as the Knight's Sword. It is implied that trainees usually stay behind to continue their training and to defend Hyrule Castle, while more experienced troops go off to battle. However it is likely during emergencies or when man power is low these in-experienced troops may be pushed into service as well. Additionally, the Hyrulean Forces has its own Engineering Corps that are trained in engineering in addition to combat.

In addition to the rank-and-file Hylian Soldiers, members of the Goron tribe have also joined to assist their Hylian allies and to defend their homeland from evil, providing the Hyrulean Forces extra muscle and using their knowledge of bomb making to supply the Hyrulean Forces with bombs and remote-controlled Bombchus as mobile siege artillery used to remove obstacles and/or attack enemy fortifications.

They are shown to be loyal to Princess Zelda as her words can easily raise their morale and they were demoralized by the rhetoric of Fake Zelda during their assault on the Water Temple. After the attack on Hyrule Castle, Zelda went into hiding and took on the guise of Sheik to hide herself from Cia and the Dark Forces, possibly because she deduced or sensed that they were after the Triforce of Wisdom. As Sheik, Zelda continued to guide and support the Hyrulean Forces. However she apparently was unaware that Cia possessed the Triforce of Power, as she confront Cia alongside Link, allowing Cia to discover Sheik was in possession of the Triforce of Wisdom due to the three pieces of the Triforce resonating from being close together. This allowed Cia to steal both pieces and obtain the complete Triforce. However even after this Princess Zelda continued to use her Sheik disguise and followed Impa to the Era of the Hero of Time. It was only after they defeated Wizzro who had been masquerading as Princess Zelda, did she reveal herself to be Zelda likely because she realized that her absence had given Wizzro the opportunity to impersonate her in order to confuse and demoralize the Hyrulean Forces and their Goron allies.

General Impa supports Princess Zelda acting as her chief advisor and second-in-command. Being a Sheikah sworn to protect the Royal Family of Hyrule, she is extremely loyal to Princess Zelda and following her disappearance becomes determined to find her and worries for her safety. However despite her loyalty, Impa does not follow her orders blindly, as she was quick to point out the dangers of removing the Master Sword from its sacred pedestal and was not swayed by the rhetoric of Fake Zelda as she knew the Princess well enough to determine she was an imposter. Ironically, Impa is very suspicious of the mysterious Sheik, doubting the warrior's claim of being a Sheikah and questioning her motives, though is capable of putting her doubts aside and working with Sheik. Interestingly, despite her closeness to Zelda, Impa never once suspects Sheik was actually Zelda in disguise and was surprised when Sheik revealed her true identity at the Water Temple. However Impa did not hold it against the Princess, as she was relieved that Zelda was safe and that Zelda had been fighting alongside them the whole time as Sheik.

Though Link was initially just a talented new recruit, after aiding Impa and her troops in fending off Volga and aiding Zelda in completing her plan to decimate the Dark Forces under Wizzro, as well as his role in the defeat of King Dodongo, he was recognized by Impa as the reborn Hero of Legend. After Zelda's disappearance, Link reluctantly took on the role of the Hero of Legend and joined Impa in leading the Hyrulean Forces in Princess Zelda's absence. Due to his possession of the Triforce of Courage and ability to wield the legendary Master Sword, Link was an invaluable asset to the Hyrulean Forces, despite his lack of experience.

Though not officially an affiliated with them at first, Lana had supported the Hyrulean Forces since Cia started the War Across the Ages in Hyrule. She also lead the Resistance that was holding out against the Dark Forces in Farore Woods. It was only after battle in Faron Woods, did she officially ally herself with the Hyrulean Forces. However she hide the true nature of her association with Cia from her allies and instead claimed that they where both members of the same tribe. It was only after Midna discovered how much Cia and Lana resemble each other after knocking off Cia's mask, that Lana revealed the truth. Midna later convinced her to tell the truth to the others as well, though they did not hold it against her. Following Cia's defeat, Lana became the keeper of Triforce of Power, making her the first good aligned character to act as its bearer. In addition to her ability to use magic offensively, during the Battle in Faron Woods, Lana is shown using her magic to heal a wounded soldier. Her healing abilities may explain how her Resistance Force of Hyrulean Soldiers where able to hold out against the Dark Forces.

The Hyrulean Forces where negatively effected by Zelda's disappeared, though through the leadership of General Impa, Link, Lana, and Sheik (Zelda in disguise) the forces of Hyrule managed stand against Cia's Dark Forces through a series of difficult battles. As a result of Cia's using the Triforce to connect various Eras together, the Hyrulean Forces found themself fight against and eventually alongside legendary or past figures from Hyrule's history such as Darunia, Princess Ruto, Midna, Agitha, and Fi. Additionally the Hyrulean Forces are also aided by powerful entities such as the Great Fairy and Levias. With the aid of these powerful figures from Hyrule's past the Hyrulean Forces where able to overcome the likes of Ghirahim, Zant, Volga, Wizzro, Cia, and even a partially revived Ganondorf.

However after the defeat of Cia's Dark Forces, the Hyrulean Forces became somewhat complacent due to their victory and where initially unable to stand against Ganondorf's Forces lead by the fully revived Ganondorf and his generals Ghirahim and Zant, which lead to Ganondorf's finally obtaining all three pieces of the Legendary Triforce. However Princess Zelda, Link, and Lana where able to rally the remaining troops and attack the enemy's stronghold in Gerudo Desert. Lana also summoned the aid of their allies from across the ages who had returned to their original eras following Cia's defeat. This managed to turn the tide in the Hyrulean Forces favor, allowing them to defeat Ganondorf's generals. Meanwhile, General Impa and a group of soldiers under her command managed to locate Ganondorf and discover he has taken Hyrule Castle and transformed it into Ganon's Tower. Despite Ganondorf's possession of the Triforce, the Hyrulean Forces and their allies bravely confronted the Demon King and his army in an epic battle that eventually lead to Ganondorf transforming into his Ganon form. Ultimately Ganon was defeated and sealed away once more through the power of the Triforce allowing peace to return to Hyrule once more.

Supreme Commander

 * Princess Zelda/Sheik

Generals/Lieutenant Commanders

 * Hyrulean General Impa
 * The Hero Link
 * Young Link/Fierce Deity
 * Sheikah Warrior Sheik (while in disguise)
 * White Sorceress Lana
 * Twilight Princess Midna
 * Ruler of Twilight Twili Midna
 * Zora Princess Ruto (Sage of Water)
 * Goron Chief Darunia (Sage of Fire)
 * Princess of the Insect Kingdom? Agitha
 * Spirit of the Sword Fi (Goddess Sword)

Allies

 * Proxi (Link's Fairy Companion)
 * Navi
 * Great Fairy
 * Epona (Link's Horse)
 * Twilight Wolfos (Midna's riding mounts)
 * Levias
 * Knights of Skyloft
 * Knights of Hyrule
 * Goron Forces
 * Ghost Forces (originally members of Hyrulean Forces)

Captains

 * Hylian Captains
 * Skyloft Captains
 * Goron Captain

Hyrulean Engineering Corps

 * Engineer

Summoners

 * Hyrulean Summoners

Artillery

 * Bombchu

Grunts

 * Hylian Soldiers
 * Hylian Archers
 * Gorons
 * Goron Bombardiers