The Unseen Life of Ancient Hyrule (Tears of The Kingdom Lore)

[@HyruleGamer]

Where would you explore in Ancient Hyrule? ✨️

[@chrislevack405]

The ocean, baybeee!!

[@OldDeadAcct44]

I would like to see how the Zonai arrived and how Rauru ascended to the throne. I wanna know how Rauru and Sonia met, and if they have descendants.

[@itzriotplayz2377]

the ancient castle.

[@erik3371]

What does this question even entail?

[@Pumkinlord]

@@OldDeadAcct44 well they couldn’t have seeing how Sonia died and rauruu was locked away forever

[@MasterCrawford343]

One thing i couldn't help but notice was the chasm that Mineru's spirit takes link down is the ONLY chasm that isnt permeated by gloom. It is a clean, goopless chasm.

[@HyruleGamer]

I'm guessing because it was protected in that little Cave

[@javiervasquez625]

Maybe Mineru found a way to "purify" it from Gloom which is why it remained clean for Link to have no problem accessing it. I ask myself if Mineru's secret stone might have granted the ability to counter Ganondorf's Gloom with a "magic energy" of her own to serve as counterbalance.

[@michaellane5381]

Most likely because the other Chasms were "Openned" by Gloom, hers was not, like if you open a tube of toothpaste with pressure and one top doesn't come off, the air will likely keep that tube free of paste while the ones that open are not.

[@rhysmcluckie2625]

My heart says that light dragon split the dueling peaks when she ascended so the people of Hyrule fleeing the Great Calamity in the distant future would have a way to get to safety

[@michaellane5381]

The Legend specifies Farosh.

[@rhysmcluckie2625]

Hmm, I didn't know that. Mine's sadder though, so I'll just live over here in delusion. Don't mind me 😂@@michaellane5381

[@ScanBar]

It really goes to show how dedicated and caring the developers are when they make full models for buildings like the castle and put them in the open world that we play in, only for them to appear in a memory or two. They basically rebuild (at least parts of) the overworld, even though we will only ever see a few shots of these locations in game. They made models like the throne room, Mineru's study, and intact versions of the bridge next to the Temple of Time and the walls around the Great Plateau, just for the cutscenes. Really makes me want to see what the rest of the Zonai ruins looked like in their prime.

[@Ethan_24754]

I would love to explore Hyrule during the zonai.

[@odin3141]

Makes me wonder if they plan on using that map in a future game 👀

[@javiervasquez625]

@@odin3141 Considering how vastly different "Ancient Hyrule" looks compared to the current one i can't but wonder if Nintendo does intend to make a trilogy to fully explain the Zonai and their history before and around the foundation of the kingdom.

[@thezonaiarchitect]

@@javiervasquez625 I would love a Zonai focused prequel game that takes place there. It could even explain why the Zonai left in the first place!!

[@godrickthegolden9504]

@@javiervasquez625makes me wonder about the next Hyrule Warriors game

[@raffaelm6558]

For some reason, my immediate theory was that Mineru's library and possibly workshop are the buildings on Dragonhead Island. Their shape fits and I wondered if the door we see in the back is actually an elevator and what's left of it is that strange structure in the ruins on Dragonhead Island. It makes much more sense for her to live in the castle, too, but Dragonhead and the operations there feel like something Mineru would be overseeing.

[@kymmie_girl]

The constructs waiting all over, especially the first ones you meet in the sky, make me so sad. I felt bad having too fight them because they’re all just doing their jobs that they were programmed to do thousands of years ago. And they don’t know that they can stop now.

[@javiervasquez625]

Just like the Ancient Robots from Skyward Sword who may have kept working for the same if not _more_ amount of time until wearing down and turning into rust pieces only to eventually _keep on working_ once Link arrives and revives them via the timeshift stones nearby. Poor robots all born to serve without end.

[@Gyashonav]

In the memory were the sages become, well, sages, Naborus says that the last free Gerudo town has fallen. This suggested that the desert was at one point more populated and not all ruled by one person. Also, though this can be done in btow too, if you line up the gate to the desert from oot (and account for the fact that compared to btow and totk it would be flipped and/or rotated) then you can get a rough idea of were Gerudo fortress and the desert colossus would be

[@davidjimenez5236]

Maybe the bazar was originally a town since there's an abandoned mine in the depths

[@chaos4654]

It's possible the destruction Ganondorf reaped went all the way out of the boundaries of the map. Since there is a great big world we can't visit. With two Mines below the desert, we can be reasonably sure there were probably more settlements simply beyond the boundary of modern Hyrule.

[@Gyashonav]

@@chaos4654 well the cutseen he shows of "his world" did show him on death mountain Dispute the fact it was only a week at absolute most from when he got his stone

[@Pomshka]

TOTK amd BOTW fills me with such a sad loneliness. I wish we could have gotten more 😔

[@HyruleGamer]

Next game! 🤞

[@sting7789]

I hated BOTW but Tears of the Kingdom is great. I'm hoping for more Ultrahand.

[@Ashley_Graves_1]

So, I'm trying to locate the old Hyrule Castle. Using memory 17, it seems to me that the Castle is literally right on top of the Shrine of Resurrection. Looking below in the depths, there's of course the secret spring of revival with this weird zonai structure. Maybe this structure could be part of the castle? And maybe parts of the sky islands above the Shrine of Resurrection are more parts of the castle? Obviously, this is a stretch, especially since we don't really get to see the inside of the old castle much; but structures have moved, especially the temple of time having moved over the bottomless swamp/pond in the sky.

[@javiervasquez625]

Speaking out loud this adds some cool symbolism to the start of Breath of the Wild as Link's resurrection from within the remnants of the "original" Hyrule Castle can be considered a "resurrection" of the ancient kingdom itself via the following events in both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom leading into the rediscovery of the Zonai and their involvement in Hyrule's foundation.

[@yaboihere494]

You are correct

[@Ben-zg8xk]

nah it doesnt appear on the map, looked all over the great sky island and there is no building that resembles it and no stonework that resembles it, just the same copy and paste generic zonai stone. None of the darker hylian stonework appears on the island

[@Serpentine687]

My thoughts on the gleeok island in the desert is that the island was a sort of watchtower for the zonai. So they could keep an eye on the gerudo. The island is so high up it is hard to spot from down below.

[@Axecon1]

There's evidence that the wildlife of Ancient Hyrule has not changed much up through modern day BOTW/TOTK. We still see the same dominant races (Hylian, Gerudo, Rito, Zora, Goron, etc) as well as flora & fauna. The biggest evidence is that we see Moldugas during one of the cutscenes with Ganondorf and they still exist to the modern BOTW/TOTK era. Moldugas are not present in any other Zelda game meaning they must have evolved exclusively during this Era of the Wilds.

[@javiervasquez625]

Worth noting though: the Moldugas are very similar to past Zelda enemies such as Lanmola and Molgera which are both sand-dwelling monsters that Link must attack when they come out. Just like the Dondons who're a new variant of the _Dodongos_ from previous games so could the Moldugas be a new variant of Lanmola or Molgera after evolving into it's current form by the arrival of the Era of the Wild.

[@a.jthomas6132]

I wish we could’ve see more of Ancient Hryule as Zelda set out her own adventure as a playable after being transported to the distant past. One of my criticism of TOTK is the story itself is divided into two in the perspective of two main characters. Nintendo did promise us to give us a better narrative story. But all I see bit of a mess here which is similar to Skyward Sword’s unfinished Second Quest story.

[@TheTruthNEGFTW]

I absolutely loved the sky Zonai forge, even though it doesn't work. Its one of the biggest islands but the fan/laser puzzle was fun and the giant tree reminded me of Laputa

[@SugarFreeGaming]

It'd be cool if they did a dlc where you play as zelda in the past and see what they were up too since she was there for awhile and it still ends with a big Gannon fight before she turned into the dragon

[@bluejetplays]

Yes! I've been saying this aswell! Unfortunately Nintendo said they no plans for totk dlc 😒

[@Dillville321]

One thing I like is that in flashbacks u can see that temple of time was on the Great Plateau from some of the landmarks and point of view of cutscenes

[@maxwellgulyas6444]

Something I noticed about Mineru’s study is that there is a zonai wing in the background. You can see it at 10:00. That, combined with the fan, makes me think that she had… her own private jet?

[@HyruleGamer]

Mineru was balling I guess 🤑

[@kakarikokage2514]

If you look at the ancient map of Hyrule, you can also see a small lake where Lookout Landing is today.

[@leilao.3528]

That makes sense. It lines up with the layout of the depth. I wondered why lookout landing on the depth map wasn’t accessible.

[@Ben-zg8xk]

feom what i could tell of that map the majority of hyrule field was a lake

[@lindajonesartist]

I'd love to learn why there are sky islands that have lower gravity.

[@HyruleGamer]

I too am curious

[@alexandertkachenko1432]

Maybe the zonai got bored.

[@javiervasquez625]

Could have been either because the mechanism which kept some of the islands afloat have started to wear down leading to their slow descent or Nintendo simply chose to have some of the islands close to the surface for purely "cosmetic" and environmental reason.

[@thezonaiarchitect]

maybe there's some technology imbued within the islands and when they were on the surface the low gravity was used as some sort of tool for some kind of cargo situation? Pure speculation lol but that'd be a fun reason why

[@Frogboyaidan]

Would love to see an age of calamity prequel set in the ancient past

[@sh4rkss]

yess we need an imprisoning war hyrule warriors. i would love to fight ganon's army in that one memory where he has a ton of hinox and lynels and he has some demon horse

[@itzriotplayz2377]

i would like that too.

[@ArceusDX]

@@sh4rkss I think they mean even further back than that, when the Zonai were still around in large numbers

[@HyruleGamer]

Idk if I would or wouldn't tbh

[@Sam_T2000]

when the first substantial trailer came out, with Link in the toga robes, I was certain the game would take place in the different past… so it would’ve technically been the same map of Hyrule, but everything from the towns and roads, to the non-Dueling Peaks would’ve been different, making it virtually a new world to explore… sadly, it wasn’t 😮‍💨

[@javiervasquez625]

I mean in context it _kind of_ was as per the sky islands been renmants of the ancient kingdom which remained "frozen in time" over the Cloud Barrier giving Link the chance to explore this ancient locations as if he were visiting the past. This might just be the same as timetravel considering the islands haven't been disturbed by the surface world in any way been left as they were by the time of Ganondorf's imprisonment.

[@Sam_T2000]

@@javiervasquez625 - but there was only one really substantial Sky Island, and it was the tutorial… and they were all completely empty, save for a handful of Constructs. I would’ve liked to see a fully populated ancient Hyrule… it could still be very early in its history to explain why there aren’t tons of villages and towns everywhere, but the point is it would’ve been much different that what we got 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@javiervasquez625]

@@Sam_T2000 I don't know what to say 🤷 i guess Nintendo thought it better if players explored a frozen _and_ decayed remnant of the past to enhance the bittersweet feel from Breath of the Wild as we explored yet another ruined kingdom which has remained static and devoid of life until Link's arrival. While i agree it could have been done better i feel Nintendo did the right call by not revealing new populated settlements across the sky islands in order to emphasize the story of both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom with the many towns and settlements destroyed by Ganondorf. Hopefully the next game will try something different by adding more life and activity to the towns compared to what we had in Tears of the Kingdom.

[@KittKatt-0110]

Okay, I finally get to point this out because it is relevant again: the Dueling Peaks has a rough rounded cut-out on the side opposite the Great Plateau that I believe is supposed to be indicative of a dragon flying through it perpedicular to the split.

[@A-RonHubbard]

Next thing you know - part 3 of this trilogy - "The Legend of Zelda: Life of the Zonai" only on Nintendo switch 2! Not only might we get to see how the Zonai were in their Prime, also we may get to play as Princess Zelda! I don't think it's too far-fetched considering some of the models have already been constructed. I like to believe that things will not always remain a mystery. 😊 This is fantastic work, HG. No one else is putting out Theory videos of this magnitude!

[@katiebethruns]

I guess in my brain I was just assuming Mineru’s study was in the spirit temple but it would make sense for it to be in the castle. Im sure she was an advisor to the king with her knowledge.

[@HyruleGamer]

I also thought that initially too, but I'm 99% certain it is in the Castle now 😄

[@MaxItOut]

I feel like the dragons may of also caused the chasms. Seeing as one split a whole mountain and the fact that there are dark dragon-ish fossils in the depths I think that this would be pretty cool

[@TheHitsubasa]

The depths!!! I honestly wish we could get more on the depths. Did the Zonai live underground and on ground simultaneously? Why did they have so many mines underneath and the observation deck and the labyrinths too! And the bargainer statues too!!

[@javiervasquez625]

Some believe the Zonai living on the Depths might have belonged to a different _breed_ of Zonai of whom the Ancient Hero was a member as suggested by some of the statues found in the Depths of what appears to be a muscular and bulky being similar in appeareance to the Mogmas from Skyward Sword. It's possible that the Depths Zonai had a vastly different culture and customs as suggested by the many Colosseums which imply a more _barbaric_ society compared the more wise and intellectual Zonai of the surface.

[@michaellane5381]

The weirder part... Why an observation deck in the mines at all? Unless it was just an overseer Zonai watching constructs return from the pits most of those spots are really bad for "observation" of the actual mining.

[@Robinwinghood]

I've been kicking around the idea that I don't know if all of the sky islands are in the places they were originally, like maybe over the tens of thousands of years they could have drifted. Sometimes you get one with a house in the middle of empty open sky, which seems unlikely, unless it was originally closer to other pieces of settlement

[@JetTheBaron]

In a memory, the ancient Gerudo Sage mentions ''the last remaining Gerudo village'' (has fallen). This means there were multiple villages in the Gerudo region.

[@cannabotany]

I'm soo happy I just finally got totk and started playing for the first time, so I can watch your channel again! I've missed your videos. Have a great day!

[@sleepyhyrule6894]

I find it interesting that there isn't a simplification of zonai architecture over time. Instead it's like something wiped them out and then someone more primitive moved in later.

[@Djpartypon64]

Has anyone noticed each village on the surface has a mining facility underneath it? I found it interesting because well it makes me wonder if these mining facilities were used to gather more zonadite and turn it into Zonai crystals or charges. Of course with these Zonai charges were used as more of boost for the batteries in order to use the Zonai items. Or if you go to the bigger ones you can see that at one point constructs were being created there ( I suppose it was just molds maybe ).

[@HyruleGamer]

That is a really interesting detail!

[@tossingturnips]

Of all the aesthetics that civilizations past and present have been shown throughout the series, the Zonai are far and away my favorite. They had such an elegant blend of simplicity and sophistication with their open air concept, as seen in the construct factory. It may forever remain a mystery, but theories like yours give it a satisfying plausible realness. ETA: How about the Sinai set's mesoamerican-inspired look resembling the colorful aesthetics of the ancient Lanayru desert portion in Skyward Sword?

[@javiervasquez625]

Some have suggested that some of the past civilizations seen in previous games could be related to the Zonai given the similarities in architecture and environments meaning they could all be related to some extent. Considering how similar the foundation of Rauru's Hyrule is to the Oocca's creation of the Ancient Hyrule from _before_ the Zonai's arrival one can't but wonder if the Oocca and Zonai could be related as sky people who came from the sky to create the current land.

[@tossingturnips]

@@javiervasquez625 funny, I was just watching a let's play of Twilight Princess and they're at the City in The Sky. The aesthetic is a very "ancient high-tech" look that I can certainly see be a predecessor to that of the Zonai.

[@javiervasquez625]

@@tossingturnips Intriguing especially since both City in the Sky and the Wild duology were confirmed by Nintendo to be inspired by Studio Ghibli films like Castle in the Sky justifying the connection between the Oocca and Zonai races. I can only hope Nintendo has plans regarding the Zonai in future games so that we may get more information as to their origins and wether there's a massive connection which links together all of the "sky tribes" in the Zelda franchise.

[@etherserra8638]

A couple places that would be interesting to touch on as well would be the ancient dungeons we got like the arc and the ancient goron city.

[@JumptheTrench]

You and zeltik are my favorite Zelda channels, always pumping out bangers!

[@HyruleGamer]

Honoured to be in your favourites with Zeltik himself!

[@ultimatedumbass4640]

​@@HyruleGamer You deserve it mate

[@mortyzgaming]

This is great man! I love this and the music in the background 🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻

[@HyruleGamer]

Glad to hear, thanks! 🤙

[@thierrys85]

The Dueling Peaks were actually in BotW/TotK because they were modelled after mountains in Zelda 1's official artwork (where they were already split). This means TotK's past (where the Dueling Peaks were still whole) takes places before Zelda 1.

[@Bonnielikescats]

Doesn't mean anything in universe

[@Ben-zg8xk]

thats just inspiration not canon to the timeline, hopefully the next open world game doesnt copy so many locations from old zelda games and reference them s much so the timeline can make more sense

[@Pomshka]

Gamers: But what about all the unanswered questions in TOTK!? Eiji Aonuma: I guess Link should just forget about all of that. *Daniel Weiss and David Benioff "Dany forgot" meme*

[@willian1917]

so glad you are still doing totk videos regularly. I have some ideas for theories: why are the monsters mining zonaite for ganondorf? are the depths a kind of place where previous games took place but it was isolated and covered by a new hyrule? (maybe the result of a tryforce wish or the result of the dragon break?) does totk really took place in the same hyrule as botw? I'm really not sure

[@javiervasquez625]

To answer your last question YES it most definetly took place in the same Hyrule as the _geography_ between Rauru's Hyrule and the current one is the exact same with nothing looking any different to suggest Rhoam's Hyrule is a different kingdom entirely.

[@Raccoonius]

Kinda wish we could find ruins of the Zonai Castle.

[@HyruleGamer]

That would have been so cool!

[@bowenorcutt78]

I might be going crazy, but I swear we can see the Bridge of Hylia in the background of one memory. Also, I'm compelled to point out that there's a model of the modern Hyrule Castle in the diorama/map thing.

[@rgentum_201]

What really bothers me is The Depths. Josha makes the claim that people lived down there, but there's zero evidence of it. Yeah there's the mines, construct factory, Zonai device areas, and colosseums but those aren't signs of people actually living there. There's no evidence of homes or towns or anything.

[@javiervasquez625]

Might be they were all destroyed during the Imprisoning War as a direct result of Ganondorf spreading his Gloom on populated settlements across the Depths while leaving "industrial" locations like the mines and factories unharmed for future use as per the many bokoblins who started mining zonaite after the Upheavel opened many areas for his army to occupy. If we assume that the Zonai living in the Depths were not the most "intellectual" as the ones from the surface as per the Colosseums then it makes sense that their towns and homes would be far less durable and resistant to the passage of time compared to the Zonai ruins left in the sky.

[@Rhyz-1]

There are cemetery and broken stone house like buildings in Gerudo desert and down Akkala citadel depts

[@michaelkaduck1915]

I theorize the Zonai are descendants of humans who remained on Skyloft. This would make sense for their transformation and the cities in the sky being left in ruins, as the plan was to have humanity remain where they should be on the surface. And given that Hyrule has been destroyed so much, it would make sense for this to be in the far, far future with Ganon's constant resurrections.

[@HyruleGamer]

Very interesting 👀

[@javiervasquez625]

What of the Oocca? They are said to have "created Hyrule" according to Shad so for all we know they are _also_ related to the Zonai as per them being called "Sky People" in the japanese localization of Twilight Princess. With the Skyloftians, Minish, Wind Tribe and Oocca all living in the sky one could easily argue they are _all_ ancestors of the Zonai who remained in the sky before the Era of the Wild came along.

[@michaelkaduck1915]

@@javiervasquez625 Definitely they could have connections with the Oocca with Rauru's feathers on his face and some of the architecture. Also, it could be that the Zonai Empire likely included multiple races, as Rauru's future Hyrule kingdom did.

[@javiervasquez625]

@@michaelkaduck1915 Wow the "Zonai Empire" gives me the impression there might be colonies in other parts of the Zelda world which we don't know anything about which might play a key role in a future game outside the borders of Hyrule. Should we get a Majora's Mask type game again it could easily involve exploring said colonies in search of wathever Mcguffin Link will be tasked with obtaining.

[@michaelkaduck1915]

@@javiervasquez625 I'd definitely love another game that explores them. Perhaps a future game set after Tears of the Kingdom could expand and show us abandoned settlements outside Hyrule!

[@DarkLordGanondorf190]

Funny you should mention air conditioning because I noticed how Mineru's scarf is always in motion even when she doesn't move much. There we have it! Air conditioning! 😂

[@jan.akisa.]

another thing about the gerudo desert is that in one of the memories ganondorf says "towns in gerudo village" or something like thatt which means that there were at some point several settlements in the desert

[@dumpydevrour]

There is proof of settlements or at least buildings in the Gerudo Desert, mainly the temple ruins north of Gerudo Town, and a lot of the ruins near where Naboris used to roam

[@planetjumper1]

Sooo there had to be a cave in the heart of dueling peaks and inside was where one of the tear swallowers ate their tear and turned into a dragon and that’s my guess as to why dueling peaks is split so cleanly and in the middle of it.

[@annieandelsieofarendelle3294]

There's a theory that the Zonai and Gerudo had actually been at war at some point in history and the Lightning Temple was actually a symbol of Zonai conquest over the Gerudo

[@HyruleGamer]

Where can I check out the full theory? 😄

[@annieandelsieofarendelle3294]

​@@HyruleGamer I think it's on Tumblr somewhere, but the gist is that they were analyzing the different temples and noticed how different the Lightning Temple was from the other temples to the point the Zonai technology looked out of place. They also saw how it looked more like a burial site for important members of the Gerudo tribe.

[@annieandelsieofarendelle3294]

@@HyruleGamer I found it! kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZmOamnd8rd6epJo&ab_channel=KokiriTheory

[@Mauricio0973]

8:30 iirc in one of the memories after Ganondorf obtains Sonia's secret stone, it is mentioned that various villages in Gerudo Desert have been destroyed already, which means there were probably a lot more gerudo settlements in the ancient past, which does fit with all the ruins found around the desert

[@KurffyOfficial]

I was editing a video while listening to this in the background, I was adding subtitles for a portion talking about "thickness" and I instantly hear you say "absolute baddie Gerudo warriors". I froze up 😂

[@HyruleGamer]

😅🤣

[@reyesmann3221]

When your bow breaks in midair, you can switch to another one instantly. I just think that's a beautiful thing

[@pronintendo1984]

Hey Hyrule Gamer, that map of Ancient Hyrule has always fascinated me when I first saw it. Do you think there’s enough there to discuss all the geographic changes Hyrule has seen since? Cuz I’ve not see many people discuss it

[@RetroLiminal99444]

Man even with the inclusion of the dream like sky islands and the Weird nostalgia-ish Depths, the game still aimed for some sort of post apocalyptic world.

[@TheMidnadarkness]

where did the Zonai came from ? will be cool if we were able to go to their homeland

[@javiervasquez625]

Or planet...?

[@TheMidnadarkness]

@@javiervasquez625 that would be interesting

[@marcoschioli2532]

Talking about the twin peaks.... in the depths, near that zone, you can find giant bones from a very long creature... maybe is that dragon???

[@HyruleGamer]

Perhaps!

[@quantafreeze]

My theory is Zelda, in Tears of the Kingdom, travels back in time to the period before the prologue of Skyward Sword. Here is my reasoning. If Tears of the Kingdom's Gannon, was a reincarnation of Demise, where is Link? Where is the Master Sword. In theory if there is one, there should be the other, according to Demise's curse. TotK's Gannon doesn't recognize the master sword, he only knows of it via Raru and Zelda's discussion of it. My theory is this incarnation of Ganondorf predates Skyward Sword and the creation of the Master Sword. My theory is TotK Ganondorf - 'the Demon King' is related to Demise - 'the Demon King' (they both have the same skirt in their boss phase). I think the TotK Gannon although "sealed" by Raru, was able to leak out similar to the events seen in Skyward Sword, Breath of the Wild, and Tears of the Kingdom. TotK Gannon's spirit is (or has become) Demise, in my theory. Demise's scar is where Gannon's sacred stone was mounted, and probably had to be torn away from the stones great spiritual power. Evidence to support this theory, the missing goddess statue. In Raru's time period, there's no giant Hylia goddess statue in the forgotten temple. I think this is because Hylia hasn't had to act yet. The Zonai are on the earth and they are handling the kingdom, however after Raru seals TotK Gannon, he and Mineru are out of commission leaving the kingdom Zonai-less and completely unprotected. In the Prologue of Skyward Sword, it describes 'a war of unmatched scale and ferocity the likes of which would never be seen again. One dark, fateful day, the earth cracked wide and malevolent forces rushed forth from the fissure. They mounted a brutal assault upon the surface people, driving the land into deep despair... They burnt forests to ash, choked the land's sweet springs, and murdered without hesitation.' I think this is what Hidemaro Fujibayashi alluded to when he said, "there may have been a history of destruction before the story of Hyrule's foundation". Because of Demise's rampage on earth is why we see so little of the OG Zonai architecture in the Zelda series, except what was hidden beneath the primitive looking Zonai structures in Faron. Raru doesn't even consider using the Triforce, because, one he can handle it on his own, and two it's still in Hylia's protection. It's also why Demise needs the power of the Triforce, because it's the only (in universe) item that would be more powerful than Raru and his spiritual stone. This theory explains the ruins of civilization on the earth's surface, in Skyward Sword. The mining facilities, the robots, the temples, all were originally part of Raru's Hyrule. It also may be why the dragons in Skyward Sword, (Lanayru, Farosh, and Eldin) can talk, and aren't big almost mindless flying guys. It might be because they were once Zonai and because of their Zonai DNA, the dragonification, takes longer, and they hold onto their sentience longer than, say the Hylian Zelda, did. They eventually do become giant sky guys because they are immortal, but the time between Zelda's time travel and Skyward sword isn't that long, so the dragons are still on the small side and still have clothes and can speak. The Shiekah aren't in the Zonai time period, because there is really no need for a group like the Shiekah. The Shiekah protected an served the Hylian Royal family and were the chosen protectors of the goddess Hylia. Raru wouldn't have needed protection by mere humans, and if my theory is true the goddess wouldn't be mortal yet. In my theory the Master Sword was taken back, by Zelda's time shift abilities, to before it was created, however the sword would be in Zelda's dragon hair, hidden and protected, during the forging of the Master Sword, and the events of Skyward Sword, and the entirety of all the time-lines for that matter, if I'm correct. No reboot necessary.

[@Ahouro]

Totk Ganondorf is a reincarnation that´s why he don´t know about Zelda, the Master sword or Link. Demise scar is from the sealing spike this we know for a fact and the Forgotten temple was built after Skyward sword. Rauru doesn't know what the Tri-force is because it was hidden in the bloodline of Zelda. Most evidence points Rauru´s Hyrule to be after all games except Botw, the dragons from Skyward sword aren´t Zonai we know this because you immediately loss all but your subconscious mind when you eat a Sacred stone and the dragons from Skyward sword aren´t immortal. The Sheikah wasn't seen but they were probably protecting the royal baby. Your theory needs to many retcons to be correct.

[@ravenebony2267]

Yeah, i don't agree with this theory at all. I think there are links between the Zonai and Skyward Sword, but nothing like that.

[@gavintheshiba8304]

I wonder what the Dueling Peaks was called before it was split in two.

[@ArceusDX]

Probably the Necluda Peak or something like that

[@HyruleGamer]

Mt Necluda maybe?

[@javiervasquez625]

Maybe Dueling _Peak_ without the s.

[@hchatnation]

Where did you get the shot of the castle from the side?

[@HyruleGamer]

One of the last few memories, with Zelda walking outside the Temple of Time

[@queazy03]

Wow! Some good investigation skills! How about where that temple is, that you see in the teaser trailer from years ago where you see Link + Zelda go inside of to see that Ganondorf mummy?

[@HyruleGamer]

I believe it was cut from the final game :(

[@maddyhodges63]

My heart immediately feels that the building Link wakes up in is the old castle. Rauru knew it was a safe place.

[@HyruleGamer]

Very possible!

[@nameofthegame9664]

Would be a great DLC if we would be able to go back in time with Zelda to rescue Sonia by preventing her death while fighting Ganondorf and the Gerudos.

[@eleanordwyer9303]

Ah yes, Untold tales we haven’t heard

[@burgervonstadt6503]

😂

[@Mr.Ian_20XX]

Hard to believe Hyrule has any tales untold we haven’t heard at this point

[@javiervasquez625]

@@Mr.Ian_20XX I mean there's a LOT we don't know yet such as the origin of the Zonai's arrival to Hyrule, the current whereabouts of the Triforce and the events which lead to the timelines unifying into one once more by the time of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom to name a few. With how ambiguous Nintendo is addressing the Lore in this last few games i would say theres plenty of unanswered plotpoints which could and should be addressed in future games.

[@Mr.Ian_20XX]

@@javiervasquez625 Right, It’s just funny Like “Oh look another untold tale we haven’t heard, how’d that get there?” It’s like the Zelda meme, you won’t believe how many timelines this baby can hold.

[@Pomshka]

I think this is the earliest I've ever been here!

[@HyruleGamer]

Woohu!

[@robertsmall5168]

If Botw and Totk really are a separate timeline after Skyward Sword, then I like to think that Totk(past) happens around Ocarina due to Ganondorf’s time of appearance and hylian-Gerudo relations at the time

[@darklordyianni4463]

Awesome video, awesome accent too. You scottish, mate?

[@HyruleGamer]

Thanks a lot! Yes, I'm Scottish 🤙

[@boa2143658709]

I haven't seen anyone mention the fourth skydiving island that dropped in the gerudo desert, what would be the item found for completing it like the other three. There's even a cave where it landed but nothing related to the skydiving suit in there.

[@Insert_Bland_Name_Here]

I actually believe the Throne Room isn't in the Zonai Hyrule Castle. It could easily be a second location, with the real castle being somewhere else (perhaps even the Zonai Temple of Time itself). Rauru knew that Ganondorf had evil in his heart, so it would make sense to not let him into the actual castle, and instead have the meeting take place elsewhere.

[@skkat7336]

I really hope that some day there will be a game set in the time of the first hero thatd be so cool

[@aster4jaden]

It's sad we didn't get more Zonai Lore.

[@pancakes8670]

I have a small theory regarding the Temple of Time. What if it can actually move, like some sort of massive ship? Maybe Rauru and Mineru used it to descend to Great Plateau down below, and then Mineru later moved it back to the Great Sky Island after Zelda turned into a Dragon. This could explain why there's a Bargainer Statue under the location of the Temple of Time/Great Sky Island, despite the fact we've seen it sitting on the Great Plateau. The Great Sky Island would be its original location, and it was only temporarily in a different spot. It also calls back to Nintendos original idea for Botw, that being it has aliens with giant floating ships.

[@javiervasquez625]

Seeing as the Zonai are very much aliens to the surface world in everything but name i would agree with the propossition that the Temple of Time could have move across different locations over the course History. Should Nintendo make further revelations regarding the sky islands in future games it's always a possibility they'll make such a revelation as to the temple's relocation.

[@forgiven36511]

I wonder... If you were to look out the window of the throne room when Gannondorf knelt before the king... I wonder if you might have seen a young princess and a certain boy in green clothing... Probably not, but an interesting thought nonetheless....

[@thelegendofgamers8]

I wonder if the next Zelda game will be in ancient Hyrule back the good old days lol because we have not heard nothing about the Zoni like how they live which they could do a total re map of Hyrule if they do it that way

[@HyruleGamer]

I'm not sure. I am very curious to see where the next game takes place 👀

[@seradotphine]

For some reason i always thought that the old castle was really the forgotten temple, mainly because of sonia's grave - oops lol

[@LinkAlmeida]

I have a feeling that the throne room might have been the great plateau's temple of time (or what would become the temple of time)

[@westcoastweird455]

Love the upload!

[@HyruleGamer]

Thank you! ✨️

[@TheJcris87]

Zelda was probably the dragon that split the mountain, possibly as a result of her turning.

[@ruthblakmage]

I kinda want to see if they don't make ancient Hyrule in a game, maybe small animations of it, so we can see what it was like.

[@HDLink_mabinogi]

now we need the third hyrule warriors with the old was vs Ganondorf aka Demon king ... at least to peak how old hyrule looks like.... and ones again change the time line further lol

[@netweed09]

11:40 Note, *Courage.* Link definitely has his roots steeped in Zonai's shoes, or limbs rather. The Ancient Hero Aspect points to this even further: Hylians and Zonai once mingled for sure. Could there have been another 'Castle Town' where this aggregation peaked? Sigh,, I'm still salty about no Tears DLC.

[@captindove9202]

Great observations!

[@skulldrac0]

Isn't the structure you refer to as the "Zonda castle" in those clips just the top of the coliseum located nearby the great plateau?

[@Ben-zg8xk]

no

[@thcrtn]

My perspective is an odd one, but I feel the so-called does of the game are the "lost tribes of zonai" the reason you see mine equipment in the sky is because the islands use to be on the ground... The bokoblins are clearly just homeless zonai if you look at their features... Put into poverty by the Hyrule upperclass. The align with ganon simply because he faces the same fate... My worries are the cutscenes from OOT are the same as TOTK but the narrative is shifted to deflect symbolic references... Yep a wild breath if ya ever heard one.

[@fishnewt1331]

The Gerudo Desert is definitely an enigma. I would presume that minimal work was done there because of the climate…..but Death Mountain debunks the notion. We also have the Depths under Gerudo Desert as well. That is where the most activity was in the Gerudo Area. Were the Gerudo still antagonistic even before Ganondorf?

[@annieandelsieofarendelle3294]

There's a theory that the Zonai and Gerudo had been at war some time in the past and the Lightning Temple was a symbol of conquest over the Gerudo.

[@javiervasquez625]

Well if we remember Ocarina of Time the Gerudo were already at odds with Hyrule as seen in the Child Timeline where the kingdom went to war with them following Ganondorf's deception been revealed to the king by Link and Zelda leading to a war which forced the Royal Family to move northeast in order to escape the devastation caused during the conflict. With that in mind it's certainly possible that the Gerudo remained hostile to Hyrule in the coming Eras spanning thousands of years until the times of the Zonai where conflicts kept going until the reincarnation of Ganondorf lead to an allegiance which finally put an end to the hostilities between the 2 kingdoms once and for all.

[@Ahalaya]

Archaeology DLC, please.

[@danielmalinen6337]

This may sound crazy, but what if the Zonai were aliens who came to Hyryle to harvest the planet's resources and therefore all these mining facilities? And since they came from space, from the sky, the ancient hylians and gerudos considered them gods? And this also raises the question that were Hylia and the golden goddesses (Din, Nayru and Farore) Zonai?

[@Millie.t03]

Dueling peaks always reminds me of twin peaks 😭

[@mischarowe]

Perhaps the Zonai presence in the Gerudo Desert was pre-Ganondorf. Perhaps, during his rule, he got rid of a lot of it.🤔

[@HyruleGamer]

Perhaps!

[@Bonnielikescats]

Could it be that they were at war?

[@BearGryllsSpoofs]

The more time goes by, the more my memories of this game fade into a blurry, boring mess of disappointment. What an incredible start to an incredible game that was incredibly dull after the first 30 hours.

[@Innerspacezombie]

Day 10 of mentioning that on 6/6/2023 hyrule gamer made a video where, at 43.46, he spent 12 seconds simping about the ancient gerunds soldiers

[@bluejetplays]

I wonder... You don't think the ruins in the room of awakening are the old castle ruins do you? Idk how well they line up I might go check that rq

[@HyruleGamer]

Actually... that ain't a bad shout! I think I'll look into that as well :D

[@bluejetplays]

@HyruleGamer I went there I can't make out any of the rooms that we get to see in the cutscene. But we don't get to see the whole castle and large portions seem to be caved in during the present time. So it's still possible ig. But at first glance I don't see a resemblance

[@novustalks7525]

The forgotten temple is so clearly the temple from skyward sword. The devs even said so, yet its apparently a zonai building? Makes no sense

[@Silverwildflowers]

What if the ruins around the temple of time in the sky are actually the castle and its gardens.

[@Innerspacezombie]

day 234 of mentioning that on 5/6/2023 hyrule gamer made a video where, at 43.46, he spent 12 seconds simping about the ancient gerudo soldiers

[@goldenlotus3046]

buh.....before botw.....the history is tens of thousands of years. NOW??!?!!? It's probably like hundreds of millions of years. And who knows how long the history goes back before skyward sword.

[@Gamelorian]

Like 2 years before skyward sword

[@javiervasquez625]

@@Gamelorian Lol what?

[@planetjumper1]

Also side fact , everyone says the tapestry shows the ancient hero aspect guy and I don’t think that’s proper. The sheika aren’t there with the zoni as far as Iv seen. If I’m wrong I’m wrong but I don’t think so. And also there’s no tail or zoni outfit in the tapestry hero. Not to mention the Devine beasts.

[@ShepherdsCreek]

Hg the paleoanthropologist

[@HyruleGamer]

Sounds like a fun job ngl, in Hyrule anyway!

[@ShepherdsCreek]

@@HyruleGamer totally!

[@michaelkenji]

Doesn’t the castle geoglyph somewhat resemble the mysterious building façade seen in the very first trailer?

[@HyruleGamer]

A little but I believe that was actually cut from the final game

[@michaelkenji]

@@HyruleGamer Yeah it’s not in the final game sadly but it would’ve been interesting to imagine that the building was indeed the castle during King Rauru’s time

[@jackragland9222]

I’m just sad that, as with the Twili, Terminians, Subrosians, Lorulians, etc., etc., the Zonai will never even be mentioned ever again, much less explored properly. 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@rorysearle5013]

How about the ancient city Gorondia, home of the Goron’s.

[@Rhyz-1]

Zonai castle town was definetily for Zonai and not for constructs. What would they do with all the apple tree's and firepits

[@rhondacarscadden6774]

Best place to understand the loz lore😂

[@Remotefruitedits]

I’m starting to make Zelda theories and I was wondering how you he the screenshots without link in or the ones in the air? Like at 0:34

[@HyruleGamer]

Climb or stand next to a wall, rock etc and then turn the camera around until it clips Link out 🤙

[@Remotefruitedits]

@@HyruleGamer ok thanks

[@gamezx]

I've been trying to piece together the timeline of the ancient zonai but theres a couple areas that i'm getting a little stumped on. If anyone can offer any thoughts i'd love to hear them: Firstly is the lomei labyrinths. We know from totk they are overseen by 3 characters called the lord dragons, lord of owls and lord of boars. But who were these 3? The animals make sense cus the zonai worshiped them so you could see these characters as maybe priests of the 3 factions? But the issue comes from the fact the labyrinths are built from the same architecture style as typhlo ruins and the zonai ruins, which we know to be built by hylians after the war with the latter covering up the true zonai architecture. Meaning these labyrinths and their lords would have to date from after the death the last zonai, you see the problem here? These lords feel like they should be from the time the zonai culture was at its height, and yet they're seemingly from after the zonai died out. Also could hylians have really created these labyrinths, particularly the sky and depths ones? Then theres the issue with the lord of boars. We know that at some point the boars were wiped from history. I have a personal theory that the boar faction devolved into the barbarian tribe, perhaps worshiping calamity ganon instead when he appeared in the shape of a boar. But its weird how the lord of boars is still a respectable figure equal to the other 2. Going by the logic that these labyrinths were made by hylians given the style, shouldnt the boars have been shunned? Speaking of calamity ganon, thats another issue that has weird timeline placements. We know that the boar faction was wiped from history at some point likely because of calamity ganon's appearance. Yet we also know there was atleast a few instances of calamity ganon appearing between the end of the imprisoning war and the ancient calamity, so one would think the boars were exiled some time during one of these calamity cycles. And yet look at the ancient hero who fought in just the last calamity cycle, his armor has all 3 animal symbols on it. How could the boar faction survive all the way upto just the previous calamity cycle without being wiped out if calamity ganon appeared atleast a few times before then? And ofcourse theres the issue with the ancient hero himself, being clearly some sort of zonai hybrid. Now there being zonai hybrids isnt an issue, we know there must have been cus of rauru and sonia. The issue comes that again this was during only the previous calamity cycle, and there had been numerous cycles before then. How had zonai hybrids survived that long whilst still looking zonai and yet now they're entirely gone? You'd think if they survived that long there would have been quite a number of them still left scattered around the kingdom but theres nothing Next question on timing is when did the zonai begin mining out the depths for zonaite, before or after the kingdoms founding by rauru? I ask this because of the statue guideposts in the depths to the different mines showing some sort of collaborative effort between the zonai and other races, perhaps linking to the creation of gorondia. However we know that the tribes of the land didnt formally ally with the zonai until rauru founded the kingdom and united them under a single flag. The problem comes that there are gerudo statues to the gerudo mines, but we also know the gerudo flat out refused to work with rauru cus of ganondorf, so why are there gerudo statues as well? And while on the subject of the stautes, anyone else ever notice that the first statue you're introduced to in the depths is of a 5th race thats never identified? Personally i've come to believe that these might have been the mogmas and they were the original inhabitants of the depths, they're the only race i've found that match their appearance and the story would match. But it is weird they're never once mentioned, hinted to or ever seen in any flashback or historical text. Where they wiped out? Speaking of the depths, theres the bargainer statues, or more specifically the giant statue under the great plateau. For starters the zonai seems to have built a giant temple around this one statue, why? And then the question of when did its eyes get stolen, who could possibly have done that and for what reason? Ohh and finally here's another timing issue one. We know now from model extraction there's a giant zonai architecture pillar that runs from the imprisoning chamber all the way up to the astral observatory inside hyrule castle, and we know that the castle was built on top of this pillar right after the war to maintain the seal. The problem comes from the fact the pillar is clearly zonai, whilst the observatory is very distinctly shiekah tech, even displaying the divine beasts which arnt built until much later on. Plus from model extraction you can see that the pillar itself appeared to have shiekah style modifications added on top of it. So my question is was the observatory built from the very start from shiekah tech with the castle then built around that. Or was just the pillar and castle built, then the observatory and modifications added onto it during the ancient calamity by the ancient shiekah? The issue i'm having is while the different tech styles certainly appear to be from different time periods, it would imply the ancient shiekah built the giant observatory underneath hyrule castle, that would require mining out a giant room under the castle first, as well as entering the super secret imprisoning chamber with ganon still there (while he's on the verge of releasing another calamity ganon mind you) to make their modifications to the pillar. So which set of events would make the more logical sense?