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Originally Posted by MDK
A lot of that is similar to what my split timeline was based on. However, i never believed that there were two Links.
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I'm of the opinion that two Links are
necessary for the mechanics of OoT to function--from the moment he first draws the Master Sword to the moment he wakes up seven years later, Link should [and must] consistently exist in stasis within the Sacred Realm with all of his equipment--Master Sword, Ocarina of Time, etc. etc.--in order to emerge seven years later without his first trip into the future being interrupted by his trips into the past. Otherwise, each time Link goes into the past, he removes himself from the Sacred Realm, and his last trip into the future essentially is negated. Obviously this is not the case, as we see that each time Link goes into the past his future deeds persist, unlike in MM, where he has to redo the events.
Because of this, no trip into the past--even Link's
final trip--can prevent Link from exiting the Sacred Realm in seven years, and, consequently, neither can any trip into the past prevent him from taking the subsequent trips into the past (i.e., the trip to get the Lens of Truth, explore the Spirit Temple, etc.).
However, we run into a bit of a problem here. If Link closes the Door of Time after arriving back in the past, it is not open for Adult Link (or any of his aforementioned subsequent trips into the past) to exit and do his business. Because of this, I presume that Link, in fact, does not close the Door when he returns to the past, but, in fact,
before he travels back in time at the end of the game. (Read my first post in this thread for more details.)
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Originally Posted by MDK
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.
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MM's intro is not told as a precursor of the MM story, detailing the events that happened before. It seems more like a look at the events of MM, after the fact. Because of this, I'm guessing that the intro legend to MM didn't surface until sometime
after Link saved Hyrule in OoT.
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Originally Posted by MDK
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?
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I think it's a little pernicious to presume so much about the King, especially since, by this time, Ganondorf has already revealed himself to be a threat. This idea did inspire another; the encounter at the end of OoT (and the time spent until his journey in MM) might explain how Zelda knows that Link possesses the Triforce of Courage when she reveals herself to him in the future.
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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.
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I would chalk it up to the "calling" being a personal one, and just leave it at that. Zelda's discourse with Link in the MM flashback scene reflects that he has a sense of conviction about his trip away from Hyrule, and also that she
saw the trip coming:
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Originally Posted by Zelda, MM
You are already leaving this land of Hyrule, aren't you?
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Originally Posted by MDK
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.
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I interpret Zelda's certainty that she will see him again (and that, as is implied, he will return the Ocarina to him) as foresight of his emergence from the Sacred Realm in seven years and the fact that he gives back the Ocarina to her after defeating Ganon (see the "double Link effect" for more details as to how this happens).
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Originally Posted by MDK
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.
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I'm guessing he might have returned for a short time (to return Epona), but didn't stay long, instead leaving Hyrule again for Toaru/Ordon village, setting up for a Hero's appearance there.