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or years upon end, the Hylians drew upon the magic that was released from the Sacred Realm, using it to build a magnificent civilization, magic that emanated from the Triforce itself. The magic was pure and perfect, and was used for the betterment of all.

However, rumors of what lie within the Sacred Realm began leaking out to the general population. Rumors of some omnipotent and omniscient power source tempted many. Since only the high members of the King's inner circle were allowed to retrieve power from the Golden Land of the Triforce, the prohibition of this power to the common Hyrulian made it all the more tempting.

As time passed, people began sneaking into the Sacred Realm from its many entrances, eight in all. They wanted to search for this Triforce; some only wanted to see its infinite glory and beauty, others to claim it as their own and to use for their own intentions. However, it was well hidden, and no one ever found it.

It was at this time that Ganondorf Dragmire, known to the world as the infamous Mandrag Ganon, heard of this power. Though Ganondorf, the current Gerudo male and leader, was only in his early twenties, he was extremely influential within his own crowd. He gathered several of his fellow thieves, some Gerudo, some Hylian, and sought an entrance into the Sacred Realm. The party would scour the desert for an entrance to the Sacred Realm, hoping that an entrance did indeed exist in the desert. The party would leave for days at a time, always returning for supplies, and constantly searching for the so-called Power of Gold, the Triforce.

It was almost by chance that they uncovered the warp. They were on a high plateau one day deep within the southwest of Hyrule one night, camping out for the night. One of Ganondorf's men happened to trip over a heavy boulder. The man, cursing the rock, lifted it up to throw it into the sandy beyond, but as he did, he noticed a mystical blue square that lie underneath. He informed Ganondorf of the tile, and instantly, Ganondorf knew what he saw. An entrance into the Sacred Realm.

His men entered the Sacred Realm, and were amazed to see the new world, for as legend described, it was a land where the sky is golden during the day. They searched for a small time, but had not uncovered a clue to the Triforce's whereabouts when their supplies ran low. The gang of thieves immediately agreed to return to the Gerudo Fortress one more time to stock up on supplies, and then they would not stop searching until they happened upon the Master Force within.

Ganondorf Dragmire was a man of evil, and his thoughts leapt high at the chance to obtain the Triforce. His hunger for the power filled him. He vowed to himself that he would be the one to own the Triforce, and him alone.

This surge of power did not go unnoticed. The high priests of Hyrule Castle, who guarded the Sacred Realm vigilantly, felt the evil wave of power coming through the Sacred Realm gate they guarded. Fearing the worst, they immediately reported to the King of Hyrule. The King, after consulting with the elder Sheikah, decided to close off Hyrule's connection to the Golden Land, fearing that it was too dangerous to keep open to the world. He sent the Sheikah out in all directions, ordering them to close the eight gates to the Sacred Realm immediately. The Sheikah left the room in a flash, and within a handful of days, the eight gates were sealed, locking the Sacred Realm from Hyrule.

However, the high priests realized the consequences of closing off the Sacred Realm. As the gates were closed one by one, the intensity of the magic they felt dropped slightly. Therefore, before the Sacred Realm was sealed off for good, an alternate means of entering was devised and brought before the King. The King accepted.

The priests forged a sword of awesome power and magic. It is said that magic flowed through the very fabric of the blade, and that the sword could only be wielded by one of a good and true heart, one who would no doubt become a legendary Hero. It was the Master Sword.

The Master Sword was placed within a pedestal and locked into place with powerful magical spells. As the spells by the priests intertwined together, three sacred jewels were created -- one emerald, one ruby, and one sapphire. These would be known as the Spiritual Stones. Once the spells were cast, the King of Hyrule took the three gems in his hand and cast a spell on them. The three gems disappeared from the palm of his hand. They were sent to three people, unbeknownst to even the King, so even he could not divulge their whereabouts --three people of good hearts and who exemplified the characteristics of the gems, the beauty of nature, the passion of fire, and the coolness of water.

The elders were still concerned about the chance that someone would obtain all three gems, so they instilled a magical secret on one last artifact, an artifact known as the Ocarina of Time. It would take the Ocarina to activate the three gems together to function as one, and only then could the Master Sword be taken, and finally, the power of the sword could create its own gate -- a ninth gate -- into the Sacred Realm. After all the spells had been cast and the Realm sealed, a temple was built around it, and it was known to all as the Temple of Time. The secrets of how to access the inner chamber of the Temple were kept secret, and the Ocarina was given to the Royal Family, and would over time be passed down to the King's only daughter, Princess Zelda, for safe keeping.

Ganondorf was upset with the recent come of events. His access to the Sacred Realm had been taken away, and his hopes had been reduced to nothing. Using his power over the Gerudo tribe, he led his people to Hyrule Castle Town to challenge the Hylians in the field of battle.

The battle was short and sweet, and almost non-eventful. Only one event of significance, aside from the Gerudos' profuse apology and submittal to the Hylians' power, came from it. During the war, a fearful set of parents had just given birth to a baby boy, and fearing for their lives at the time, the woman rode off with due speed towards the Lost Woods to survive the war in hiding.

On her journey to the woods, she ran into a handful of Gerudo mercenaries. They attacked her, but were unable to kill her outright due to the deft speed of her horse. She was however mortally wounded, and only made it to the edge of the forest before she could go any further. She laid down on the ground in pain, worrying for her baby boy, her baby Link.

The Kokiri spied the wounded mother and the baby, and their hearts went out to him. One of the Kokiri came out to greet the stranger, a girl with green hair. Her name was Saria.

The Kokiri girl offered the mother her help, but the mother knew she was going to die. She asked the girl to find someone to care for her baby, and the Kokiri girl agreed. She took the baby sadly and watched the mother breathe her last breath.

Link was raised in the forest by the Kokiri. Though the Kokiri children were technically much older than them, their youthful minds and personalities weren't, so Link felt comfortable with them, even though he was never fully accepted as a Kokiri, namely because his lack of a faerie companion. He lived there for ten long years.

Meanwhile, Ganondorf spent those ten years working on his plan to obtain the Triforce. He was able to obtain the secrets of the three Spiritual Stones from one of his spies within Hyrule Castle, an easy task for a man of such notoriety and influence. But with that good news came trouble, for he had no clue of where to find the Spiritual Stones. So he searched long and hard, but only heard rumors of them, never actually finding them. The closest he ever came to a Stone was the time he cursed that infuriating Deku Tree, but still it wouldn't yield. All the while, he had to keep pledging a false allegiance to the King, something he hated doing to his rightful enemies.