The Zelda Timeline in Tears of the Kingdom Master Works!

[@commonwealthrealm]

Big Thanks to Meccha Japan for providing Tears of the Kingdom Master Works! Get 5 USD off on orders above 80 USD through this Link: (Code Hylian5) meccha-japan.com/en/?

[@cerealkilleryt]

I like the idea of the Hero of Legend having 4 games, which is why I chose to believe, despite Nintendo telling me otherwise, that ALttP, LA, OoS, and OoA Link are all the same.

[@THEREDHOTWRECK]

I always believed the same Link appeared in those titles.

[@SerpentineDeity]

TLDR: Nothing changes and the Zonai singled and readied to mingled themselves out of history until the Hylians inherited their genes and memes. Holy genes!

[@santiagojpr4779]

Some things change...The statues of the depths,sages from a more distant past,technically that statues were built before skyward sword,statues were rito,zora,an gerudo(but nobody never said that gerudo doesnt exist in skyward sword but,well, they're not seen)are depicted.

[@SerpentineDeity]

@@santiagojpr4779 An oversimplification but as always the same legend on repeat except older sages for newer ones which is why I said no memes. As in the tropes and messages are the same. They like retelling the same story without having to worry about the timeline so the timeline was never needed. This takes me back to Zelda 2 with the sleeping "original Zelda" where she turned out to be one of many.

[@santiagojpr4779]

@@SerpentineDeity well,that's the fun,it's a Legend,the legend of Zelda,and legends not remain with one solid history, they're in constant changes.

[@pancakes8670]

I would single and ready to mingle Raurus and Minerus genes into the population. Awooga.

[@MaximusBoi-h9q]

Describe memes

[@christianj5950]

While Nintendo is always kinda making things up as they go along, one thing I will say is that I never understood why anyone thought Tears of the Kingdom contradicted Skyward Sword. I guess it has to do with the line "Hyrule's founding" - but here's the thing. Humans returning to the surface is not the same thing as founding a kingdom. There is no rule that immediately upon arriving a place, humans would immediately organize themselves into kingdoms. That's like saying the kingdom of Norway was immediately founded the first time humans arrived on the Scandinavian peninsula - it's just not true (hei btw, I am also from Norway lol). You can live somewhere without founding a specific kingdom. And humans were ALSO there before they were lifted to the surface, so maybe a version of Hyrule already existed and was then destroyed. Because the timeline is so vague and stretches over so many years, and they're clearly a "gameplay before story" company, I never really expected more specificity than that. That's probably always going to be the case. I just wish they would hire writers (rather than just designers) for individual games, so their own stories could individually be stronger.

[@wearywanderer1912]

"Gameplay before story" works for Mario but not Zelda. Zelda has always been a highly story oriented franchise, they should've taken more care to interconnect games at least to a minimal degree. It doesn't have to be something too set in stone but what they did in BotW and TotK was a clusterfuck of contradictions and retcons.

[@MuljoStpho]

At the time of BotW's release the way things seemed to fit into place in my mind was that TMC's Hyrule Castle and town was the early start of the kingdom formed at whatever point following "soon" after SS (not sure I ever really made a distinction in my mind that it had to specifically be SS's Link and Zelda as the first king and queen? just... they set the stage for the surface to be resettled and a kingdom grew from there, it's the former residents of Skyloft that form this kingdom and either that Zelda or her children or grandchildren or whatever would have to be at the center of it as well since her bloodline is that of the royal family (plus she was kinda already heir to the leadership of their community before they left Skyloft as well, it all revolved around that academy that her father was in charge of, and the community probably would've stayed fairly tight-knit around a familiar social order in the early years until they were established enough for smaller groups to branch out and form new communities)) and over time this location grew to become TP's Hyrule Castle (which is really more of a palace at this point) and town and then of course even after the massive time skip that same location is still in use as BotW's Hyrule Castle and town. The events of OoT focused around a small keep located on the Great Plateau and the game's story is told to us in a way that entirely ignores the existence of the palace even though it should be there to Link's right as he crosses Hyrule Field from the Deku Tree's location to the town, temple, and keep on the plateau. (I think most details in the previous games' maps can be thought of as inaccurate at this point. Think of them as simplified yet also potentially quite twisted and misaligned variations of the "true" map (BotW) which ignore anything that's not immediately relevant to the story. If a particular incarnation of the hero only needs to visit one mountain, only one mountain exists in the world.) TotK's backstory... I don't know, we've got this big "mystery box" element with the Zonai. An entire species roaming around who the Hylians perceived as gods. They were around for who knows how long, and then all but two, Rauru and Mineru, were gone. Then you get Rauru and.. the head priestess of the Zonai's worshippers? They hook up and establish themselves as king and queen. And we'd never heard the name Zonai before "Zonai Ruins" in BotW. We'd never seen this species before TotK. Regardless of whether you want to eye up pre-TMC or post-everything for the foundation of Rauru's Hyrule, there's a big chunk of previously unknown to us history attached to them. Who knows how many generations of Hylians were living in worship of the Zonai before... whatever happened that they went away. Of course, Zonai aren't the first mysterious species added to the franchise with little to no explanation and they probably won't be the last. TMC had that story with the Picori visiting from an alternate dimension and then "all" of them returning home (except for the ones that shrunk and stick around as Minish). TMC also had the "Wind Tribe" (who look like humans / Hylians with weird hair styles) which had a kingdom on the surface in the past but then decided to retreat to a hidden sanctuary in the sky. TP had the Oocca which were either builders of their City in the Sky or servants of those who built it. TP also left it vague who the ancestors of the Twili could have been. At some point in time generations before OoT their ancestors rose to power and then were stopped and exiled and the group spent generations getting transformed into the Twili. SS hints at some sort of technological utopia in Hylia's time which was populated by a robot species. And it does seem that Hylia's ancient robots were functioning as a sentient species in their own right, not just servant automatons like what we saw later with the Zonai constructs. It's all a lot of BIG chunks of Hyrulian history that barely get addressed in the games. Anyway... In the visions in TotK of Zelda in the past with Rauru and Sonia, the land looks like an untamed wilderness. Nothing built at the location of the palace. And the story establishes the palace that does eventually get built there as effectively being the lock on the prison holding Ganondorf in place. If you want to place that story before TMC then you've got OoT's Ganondorf and FSA's Ganondorf getting born while this older incarnation is still "alive" (locked in stasis under the palace, but not dead). If you want to place that story much later as a new founding, as a new incarnation of the kingdom, then the connection I was drawing between TP's palace and BotW's palace is imaginary (the one palace would have to be long gone with not even a trace of rubble remaining by the time the Zonai come around) but then Ganon's existence can be kept as unique. A question to ask is how exactly one should take the whole "1 male every 100 years" thing with the Gerudo. I mean, to what extent is this some sort of magical imposition on their species (like the fates are aligned due to astrology or whatever) and to what extent is this just some sort of bizarre biological quirk (like maybe Gerudo X chromosomes in 99% of their population are super dominant and overwrite any Y chromosome they pair up with to transform it into a new Gerudo X chromosome, and it's just pure random chance when this fails to happen)? Is the time scale precise (must be exactly every 100 years on the dot) or can it be hazy (100 years, give or take, that'd just be the average frequency)? Does every single male Gerudo actually HAVE to be a Ganondorf or can they have times in their history where they had a male leader that didn't turn evil? Is male birth actually more common then they like to say that it is (suppose that it's actually a 50% chance the same as any other species), and they just exile all the males to die in the desert wastes (unless they pass a harsh trial that almost never gets passed but earns them enough respect to earn the role of leader when they do pass) and pretend that the exiled boys never existed in the first place? (Wait... BotW/TotK introduced the Yiga and treated them as the direct counterparts to the Sheikah, but what if most of the Yiga's recruitment is actually from exiled Gerudo boys?) And... uniqueness of an incarnation of a person doesn't exactly seem to be the most concrete notion in the franchise anyway. The "Hero's Shade" in TP is known to be a Link (OoT Link, specifically). He was dead there, of course, but he was clinging to existence hoping to teach some fighting tips to somebody and this didn't prevent a new Link incarnation from existing at the same time as him. You also have AoL's Zelda trapped in her magical slumber and then LoZ's Zelda (who would be what? AoL Zelda's brother's great granddaughter?) exists at the same time. So we can't just rule out any possibility of a newer Ganon existing while a previous Ganon is still lingering in some form. I feel like I'm forgetting some other aspect of why Rauru's Hyrule didn't feel like it lined up correctly with previous games. I feel like this whole post was a long tangent away from what I should have been talking about. But I can't think of what else there is to say about it...

[@brawn7828]

@@wearywanderer1912 I can agree to a point. No, Zelda is not Mario. I'll put it this way: TLDR: IN MY OPINION Story is as important as gameplay when it comes to Zelda. I think the storytelling in older Zelda games, like Majora’s Mask, was excellent because they were so focused on the narrative and character interactions, like helping people in Termina. Skyward Sword had great story potential too, but the frustrating motion controls and repetitive gameplay really held it back. Since then, with games like Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, they’ve swung too far in the other direction, focusing almost entirely on gameplay mechanics that I'd have no problems with only if Tears' was less derivitive. The problem is that the recent games don’t introduce much new interesting content that the community has pondered and is still pondering to this day, and it feels like they’ve lost the strong story-driven approach that made the older games special. If you do not listen to the fans then you might lose them. Look at Disney. Now- I do have to put in a word here saying Disney and Nintendo are in different situations, I am more-so just calling out that if you change fundamental gameplay changes its a big risky move, especially with a title as big as Zelda or Star Wars. Announcing a new change for Zelda and changing my expectations rather than just pulling a 180 when I believe they are making big brain plays when it comes to story and the connections between games doesn't hit in any interesting way for me.

[@thomasw9286]

​@wearywanderer1912 just wrong, zelda has never been story orientated. Story has only existed to complement the gameplay.

[@robingrooms7534]

The inconsistency isn't with Skyward, it's with Ocarina. Totk says Gerudo turned Demon King Ganondorf fought and was sealed by the first King of Hyrule, where he appeared over and over as Calamity Ganon until being finished off by Wild Link. But then you have him also walking around as a Gerudo in Ocarina of Time. That shouldn't be possible if he was still supposed to be underneath Hyrule Castle. So, Zonai Rauru must have founded Hyrule way after older kingdoms were lost to history.

[@Ramiel1point0]

So the masterworks lore aligns with my headcanon? Love it! Thanks so much for covering this for us. 🙂

[@linkzelda9734]

This is Awesome! I wonder where echoes of wisdom will fit into the timeline

[@a.jthomas6132]

I can’t believe we were robbed by Nintendo for not putting in the Hyrule restoration festival into Tears of the Kingdom. Fujibayashi and Eiji Aonuma should’ve saved this content for the proper climax of the game to show Hyrule is ready to move forward instead of looking back, Link and Zelda be wedded, and the inhabitants were blue as a tribute to the fallen champions made sacrifices to save Hyrule in the second Great Calamity. The Master Works have so many amazing contents that would’ve helped better the game’s story and more such as the Mural of Ganondorf’s history, the mural of Ganondorf’s history (as seen in the 2019 teaser announcement, Zelda bonding with Sonia, and Link and Zelda’s exploration into the Temple of Light beneath Hyrule Castle.

[@darthsonic4135]

0:46 Truly, it is the Year of Shadow.

[@felipemesquita7697]

To me, these games still take place in a Timeline Split from Skyward Sword. If the only event related to the old games is the creation of the world, it still matches my vision, for it would be the same in all times. BotW and TotK being on a separate timeline split after SS also makes sense with the absence of the Triforce, for it could still be hidden within the Sacred Realm, or have been found after the Imprisoning war and became a part of the royal family’s bloodline powers. The population would still be oblivious of its existence, despite the imagery in the royal family’s crest. The Master Sword is also a fixed point in time. After OoT, it returned to its place both in the child and Adult timelines, the same could be true in the end of SS. Where Link puts it to rest in the past where it stays completed for the other heroes to get, and is also transported to the original timeline, due to it being a fixed point in time. It could also explain why the goddess statue gifts you the goddess sword when you complete its side quest in TotK, there would be 2 holy swords in this new timeline, one completed by the first Link and the other who was never used. It would also explain the absence of the secret stones in the original timeline, for if it remained hidden in the past, the Zonai would never know about it and seek its power; whereas in the original timeline, they could have been the interlopers spoken by the light spirits, sent to the Twilight Realm afterwards where the architecture is similar to the Zonai in some way.

[@Cosmosis-86]

What blows my mind is essentially for a period of time in the ‘wild era’ there are two Zelda’s and two masters swords due to introduction and closure of the loop in TOTK. I’m not a huge fan of time travel notions and prior to the release of TOTK, I was so hoping that there would not be time travel elements but here we are and it is what it is 😅

[@a.jthomas6132]

The history of how Hylia entrusted the Sacred Stones to the Zonai and the Age of the Gods is a shocking revelation. I wish this was included in the actual TOTK game. It would’ve help better the story where Zelda is living in the distant past in the Era of Hyrule’s Founding. If Hidemaro Fujibayashi and Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma decided to a Torna-esque DLC for TOTK, would you agree if a playable Princess Zelda would’ve helped better the game’s story?

[@darklotus_7]

I was FINE until they said they began mining in the depths before leaving the surface, during what would have to be before the great flood to explain why they aren’t in skyward sword, which directly counters my “depths are the old ocean floor hyrule after the koroks planted the trees and built a new surface” headcanon 😢

[@lethallohn]

My theory is that these two games take place in one of the three timelines and there was an event that wiped out the land like a flood and then somehow was removed/ drained. Hyrule was then re-founded.

[@GamerFromJump]

I mean, the Wild Era is at least 10,000 years after any other games. 10,000 years ago on Earth was the Neolithic era when humans were just starting agriculture.

[@Alanmaycry]

Great video man! Hope youre doing well cant wait for new Zelda!

[@AzureGreatheart]

I’m still bitter about some of the decisions made with the Encyclopedia and reworked timeline.

[@Skywalker10767]

Hear me out on this theory. Botw and Totk are not just a reboot of the series but a reboot of Hyrule. I know it sounds weird but listen. We know that from Skyward Sword to Oot time it all take place in one timeline until Zelda in Oot sent link back in time creating two other universes that being the Downfall and Child timeline which all share the same history of Hyrule but everything else after Oot is different. We also know that every game in all three Timelines are connected through the same world like MM and Twilight Princess for example. My theory is that eventually all three realities ended and then converged creating both Botw and Totk. And when they created Botw and Totk they left behind stories, legends, and artifacts about the heroes from the three timelines. If you look at the description for the hero of time tunic it says legends say this was once worn by a hero who traveled across time. Mipha writes in her diary about the legend of a Zora from long ago falling in love with a Hylian this obviously references Ruto falling for Link. And this could explain why we know hardly anything about the Zonai they aren’t hinted at in previous games because they are quite literally a new ancient species. The founding of Hyrule we see in Totk doesn’t take place after skyward sword, it is the founding of a brand new Hyrule. This could also apply to the secret stones

[@lethallohn]

I don't think it is a convergence. My personal theory is Hyrule was re-founded after a flood. Doesn't need to take place after ww as the other timelines could of had one since these games are so far into the future. The only reason I think this is because of the reference to an ancient sea with the rock salt.

[@ajerjavec4723]

Plus, I don’t think it’s been officially stated that skyward sword, Zelda, and maybe her link were the first king and queen of the kingdom just that the Royal family is descended from it quite possible they found the settlement that would grow into a city state, and then the kingdom is not unheard of nation to be conquered incorporated into another nation and then restart the nation even say that’s what happened in the adult timeline. I highly doubt anyone would consider. The seven years the demon king was ruin the land to be part of kingdoms official history

[@Ahouro]

Page 77 of HH confirms that SS Zelda´s descendants founded the kingdom of Hyrule.

[@cameronfield4617]

It's just a refounding of hyrule, that has to be the answer because it's canon but it can't be the first founding

[@ajerjavec4723]

@@Ahouro yes her descendants founded it. It doesn’t say that she found it. I think that’s where a big part of the controversy came from people forgot that part.

[@AshePBlack]

The first link and Zelda didn't found Hyrule they did not live long enough and if you never read any lore book with a timeline, only reason ss Zelda is the first is because she is actually hylia incarnate in skin so she can use the triforce. Rest of Zelda are diff. And I suppose going by masters word creation, that may determine game order. But also if you look at links relation to zelda even if game is supposed to be whatever order, we see first link and Zelda could be close cuz they grew up together and she didn't live in Hyrule castle nor was she princess. Other games got link as random knight or smith apprentice who's not even Zelda personal knight. Until breath of wild, which I'm so glad they got a relationship again

[@Lilwhitelily]

If the TotK’s past, was closer to Skyward Sword than TotK there would be Skyward Sword references or at least a monumental tribute sky island. Also the surface would be more like Skyward Sword. They could do it, we don’t explore it just get cut scenes. So no, I do not believe that Ganondorf could be under the same exact castle, under all timelines for at the very very least 30,000-40,000 years. Just bc it’s a ‘founding’ and brought back the creation story means that it’s the first founding. Just take a look at what people around the world believe that god or Christian’s say Jesus is coming back. Reestablishing the core principles of religions and faith. It’s not out of the realm (literally) to suggest that that’s what’s happening in a video game after that many years has passed. Otherwise it contradicts the whole timeline. (“Don’t always count on the map to be right”) no, Nintendo knew where TotK was in the timeline before they released the game. TotK and BotW are a direct time loop on their own. The sky islands are from TotK/BotW’s map not Skyward Swords’. 🤦🏻‍♀️ Note: this might seem ranty but no, I’m just too passionate 😭

[@cameronfield4617]

That's not what he's saying He's agreeing with the refounding of hyrule theory which I also agree to We now know that the Zonai and secret stones were created woth the triforce but that doesn't mean this games takes place then The hyrule from the og games was founded by Zelda and or her descendents as established in Skyward Sword, so this can't be Raurus hyrule, also this likely isn't the first Ganondorf and rather a reincarnation from the first in Ocarina of Time The theory is that hundreds of thousands or even millions of years after the old games, the original Hyrule collapsed, then the Zonai descended from the heavens and founded a new kingdom of Hyrule which is the one Rauru becomes king of. This makes the most sense and is the only way to get the timeline clean

[@Frozen_Death_Knight]

4:40 That's not really true, though. After all, the name of the land Hyrule still exists in Rauru's Age and he built the Kingdom of Hyrule over the course of his life. The Zora even have recorded history stretching as far back as Ocarina of Time through stone tablets, so those have to be absolutely ancient. The Triforce and the purpose of guarding it would likely still exist even before the Zonai came back to re-establish Hyrule, since the Triforce is clearly in Zelda's possession in Breath of the Wild (still bothers me how TotK doesn't even address this). The fact that the Triforce and Loftwing insignia survived to the present day along with other iconography like the Sheikah symbol also suggest that not everything about the old history was lost to time, including the Sheikah Tribe's purpose of serving the bloodline of the Goddess Hylia. There is a lot of the old world knowledge persisting to the present day, so the only way for that to happen is if those clues were still left for people to rediscover or were but a memory passed down through folk lore. Wouldn't be too dissimilar to how in Breath of the Wild where the Hylians found out about the ancient Sheikah and the powers they possessed to defeat Calamity Ganon. There are tons of ancient landmarks and references to different Zelda games going as far back as Skyward Sword, so that history has to exist somewhere. This new information makes me pretty disappointed in how little of it is actually being addressed in the actual game. The fact that the Secret Stones are basically as old as Skyward Sword and they've been in that temple for millenia is information that would have actually helped fill in the gaping holes in a very bare bones story that is Tears of the Kingdom. Rauru just going up to a door to give all the Sages these Stones with little fanfare without even addressing the significance of where they came from and why they were hidden for millenia by the 3 Goddesses is kind of baffling if you ask me. Also, why did Sonia and Rauru walk around with these ultra secret artifacts so casually if they are so powerful as to rival the creation of the Triforce? The only reason Ganondorf even learned of their existence after millenia was because of Rauru and Sonia just wearing them like casual trinkets to make their outfits more fancy and not for any purpose that would warrant them to be used besides Rauru channeling his Light powers to defeat Ganondorf's invasion. What the heck were Nintendo thinking?

[@Chris-gx1ei]

I think the Secret Stone are not really rivaling the Triforce, they may have been created by the Golden Goddesses as well, but all they do is doubling the Elemental Power that someone posesses (according to the Japanese Dialogues) No one could immagine that doubling the Elemental of a Single Person like Ganondorf would bring an entire World to Apocalypse, not to forget that Magic on Humans is a Rarity and only tied to the Chiefs mostly (except for the Zoras maybe, most of them can use magic to purify water)

[@Frozen_Death_Knight]

@@Chris-gx1ei The problem is that the games do not even address what happened to the Triforce. Zelda is the only one who wielded it in Breath of the Wild and for all we know she still wields it. If she still does when visiting Rauru's past then Ganondorf manages to win against all the Sages while Zelda is wielding both the Secret Stone and the Triforce. That's what I mean by the story leaving massive holes that go completely unaddressed. There probably is an explanation if you talk to the developers directly, but when the games outright refuse to give any explanation to these questions the story starts becoming incomprehensible. I shouldn't need to figure this out by referring to external sources that aren't just the games.

[@Enjoyer.762]

​@@Frozen_Death_Knight 100% exactly this.

[@FranciscoGuardado-xk9ux]

I’m not sure Common Wealth will respond to this. I agree though, at minute 4 there is an error on what he said

[@mikeanthony3300]

​@Frozen_Death_Knight We don't know if it really was the Triforce since nothing in BOTW even states the Triforce existing aside from mere symbols of it which even those are never directly mentioned or explained by anyone. If it was the real Triforce couldn't of Zelda just wished away the Calamity?

[@BrockLogicGaming]

A game playing as the ancient hero would be so cool!! It would be awesome to have a 3D Zelda title where we directly fight in an all out war instead of just questing around until we defeat the big bad I definitely doubt it will happen but one can hope 😌🙌🏻

[@erolshoehle]

I really like your videos! Do you do some audio post production? I think using compression would enhance the audibility

[@cameronfield4617]

Refounding theorist here, going through the comments i get a sense that commonwealth was underselling the rest of the book becajse a lot of others who have read it say that the rest of MW really downplays the refounding theory and its the true founding instead Now i would lile a member of the true founding or a once refounding theorist now converted to tell me whats jn the rest of MW that contradicts the refounding theory I am genuinely interested, not trying to start a fight here. Ive been on the front lines supporting the refounding theory for years now because evidence wise it made the most sense. If someone can give me the extra evidence i am missing thats revealed in MW i would really appreciate it

[@lipedax]

Hey ! I tried to answer your comment under mine but I don't know why, my KZbin profile doesn't show my latest answer... I don't even know if this one will be published. First time it happens to me

[@lipedax]

Oh ! It worked here ! Guess I'll try to answer you here because I tried twice in my comment and none got published 😂 The timeline of the book tells us the zonai era was the closest thing to Hylia's time : The book speculates that the zonai could be the ancestors to Hylians, and that they were the ones to introduce Hylia worship to the world. The sheikah got their symbol from the zonai 3rd eye, and their whole culture is based on the zonai one. Hylia gave the zonai the secret stones and then they moved to the skies on sky islands, like what happened with the Hylians and the triforce. The zonai came back to the earth when they were at risk of extinction to mingle with the earthlings. It is when Rauru founded the kingdom of Hyrule. At this time, every other race were starting their settlements and clans, the gerudo had just established themselves in the desert and as a militarized, independant nation. They believed that Hyrule would be an briefly-lived kingdom, and that the weak hylians only achieved to have a kingdom of their own thanks to Rauru's. After the IW, the royal family, the childrens of Rauru and Sonia, buried evidence of the zonai, the demon king Ganondorf, and so did the gerudo, who stopped making the man born every 100y king, but it is unclear when they stopped it and if the gerudo boys ceased to exist or if they willingly blurb the birth records or made it as if these man never existed. Only one name is remembered though, "Ganondorf" (of course, but we got now like 3 of them ! So we don't know Wich one is being remembered). The book also kinda gives a few answers to some arguments against true founding, for exampled it is explained that it is not the damage to the castle per day that weakened the seal, but the Purification Unit built on top of Rauru that was broken, and so the gloom accumulated and eventually awoke the demon king. This shows that the past times in the series that the castle was damaged would have had no impact on the seal as long as the PU is intact. The book gave a gap between the sealing of the demon king and the birth of calamity Ganon, and a section in the timeline cites BOTW's CAC "Ganon was reborn and sealed multiple times". This quote in CAC is set in the era of myth. One argument against true founding was the gerudo ears, in the past all gerudo have amber eyes but pointy ears, instead of rounded ones like in oot. CAC brought 2 possibilities : gerudo genes changing from round to pointy due to mingling with Hylians, or due to them getting closer to the gods, thus gaining pointy ears. Totk MW seems to incline more towards the 2nd option, since it is said that Ganondorf being the only gerudo in the past having rounded ears is a symbol that he was destined to fight against the gods. Thus, it's more plausible that gerudo had pointy ears in the past, then in OOT the ones we see have rounded ears due to the tribe getting farther away from the gods, then after OOT they got closer to them and gained their pointy ears back. Finally, in the question of if a gerudo man can be born if Ganondorf is sealed beneath the castle, the book also implies that the 10 000y ago ancient hero could be a gerudo (or part gerudo) and he could be the 8th heroine from gerudo legend. There could be a way to council this information with a refounding theory, but I believe it's now harder than assuming either true founding or alt. SS-split timeline.

[@lookslikenik6931]

@@lipedaxSo we can they than that the events of Hyrules Founding and the sealing of the Demon King Ganondorf probably was indeed before Skyward Sword. Than Demise appeared probably like as a first kind of Calamity from Ganondorf (which explains why the Human Reincarnation from Demise is again a new Ganondorf). That means Demise is like a personification of the Hatred of Ganondorf because Ganondorf‘s Powers of Hatred where far stronger at that time because the time he was sealed wasn’t so far gone at that time. And the true Re-founding of Hyrule wasn’t the one from Rauru and Sonia, instead it was that Hyrule that was found by Link and Zelda back after Skyward Sword. Which means that the TOTK Ganondorf is indeed the origin of Evil and explains why he is the most powerful Ganondorf! I mean he isn’t probably the origin of evil because Monster already exist before Ganondorf was born but only for destruction without a leader probably or maybe there is some kind of Devil we never got to see LUL (maybe Malladus because we don’t know how long the tower of Gods exists, Tetra and Link found the New Hyrule but the Tower of Gods was already there)

[@Enjoyer.762]

It's a retcon not a refounding

[@lookslikenik6931]

@@Enjoyer.762 Don‘t care. Hate Retcon‘s

[@DaimonAnimations]

This is pretty much like saying All the events after Ocarina of time (the three time lines), were lost to time. (the Egyptian civilizations and their beginnings) And the beginning of the Zonai (Rauru and Sonya) are the Mayan / Aztec civilization moving forward for thousands of years in the future to BOTW and TOTK.

[@MiguelRodriguez-zr7of]

More like the other way around: A looong time after the events of Skyward Sword, the Return of the Zonai (Rauru and Sonya) lead finally to the foundation of the Kingdom of Hyrule (ancient kingdom like Egypt and Babylon), then the war with Ganondorf who became sealed, then thousands of years later we have Ocarina of Time (Greece and Rome) and after that the rest of the games split between the 3 timelines (Mayan/Aztec) ........then another Thousands of years passed and we end up having the first calamity war (with Ganondorf from the ancient past war against Zonai becoming Calamity Ganon) and then 10,000 years later we have Breath of the Wild and then Tears of the Kingdom.

[@DaimonAnimations]

@@MiguelRodriguez-zr7of what? Did you not pay attention? The Zonai (Rauru and Sonia) takes place after the original 3 timelines. ( After the events of Ocarina of time) Non of the previous games took a long time in between, some took a few hundreds of years but never more than millennia until after when the zonai arrived.

[@stuffz1757]

Not what the book is saying at all.

[@DaimonAnimations]

@@stuffz1757 As what I understand is, the old time line remains the same: Skyward sword is the origin all the way to Ocarina of time. From this point the time line breaks in 3 timelines, the next games, Wind waker, Twilight and so on take part in the future after Ocarina of time. (This is where we all know the legend of the Triforce and the legendary hero Link in some shape or form) At the end of this 3 time lines something happens, the worlds "restarts" or some sort of apocalypse happens. Almost all knowledge of Hyrule is wipped, Sonya and Rauru re-builds Hyrule once again. (Which is why they don't know about "The hero" Link nor about the Master sword, or there's no mention of the Triforce, instead its the tears.) Every ten thousand years Calamity Ganon awakes, at least he has done this a couple of times (maybe more according to Impa) then Calamity Ganon awakes once more, defeats Link and Zelda seals him, 100 years later BOTW starts, then TOTK happens 5 to 7 years later. The end. Is it not like this?

[@stuffz1757]

@@DaimonAnimations The book says Creation of the world, Golden Goddesses create the Secret Stones (we can assume they also created the Triforce since this is known, we now just know they also created the secret stones,) and they entrusted the world to Hylia. | Zonai prosper on the land, Hylia gives them the Secret Stones and entrusts their safety to them. | At some point the Zonai leave for the skies, but they continued to mine the depths even while living in the sky. However most of the mining was being done by Constructs. It's speculated that the people who would become the Hylians came originally from Zonais who didn't go into the sky. | At some point while the Zonai are in the sky the events of Skyward Sword including it's backstory happen. | Humans return to the surface presumably, at some point later the Zonai build the temples for each race which stabilizes the nature of Hyrule making it more livable. The Zonai are forced to return to the surface at some point later. The Zonai intermingled with the Hylians. | Rauru and Sonia purge the demons of the land, which makes people want Rauru to be King. | Rauru and Sonia become the king and queen of the Hylians. | Ganondorf shows up. Given the nature of the Gerudo at this point which is highly militaristic, he sees Hyrule as a place he should govern because the Gerudo were more advanced than the Hylians. | Sonia dies and the Imprisoning War happens with Rauru and Ganondorf being sealed. | At some point way later Ganondorfs residual hatred is able create a Calamity Ganon, and his first appearance has him be sealed away by the hero and princess, then he repeatedly revives and is repeatedly sealed. That first appearance of Calamity Ganon is OOT, and the era where he repeatedly revives and is sealed is the other games.

[@redheero656]

I could see a time based game calamity where all 3 timelines converge together because they have been separated for so long. Throw in LoRule just for laughs.

[@cameronfield4617]

This was the theory I subscribed to so I'm glad to see it confirmed... but I find it ridiculous why so many people thought this wouldn't be the answer when it makes the most sense

[@chuckmann7127]

There is still the problem of there being 2 Ganondorfs "alive" at the same time.

[@coryhafer7285]

I still think they missed an opportunity to make a stronger reset that also includes the importance of the past games. By having the goddesses take notice of the three branches, braid them into one again, and uniting all the things within each game which are the same. Then, the Zonie can be the chosen people of this new woven existence because they are created by all the energy of that which were different in each game.

[@robingrooms7534]

I can make my peace with this move if everything else isn't completely abandoned. If we never hear about the Triforce again or never hear how games connect to one another (other than being sequels) then the fun is gone. Yes, no one wants Nintendo to be so bogged down that they can't create the experiences they want. However, if Zelda restarts like this frequently from now on, something beautiful about the series will be lost forever. There's a line between something being an intriguing mystery and empty information. Having something of a consistent worldbuilding is a huge reason why fantasy stories are so memorable. I don't think the era of the wild is as compelling of a world because it holds nothing sacred and its rules aren't consistent. So whatever happens next, I hope the emphasis on new possibilities does just that, create interesting possibilities. Still, as frustrating as the wild era lore has been, I appreciate that all that came before is still considered relevant.

[@GamerFromJump]

So, what about _Echoes of Wisdom?_ It definitely seems to be during the Downfall line, sometime near _Link’s Awakening._

[@SGTsparty]

Wow -- my headcannons were actually correct? That's a new one!

[@a.jthomas6132]

Besides the Imprisoning War, The First Great Calamity 10,000 years before the events of Breath of the Wild was so underutilised! The identity of the first hero is a huge mystery since TOTK allowed us to acquired The Ancient Hero’s Aspect. While it is understandable that Nintendo plans to move forward away from Hyrule, my hope is we get a somewhat sequel to TOTK where we explore other countries outside of Hyrule and provide some answers.

[@goldliger1976]

*The First Great Calamity 10,000 years before the events of Breath of the WIld" < This statement was proven false by the Master Works guide as their have been MANY Calamity Ganon attacks from the time Demon King Ganondorf was sealed during Rauru's time of the second founding of Hyrule. Meaning Anywhere from 50 to 100,000 years Zelda herself have to go back and wait while in Dragon form. So really BotW/TotK Zelda is the oldest Zelda in history because she is anywhere from 30,225 years to 100,225 years old.

[@lucaricci1987]

Koridai? Gamelon? One of which houses a very large shop keeper who counts every one of links rupees. But in all seriousness these could work as a middle eastern inspired land, similar to the gerudo but more Ottoman instead of Spanish, I’m basing this off of Gwonam

[@Gigi4u]

Hope we see the Zoni return or have thorough explanation given to what Happened to them in a future title. Like imagine if we see a new antagonist that is on par with demise to be able to take down the Zoni civilization. There is so much lore that isn't elaborated on in BOTW and TOTK that I would gladly see explained. But knowing nintendo they will probably cast aside the Zoni just like the Mogma and Twili for what ever new things the next games story introduces.

[@cameronfield4617]

Don't get your hopes up, I think Nintendo are done with this Lonk and Zelda since they have no interest in DLC

[@a.jthomas6132]

@@cameronfield4617 Then you this will pissed off fans even more… not since the incomplete Second Quest of Skyward Sword.

[@marcoswors]

-How to make this lore deeper? -lets make the same story happen all over again, but this time with goat alen people -wow u're so creative bro -ye I'm awesome

[@marcoswors]

Star wars 7 level of criativity

[@wert556]

I just learned Demon King Ganondorf you fight him when he's naked. Basically his clothing turned into flesh on his 2nd form... 🫠💀🗣💯

[@stuffz1757]

The book literally says Zonai descend > Rauru founds Hyrule > other games including OOT happen > everything else > present day Yet people refuse to give up their refounding headcanon.

[@AzNFoLk]

If BotW and TotK are both far into the future, amd even the ancient civilization were advanced enough... I'm literally stupid curious what the timeline afterwards would look like. Sci-fi Zelda game sounds interesting for a one and done try.

[@bucketman319]

Buckets

[@Oliver-zy8sq]

Okay, does that mean, that Hylia hold on to the secret stones for all this time since the creation of the world until long after all the other games?

[@wert556]

Ehhh whatever Nintendo make I'm all for it. Idk what they are doing but they do it for all zelda games. I got my own book here and I'm about to go through these pages. The art is what I want to see

[@whyshouldi9786]

So like I’ve been saying since totk came out the founding shown is the original founding and masterworks explains it as well. Read it guys before you jump to conclusions. Masterworks proves the existence of rito before skyward sword. Skyward sword itself is referenced within the book, zonai have existed before ss, in fact they used to be servants of Hylia and the zonai that stayed behind on the surface evolved into hylians. There’s so much there. Theories are about to get a revival.

[@LittleAl016]

This video wouldn't have been made if they didn't read it.

[@whyshouldi9786]

@@LittleAl016 no he read a small amount of the translations Liv has made so far, and Liv is no where close to finishing.

[@nickkalm]

in other words: nothing makes sense anymore

[@Zoltloz0_0]

Never really made much sense anyway

[@whyshouldi9786]

No in other words: refounding has been struck down and now there’re explaining the founding properly. There’s no alternate timeline either.

[@LittleAl016]

​@@whyshouldi9786 How can you say that for certain when it's clear that King Rauru's time is after the Zelda timeline?

[@whyshouldi9786]

@@LittleAl016 that’s pure copium, just read masterworks. If hylians are descendants of zonai then raurus founding is the founding.

[@jrconway3]

@@whyshouldi9786 The argument refounding theorists will say is that the Zonai who remained in Hyrule became Hylians and those that went into the sky came back down 10's of thousands of years later to after the events of all the games and refounded Hyrule. Which doesn't make a lick of sense if you actually think about it. They should have been aware of the fact that Hyrule existed on the surface. A more likely explanation is that they were killed off by the demon invasion of Demise and the remaining ones came back down after the Era of Chaos.

[@Pichuscute]

I really wish TotK hadn't single-handedly ruined 35 years of Zelda. :/ Hope someday we can enjoy Zelda lore again. This is a shitshow.

[@diosnelfrica590]

Some of you are given the official answer from Nintendo but choose to make your own headcanon. Lol.

[@DonutSwordsman]

shout out to norway, I have a norway homie

[@theyounglinker5044]

The story in TotK is completely new, even for BotW, for which the game is supposed to be a sequel. It really saddens me, the fact that TotK almost forgets about what happened in BotW - with the exception of some characters from the main cast knowing Zelda and Link... The fact that they never make connections between Ganon and Ganondorf is what surprises me de most.

[@a.jthomas6132]

Which is one of the reasons why TOTK needs a DLC to connect all the dots way before the developers decided to canceled the plans (which I find it bullshit).

[@MichaelSalinger]

They do make the connection. Impa states it when you meet her back in Kakariko village: "the Calamity was the demon king of ancient times manifested again as hatred""

[@poncho3326]

@@MichaelSalinger Yeah but it feels weird that it's only mentionned a couple of times (3, I think ?) when it's by far the biggest event in recent memory. It ended only 7-8 years at most before the events of TOTK, it does feel weird why almost nobody seem to bring it up, or the guardians, or the sheika shrines, or the divine beasts, when for every characters over the age of 15 we meet it's been a part of their history and daily life for most of their lives. It's in the same vein as most returning NPCs not remembering Link, even if its not necessarely a real contradiction it feels like one and makes the world less believable.

[@wert556]

​@@poncho3326because I guess it was time to move on? They were dealing the Upheaval. I'm still questioning about shiekah tech just disappearing which is... ehh

[@MichaelSalinger]

@@poncho3326 Why would that be brought up by most people when there was another event happening right then? What are they going to talk about? How much were people still talking about 9/11 on a day to day basis in 2008? I don't think it's strange at all. Also the whole thing about NPCs not knowing Link has been debunked. There's a KZbin video that looks at every single NPC in the game.

[@Coolertripod26]

I honestly understood nothing u said, do we now know what timeline botw and totk fall into???

[@koolaidflavas8701]

Ok how long was King Rhome King of Hyrule?

[@a.jthomas6132]

People should be aware of such false information such as the History banner from Nintendo Live Syndney 2024.

[@Raxin5]

So, who came first? Ganondorf or demise?

[@AshePBlack]

So is this timeline for all or just tears related, book is kinda misleading title but I'm picky with art and lore books so

[@The_Story_Of_Us]

Breath Of The Wild told us of a great Shiekah civilization around 10 000 years in the past and probably long before then too when Calamity Ganon was defeated. It’s also implied I think that Calamity Ganon had been a problem cyclically several times before then, implying a much longer timeline of the Shiekah Kingdom than 10 000 years. Ancient even to those Shiekah was the Zonai era of Hyrule. Now this era is marked with the ”founding of the Kingdom of Hyrule” by Rauru, BUT, founding of WHICH Kingdom of Hyrule? I maintain that this is the latest and current kingdom of Hyrule we’re talking about, the one that persisted into the current TOTK events or was arguably destroyed 100 years before BOTW. Before Rauru founded this new kingdom, we’re looking at an era after all the other games where Hyrule Kingdom was no more, mythical even, with certain legends from it persisting, such as persons of great significance, often with their names forgotten. The Zelda timeline potentially goes back hundreds of thousands of years in between Skyward Sword and Tears Of The Kingdom. Which befits the inherent mythical nature of the series’ name and the infinite cycle of destruction and death that Demise spoke of.

[@cameronfield4617]

Yeah I mean that theory has been around since the game came out, like that's been my headcanon as soon as I found out Rauru was the founder of hyrule, he can't be if its the og hyrule so it has tobe a new hyrule Botw and totk could take place a million years after the old games for all we know, it doesn't really matter, we know that old hyrule eventually collapses and a new one gets founded a period far enough in the future that the old hyrule is myth now

[@AkioJunichiro]

10 000 is not litteral

[@The_Story_Of_Us]

@@AkioJunichiro It’s… a number. That’s about as literal as it gets… It’s probably not exact, but it is literal.

[@DigiDestined13]

Wait, but if we accept this version of the timeline, then that means that there are literally 2 Ganondorfs alive at the same time. Isn't that supposed to be impossible according to the Wild Era's Gerudo lore?

[@goldliger1976]

No the TotK Hyrule's re founding happened many many many years after the events at the end of the 3 timeline splits(my guess it is after The Adventure of Link). Zelda is not a direct descendant of Queen Sonia but the Princess Zelda of that time who was probably being protected by the Sheikah race. Notice how there were no Sheikah people back then and we know the Sheikah serves the Goddess Hylia and those who are directly link to her by blood.

[@whyshouldi9786]

@@goldliger1976 bro give it a rest, this clearly confirms that totks founding is the original one.

[@whyshouldi9786]

@@DigiDestined13 there’s already been multiple theories about this.

[@MichaelSalinger]

@@whyshouldi9786 I don't see that at all. This clearly shows it as after the original one the way I read it.

[@whyshouldi9786]

@@MichaelSalinger I don’t know what book you’re been reading then because this clearly confirms original founding, unless you’ve only read this timeline and ignored the rest of the book.

[@Reddeth6332]

Wheres my Dad?

[@sa3270]

Probably not the channel to ask this on.

[@DragonEleven]

Sounds like this expanded timeline doesn't mention Zelda's presence in the time of the Zonai... so I think this supports my personal theory that the existing timeline is one where Zelda never went back to that period, while BotW & TotK are in a new timeline created by her traveling to the past (which is technically a paradox, but it does fit). The quote about them taking place long after the events of the other timelines still works as chronologically they would take place at a later date, just in this new timeline. This also means that this new timeline could easily have seen events similar enough to the other timelines to explain the references to other games, while being different enough to allow them to all coexist in a single timeline (which would otherwise be impossible). Just because they say that they want to leave the timeline placement open for us to draw our own conclusions doesn't mean they don't have a timeline placement for it... I think they need to have a clear placement in mind in order to avoid clashes and contradictions later down the line, and they're just choosing not to reveal it so that we can continue discussing it... which I think is a lot more fun than them just outright stating it.

[@guilhermereis9520]

I dont understand the ocarina of time timeline split. But ok

[@TheHyruleArchives]

I guess the games taking place in the Adult Timeline is still possible

[@TheSinfulKnight]

You almost had it but I noticed something in what you said after I went back. Look at the timeline again, it isn't wrong where the line is. The Era of Decline happens during a time where Ganon kept getting resurrected and defeated. The Downfall timeline dealt with one of these moments. The book says Calamity Ganon was resurrected many times. So that is the reason why placing a line there, because in a way the decline timeline is part of the BotW History.

[@cameronfield4617]

Calamity Ganon isn't downfall beast Ganon. It's the malice swirly purple mess formed from Ganandorfs gloom

[@vaporwavevocap]

I do not buy it, as it was said, the founding of this Hyrule was after the collapse of another Hyrule, this makes the most sense with the theme of historical rhyming in Zelda.

[@MrAllgoodnamesaregon]

I've honestly never really cared about time timeline

[@AaronPICAR]

I reject the fallen timeline because it makes Link unnecessary. Instead I like to think there’s a timeline where Link chose to stay in the future with Zelda.

[@a.jthomas6132]

If Nintendo plans to make an Ocarina of Time remake, it should have a similar treated as the FF7 remake with one catch: the ability to allow a player to choose 3 endings: the Downfall timeline, the original ending, and an alternate ending where Link stays with Zelda like the one you described.

[@goldliger1976]

You may reject the fallen timeline but that is the main timeline of the Zelda series since that is the timeline in which the FIRST ZELDA GAME(the game that launched the franchise) TAKES PLACE IN.

[@negentropy9560]

I like this idea

[@jordanstephens4178]

The switch zeldas were great imo but terrible in the way of story which is disapointing since the lore is why i really like zelda series to begin with

[@zerik_media]

So is it a retcon then? I was right?

[@Fernando-t8g]

...what?

[@AkioJunichiro]

Stop using "10 000" like a fixed state. It's like "A very long time ago", it has been confirmed this is a translation "mistake"

[@Drummerstik]

The developers should’ve just said the games were all connected in some way and left the fans to theorize how to order them

[@chrislevack405]

$5 off $80+? Wow, what a discount...... zzzz

[@busdestroyer69]

early

[@ceegk3071]

I really hate TOTK lore. I loved BOTW bc it allowed us to speculate and interpret the lore based on clues around the map and landmarks named after characters or places from previous Zelda games. TOTK comes in and ruins all that

[@wert556]

Is what everyone said with othe zelda title when they released yet here we are

[@ceegk3071]

@@wert556 oh really ? What title?

[@wert556]

@@ceegk3071 Skyward Sword and Wind Waker. All I heard was complaints back then

[@ceegk3071]

@@wert556 Skyward sword is hated for how linear it is and wins waker was hated for its cartoonish style. TOTK is a different case, It is criticized bc of the plot. and unlike wind waker, that criticism isn’t going anywhere unless the Zelda team retcon totk timeline placement

[@Methodius-and-Cyril]

Supplementary material, such as developer interviews and Lore/Art books are just Apocryphal to me. Nintendo says they wants us to "Interpret" our selves. They pretty much says the Official Zelda Timeline is not set in stone.

[@vilehelm6598]

I used to hate this kind of thinking, but each time the official timeline gets updated it makes less and less sense to me. I've made peace with ignoring it in favour of personal headcanon formed from theories that make the most sense

[@maddinzf7967]

Nintendo is so affraid to alienate new players that even the sequel could be a considered a stand alone story. They make connections so wage and easteregg-y that it doesn't really makes sense anymore. When they advertised skyward sword as the beginning of all I thought "ok so they DO care". Just to throw it over board afterwards. For THE game series that is (according to nintendo) their story driven IP it surely doesn't act like it. That's what xenoblade is for.. here I said it.

[@M_Dutch97]

Sorry but you're wrong for placing it after the three current timelines. Masterworks explains us that Sonia was designed to be the ancestor of ALL Zelda incarnations. This can only work when you place it before SS or in a split following SS past era (where Link and Zelda travel back in time and defeat Demise).

[@itsjonesnet]

Hi. Can you provide more information pls? Can you tell me on which page that is?

[@M_Dutch97]

@@itsjonesnet Some people on reddit are posting the images along with translations

[@Enjoyer.762]

Nintendo did a poor job with the game's storyline, main quest, and side quests that convey this new "lore" (retcon). It was also disappointing the Zonai Sky city ruins weren't included in the game, and the underground Light Temple dungeon corrupted by Ganondorf leading up to final battle with Ganondorf.

[@Degdreams]

Time Jump? Breath and Tears are completely separate from the rest of the timeline. They are in an alternate universe. Thats the only thing that makes sense. Argue with a wall, im dying on this hill and im spreading the gospel. Its not an agenda because im right.

[@Obeliiix]

TotK = half-assed reboot confirmed then.

[@TiredMoonRabbit]

I'm sorry but i literally can't understand anything you are saying, not because of the accent, it's just that none of this makes any sense and doesn't fit into what is established in any game prior, it doesn't even line up with what happens in either of these two games.

[@lipedax]

Yes, but ... Other points in the book goes against the refounding theory, or at least it weakens it. Like, before TOTK MW I was 50/50 on true founding / refounding camp, now with the book I'm 50% true founding, 30% 4th Timeline, 20% refounding.

[@cameronfield4617]

Like what, I haven't read it so I don't know what goes against it

[@lipedax]

@@cameronfield4617 The timeline of the book tells us the zonai era was the closest thing to Hylians time. The book speculates that the zonai could be the ancestors to Hylians, and that they were the ones to introduce Hylia worship to the world. The sheikah got their symbol from the zonai 3rd eye, and their whole culture is based on the zonai one. Hylia gave the zonai the secret stones and then they moved to the skies on sky islands, like what happened with the Hylians and the triforce. The zonai came back to the earth when they were at risk of extinction to mingle with the earthlings. It is when Rauru founded the kingdom of Hyrule. At this time, every other race were starting their settlements and clans, the gerudo had just established themselves in the desert as a militarized nation. They believed that Hyrule would be an briefly-lived kingdom. After the IW, the royal family, the childrens of Rauru and Sonia, buried evidence of the zonai, the demon king Ganondorf, and so did the gerudo, who stopped making the man born every 100y king, but it is unclear if they ceased to exist or if they willingly blurb the birth records or made it as if these man never existed. Only one name is registered though, "Ganondorf" (of course, but we got now like 3 of them ! So we don't know Wich one is being remembered). The book also kinda gives a few answers to some arguments against true founding, for exampled it is explained that it is not the damage to the castle per day that weakened the sceal, but the Purification Unit built on top of Rauru that was broken, and so the gloom accumulated and eventually awoke the demon king. This shows that the past times in the series that the castle was damaged would have had no impact on the seal as long as the PU is intact. The book gave a gap between the sealing of the demon king and the birth of calamity Ganon, and a section in the timeline cites BOTW's CAC "Ganon was reborn and sealed multiple times". This quote in CAC is set in the era of myth. Finally, in the question of if a gerudo man can be born if Ganondorf is sealed beneath the castle, the book also implies that the 10 000y ago ancient hero could be a gerudo (or part gerudo) and he could be the 8th heroine from gerudo legend. Of course maybe this could work in a refounding theory, but objectively it weakens the theory.

[@lipedax]

@@cameronfield4617 The timeline of the book tells us the zonai era was the closest thing to Hylians time. The book speculates that the zonai could be the ancestors to Hylians, and that they were the ones to introduce Hylia worship to the world. The sheikah got their symbol from the zonai 3rd eye, and their whole culture is based on the zonai one. Hylia gave the zonai the secret stones and then they moved to the skies on sky islands, like what happened with the Hylians and the triforce. The zonai came back to the earth when they were at risk of extinction to mingle with the earthlings. It is when Rauru founded the kingdom of Hyrule. At this time, every other race were starting their settlements and clans, the gerudo had just established themselves in the desert as a militarized nation. They believed that Hyrule would be an briefly-lived kingdom. After the IW, the royal family, the childrens of Rauru and Sonia, buried evidence of the zonai, the demon king Ganondorf, and so did the gerudo, who stopped making the man born every 100y king, but it is unclear if they ceased to exist or if they willingly blurb the birth records or made it as if these man never existed. Only one name is registered though, "Ganondorf" (of course, but we got now like 3 of them ! So we don't know Wich one is being remembered). The book also kinda gives a few answers to some arguments against true founding, for exampled it is explained that it is not the damage to the castle per day that weakened the sceal, but the Purification Unit built on top of Rauru that was broken, and so the gloom accumulated and eventually awoke the demon king. This shows that the past times in the series that the castle was damaged would have had no impact on the seal as long as the PU is intact. The book gave a gap between the sealing of the demon king and the birth of calamity Ganon, and a section in the timeline cites BOTW's CAC "Ganon was reborn and sealed multiple times". This quote in CAC is set in the era of myth. Finally, in the question of if a gerudo man can be born if Ganondorf is sealed beneath the castle, the book also implies that the 10 000y ago ancient hero could be a gerudo (or part gerudo) and he could be the 8th heroine from gerudo legend. All of this could maybe be reworked to fit a refounding theory, but objectively the book gave less ground to it.

[@Fhill4801]

Everything doesn’t need a timeline , just enjoy the damn game 😂

[@juansantibanez1415]

Honestly, I respect the view of timeline presented here but and while I think there is a ton of evidence to support it. I believe that this isn’t a refounding of the Kingdom of Hyrule. I truly believe this is the original Kingdom just sometime after of Skyward Sword. I believe Sonia is a descendant of SS Zelda who married Rauru. You could argue that why didnt the hylians interact with the zonai when they were on Skyloft. Simply maybe they were instructed by hylia not (because the developers didn’t know they existed 🤣) Rauru establishing the kingdom would also be perfect for the sealing of the triforce in the sacred realm. What’s more Koume and Kotake being young in the past is a huge hint to this being true. Every Ganon/ganondorf has been the result of Totk Ganondorf’s malice leaking out hence where the timeline states multiple calamities, I believe it refers to the cycle of hatred. Idk this is my take anyway

[@Giggles_iJest]

No it doesn't "work". TotK was a mess.

[@rhunan9366]

Bad take on this info. Feel like the theory community has really fallen off.

[@LittleAl016]

Care to expound on that?

[@abdieljove2011]

Refounding theory supporters: coping and seething