Hyrule

Hyrule (Japanese: ハイラル, Hairaru), (Hylian Language: )is the name of the mythical kingdom in which a vast majority of games within the Legend of Zelda series take place and serves as the center stage for many of the stories that unfold in the series. While the name of Hyrule applies to Hyrule proper, it can also apply to outlying provinces and territories as well under the rule of Royal Family of Hyrule. It is theorized that there has been more than one Hyrule throughout the series.

Creation
Before time began, before spirits and life existed, three Golden Goddesses descended from a distant nebula upon the chaos that was Hyrule. These three Golden Goddesses were: Din, the Goddess of Power; Nayru, the Goddess of Wisdom; and Farore, the Goddess of Courage. The three Goddesses each chose to infuse the land of Hyrule with each of their three powers in their own way.

Din, with her strong, flaming arms, cultivated the land and created the red earth. Hence, she created the very earth from which life in Hyrule would spring. Nayru poured her wisdom onto the earth and gave the spirit of law to the world, thus establishing order in a formerly chaotic world. She was responsible for the creation of the laws of the universe, including the laws of science and wizardry that would govern Hyrule and the universe at large. Farore, with her rich soul, produced all life forms that would uphold the law established by Nayru. As the mother of all life in the universe, she created the beings that would walk the earth, fly in the sky and swim in the waters.

The three great Goddesses, their labors completed, departed for the heavens from a parallel dimension connected to the land of Hyrule, a realm of midday golden skies rather than blue and a place where the spirits could roam free. A temple dedicated to the element of light was set at the heart of this Golden Land, the Temple of Light, and the Goddesses departed the world from the point atop the pyramidal temple, leaving behind a symbol of their power at the point atop the temple. This symbol, a golden triangle composed of three smaller triangles united to form one, came to be known as the Triforce, a relic of omnipotent and omniscient power. The Triforce, when mastered in its entirety, would grant its wielder his or her heart's desire for as long as they live. It served as a balance of the three forces: Power, Wisdom and Courage. Only one with all three forces in balance in his or her heart would be able to wield the united Triforce and use its true power to govern all. The Golden Land of the Triforce came to be known in the land of Hyrule as the Sacred Realm.

To seal the gateway to the Sacred Realm, the Ancient Sages, the appointed wielders of the powers of the world's elements by the Goddesses, crafted a sword capable of repelling even the Triforce's magic, as they knew that the Triforce could not judge between good and evil and could thus be abused by one of impure heart. This sword, forged and infused with the power to banish evil itself, came to be known as the Blade of Evil's Bane, or more commonly known as the Master Sword. The sword would serve as the key to the Sacred Realm as well as the primary weapon against those of evil intent. The sword was infused into the magical Pedestal of Time and the mighty Temple of Time was constructed around the Pedestal of Time by the Ancient Sages, with the assistance of the Oocca race. The Sages then sealed the Grand Chamber of the Master Sword with a mighty stone barrier known as the Door of Time, which was then locked by a seal that could only be broken by one possessing three magical jewels, the Spiritual Stones, and the powerful instrument known as the Ocarina of Time. Each of these items were then given to the four major races of Hyrule.

As the ages passed, a prophecy formed, telling of a catastrophic event known as the Great Cataclysm, in which the Triforce would be shattered and the land of Hyrule would be cast into darkness by the evil one that shattered the Triforce. However, this dark entity would be repelled by a great hero, the Hero of Time, who would wield the Blade of Evil's Bane on the eve of the Cataclysm. The Hero of Time would work with the mythical Seven Sages to banish the dark one and return the light of peace to the land of Hyrule. This legend passed down through time and became myth as well as prophecy, the Prophecy of the Great Cataclysm and the Hero of Time.

Hyrulean Civil War
For many ages following the creation of Hyrule, each of the races of the land formed their own governments and lived in relatively peaceful relations. However, knowledge of the mythical Sacred Realm and the all-powerful Triforce stored within spread across the land eventually, destabilizing the realm to the point of war. One tribe, a group of dark magicians known as the Dark Interlopers, crafted an ultimate weapon, the Fused Shadow, and attempted to use it to seize control of the Sacred Realm and by extension take the Triforce for their own. This set off an arms race of sorts, with each of the other tribes of the land feeling threatened not only by the Dark Interlopers themselves, but also by the threat of any one tribe attaining the Triforce, which could give them total dominance over all other races. Thus, the first major war in Hyrule's history broke out across the realm, with the Dark Interlopers declaring war on the races possessing the Spiritual Stones and the fabled Ocarina of Time, the rumored necessary keys to enter the Sacred Realm, and each of the other races fighting each other to reach the Sacred Realm first before the others.

At a certain point during the war, a Hylian woman attempted to escape the war with her infant son, only to be gravely injured in her escape to the forbidden Kokiri Forest, a place relatively untouched by the war's savagery. Once there, she was discovered by the Kokiri race and taken to their leader, the Great Deku Tree, the guardian spirit of the forest. The Deku Tree conversed with the dying mother about the future of her child, and learned the child's name was Link. The forest spirit could sense this was a child of destiny whose fate would affect the entire world and change the course of Hyrule's future in such a magnitude that he would save Hyrule in its hour of greatest need. After promising the mother to protect her child, the mother passed away, leaving her child under the Deku Tree's care. The Deku Tree decided that to protect the child, he would conceal the child's true heritage from him until he was ready to know it and take up his destiny as a Hylian. So the child, Link, was raised as a Kokiri, and for a decade he would grow up far away from Hylian civilization and would remain unnoticed by the outside world until the day would come that he would reemerge from the forest to become one of Hyrule's most legendary figures of all time, the fabled Hero of Time.

The Golden Goddesses (Din, Nayru and Farore) intervened when the war was on the verge of destroying the world they had created, and they ordered four Light Spirits to confiscate the Fused Shadow and banish the Dark Interlopers to a land of perpetual twilight, the Twilight Realm. The Light Spirits obeyed their orders, and the Dark Interlopers were chased out of the world of light, driven into the prison world of the Twilight Realm, where they evolved into the Twili race and grew into a more peaceful and humbled race. The Fused Shadow was shattered into four pieces, one of which was kept by the Dark Interlopers and their descendants. The other three were hidden across the land of Hyrule by the Light Spirits. The Gerudo King of Thieves, Ganondorf, then helped to negotiate an end to the destructive war amongst Hyrule's other races and helped to install the Hylian Royal Family as the ruling family of a new monarchy that would encompass the entire realm, with each of the races' individual governments still intact but ultimately loyal to the new Royal Family of Hyrule. The new King of Hyrule unified the country, and Hyrule was united beneath one banner. Even so, the Gerudo King who had helped make this possible was even then plotting to one day overthrow the new government and take the wish-granting Triforce for his own.

Imprisoning War
One of the most famous conflicts in Hyrulean history, the Imprisoning War would see the fulfillment of the Prophecy of the Great Cataclysm as well as the foretold rise of the legendary Hero of Time. This costly and bloody conflict would also be one of the most influential on all future events yet to come in the history of Hyrule, resulting from a time paradox established at the war's end that would in the end split Hyrule's history into two separate branches.

After a decade of relative peace and prosperity beneath the rule of the Royal Family, Hyrule's peace was once again threatened, this time by the very man who had helped unify the nation alongside the King of Hyrule, the Gerudo King of Thieves named Ganondorf. Ganondorf had spent the last decade researching the legends of the Triforce and was now resolved to find a way into the Sacred Realm and to take the Triforce for his own in order to further his own desires. He enacted a plot to seize the keys to the Sacred Realm from their respective owners and to use them to open the gateway to the Sacred Realm that rested in the Temple of Time. In order to do this however, he also plotted to overthrow the Hyrulean government he himself had helped establish and to usurp the Throne of Hyrule to unleash his own reign across the land. This occurred when Link, the Hero of Time, returned from gathering the three Spiritual Stones on orders from Princess Zelda. The boy returned just in time to witness Ganondorf's attack on Hyrule Castle, where Ganondorf betrayed and presumably murdered the monarch and was searching for the Ocarina of Time, now in the possession of Princess Zelda. Link saw Zelda and her attendant, Impa, escaping the Hyrulean capital of Hyrule Castle Town on horseback, and as they passed, she threw the Ocarina of Time into the city's moat for Link to find and use. Ganondorf then appeared and had a brief encounter with Link before rushing off to continue his pursuit of the Princess of Hyrule. With this, the Royal Family was overthrown and Hyrule was now under the control of Ganondorf and his army, who had executed a fairly easy coup of the Royal Family. Link then entered the Temple of Time and removed the Master Sword from the Pedestal of Time, causing himself to be sealed within the Sacred Realm for seven years until he was old enough to claim the mantle of the Hero of Time. Ganondorf meanwhile followed the boy into the Sacred Realm and ended up fulfilling the Prophecy of the Great Cataclysm by touching the Triforce with his tainted hands, causing the relic to split apart (leaving him with only the Triforce of Power) and causing the Sacred Realm to become a world of darkness and despair known as the Dark World. Ganondorf returned to Hyrule with the Triforce of Power at his command and used it to subjugate the rest of the realm and bend it to his will.

For seven dark years, Hyrule would live in fear and misery under Ganondorf's wicked reign. However he also knew the Prophecy of the Hero of Time, and knew that sooner or later the Hero of Time and Princess Zelda would return to challenge his rule. Sure enough, when seven years had passed, the Hero of Time returned from his slumber in the Temple of Light and embarked on a quest to rescue and awaken the legendary Seven Sages, who held the power to banish Ganondorf from the land of Hyrule. Wielding the Master Sword, the Hero of Time infiltrated the Forest Temple in the Lost Woods, the Fire Temple deep inside Death Mountain, the Water Temple deep beneath the vast Lake Hylia, the Shadow Temple beneath the graveyard of Kakariko Village, and the Spirit Temple located in the Desert Colossus to free each of the Sages and restore the various regions of Hyrule to their former beauty as much of the land had been overrun by Ganondorf's monsters in seven years' time and many regions had been harmed by Ganondorf's evil magic. Princess Zelda then revealed herself to be the seventh Sage and Leader of the Sages to the Hero of Time, but she was captured by Ganondorf and held hostage at the top of his castle's keep, Ganon's Tower. With the assistance of the remaining Sages, the Hero of Time entered the castle and confronted the King of Evil in his Throne Room at the top of the tower, where he found Princess Zelda to be a captive of the King of Evil. Ganondorf had lured Link there using Zelda hoping to steal both the Triforce of Wisdom Zelda possessed as well as the Triforce of Courage possessed by the Hero of Time. However, the Hero of Time bested Ganondorf in battle using the Master Sword, and the Dark Lord fell to the ground, seemingly dead. However, the castle began to collapse due to Ganondorf's final breath, and Link and Zelda were forced to escape the castle before it collapsed on top of them. They escaped in time, only to witness Ganondorf emerge from the rubble and transform into the Dark Beast Ganon. The Hero of Time once again triumphed over the King of Evil however, and the Seven Sages combined their powers to throw Ganondorf back into the Dark World and to seal the Dark World off. With this, Hyrule was at last free of Ganondorf's tyranny, and peace was once again able to thrive and flourish. Beings all across Hyrule broke out into celebration, and many gathered at Lon Lon Ranch to celebrate Ganondorf's defeat and the return of the Royal Family to power. Princess Zelda returned the Hero of Time to his original time using the Ocarina of Time, sending him back to the moment before she met him seven years earlier. The Hero of Time laid the Master Sword to rest and closed the Door of Time, returning to Hyrule Castle to warn Princess Zelda of Ganondorf's plot in an attempt to alter the course of events in that branch of Hyrule's two branches of history.

Zant's Invasion of Hyrule
Shortly after the Hero of Time returned to his childhood at the conclusion of the Imprisoning War, he warned the Royal Family of Hyrule of Ganondorf's treachery. Thus, when Ganondorf attempted his coup of the Hyrulean government a second time, the King's army was prepared, and Ganondorf's invasion was thwarted. As such, Ganondorf had been blind to any danger to his plans, and so he was captured and put on trial for high treason to the Royal Family of Hyrule. After being found guilty, he was taken by the Ancient Sages to the new Hyrulean prison, the Arbiter's Grounds, to await his sentence. It was determined that Ganondorf was too dangerous to be allowed to live, so he was sentenced to death by impalement. A few years after his failed invasion, Ganondorf was taken to the Mirror Chamber (the home of a relic known as the Mirror of Twilight) atop the Arbiter's Grounds to have his sentence carried out. The King of Evil was chained to a large stone in the center of the Mirror Chamber, and the Sage of Water drove the Execution Sword through Ganondorf's torso. However, because the Triforce had been shattered by his future self, the Dark Lord unknowingly possessed the Triforce of Power, and it awakened within him, giving him the ability to break free of his shackles and murder the Sage of Water. The other Sages, knowing no better solution to protect Hyrule from the reinvigorated Dark Lord, activated the Mirror of Twilight and sent Ganondorf through the portal into the Twilight Realm, where the Dark Interlopers had been banished decades earlier at the conclusion of the Hyrulean Civil War. With this, Hyrule was able to enter a period of peace and prosperity for a century. However, Ganondorf's spirit wandered the Twilight Realm for that century, seeking a way to break out of the realm and threaten Hyrule once more.

A century later, the sitting King of Twilight passed away, and the Throne of the Twilight Realm was left vacant as the Twilight King had no sons to succeed him. One of the Twilight King's advisers, a Twili named Zant, stood as a candidate to succeed him to the Throne. However, due to Zant's lust for power and conquest, the Twili race grew to distrust Zant and passed him over, giving the Throne of the Twilight Realm to the Twilight King's daughter, Princess Midna. This sent Zant into a fury, costing him his sanity in the process. It was in this state that he met Ganondorf, who posed as a god and chose to house his power inside of Zant. In exchange for giving Zant the power to take the Throne of the Twilight Realm by force, Zant agreed to release Ganondorf from the Twilight Realm once he had usurped the Throne. Zant then seized power and transformed Midna into an imp, and she fled to Hyrule while Zant turned the rest of the Twili into Shadow Beasts and sealed away the Sols, the source of light in the Twilight Realm. Zant then invaded Hyrule on Ganondorf's orders, blanketing the land in perpetual twilight and meaning to merge the two worlds into one under the rule of both Ganondorf and himself. Three of the four Light Spirits that protected Hyrule at the behest of the Goddesses were attacked and incapacitated, having their light stolen from them by Zant's Shadow Beasts. Zant then invaded the Hyrulean capital city of Hyrule Castle Town and forced Princess Zelda, the country's matriarch, to abdicate Hyrule's Throne to him. With this, Zant now had complete control of Hyrule and its government, although Ganondorf awaited in the background, the true force behind the invasion and Zant.

A new hero of the Hero of Time's bloodline, Link, arose to save the land of Hyrule from Zant's invasion. Teaming up with the impish Midna and seeking information and assistance from the imprisoned Princess Zelda, the hero helped Midna gather the three fragments of her ancestors' ancient magic, the Fused Shadow, from various locations around Hyrule: the Forest Temple, the Goron Mines, and the Lakebed Temple. However, Zant stole these fragments and attempted to murder Midna, who still possessed the true powers of the ruler of the Twilight Realm and thus was all that stood between Zant and full rulership of the Twilight Realm. Taking Midna back to Princess Zelda, Hyrule's young ruler told the hero he would need the power of the Blade of Evil's Bane, the Master Sword, to defeat Zant and told him where to find it before sacrificing her existence to heal Midna's mortal wounds. Link and Midna then departed to find the Master Sword in the Sacred Grove, deep in the heart of the Lost Woods. After acquiring the blade, the pair journeyed to the Gerudo Desert in search of the Mirror of Twilight, a relic left behind by the Goddesses that served as the only link between the Twilight Realm and Hyrule. After clearing the mirror's resting place, the Arbiter's Grounds, of enemies, the pair discover the mirror to be broken by Zant's doing and meet the Ancient Sages, who relate to them the story of Ganondorf's failed execution there a century earlier. On the advice of the Sages, Link and Midna journey around Hyrule to find the three lost fragments of the Mirror of Twilight, finding them in three separate locations: the Snowpeak Ruins, the Temple of Time, and the City in the Sky. Restoring the Mirror of Twilight at the Arbiter's Grounds, Link and Midna are approached by the Sages again, where they beg for Midna's forgiveness for their actions involving Ganondorf and reveal her to be the Twilight Realm's true ruler.

Using the Mirror of Twilight, the pair journey into the Twilight Realm and into the Palace of Twilight. There they restored the Sols and returned the Twili to their true forms with the power of the Sols. The pair then journeyed to the Throne Room of Zant, which had previously belonged to Midna. There, the maddened Twili revealed his backstory and the truth of his relation to Ganondorf. He then engaged Link in a battle to the death, transporting him to various places around Hyrule, but in the end, the Usurper King of Twilight was defeated by the hero armed with the Master Sword. Zant revealed that the curse on Midna would not lift until Ganondorf was defeated, and that his soul was now bound to Ganondorf's own. Midna took back the Fused Shadow fragments from Zant and used their combined power to destroy him. Traveling back to Hyrule, Midna used the Fused Shadow to destroy a Twilight Pyramid cast around Hyrule Castle by Ganondorf to prevent any from entering the structure, and the pair infiltrate the structure. At the top of Hyrule Castle Tower in Hyrule Castle's Throne Room, the pair meet Ganondorf, the King of Evil and former Gerudo King of Thieves, and find Princess Zelda's lifeless body suspended above Hyrule's Throne. Ganondorf taunts the pair and possesses the Princess's body in an attempt to kill them. However, Link defeats the possessed Zelda and Midna purges Zelda's body of Ganondorf's spirit. Ganondorf then takes on the form of the Dark Beast Ganon and attempts to kill them again, only to once again be defeated. Midna then restores Zelda to life, but Ganondorf's spirit reappears. Midna warps Link and Zelda to safety while she uses the Fused Shadow to battle Ganondorf in the Throne Room. Link and Zelda reappear in Hyrule Field, where they witness a massive explosion that destroys Hyrule Castle. Ganondorf rides out of the rubble on horseback and crushes Midna's helmet in his fist. He then engaged Link and Zelda in a horseback battle across Hyrule Field, but was knocked from his mount by the combined efforts of the two. Link then engages Ganondorf in a final sword duel in Hyrule Field, in which he runs Ganondorf through with the Master Sword. Ganondorf's Triforce of Power seemingly fades away, and Zant's spirit appears, snapping his neck and causing Ganondorf's eyes to gloss over, seemingly killing him. Midna reappears and is restored to her true form by the Light Spirits upon Ganondorf's defeat. She then returns home to the Twilight Realm as the true Twilight Princess, but not before shattering the Mirror of Twilight with her tear so as to prevent a similar tragedy from ever happening again.

War of the Wizard
Many centuries after Ganondorf vanished from the land of Hyrule into the corrupt Dark World, now sealed shut thanks to the efforts of the Seven Sages (thought to be the Ancient Sages themselves with the aid of Princess Zelda in this case), a multitude of plagues beset Hyrule and took their toll on the kingdom with unknown causes. Around this time, a mysterious wizard named Agahnim appeared as though from nowhere and used powerful sorcery to quell the plagues and restore peace and prosperity to the kingdom. As a reward for his efforts, the King of Hyrule allowed Agahnim to move into Hyrule Castle and made him a royal adviser. However, nobody could guess that Agahnim was the one behind the plagues or that he had other plans that involved destroying Hyrule rather than helping it. Eventually, Agahnim maneuvered his position enough that he was able to overthrow the King of Hyrule and spirit him away, taking control of Hyrule Castle and the kingdom's government himself. He then cast a powerful spell over the entire Hyrulean army, making Hyrule's soldiers answer only to him. Following this, the wizard ordered the soldiers to capture the Seven Maidens, the descendants of the Seven Sages who sealed the Sacred Realm shut many centuries ago. Agahnim's true plan is revealed to be the capture of the Seven Maidens and to sacrifice them in order to destroy the seal their ancestors cast upon the Dark World and release Ganon from the Evil Realm. Agahnim sacrificed six of the Seven Maidens successfully in his chamber atop Hyrule Castle Tower, leaving only the seventh maiden, Princess Zelda, the sole barrier to breaking the seal. Knowing her time to be sacrificed was close, Zelda sent out a telepathic message to a young man named Link, a youth descended from the line of Heroes.

Link went to the castle and succeeded in rescuing Zelda from the castle dungeons, taking her to the nearby Sanctuary where she was then hidden by the loyal Sage who guards the Sanctuary. There, the Sage told the pair of the Blade of Evil's Bane, the Master Sword, which was said to rest deep within the Lost Woods and can only be wielded by one possessing the three Pendants of Virtue. Link resolved to find these three Pendants and claim the Master Sword so as to defeat Agahnim before he completely destroys Hyrule. Leaving the Sanctuary, Link went in search of the elder of Kakariko Village, Sahasrahla, to learn more about the Pendants. He eventually found Sahasrahla in hiding near the Eastern Palace and was told the legend of the three Pendants and the Master Sword. Sahasrahla instructed Link to retrieve the Pendant of Courage from the Eastern Palace, which he indeed succeeded in doing. Following this, Link was told the location of the other two Pendants and conquered the trials of both the Desert Palace in the Desert of Doubt and the Tower of Hera high atop Death Mountain to claim the other two Pendants, the Pendant of Power and the Pendant of Wisdom respectively. He then entered the Lost Woods and discovered the Sacred Grove deep at its heart, finally laying eyes upon the fabled Pedestal of Time and the legendary Master Sword. Presenting the three Pendants of Virtue, Link was able to pull the Master Sword from the Pedestal of Time once more, becoming its new master. However, Link received a telepathic cry for help from Zelda, who had been found by the castle soldiers and taken to Hyrule Castle to be sacrificed by Agahnim. Link rushed to Hyrule Castle and succeeded in entering Hyrule Castle Tower with the Master Sword in hand, but he arrived just moments too late to stop Agahnim from sending Zelda to the Dark World. Link then battled Agahnim in the topmost chamber of the tower and succeeded in defeating the evil wizard, but in response Agahnim drew both of them into the Dark World (a twisted copy of Hyrule turned evil by Ganon's influence), depositing the Hero atop the Pyramid of Power. Link learned that the Seven Maidens were still alive and resolved to rescue them from their prisons across the Dark World.

The Hero traversed across the Dark World, freeing each of the Seven Maidens in turn and at times having to travel between both worlds with the aid of the Magic Mirror. The Hero found each of the maidens sealed within a crystal after clearing the Palace of Darkness, the Swamp Palace, the Skull Woods, the Thieves' Town, the Ice Palace, Misery Mire and Turtle Rock. It was in Turtle Rock, situated atop the Dark World's version of Death Mountain, that Link finally rescued Princess Zelda and learned the full scope of Ganon's plot to break the seal on the Dark World using Agahnim as the tool in order for him to return to Hyrule, the Light World, and to conquer it. Link then traveled across Death Mountain and entered Ganon's Tower with the assistance of the Seven Maidens, who broke the seal protecting the structure. Link then entered the tower and conquered its many trials as he ascended to the top to face the tower's dark master. At the top, Link met Agahnim once again and battled the Dark Wizard once more, defeating the evil sorcerer once and for all. After Agahnim was defeated, a demonic bat rose from the Dark Wizard's robes and took to the air, flying out of the tower and across the Dark World. Link chased after the bat, tracking it all the way to the Pyramid of Power, where it crashed through the roof. Link entered the hole left by the bat and discovered that the bat was in fact Ganon himself, a boar-like demon with demonic eyes and wielding a trident. Ganon stated his astonishment that Link had defeated his alter ego Agahnim twice and stated his refusal to turn the Triforce of Power over to Link before attacking him. Link engaged in a fierce battle with the Dark Lord and eventually destroyed him completely using the Silver Arrows and the Master Sword. The three pieces of the Triforce were reunited shortly thereafter, and the Essence of the Triforce instructed Link to touch it with a wish in his heart. Link claimed the united Triforce and wished for all of Ganon's evil to be undone, healing the land of Hyrule of all its ills wrought upon it by Agahnim and Ganon as well as restoring the Sacred Realm to its former beauty.

The Great Flood
Several centuries after the adventures of the adult Link from Ocarina of Time, Ganon somehow escaped the Sacred Realm, and the next Link in the bloodline did not rise since the Hero of Time had been sent back to another time to thwart Ganon's previous plan. Ganon managed to take over, but the Goddesses flooded Hyrule to destroy him. The population was evacuated to the mountaintops, whoever was left behind was wiped out and A seal was put over Hyrule and the newly created Great Sea, keeping Hyrule intact while keeping Ganon's powers dormant, and him and his dominions frozen in time.

He managed to break free from his seal, abolish the powers of the Master Sword, and become active again. A boy, Link, believed to be the original hero reincarnated, surfaced.

Rise of the Hero of Winds
Restoring the powers of the Master Sword after inadvertently giving the dark lord his powers back, Link and his boat, the King of Red Lions (King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule III operating the boat from under the sea) awakened the next Princess Zelda in the bloodline and killed Ganon once again by thrusting the sword through Ganondorf's skull.

The Triforce was gathered, and King Hyrule III wished for the protective shield over Hyrule to be destroyed to prevent any other evil from taking the land. Waters poured down, destroying Hyrule.

Link and Zelda set out to find the next Hyrule. On their journey, they help a man named Oshus. See The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

The rest of Hyrule's history is not chronologically detailed. Though it is known Ganon somehow returned (most likely reincarnated in Four Swords Adventures), but was killed for good in the original Legend of Zelda, and an attempt was made to revive him in Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.

The events of The Legend of Zelda and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link are suspected to take place in the New Hyrule founded by Link and Tetra.

War of the Bound Chest
Following the foundation of the New Hyrule by Link and Tetra, the forces of evil followed the new civilization to its new home and attacked the new kingdom in retaliation for the defeat of their dark master, the Dark Lord Ganondorf. When the world seemed to be on the verge of being swallowed by shadow, the Hero of Men (suspected to be the original title given to the future King Gustaf) was gifted a sword named the Picori Blade and a golden light known as the Light Force by the tiny Minish race that descended from the sky to assist the race of Men. Combining the powers of the Picori Blade with the powers of the Light Force, the Hero was able to lock the Army of Evil away in an enchanted chest known as the Bound Chest, which he sealed with the Picori Blade itself. The Light Force was then secretly sealed within the Princess of Hyrule, to be magically passed down to her heirs in succession. This secret (along with the history of the war) was depicted in a series of stained glass windows in a secret chamber within the Elemental Sanctuary that links the Minish Realm to Hyrule. So the new Hyrule was able to continue its growth in joy and peace. As a sign of gratitude, the Picori Festival was held each year to honor the Minish for their service in the war.

Currency
Rupees are the unit of currency in most countries in the The Legend of Zelda series. Rupees somewhat resemble crystals and can be found with many different color tints; each with a different value. Rupees are acquired primarily by defeating enemies, found by cutting tall grass or bushes, or by opening treasure chests, and used primarily to purchase items in shops, or to gain entrance to some mini-games and, in rare cases, advance in the game.

Landmarks
Hyrule has many areas and landmarks; however, not all of them appear in all games. For more specific details, visit the main articles.

Hyrule Field
Hyrule Field is the central landmark of Hyrule. It is a large, expansive field off of which most other areas of Hyrule branch. Because of its immense size, Hyrule Field is easiest to traverse while riding a horse. Small groups of trees and brush are scattered sparsely throughout along beaten paths. Various enemies can be found throughout Hyrule Field, including Stalchilds, Peahats, Poes, and Kargarocs. During Zant's Invasion of Hyrule, Link faces off against Ganondorf to defend Hyrule.

Lon Lon Ranch
Lon Lon Ranch is located near the center of Hyrule, near Hyrule Field. It is run by Talon, his daughter, Malon, and a hired hand, Ingo. They raise horses, Cows, and Cuccos. Lon Lon Ranch is also the source of Lon Lon Milk.

At night, Malon, Talon, and Ingo retire to their homes and put away the horses and Cuccos. This is likely due to the many Guays and Gold Skulltulas that appear at night.

Death Mountain
Death Mountain is a volcanic mountain that usually can be accessed only with the Royal Family's permission. This region of Hyrule is regularly inhabited by the Gorons, a proud, rock-eating race. The cloud around the very top of Death Mountain serves as an "indicator" of sorts of the state of the volcano.

Lake Hylia
Lake Hylia is the largest body of water in Hyrule in the games it appears in. The water from Zora's Domain runs throughout Hyrule, into this pristine lake. Lake Hylia is frequently a sacred location for certain races of Hyrule.

Zora's Domain
Zora's Domain, the aquatic home of the Zora and River Zora, is located in the eastern Lanayru Province of Hyrule. It is generally very difficult to access Zora's Domain, as Link must hold great endurance or knowledge to enter. Zora's Domain is connected to Lake Hylia by Zora's River. It can also be accessed from the Lost Woods and Lake Hylia by means of an underwater passage. The domain has been frozen over various times, requiring Link to un-thaw it. Major landmarks include Zora's Fountain, Ice Cavern, the entrance to Snowpeak Ruins, and the Waterfall of Wishing.

Zora's Domain is inhabited by King Zora, Princess Ruto, Lord Jabu-Jabu, Prince Ralis, and various other Zora.

Lost Woods
The Lost Woods is a mysterious, forested region of eastern Hyrule. It is considered to be the home of Skull Kids and is dangerous place; those who wander off into it are said to remain trapped there forever, eventually becoming Stalfos or Skull Kids. Additionally, thieves can also be found wandering the woods, looking for victims. The woods themselves are a maze that must be navigated correctly in order for Link to reach his destination. If the incorrect path is taken, Link will simply re-appear at the screen he just left, or he will be taken out of the woods.

It was once the resting place of the Master Sword, the Noble Sword, and various Fake Swords. Major landmarks of the area include the Sacred Forest Meadow, tunnels to Zora's Domain and Goron City, and the Forest Temple. Areas surrounding the Lost Woods include the Graveyard, Kokiri Forest, Kakariko Village, Tarm Ruins,

Many enemies can be found in the Lost Woods, including Thieves, Business Scrubs, Deku Babas, and Wolfos

Sacred Grove
The Sacred Grove is a wooded area of the Faron Province of Hyrule, bearing resemblance to the Lost Woods. It is the location of the Temple of Time and the Master Sword. It is inhabited by a Skull Kid, who attacks Link on his way to the Temple of Time.

Faron Woods
Faron Woods is a region in southern Hyrule, where the Forest Temple can be found

Kokiri Forest
Kokiri Forest, the home of the Kokiri, is located in southeastern Hyrule. It can only be accessed by means of a bridge from Hyrule Field to the west or from the Lost Woods to the east. Kokiri Forest contains six buildings: Link's house, Saria's house, Mido's house, the Twins' house, the Know-It-All Brothers' house, and a shop. Branching off from the main area is the Great Deku Tree]]. A hidden area containing the Kokiri Sword can be found by crawling through a log near the Know-It-All Brothers' house.

Kokiri Forest is inhabited by Fairies and Kokiri, including Saria, the Twins, the Know-It-All Brothers, and Mido, the self-proclaimed Boss of the Kokiri.

In  The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, the Forest Haven and Forbidden Woods are believed to be the flooded Kokiri Forest.

In The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Ordon Village resembles Kokiri Forest, although it is inhabited by humans, rather than Kokiri, and the Great Deku Tree does not exist.

Sea of Trees
The Sea of Trees is a forest in southeast Hyrule. The forest is filled with rupees, and is easy to become lost in.

Ordon Village
Ordon Village is a small village in the southern Ordon Province of Hyrule. It appears very similar to Kokiri Forest, although it is inhabited by humans rather than Kokiri, and the Great Deku Tree does not exist. Landmarks of the village include a shop, a small lake, Link's house and Ordon Ranch.

Ordon Village is inhabited by Ilia, Mayor Bo, Jaggle, Pergie, Fado, Malo, Talo, Sera, Hanch, Beth, Uli, Rusl, and Colin.

Gerudo Desert/Haunted Wasteland
The Haunted Wasteland was a large desert region of Hyrule in the western area of Hyrule. It is home to the Gerudos, who had made a fortress near it. Only a Gerudos or people accepted by them could go into the Wastleland. The Haunted Wasteland is located to the west of Gerudo Valley and only accessible through a gate kept by the Gerudo. The area is very dangerous and in order to cross it, Link must complete two challenges. The first is the "River of Sand". Link must longshot to the other side or risk being swallowed by it. Alternatively, the Hover Boots can be used to walk across it. After the river, flag posts guide Link to a platform where the second challenge--the Spirit Guide--begins. There Link must equip the Lens of Truth and follow the Poe guide through the remainder of the desert. Failing to adhere to this path results in getting "lost", and Link returns to the entrance of the wasteland. On the other side is the Desert Colossus, a huge statue that houses the Spirit Temple. Besides the two challenges, the desert is also home to a carpet merchant who sells bombchus.

In a certain area of the wasteland, by straying from the Poe's path a bit, one can see what appears to be a pyramid structure. Playing the Song of Storms while in the wastelands would summon a storm and the resulting flashes of lightning would highlight the odd structure against the skyline. During the extensive hunt for the Triforce, this pyramid was one of many points of interest for the search. It soon became apparent, though, that this "pyramid" was actually just part of the level's boundary, given the triangular shape because of occlusion by the dust in the air.

In order to see the flags easier through the constant sandstorms, Link can play the "Song of Storms". Whenever lightning strikes during the brief rainstorm that occurs after the song has been played, the outlines of the flags can be seen more clearly.

Gerudo Fortress
The stone fortress that guarded the entrance to the Haunted Wasteland. Located on a cliff between Gerudo Valley and Haunted Wasteland, the Gerudo used the fortress as a rest stop when traveling to and from Hyrule. It also was home to the Gerudo training grounds. In Termina, it was the base of the Gerudo Pirates, where they stayed and where they kept here treasure. The Gerudo Fortress is on the other side of Gerudo Valley, and entrance to the Haunted Wasteland. An adult Link goes there on the way to the Spirit Temple. When Link is first seen by one of the Gerudo, he is thrown into a jail. Using the Longshot to get out, Link has to make his way through the fortress and rescue the four carpenters inside. After beating a Gerudo fighter, she drops a small key to free the carpenter from the cell. Once all carpenters are free, a Gerudo will give a membership pass to move freely around the fortress. Link can then participate in the Horseback Archery Game and Gerudo Training Ground; both with helpful prizes. Also, the Haunted Wasteland is then accessible.

Desert Colossus
A large temple dedicated to the Sand Goddess of the Gerudo. The outside of it looked like the Goddess. It was the headquarters of the high-ranked Gerudo. The Desert Colossus was a location in western Hyrule, on the other side of the Haunted Wasteland, and was not nearly as volatile as the Wasteland. It was home to an oasis and a giant statue of a Gerudo goddess (the Sand Goddess) which served as the Spirit Temple and Ganondorf's headquarters. Link also found a Great Fairy by bombing a cracked wall, getting him Nayru's Love. Leevers, small dangerous cactus-like worms roamed the area.

Desert of Mystery
The Desert of Mystery was a small desert to the south of where the Haunted Wasteland used to be. It was home to many sand-related species and vultures. The Desert of Mystery can be found south-west of Link's House. Leevers attack Link in the Desert of Mystery. The second dungeon in the game is found there. The special weapon of the dungeon is the Power Glove which allows Link to carry small and giant boulders. However, it is revealed that Link can not lift the darker colored boulders, even the small ones. The Book of Mudora is required to enter the Desert Palace. When attempting to enter, a Giant statue will block the way but a pedestal can be found in the middle.

On the pedestal are engraved words written in the ancient Hylian language, which Link can not read without the book. Using the book to read the pedestal causes the statues to move. A cave is located inside the desert. It is sealed by a destructible wall which can be destroyed by Link's Bombss. Inside the cave there is a treasure chest and an old sage. The man inside the cave calls Link a hero and asks him to continue to travel and bring back peace to Hyrule. A strange man outside of the desert stands motionless and won't talk to Link. A sign is right next to him and says he can not talk. When spoken to, his text is a series of periods. If Link removes the sign, then throws it, he will ask why he did it and follow Link until he leaves the area. He can not visit caves or underground tunnels while the man is following him. It turns out that he was an ex-thief, and was a master at lockpicking. To get to the boss room of the Desert Palace, Link must leave through one of the three exits and travel behind the dungeon. Behind the dungeon is a cave that leads to the other part of the dungeon, where the boss room is located.

Spirit Temple
According to the game, the Spirit Temple was built by all-female architects and masons from the Gerudo tribe of thieves. It is said to hold a vast amount of treasure and secrets, presumably in the form of picture writing that can be seen on its walls inside the game. It was once Ganondorf's hideout, and rumor has it that it was built so that Gerudo women can pray to their goddess for a child, thus solving the mystery of Gerudo reproduction. Another possible explanation for the reproduction of the Gerudo lies in a Gossip Stone message, stating that the Gerudo women make their way into Hyrule Town Market to find a man. Whilst the Gerudo Desert does appear in Twilight Princess, the Spirit Temple is nowhere to be seen. However, the Arbiter's Grounds bear many striking similarities to the Spirit Temple both in architecture (for example, the Gerudo Goddess of the Sand appears at the top of the Arbiter's Grounds and is also a prominent feature of the Spirit Temple) as well as location, and it is possible that they could be the one and same. The Spirit Temple is located inside a gigantic statue of the Goddess of the Sand, most likely a historical figure in Gerudo legend. The temple is divided into two portions--one accessible only when Link is a child and the other only when he is an adult. The child-Link section consists mostly of puzzles. The temple consists of two sides which are nearly symmetrical. Each one is accessible in a different age of Link. Each side's whole purpose is to lead outside the temple to two large folded hands on the outside of the temple, each of which contain a treasure for Link. The child Link portion gets Link the Silver Gauntlets, which allow him to access the adult portion, which yields the Mirror Shield. The apex of the Temple design involves entering the top floor access route, to activate the light that shines down into the main room. Link then stands on lowered platform and dissolves the face of the giant statue with the mirror shield to reveal the entrance to the Temple's sacred chamber, where its boss, Twinrova, is located. The temple's prominent theme seems to take heavily from Egyptian tradition.

Arbiter's Grounds
Arbiter's Grounds is a prison where convicts are either executed or banished to the Twilight Realm, through the use of the Mirror of Twilight. It was the site of Ganondorf's death sentence by the Ancient Sages. Ganondorf escapes execution, but is banished to the Twilight Realm, where he gives Zant his kingship and powers of sorcery.

After receiving the Master Sword, Midna directs Link to Gerudo Desert as to enter the Twilight Realm. Upon reaching the climax of the prison roof, Midna and Link stumble across a massive skeletal beast, possibly referred to as "Stallord" when it was once alive. Zant revives Stallord by plunging a magic blade into its skull. After the battle, Link and Midna enter the Mirror Chamber, only to find the mirror broken. The Ancient Sages appear and explain to them the tale of Ganondorf's execution and that Zant shattered the mirror. After assembling the mirror, Midna and Link enter the Twilight Realm and defeat Zant. During the ending credits, Midna leaves Hyrule and goes back to the Twilight Realm, destroying the Mirror in the process.

While it is not known for certain, the Arbiter's Grounds could have some connection to the Spirit Temple from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, as they seem to share architectural similarities (for example, the Gerudo Goddess of the Sand appears both at the top of the Arbiter's Grounds as well as within the Grounds themselves and is also a prominent feature of the Spirit Temple). Furthermore, mirrors were prominent in the Spirit Temple, and the Mirror of Twilight bears resemblance to the large round mirror that Link used to access the Spirit Temple's boss chamber. It should be noted, however, that there was no colloseum-type dome at the top of the Spirit Temple, so it may be pure Hylian addition. The fact that the Arbiter's Grounds housed many paranormal demons and spirits also seems to further support the idea that the Grounds were once the Spirit Temple, the place of worship for the spirits of Hyrule, particularly the Gerudo Goddess of the Sand.

It is located in Gerudo Desert, accessible from the cannon in Lake Hylia. The main item of the dungeon is the Spinner, the mini-boss is Death Sword and the boss is Stallord. To continue the dungeon, Link must chase down three Poes using the "Poe's Scent" as a wolf (somewhat like the Poe Sisters in the The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time). Along the way, he must also face undead monsters. The dungeon itself is desert themed; it is filled with quicksand and sand whirlpools. There are also many dark areas where the Lantern must be used.

Hyrule Castle
Hyrule Castle is the home of the Royal Family of Hyrule. The castle's first appearance was in the game The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, the third in the series. Each game that contains a Hyrule Castle either features a different layout, or denies the player access to parts that are available in other games. There are grounds for speculation that the castle is actually a different castle in each game, or that it is the same castle but was changed in each game for aesthetic or gameplay purposes.

The castle itself is prone to conflict not only because it houses the head of Hyrule's government, but also because its security is often less than impenetrable. In fact in many of the games Link took advantage of this and was able to sneak into the castle despite all of the security. Hyrule Castle is fairly important in most of the games it has appeared in and is often shown as a dungeon or a level within these games.

Pyramid of Power
The Pyramid of Power is a location in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Located directly in the middle of the Dark World, it is the equivalent of Hyrule Castle in the Light World.

Ganon hid from Link in the Pyramid of Power after he stormed Ganon's Tower and defeated Ganon's servant Agahnim. For Link, entering any part the Pyramid of Power isn't a simple task. There are breakable walls on the outside of the pyramid, but they are impervious to all normal items and can only be broken with Super Bombs. Despite the pyramid's external size, not much of its interior is seen. The areas seen are a Great Fairy Fountain, the room Link finds Ganon in, and the chamber what the Triforce is kept. Here, in a fierce battle against the King of Evil, Link became the victor by piercing Ganon's soul with the power of Silver Arrows. It is said that the Pyramid may also be the Temple of Light, the home of the Triforce at the heart of the Sacred Realm.

In the Game Boy Advance port, the entrance to the Palace of the Four Sword can be found here as well.

Hyrule Castle Town
Hyrule Castle Town was a town that is situated right in front of the castle. Many people live there. Hyrule Castle Town is a location from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. The capital city and commercial center of Hyrule, it is located in the far north of Hyrule, bordering to Hyrule Field to the south. Being a castle town, it is surrounded by a huge, impenetrable wall, and can only be accessed by a drawbridge which is lowered only at daytime. The source of the moat surrounding the castle town's walls is Zora's River.

Hyrule Castle Market is a crowded place at daytime, with bustling crowds of people of all Hyrulean walks of life all around. Businesses like the Happy Mask Shop, the Bazaar and the Bombchu Bowling Alley are also open exclusively during the day. There is also a less crowded back alley in the town with the occasional loiterer. At night, packs of stray dogs appear in the nearly deserted market. Some more questionable shops like the Treasure Box Shop and Bombchu Shop are also open during nightfall.

On the edge of the town can be found the Temple of Time, a huge stone temple guarding the Master Sword, and also, the entrance to the Sacred Realm where the Triforce lies. When Link pulls out the Master Sword, his spirit is sealed within the Sacred Realm for seven years, in order for him to become the Hero of Time. When he awakens, he finds that Hyrule Castle Town has been destroyed by Ganondorf, the King of Evil. Some of the inhabitants were able to escape to the nearby Kakariko Village, and the ruined city became haunted by ReDeads. It is unknown whether any Hyrule Castle Town citizens were actually killed in the attack. But at the end of the game, the credits, it's revealed there are the people who lived in Market who are not found in Kakariko Village (Rumored Dead) are celebrating in Lon Lon Ranch. Hyrule Castle Town is a location in The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap. It is here the festivities for the annual Picori Festival are held. The city is large and busy. The Mayor is Mayor Hagen.

Businesses include the Happy Hearth Inn (an inn where you may hire a room), Wheaton and Pita's bakery, Rem's shoe store, Stockwell's store, the carpenters, Simon's dungeon simulator, the library, Carlov's figurine lottery, Borlov's treasure chest shop, Brocco's vegetable stall, Pina's fruit store, Beedle's picolyte stall and a cafe.

Temple of Time
The Temple of Time is where the Master Sword was before it was ever used. It was the portal between the normal realm and the Sacred Realm. It is said to have been constructed by the Sage of Light, Rauru. It is the only Temple that does not contain a maze or enemies, except in Twilight Princess. The Temple of Time is the gateway between Hyrule and the Sacred Realm. When the Master Sword was infused into the Pedestal of Time it sealed the portal between Hyrule and the Sacred Realm. That is why Ganondorf was able to enter the Sacred Realm when Link removed the sword from the Pedestal. The Temple of Time is one of Hyrule's most ancient buildings and is protected by Rauru, a Sage who aided in its construction long ago.

Kakariko Village
Kakariko Village was once a village full of the Sheikah, but they eventually died out and Impa let other people live in the village. Kakariko Village is a recurring location in the Legend of Zelda series. Its geographical and historical situation seems to change in each game, and so many fans assert that these villages are not the same, but merely share the same name. It may have been inspired by various towns in Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, and in turn may have served as the inspiration for such future towns in the series - Mabe Village, Clock Town, Lynna City, Horon Village, Windfall Island, Hyrule Town, and various minor villages (i.e. Symmetry City).

Graveyard
The graveyard was behind Kakariko Village, but eventually it moved to a different location. It was home to Poes and other ghosts.

Eastern Temple
The Eastern Temple is a temple near Lake Hylia. A maiden was hidden here twice. Stone Arrghus once resided here.

Village of the Blue Maiden
The Village of the Blue Maiden was a small town near the southwest cost of Hyrule. Named after the Shrine Maiden who lived here, the village was more or less the same size as Kakariko Village. The village was also home to a small number of Mages. After Shadow Link tricked Link into releasing Vaati from the Four Sword, he went to the village and was somehow able to teleport a good portion of the town’s population into the Dark World. When the real Links arrived at the town, the majority of the town’s residences were in an uproar about the missing citizens. Link, with the help of The Seekers Guild and a novice magician named Iris, was able to bring the missing people back to the Light World. The villagers of the village thanked the four Links before they headed up to Eastern Palace to free the yellow maiden.

Talus Caves
Talus Cave is a large cavern up on the high slopes of a steep rock face near Death Mountain. It is filled with ice-covered path that are very treacherous to adventurers exploring the cave.

Snowpeak
It is surrounded by the several mountains, it being the highest. During the Twili Invasion, its cold weather was responsible for freezing Zora's Domain, in result rendering Lake Hylia to be with little water. It is home to the fifth dungeon of the game, Snowpeak Ruins, and it is habitated by Keese, Wolfos, and several other creatures, along with two Yetis, Yeto and Yeta. The only entry to the Snowpeak is through Zora's Domain, located in the Lanayru Province.

After Link and Midna discover that the Mirror of Twilight is in pieces, the Sages indicate that one of the shards is located in the Snowpeak Ruins. Shortly after this, Ashei is found in the bottom part of Snowpeak. She relates to Link that a monster (who turns out to be Yeto) has been constantly invading Zora's Domain, stealing the sacred beast of the land, Reekfish. She then hands over a sketch of the "monster" to Link, hoping he can do something about it. Link finds Prince Ralis and reveals to him the sketch and the tale, and Prince Ralis provides Link with the Coral Earring, a special lure which attracts Reekfish, the only known one of its kind. Link then uses it with the Fishing Rod to pull in the fish and then in wolf form, uses his olfactory senses to recognize the smell of the Reekfish.

Now with knowledge of the scent, Link trails the stench of the fish and winds up with Yeto, the culprit of the fish thievery. Unable to converse sensibly with Yeto, Link attempts to find a way to the Mirror shard and rolls into a tree, causing a frozen leaf to plummet down into the snow. Yeto takes this as a hint to race him down Snowpeak, and they both cascade down the mountain, eventually reaching Snowpeak Ruins, the mansion housing the Mirror shard.

After the mirror shard is recovered from Snowpeak Ruins, Yeto and Yeta are found on the top of Snowpeak. They both offer Link a race hill down to Snowpeak Ruins and gives him later a Piece of Heart

Snowpeak Ruins
The dungeon is located in a crumbling mansion precariously perched in the mountains of Hyrule's Peak Province. It is inhabited by Yeto, Yeta, and a number of ice-based enemies.

After Link meets Yeto at the top of Snowpeak, he learns that the yeti has found a piece of the Mirror of Twilight, which he has stored back at his house. The pair sled back to Yeto's home, where Link sets about trying to find the key to the mansion's master bedroom, where the Mirror Shard apparently has been held. Yeto, meanwhile, attempts to help his wife to recover from an illness, due to the Mirror Shard, by cooking soup for her.

Eventually Link finds the key and Yeta recovers. However, when she leads Link to the Mirror Shard, she is possessed and transforms into the boss of the dungeon, Blizzeta. Link defeats her, returning her to her original form, and earning the Mirror Shard as a reward.

The front few rooms of the house are fairly safe, being the main living quarters of the yetis. In this area there's the kitchen, where Yeto can be found cooking and the adventurous Oocca, Ooccoo, can be found hidden behind several nearby crates. There is also a room with a fireplace, where Yeta is sitting. The back parts of the mansion are frozen and infested with monsters, including a monstrous mini-boss called Darkhammer who wields a Ball and Chain. After defeating him, Link takes the weapon for himself so he can break through ice blocks. Before getting the Ball and Chain, though, the use of cannons is needed to shatter ice blocks.

Cave of No Return
The Cave of No Return is a massive cavern in Eastern Hyrule that runs from Lake Hylia to Hyrule Castle. The cave is very dimly lit and is filled with traps and seemingly bottomless pits. Although several adventurers have tried to cross through the cave, almost all of them eventually died one way or another. Their ghosts remain, and advise Link on his way through. In fact, without four people working together, passing through the cave is virtually impossible. Link using the Four Sword was the only known person to ever successfully pass through the Cave of No Return.

Above Hyrule
Much can be found in the sky of Hyrule.

Palace of Winds
The Palace of Winds was a massive fortress constructed by a race of sorcerers who had power over the winds, a group known as the Wind Tribe. According to various sources including messages left in the Wind Ruins and the members of the Wind Tribe themselves, the Wind Tribe once called the Wind Ruins (namely the Fortress of Winds) home, just south of the muck-filled swamp of Castor Wilds. At a certain point in Hyrule's history, the Wind Tribe, which had a powerful connection to the winds and all their powers, decided to join the winds they studied so much. To this end, they chose to depart the Wind Ruins for the Cloud Tops and to take their most cherished treasure, the Wind Element, with them. According to the ruler of the Wind Tribe at the time of The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, they supposedly "moved our (their) Palace up into the skies," suggesting they had already constructed the Palace of Winds back when they still lived in the Fortress of Winds and used their magic to levitate the Palace of Winds and move it up into the skies high above Hyrule. Before departing, the Wind Tribe crafted the Ocarina of Wind and left it (along with a message explaining where they had gone) at the summit of their former home, the Fortress of Winds, as the prize for defeating the guardian they created and left to test one in search of the Wind Element. They also left half of a special golden Kinstone in the possession of the then-current King of Hyrule, King Gustaf, with whom the Wind Tribe maintained a very close friendship. This Kinstone, when fused with its counterpart embedded in a stone barrier near Veil Falls, would open the barrier and in turn open the way to Veil Springs, the road to the Cloud Tops. After magically moving the Palace of Winds up into the Cloud Tops, the Wind Tribe placed the Wind Element at the heart of the Palace and constructed the Tower of Winds in its early stages as their home and the gateway to the Palace of Winds above it.

Games it has appeared in: The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords, The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

In The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, which presumably occurs many centuries after the departure of the Wind Tribe from the Wind Ruins to the Cloud Tops, Link goes in search of the Four Elements (the future "Royal Jewels") to infuse the Picori Blade with their power and transform it into the Four Sword to break a curse placed upon Princess Zelda by the evil Minish Vaati that turned her to stone. Link eventually made his way to the rumored home of the Wind Element, the Fortress of Winds in the Wind Ruins just south of Castor Wilds, in order to claim it. Upon arriving at the location of the Wind Ruins however, Link found the area completely abandoned and the Fortress of Winds in disrepair. After defeating Mazaal, a large stone guardian placed within the abandoned Fortress of Winds by the Wind Tribe to test the worthiness of one seeking the Wind Element, Link found only the Ocarina of Wind as his prize along with the message left on the Fortress' rooftop explaining the new whereabouts of the Wind Tribe and their Wind Element.

After defeating the Big Octorok of the Temple of Droplets and claiming the Water Element, the spirit of King Gustaf appeared to Link and instructed him to visit the Royal Valley, the resting place of Hyrule's past ruling figures. Link ventured to the eerie valley and entered the Royal Crypt, at the end of which he met once again with the spirit of King Gustaf, who gave Link the half of the golden Kinstone given to him ages before by the Wind Tribe when they departed for the skies and instructed Link to seek out the "Source of the Flow" in Hyrule. Link eventually guessed this place to be Veil Falls and traveled there, finding a stone barrier blocking a path that led up behind the falls. He found the stone barrier contained the other half of the golden Kinstone and fitted the half given to him by Gustaf into the door, causing it to open and reveal the path up the falls. At the top of Veil Falls, Link found himself coming upon Veil Springs, and a small whirlwind at its summit. Stepping into the whirlwind, Link was blown all the way to the land above the clouds, the Cloud Tops.

After restoring another whirlwind that led up to the Tower of Winds, Link entered the then-small tower and met with the members of the Wind Tribe and their ruler, who granted Link access to the roof of the Tower of Winds and by extension the Palace of Winds above it. On the roof, Link found a third whirlwind that sent him up to the entrance of the Palace of Winds, the home of the Wind Element. The Palace of Winds proved to be an enormous structure composed of several buildings bound together, floating above the Cloud Tops and high above Hyrule's surface. The Palace had become infested with monsters, and Link was forced to cleanse the structure of them while searching for the Wind Element. Along the way, he found the Roc's Cape, an invention of the Wind Tribe that had been left in the Palace at its creation and had the power to let one jump great distances and fly for a short while. At the top of the Palace beyond the final Boss Door, Link found a fourth whirlwind that blasted him up high into the air and onto the back of a humongous flying creature. It then became apparent to Link that a Gyorg Pair had descended from the skies to make the Palace of Winds their new home and had seized the Wind Element. With the Wind Element's power, they flew high over the Palace of Winds and attacked those who dared to enter it. Link fought the large red female and the smaller blue male Gyorgs and eventually defeated them by means of striking their multiple eyes while using clones of himself created by the Empowered White Sword. After the two flying beasts were killed, Link dropped back to the summit of the Palace of Winds, where he found the Wind Element also drifting downward from above, having been pried from the Gyorg Pair's grip. Link stepped forward and claimed the Wind Element, finally possessing the power to fully restore the sacred blade that would come to be known as the Four Sword.

Cloud Tops
The Cloud Tops contain a tower that is home to the Wind Tribe. The Cloud Tops are an area in The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap. This is were the Wind Tribe moved to and built the Palace of Winds. It is filled with deadly gaps that fall down into the sky. As it is a sea of clouds, Cloud Piranhas love this area.

Games it has appeared in: The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

City in the Sky
The City in the Sky is home to the Oocca. There was a monster hidden in the depths of The City in the Sky, which was troubling the small Oocca and preventing them from living properly. Link traveled to the city to collect a piece of the Twilight Mirror, and vanquished the monster. The Oocca lived in the city long before the events of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, but it is not known how it came to be built. The Oocca lack hands and, unless they posses magical abilities unseen in the game, it seems unlikely that they could have constructed such a settlement. The city was originally accessed by the Sky Cannon; however, the Oocca gradually lost touch with the world below, and the cannon fell into disrepair. At the beginning of Twilight Princess, there had been no contact between the Oocca and the Hylians in living memory.

This changed when a piece of the shattered Mirror of Twilight came to rest in the city. Zant's minions invaded and badly damaged the fortress, forcing the Oocca (presumably fairly poor fighters) to retreat to the southernmost points of the structure. However, the presence of the Mirror Shard also brought the City in the Sky to the knowledge of Link, who, helped by a scholar named Shad, was able to decipher the ancient writing of the Oocca which had been left in Hyrule. After discovering the dilapidated Sky Cannon and having it repaired by Fyer, Link launched himself up to the city, joined by his acquaintance Ooccoo (and her young son), an Oocca who had somehow been stranded on the ground.

Once in the floating fortress, Ooccoo reunited with her friends and Link ventured deeper into the ruined city to find the Mirror Shard and annihilate the invading army. After discovering a second Clawshot item, Link was able to work his way up to the highest points of the city and defeat Argorok, a fearsome dragon which he had spotted earlier on in the dungeon.

This dungeon is one of the largest dungeons in the game, along with the Temple of Time. It consists of five floor levels and three basement levels. The city is very advanced, floating in the sky using large propellers. The main theme of this dungeon is wind, as there are strong gusts due to the high elevation and large fans built within the buildings. To get around in the rooms, stray Oocca must be used to float from ledge to ledge, using fans in the floor to rise higher. Peahats also grow in the city, which can be used to grab onto with the Clawshot.

Games it has appeared in: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Hyrule's shifting geography
While certain landmarks of Hyrule commonally return, Hyrules geography appears to be layed out differently with almost each new game set in it. Parts of Hyrule found in one games map may be in a different location, have different geographical features, or be completely absent in another. While some games may take into account the geography in past zelda games (A Link to the Past and Four Sword Adventures share almost the same hylian geography) others may completely ignore them (The Minish Cap's Hyrule bears almost no resemblance to any other game). Several fan explanations have been given. The first is that the changes occurred because of geological events between the games such as earthquakes, mudslides, erosion, forest growth, continental drift, or all of the above. The second theory is that Hyrules geography stays relatively the same but that each new game shows the same Hyrule seen from a different angle, that landmarks are renamed, or that other unseen parts of Hyrule are seen each game.

Some fans argue that while Hyrule does change from game to game it is simply due to gameplay reasons to give players something new to explore while staying in the same land and has no real ingame explanations. Finally since it remains to be seen if all of the games in the series fit into one timeline so the reason that the Hyrule in some games are so different may be simply because two unrelated storylines with two unrelated Hyrules.

Hyrule in The Legend of Zelda
Hyrule in the original The Legend of Zelda was very small compared to the other games. It featured no towns or castles, and simply sent the player into the action straightaway. It is likely that this region is in fact the southern region of the much larger lands shown in The Adventure of Link. Shigeru Miyamoto states that this version of Hyrule is based on the area of his homeland when he was a child, including the caves placed throughout the land.

Hyrule in Adventure of Link
Hyrule in Zelda II: Adventure of Link was much, much larger than Hyrule in the other games. It was the first Hyrule big enough to actually be considered a kingdom. There were many towns in it that were named after the sages of Ocarina of Time. It also had many landmarks and mountains, even a few islands.

Hyrule in the Minish Cap
In The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, Hyrule looked similar to A Link to the Past's Hyrule, but some of the landmarks had different names (aside from Lon Lon Ranch, Lake Hylia, Hyrule Castle Town and Hyrule Castle). There was the Minish Woods (as opposed to Lost Woods), Crenel Mountain (as opposed to Death Mountain), Castor Wilds (as opposed to the Southern Swamp) and Veil Falls (as opposed to the Waterfall of Wishing). It also included the Wind Ruins and the Cloud Tops.

The Great Sea
Ganondorf somehow escaped from his seal in the Sacred Realm and attempted to take over Hyrule; and while the people of the kingdom thought the Hero of Time would again save them, no hero appeared. The Three Goddesses had no choice but to cover Hyrule in water, and eventually Hyrule became merely a legend passed down through the generations. The flooded Hyrule seen in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker was known as the Great Sea.