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eace had ruled Hyrule for ages. The harmony created by the goddesses, though it had occasionally been mildly tested, had for the most part remained intact, leaving Hyrule in its First Golden Age. Over the years, several races had evolved, each unique in their own way. However, interestingly enough, despite all of the differences between each culture, almost all spoke the same common language.

The Hylians were one of the first to get themselves in order. The Hylians were perhaps the most favored of all the races in Hyrule, as they had the goddesses' magic instilled directly into their blood. This magic gave them powers that most peoples could only dream about. Though this gave them special abilities such as telepathy, prophecy, and extrasensory perception, the most striking outcome of this magic was how quickly they used it to rise to notability in Hyrule.

Within just a handful of generations, the Hylians had instituted a powerful monarchy, and would eventually become the most powerful government in the land of Hyrule. In the spirit of the goddesses' desire for balance, they used their power to influence other races into joining them, their wisdom to create peace and not war, and courage to take down anything that threatened to destroy this era of prosperity.

The Hylians established themselves at their first city in the southwest of Hyrule. Named Hyrule Castle Town, it was complete with a marketplace, central square, many residences, and the magnificent Hyrule Castle, built for the royal family out of the villagers' loyal servitude. It took several years to build up the stone grey walls of the castle and the surrounding fortification, but once completed, it enabled the Hylians to look outwards towards the other races of the nation and make peace with them.

The first group of people that the Hylians attempted to befriend were the Gerudo. The Gerudo were physically alike to the Hylians, but did not possess the same magical talents that had benefited the Hylians. This means not that they didn't possess magic, for they did; the magic was merely less pronounced in them and behaved in a different manner.

The Gerudo were a culture made up almost entirely of women; the magic in their blood had the peculiar effect of making of allowing only one male Gerudo to be born every century. In order to keep the reproduction rate at a substantial level, they would find mates inside the walls of Hyrule Castle Town, then producing Gerudo offspring.

Instead of creating a monarchy like the Hylians, they created a collective. This collective was overseen by the male, if there was one present, or the head female of the tribe. While this person had power over the group, it was not an absolute power as decisions by the leader were susceptible to debate and argument.

When the Hylians came to the desert to ally with the Gerudo, the Gerudo were not thrilled to meet them, but they were not repulsed by the offer. They felt the need to be independent, but also felt that peace was for the best. They created a very weak alliance with the Hylians, where they would honor the Hylian king's wishes but not defend them in the event of an attack. The Hylians were somewhat dismayed by this, but did not wish to force the issue. They returned to their castle and informed their king of the deal between the races.

Undeterred and still intent on uniting the races of Hyrule, the Hylians went to a tribe known as the Gorons. The word Goron in the Hylian language meant "Mountain People". It was an apt name for them, as the Gorons took up their residence on Death Mountain itself, the tallest mountain in the land of Hyrule.

The Gorons didn't look anything like the Hylians and the Gerudo; perhaps the best description of the Goron people was that they appeared as living rocks, mostly tan in color. In the early days of the tribe, leadership went to the one whose body had the strongest composition. Challenging the leader for control of the tribe was open to all, and contests would be held to determine the victor and new leader.

The Gorons were expert diggers. In fact, their home city of Goron City was entirely the result of Goron handiwork. Adding on to the city was no challenge, as they would continue boring downward, adding new levels to the city. They sustained themselves off of the minerals found within their mountain home, and they dug caverns out away from the city in order to collect food.

It should be noted that the Gorons were exceptional loyal folk. When the Hylians came with a proposition for an alliance, the Gorons eagerly and quickly accepted the deal. In fact, it is rumored that the Hylian king and the Goron leader went through the Goron Brotherhood ritual, but whether or not this really happened has been lost to the ages.

As part of a way to commemorate the newfound alliance, the Gorons and the Hylians jointly built another city named Kakariko Village. Kakariko, meaning Friendship, was cohabitated for several years by the most respected representatives of both cultures. However, the Kakariko Gorons, still emotionally tied to their mountain, eventually moved back into Goron City and left Kakariko for the Hylian elders, though it was not uncommon to see a Goron stopping by for a visit.

Once Kakariko had been established, rumors began spreading of the discovery of a new culture that lived up the river that ran past Kakariko. The king once again sent his missionaries to greet them. The missionaries traveled up the river and eventually found a people that were part-fish, part-dolphin, and part-human. The Hylians named them the Zoras, which meant River People.

The Zoras spent most of their time in the water. When the missionaries entered their domain, they were amazed to see that they lived in a cavern behind a waterfall which held a pool for the Zoras inside. However, they had no personal houses in their domain; the water was home enough for all in their opinion.

Like the Hylians, the Zora had established a monarchy, and the king sat atop his throne at the highest point in the domain, just in front of a tunnel that led to a secret harbor which was home to their sacred whale named Jabu-Jabu. Jabu-Jabu would live with the Zora for the five warmest months of the year, and then migrate southward to more tropical isles for the winter months.

The Zora, being relative isolationists, rejected the missionaries' first request for peace, but told them they might reconsider at a later time. When news came back to the King, the King himself traveled up to the domain, where the two kings greeted each other as friends. Through the king's promise of not interfering with their culture, the Zoran king finally relented and signed the treaty. As a result, Lake Hylia became a land that both the Hylians and Zora could share. The Hylians obtained what was above water, and the Zora everything underneath.

Thinking he had united all of the peoples of Hyrule, the king looked inwardly and decided to create a special task force to be called upon if the peace between the four nations were ever violated. Out of the Hylian people, roughly one in forty were called upon for the task. Chosen for the extreme magical talent and ability, the King used his magical power to further purify the blood within them to enhance their aptitude in the magical arts.

The King named these people the Sheikah, or Those of the Shadow. All of the new Sheikah professed their loyalty to the King, and promised to protect him, his interests, and the peace he created. The Sheikah would never be allowed to marry outside of this inner circle, as doing so would decrease their magic potential and bring impurities into the bloodline of the Sheikah. In return, however, the King allowed the Sheikah free passage and even residence in the castle, but many chose to reside in their homes in Kakariko Village, as virtually every Sheikah was one of the respected elders chosen to live with the Gorons at Kakariko, making Kakariko a Sheikah village for many years, until Impa, the most famous of all the Sheikah, opened it up to the common Hylian, several centuries later.

What the king never realized is that he had missed one race of Hyrule. Though they were mentioned in legends, myths, and stories, very few actually believed they really existed, because no one was every able to find their home.

The Kokiri lived deep within the Lost Woods, a dense forest in the northwest of Hyrule. The Kokiri were unique in that their magic was greater than that of the Hylians threefold. Because of this, they retained a youthfulness that would never falter. Though the Kokiri had the life span of a normal Hylian, they would never physically age beyond the age 15, while most stopped growing around the apparent age of 10.

The Kokiri were protected by a magical aura created by their guardian, the Great Deku Tree. The Great Deku Tree was a tree that was over 300 hands in height. Its protective envelope spanned the entire forest, and so long as its children, the Kokiri remained within the forest, they would maintain the youthfulness they possessed. However, if they passed through the forest barrier, they would grow as a Hylian would until they reentered the forest. Though the Kokiri left the forest on occasion to run important errands, such ventures outside the forest were extremely rare, as it risked the Kokiri's anonymity to the other Hyrulian people.

For many centuries, the status quo of Hyrule held, and the races within the Hylian alliance prospered off of each other. However, all good things come to an end...