Concerning the Flood

Concerning the Flood
Hello to you all. This is probably just a crackpot theory (i.e. fanfic), but here me out…

“This is but one of the legends of which the people speak…”

We all know this line. This line is the first line of the introduction to the Wind Waker. This line introduces what is perhaps the most critical passages regarding the timeline.

We know how this goes:

“Long ago, there existed a kingdom where
a golden power lay hidden.

It was a prosperous land blessed with green
forests, tall mountains, and peace.

But one day a man of great evil found the
golden power and took it for himself...

With its strength at his command, he
spread darkness across the kingdom.

But then, when all hope had died, and the
hour of doom seemed at hand...

...a young boy clothed in green appeared
as if from nowhere.

Wielding the blade of evil's bane, he sealed
the dark one away and gave the land light.

This boy, who traveled through time to save
the land, was known as the Hero of Time.

The boy's tale was passed down through
generations until it became legend...”

We know this well…
This summarizes the events of Ocarina of Time, and elaborates upon what happened to the legendary hero’s story. Link, the Hero of Time, chosen by the gods, was set forth to conquer evil, and gave the land of Hyrule peace. Ganon was sealed.


“But then...a day came when a fell wind
began to blow across the kingdom.

The great evil that all thought had
been forever sealed away by the hero...

...once again crept forth from the depths of
the earth, eager to resume its dark designs.

The people believed that the Hero of Time
would again come to save them.

...But the hero did not appear.

Faced by an onslaught of evil, the people
could do nothing but appeal to the gods.

In their last hour, as doom drew nigh, they
left their future in the hands of fate.”

What became of that kingdom? It flooded, as explained later by WW.
But, as many have asked, why? The Goddesses are just, so why would they doom so many by drowning them underwater? Why didn’t the Hero appear? Where was this boy? The goddesses certainly maintain some degree of control over these events, as they choose the hero, such as in TP. Nayru (Neiru) is the creator of law, both natural, such as time, and moral laws, the difference between right and wrong. So certainly, Hyrule must be unequivocally damned for the goddesses to do such a thing. What did they do? Wouldn’t it be obvious?

Not so much. Ganon has been chosen by the goddesses, as he wields the ToP, from a divine prank of sorts. This is my interpretation:

“My country lay within a vast desert.

When the sun rose into the sky, a burning
wind punished my lands, searing the world.
And when the moon climbed into the dark
of night, a frigid gale pierced our homes.

No matter when it came, the wind carried
the same thing... Death.

But the winds that blew across the green
fields of Hyrule brough something other
than suffering and ruin.

I coveted that wind, I suppose.”

Ganondorf’s original intentions were pure. He desired his people to be as blessed as the Hylians, and took it upon himself to free them of the desert. The goddesses chose him to later possess the ToP. Along the way, as it is my interpretation, Ganondorf was corrupted, probably by his surrogate mothers. The goddesses did not see this coming as they were not omniscient (an assumption, as never once does it say they are, I believe. Please correct this if there’s counter evidence). (On a side note, I’m going to guess Ganon, the pig-demon, could have been born of a split in personality due to overwhelming greed and hatred, possibly at his defeat in OoT or pre-TP, and as of the same person, he absorbed the ToP). However, they gave the other pieces to Link and Zelda in response, so as to prevent untold catastrophe.

But, you may say, the goddesses were never said to be perfectly good, as they were never said to be omniscient. Nayru, as the Goddess of Wisdom, created law, and Farore (Furoru) created life to uphold that law. Ergo, the gods know law, right and wrong, and will righteousness. It is clear that they disapprove of Ganon, as the Light Spirits of TP aid the Hero.

In using Link as the chosen wielder of the ToC and Zelda the ToW, they forever set in stone the stories to follow. But, it is my belief that, because of the unforeseen accordance, the gods could not ultimately stop Ganon, and therefore sealed him away to have Link vanquish in another life.

As Link is the Hero, he is the owner of the ToC. It is because of his tremendous courage and strength, that not a single other soul would be able to own the Triforce of Courage, nor would any other soul have the shear strength or preservation to kill Ganon. Link, as a reincarnation, must be the one to come to kill Ganon.

Why did the gods not stop Ganon with Link? It is, to me, that Link must have been in use. Link must have been reborn beforehand and was somehow unable to stop Ganon. My guess is that he was too old to do anything, he most likely tried, but failed (what a good premise for a game! A child, trying to stop Ganon, trains under the hero, and off on his quest only to die by taking too much pity on Ganon in the final battle!). Now to get this, Link must have fought a previous, non-Ganon foe, in his youth. The only games where he does such a thing:

MM
AoL
½ OoX
FS
MC
LA
PH

MM can be debunked, as it features the same Link from OoT, who fought a Ganon. For similar reasons, so may AoL, OoX, LA, and PH (though Ganon may be alive after OoX, as the rules of his mortality may have changed with his resurrection, leaving an age-stricken OoX Link to try and fight, only to be left unable due to the limits of the aging process). This only leaves MC and FS.

While both may easily be placed in this position, I feel MC fits in much cleaner. MC features New Hylian, the written language of WW, and may be placed during or shortly after linguistic evolution takes place. The books in the library even speak of the “Triumph Forks” of legend, a corruption of Triforce, a crest also featured heavily in MC. Minish Cap fits best. As for the names? Geography of MC may have had the names change with respect to the language, but survive in stories told by the people. Hyrule flooded, and when Link and Tetra find a new land, they name it, and its geography, after Hyrule of legend, so, say Death Mountain became Mount Crenel, then Dragon Roost, then a new Death Mountain somewhere else. FS must be after MC, as MC created the Four Sword, thus forcing MC into roughly the same place in the timeline. Thus making it irrelavent.

So it seems as this:
The Goddesses sent Link to stop Vaati (Guufu), instead of waiting a few decades for a rise of Ganon (perhaps it was foreseen that the ToP and one whose wishes are instantly granted would overcome the ToC). Link stops Vaati and seals him within the Four Sword, and lives the rest of his life as a national hero, a sword smith, and Zelda’s childhood friend (shippers, rejoice! Err, no.). As he ages, he weakens, with the prospects of mediæval disease and the likes. Because of this, the one soul able to put a stop to Ganon is in use, and is incapable of stopping him, so the goddesses flood Hyrule.

Now, there are three problems with this theory that I can point out. The first is MC’s relation with the Oracles. Now, this is easy to explain: The oracle-lookalikes were probably just a cameo, as they served nothing for the plot, and seemed to be an in-joke as how two girls and only two girls can receive a house, leaving one without, like the issue of Farore’s Mystical Seed of Courage.
Then there’s the issue of the Hero of Men, who cannot be OoT Link, as OoT Link’s tale was retold in TWW. Though, they are not mutually incompatible. Either another game can take this place, it’s an ungamed story, or it’s whoever the theorizing community can pick out. That’s an issue, but not a great issue.
Why didn’t the gods create a new Link? Or similarly, why didn’t they give the ToC to another person? Or even still, kill the old Link and reincarnate him? I simply don’t know. Perhaps it is too much to create a duality of Links, it may be beyond the goddesses’ power. Maybe, it is only the wielder of the ToC can destroy the wielder of the ToP, and no other soul was deserving or able. And perhaps the goddesses did not want to rob Link of his life and his loved ones of his companionship. I do not know.

Now, this may be too fanfic to be a true theory, and I understand that. But I’d still like commentary from my peers. As this is my first theory, please, be gentile. Thank you for reading. Sorry if this is a waste of everybody’s time.

Wow... Quite an interesting theory you have found out! I'm amazed!

I have been thinking at one point to why Link never returned to defend Hyrule from Ganondorf's wrath. Link did travel to Termina and it did state in the game that the Triforce of Courage was removed from him and shattered into pieces that was scattered across Hyrule when Link left. I think by this incident, the goddesses could not relocate Link through the Triforce that was suppose to be kept within him and therefore lost contact with his bloodline for a long time, to the point where they desperately needed him from the return of Ganondorf when the seal within the Sacred Realm was weakened. Since Link could no longer be found, or that he may have died of old age or by some other event, the only choice of keeping Hyrule alive was to force the survivors and the population to the mountaintops, which then became the islands of the Great Sea and locked the true town of Hyrule away underneath the waves of the Great Sea for eternal slumber.

However, with Ganondorf again walking the Earth and Tetra being Princess Zelda in disguise without any knowledge that she is the Princess of Hyrule, the goddesses must have been watching her closely in order of probably finding someone who might cross her path that might show similarities of the Hero of Time. In this case after Tetra was kidnapped by the monsterous bird that was owned by Ganondorf to find girls all over the Great Sea that have pointed ears, Aryll, Link's sister, was taken by the bird thinking that it was Tetra. The goddesses must have been watching Princess Zelda carefully and might have found out that Link showed intense couragous energy and found that he would face anything in order of getting his sister back. His power represented the Triforce of Courage and they watched everything he went through and tested him physically in the Tower of the Gods that he was indeed the Hero of Time reborn.

I'm stating here that the bloodline of the heroes might have been lost with the disappearance of the Triforce of Courage. It's just my personal opinion on what I think might have happened to Link's disappearance. It's not a definate theory to answer this, but just a thought.

Ganondorf wasn't actually given the ToP in OOT; when he touched the Triforce, the piece representing what he believed in the most was simply left behind for him. By that time, he had already been evil for quite a while, and when he gained the ToP he didn't do a thing for his people.

As far as the Great Flood goes, I've always figured that Ganon killed most of the people instead of the Goddesses drowning them. After all, Hyrule Castle is overrun when Link goes there in TWW.

link did not return because zelda sent him back in time and created a split timeline, link then went to termina, if he ever did come back, it would be to the hyrule shown in the child half of oot or similar to the hyrule in tp, as mm is followed by tp. OoT is followed by WW only in the half of the game while Link is an adult.

Originally Posted by Average Gamer

Ganondorf wasn't actually given the ToP in OOT; when he touched the Triforce, the piece representing what he believed in the most was simply left behind for him. By that time, he had already been evil for quite a while, and when he gained the ToP he didn't do a thing for his people.

As far as the Great Flood goes, I've always figured that Ganon killed most of the people instead of the Goddesses drowning them. After all, Hyrule Castle is overrun when Link goes there in TWW.

Ganondorf was given the ToP in the child timeline thanks to the 'divine prank' spoken of in TP

@ Eternal Legend: Great! that point's out an issue... Link had no Triforce in WW. But it seems that there was no mention of it in MC, so its not totally debunked.
I have a question, do you, Eternal Legend, place WW in the child timeline? Because if MM occurs in the CT (as it... pretty much is) and WW occurs in the AT (as it does in my theory) then it can not be the event that seperated Link from the ToC. As to what? I refer to my theory- as the Hero (who must be couragous) fails to stop Ganon, he is no longer the hero. Therefore, he is seperated from the elements that made him a hero, and loses (for a life or so) the ToC.

@ Adam_148: Ganon was sealed at the end of OoT, giving plenty of time for a Link Reincarnation. The flood doesn't happen immeadiatly, as the people of Hyrule must have time to allow the Hero of Time to be seen as a hero and sink into folklore.


Thank you for your commentary.

Originally Posted by Average Gamer

As far as the Great Flood goes, I've always figured that Ganon killed most of the people instead of the Goddesses drowning them. After all, Hyrule Castle is overrun when Link goes there in TWW.

^ I would also doubt that the goddesses would want the Hyruleans dead, because it would grant Ganondorf's wish of having them dead for his pleasure and plan to rid of the people. No one knows much of the history of the great flood, only that it was done to protect Hyrule.

Originally Posted by Adam_148

Ganondorf was given the ToP in the child timeline thanks to the 'divine prank' spoken of in TP

Yet that is not the will of the Goddesses. When Link goes to the Child Timeline, he apparently leaves behind the Adult Timeline's ToC (shattering it in the process) and gains the Child Timeline's ToC, forcing the Triforce to split. If Ganondorf was worthy to hold the ToP, then that is the will of the Triforce, not the Goddesses. If Ganondorf gained the ToP only because he held it in the Adult Timeline, then that really isn't the will of anyone.

Originally Posted by Deku Prince

@ Eternal Legend: Great! that point's out an issue... Link had no Triforce in WW. But it seems that there was no mention of it in MC, so its not totally debunked.
I have a question, do you, Eternal Legend, place WW in the child timeline? Because if MM occurs in the CT (as it... pretty much is) and WW occurs in the AT (as it does in my theory) then it can not be the event that seperated Link from the ToC. As to what? I refer to my theory- as the Hero (who must be couragous) fails to stop Ganon, he is no longer the hero. Therefore, he is seperated from the elements that made him a hero, and loses (for a life or so) the ToC.

@ Adam_148: Ganon was sealed at the end of OoT, giving plenty of time for a Link Reincarnation. The flood doesn't happen immeadiatly, as the people of Hyrule must have time to allow the Hero of Time to be seen as a hero and sink into folklore.


Thank you for your commentary.

Yes, he was sealed in the adult timeline, which was a linear timeline, until Zelda sent Link back in time. The adult timeline was set in stone, and Link was sent back in time to before he even met zelda, resulting in a split. Link never died in the adult timeline, so he can't be reincarnated

Oh sorry! I forgot that the WW was on the adult's timeline. I didn't think about the timeline theory too much. It's so confusing.

Link in WW must be another hero from the bloodline of the Hylian Knights. If the Link in the child timeline still exists, then it would mean that...

I'm so confused now.

Originally Posted by Adam_148

Yes, he was sealed in the adult timeline, which was a linear timeline, until Zelda sent Link back in time. The adult timeline was set in stone, and Link was sent back in time to before he even met zelda, resulting in a split. Link never died in the adult timeline, so he can't be reincarnated

Hmm... yes. Good point. Thank you. I'm not sure now, I'll wait for more commentary before I either concede or not.

Originally Posted by Adam_148

Yes, he was sealed in the adult timeline, which was a linear timeline, until Zelda sent Link back in time. The adult timeline was set in stone, and Link was sent back in time to before he even met zelda, resulting in a split. Link never died in the adult timeline, so he can't be reincarnated

Wow, this is all a bit confusing and a lot of information/theories at once. I don't really get your last remark; Link never died in the adult timeline? Because he does in the kid timeline?

Well, anyway, in the Child timeline, Ganondorf is not sealed away, but he dies, right? He is hanged?

Originally Posted by BornFidelity

Wow, this is all a bit confusing and a lot of information/theories at once. I don't really get your last remark; Link never died in the adult timeline? Because he does in the kid timeline?

Well, anyway, in the Child timeline, Ganondorf is not sealed away, but he dies, right? He is hanged?

Ganondorf is put on trial, hence the part of TP's backstory explained after Arbiter's Grounds, and is later killed at the end of TP (some think. I think).

Originally Posted by Deku Prince

Ganondorf is put on trial, hence the part of TP's backstory explained after Arbiter's Grounds, and is later killed at the end of TP (some think. I think).

Ganondorf tries to break into the sacred realm after OoT in the child timeline, but fails, and is put to trial by the sages, who attempt to execute him. Ganondorf dies, but the Triforce of Power resurrects him, and he attempts to escape, but the sages act quickly and place him in the Twilight Realm, until Zant helps him out.

Time travel, its a cacophony (sp?) of confusing concepts.

yay time travel and paradox, wat fun

These theories are remarkable. I must say.
But creating a question about the "child timeline" Link, in a way they left him hanging is what I am understanding from the previous comments of the "child timeline" Link. So therefore quite possibly the answer to the flood shall be answered if they continue the story of that Link, considering from what I understand from my own knowledge, and shared knowledge from this thread. He never actually died. Old age would be a logical answer, in some sense, just not in the way this is going.

Is it just my train of thought...Or do you think THAT link (the hero of time, "childhood timeline") shall be the story discussed in the following game. It seems as though this train of thought is encouraged after MM. What happened to this hero? Possibility we cannot get that missing piece of the puzzle yet because it very well doesn't exist, despite our attempts of analyses... unless the TP Link is this Link...but it makes it quite clear he isn't. The next Zelda should answer that question... Old age isn't worthy of that answer, I feel as though all the other concepts are too complex for that simple old age theory to fly?

PS. I feel sort of bad, for not being able to contribute more then my little pearl to this discussion. I'll attempt to make more of an effort if this continues at the same constructive pace... I lack the material of some of those games to create a paragraph or two, to contribute more antiquity. I wouldn't want to make any false allegations so best avoid that... ahaha. I hate to be the messenger of another thousand mind numbing questions.