This is a PM from jhurvid and my response to it. This discussion arose from some difficulties regarding a theory of mine concerning the Identity of the Skull Kid. The link to that thread is in my sig, if anyone's curious. There was a paticular difficulty in understanding the continuity from OOT to MM, and this is my attempt to overcome it. I'm eager to hear your thoughts on it. After all, it's an explanation of OOT - kind of a big deal, wouldn't you say?
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Originally Posted by jhurvid
Maybe I'm misunderstanding your argument but I'll answer it to what I can make out from it.
First of all, according to the single timeline concept, when Link was sent back in time by Zelda, he was in the Temple of Time before the Door of Time was originally opened by Link's past self and forced to sleep for seven years (we know this because Link met Zelda in the garden of Hyrule Castle, which she had left when Ganondorf attacked the castle). In other words, at the point where Link returns from the future there are two Links; one is the past self completing quests for the Spiritual stone, and the other is the future self already finished defeating Ganon. Future Link left Hyrule as a child (for Termina) and Past Link then enacted the events that would lead to Ganondorf taking the Triforce of Power.
Secondly, the Triforce of Courage split into eight shards when the Hero of Time "lost the elements that made him a Hero", which we can presume occurred when Zelda sent Link back in time (since otherwise we would have two elements of the Triforce of Courage and that would be a confusing concept).
Thirdly, the two objects that Future Link takes to Termina are the Ocarina of Time and Epona. With these items in his possession and the distinct implication that the Hero of Time didn't return to Hyrule after his departure, it is impossible for Past Link to be in possession of these items. Hence, these details must be ignored for a single timeline to work.
That is unless your concept of a single timeline is different from mine, in which case I am happy to listen to your version of events.
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A lot of that is similar to what my split timeline was based on. However, i never believed that there were two Links. From my point of view, this is how it goes:
- Link drew the Master Sword from the pedestal, thus setting in motion the events of OOT.
- Upon defeating Ganondorf, Zelda returned him to the past to make up for his lost time.
- Link arrived back in the past moments after Ganondorf entered the Sacred realm. By replacing the Master Sword and closing the Door of Time, Ganondorf is effectively sealed.
- The Triforce splits nonetheless, as we can see in the final scene in Zelda's courtyard. Link's left hand bears the mark of the Triforce, and the Triforce of Courage. Thus we can assume that the Triforce of Wisdom is now in Zelda's possession.
Why is Zelda in Hyrule Castle, since she fled BEFORE Ganondorf entered the Sacred Realm? Zelda is psychic to a certain degree. Her dreams reflect the events of the past, present and future. She would be able to sense that the Great Evil has left the land of Hyrule (for the time being) and she would be able to safely return. Impa would not be an obstacle - she understands well the significance of Zelda's visions. The Triforce of Wisdom is also now in her possession, and this is consistent to TWW, whereby the Triforce of Wisdom was held by the Royal Family after Ganondorf was sealed.
The difficulty now is how the legend of the Hero of Time came to be "held dearly by the Royal Family" as said in MM's intro, especially since the events of OOT never happen at this late stage. The explanation is rather simple, and even plausible. The King doubted Zelda's vision of Ganondorf's betrayal, but there could be no doubt in his mind when Ganondorf went ahead and betrayed him - storming the castle and attempting to take the Ocarina of Time by force. So when Zelda safely returns with this ragamuffin country boy and they show the King their respective pieces of the Triforce glowing on their hands, how can he disbelieve them, when every legend regarding the Triforce and the Hero of Time, which only the Royal Family and the Sheikah Tribe knew, have just come true?
Now as for TWW, going by the words of the King of Red Lions, when the Hero of Time was called to go on a journey in another land, he was separated from the elements that made him a Hero. At this time, the Triforce of Courage was split into eight shards and hidden across the land.
This can be a bit of a double entendre. Now since the journey to Termina was a "secret and personal" journey, Link was effectively abandoning Hyrule - this is certainly not an element of a hero. I think that King said "he was called" rather than "he left of his own accord" so as not to dishearten the Hero of Winds and sully his own image of the Hero of Time. Regardless, this quote is a direct reference to Majora's Mask.
Now the way i've laid this out, it doesn't matter if Epona and the Ocarina of Time are absent from the land. And while we can only assume that Link borrowed Epona from Lon Lon Ranch, we know full well that Zelda, knowing the importance of the Ocarina of Time, gave it to Link before he left on his journey, as she was certain he'd return one day.
Assuming we know nothing of TP, we can assume that he didn't return, thus he was absent when Ganondorf broke free from the Sacred Realm after however much time, resulting in the tragedy that led to the flooding of Hyrule.
TP of course, will either shed new light on the situation, or throw a giant wrench in the gears. But we'll deal with that when the time comes.