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he Hero-to-be slumbered within the Sacred Realm for a total of seven years within a protective shield, so that even the evil Ganondorf Dragmire with his Triforce fragment could not harm the boy, for the powers of both the Sacred Realm and the presence of the Master Sword together were too strong for Ganondorf to stand.

When Link awoke, he met an old name by the name of Rauru. Rauru had spent the last seventeen years living on his own within the Sacred Realm, just inside the ninth gate. In the moments between the creation and the sealing of the ninth gate, Rauru, the highest of the priests in the Hylian race, slipped through the gate undetected, so that not even his fellow brothers knew of the action. His intention was to be a final guardian -- a final blockade -- in someone's attempt to gain the Triforce everyone had sought for years.

Since the Sacred Realm was a virtual mirror image of Hyrule, where the Temple of Time stood in Hyrule, a building known as the Temple of Light stood within the Realm, and it was here where the sacred Triforce had been kept. However, because of Link's actions, the Triforce had been taken. When Ganondorf entered the Sacred Realm, Rauru put up a bold effort to block the evil king from taking his prize, but Ganondorf's power and magic overwhelmed the faltering priest, placing him just a thread away from death.

Ganondorf, no longer needing access to the Sacred Realm, locked Rauru in the Realm, a prisoner to his own devising. As a direct result of being held captive, Rauru became a Sage, for it is written in prophecy:

Only those who have been felt the power
of Evil and have been held hostage by it
firsthand can know the true nature of the
Evil magic and help the Heroes of legend.

Trapped within the Temple of Light, Rauru became the Sage of Light.

Rauru knew that there would be other Sages called forth by the evil actions of the Gerudo king, and so when Link awoke, he beckoned Link to search out these other Sages in the land of Hyrule, that only through those Sages could Link have to power to break overcome and nullify the invincible power of the Triforce.

Though Rauru was trapped within the walls of the Temple of Light, Link was not, for the Master Sword transcended the dimensions itself, and through it, he could travel the pathways of time as well as the pathways between Hyrule and the now-sealed Sacred Realm.

Link re-entered Hyrule, but before Link could exit the Temple of Time, he met up with a Sheikah named Sheik. The mysterious man seemed plagued by the troubles of the times, but was capable of putting aside his emotions to give help to the Hero he predicted Link would be. After telling Link that he felt the presence of a Sage deep within the Lost Woods, Sheik vanished without a trace.

Link used the Master Sword to return to Hyrule, and the land had changed drastically. Here he saw that Hyrule Castle Town had been destroyed and been replaced by mere shambles along with a handful of Ganondorf's evil minions. Though Link fought them and eventually got them to succumb to defeat, they were the undead and would soon return to full power.

Before proceeding to find the second Sage, Link made errands in Kakariko, which had become much more crowded since the time of Link's childhood. After catching up on recent and past news, Link returned to his homeland within the Lost Woods, where he found the Kokiri Village overrun with an overgrowth of plants. Ironically enough, the Kokiri seemed not to mind much, since they had a supernatural connection with nature, and therefore the creatures.

Link strode off to the Sacred Forest Meadow where he had last seen his best childhood friend, Saria. Saria, however, was nowhere to be found, and even Mido, the Kokiri boss, had been protecting the perimeter. Link thought it quite odd, and therefore went inside the ancient building to investigate. Before Link entered, Sheik dropped by again to check up on Link and teach him a magical song, then like he had done before, vanished. Link then turned around and entered the Temple of the Forest.

The beings within were akin to those within the Kokiri Village, mostly flora and basic fauna. As for the dungeon itself, it was overgrown with tall, lush vines -- many of which Link had to climb -- and even contained two triangular-shaped gardens within the walls of the temple. Link was early plagued by four ghost sisters named Poes, as Link had to fight to gain back a secret magic the Sisters took used to activate an elevator into the lower floor of the temple. Eventually, Link defeated the last of the sisters and rode down into the depths of the temple to meet his nightmare come true: Ganondorf himself.

Or was it? The enemy before him took of a mask, and the head was replaced with a ghoulish one, indicating to Link it was obviously some phantasm Ganondorf had sent to test him, and as such, he dubbed it Phantom Ganon. The fiend rode his horse into the magical paintings on the wall and would leap out of one into another, sending lightning through Link. Link eventually found a pattern to it, and was thus able to prevent serious injury from befalling him. Link used a bow to seduce Phantom Ganon off his horse, and then they fought one-on-one. The phantom would send evil balls of energy at Link, which Link repelled with his Master Sword. Eventually, the blast would collide with its caster, and Link would charge in, slashing away at the phantom. Within a matter of minutes, the ghoul was destroyed, and Ganondorf, upset with its performance, recalled it to the underworld.

Link walked into a circle of light, and his spirit was whisked away to the Temple of Light, where he met up with the Sage of Forest, who turned out to be Saria. Saria, while playing her Ocarina one day in the meadow, had been surprised by large ogres that had entered the meadow, forcing her to enter the temple for the first time in her life. The Poes which haunted the place had found her at once, and locked her away in darkness, thinking her gone for good. Through her trials, she became a Sage.

Saria directed Link towards Death Mountain and the Goron City. Link began scaling the mountain, and upon arriving at the city, he found it completely deserted save for two lone Gorons, who told Link that all the others had been kidnapped by Ganondorf and been sent to feed the viscious fire dragon Volvagia, who lived in the crater in the mountain.

Link was given a tunic crafted by the Gorons, capable of withstanding extreme temperatures. Using the back door in Darunia's chamber, Link entered the chamber and felt the sheer heat of the steam within. Were it not for the tunic, Link would not have survived long, but the tunic cooled him off enough to let him proceed into the pit of the crater. As he descended, Sheik again came to see Link, and it was there that they finally had a moment to talk and become friends. Sheik, inspired by this newfound friendship, taught Link another magical tune, this time one of friendship. Sheik disappeared once more, and Link ventured off into the Temple of Fire.

Within the temple, he met Darunia early on. Darunia was making an attempt to save his fellow Gorons by facing Volvagia himself, even though he didn't have the weapon needed to defeat him. In return, Link promised to free his people and then come after him later. The Goron prisoners were littered all over the dungeon, and each of them were able to provide Link some help about the puzzles to come. Flames were everywhere in the temple, and Link singed his skin several times while exploring the fiery maze. After freeing the Gorons and finding the weapon Darunia talked of at the highest point in the dungeon, Link dived down several chutes in the temple and found himself at the entrance to Volvagia's lair. The lad opened the door and entered.

There was no sight of Darunia anywhere, but Volvagia quickly emerged from an island surrounded by fire. Link leapt to the island, and using the Megaton Hammer, the weapon Darunia mentioned, Link was able to render the dragon unconscious for moments at a time, which allowed Link to strike at it without mercy. The battle raged as Volvagia flew through the air, blowing gusts of fire at the Hero of Time, but it was to no avail as Link eventually slew the dragon.

On this trip to the Temple of Light, Link found out that it was Darunia who would be the Sage of Fire. As Darunia attempted to take on Volvagia, the red dragon had knocked a boulder loose and sent Darunia into the pit of fire. Though Gorons prefer warmer climates, the depth of the pit sent him into a fire from which he could not escape, giving him the understanding to become the Fire Sage.

Darunia directed him to Lake Hylia, but Link was not able to access the underwater temple. Deciding to go consult the Zoras, he headed to the domain, but was shocked to see every last Zora trapped within an icy grave. He went back into the fountain where Jabu-Jabu resided, but the whale was not there, as it had sought warmer climates with other Zora on the face of the planet. Link did find a cave filled with ice, and within found a way to unfreeze at least the Zoran King and an item that would gain him access to the watery dungeon. However, Link was still unable to breathe under the water. When Link unfroze the King of the Zoras, he was gracious enough to grant Link the item that would do just that, the Zora Tunic.

Link met up with Sheik again, and after learning another song, he swam into the temple from below, and within, he found Princess Ruto, the Zora he had supposedly been engaged to seven years ago. After a small rebuke of having left her for seven years, Ruto swam upwards through a hole in the ceiling to guide Link to one of three places where he could change the water level of the dungeon. When Link surfaced, she had mysteriously disappeared. Link continued through the temple on his own, eventually meeting up with a shadowy form of himself in an illusionary room. Upon its defeat, the room returned to normal and Link continued through a series of rapids, which took him towards the beast within the dungeon. Ultimately, he came upon a small nucleus-like creature named Morpha.

Morpha was a small sphere that stayed within a pool of a water-like substance, but it could command it at its will, forming tentacles that would reach out and through link across the room. Using a Longshot, Link harpooned the orb from his watery home and exacted his revenge upon the foul being, eventually slicing it in half at the battle's end.

Link soon found that the Sage of Water would be none other than Ruto herself. Ruto had been the Sage of Water ever since her imprisonment within the icy waters of Zora's Domain. It was Sheik, the mysterious Sheikah, who managed to come along and rescue her from the depths, and to him she owed her eternal gratitude. When Ruto had found Link in the Water Temple, Morpha sensed her presence and importance, and once again trapped her deep within a pool without end, finally saved to achieve full Sage strength with Link's defeat of her captor.

The fifth target was within Kakariko. As Link entered, he found the village aflame and on fire. Sheik was there surveying the scene, and together they attempted, but failed, to face an evil being that had been trapped within the well. After the being had passed, Sheik instructed Link to find and destroy the evil while he saved the village from the fire. Link interrogated the man within the windmill, and he told of an inane ten-year-old who caused the well to run dry seven years ago. Link picking up the hint, went back in time via the Master Sword and did just that, enabling him to explore the well for an important artifact.

The well was a dangerous place, and it was laden with traps galore as there were many things that could not be seen with the naked eye. After a lot of work and frustration, Link found the secret area that led him to the mysterious Lens of Truth. Using it, he could see the number of hidden pits and false walls that he had been plagued with hours before. With this, he returned to the present and entered the Temple of Shadow.

For Link, this temple was filled with visions of horror. Like the well, Link couldn't even trust his own eyes, for he could not tell what was real from what was false, and so he used the Lens of Truth almost continually. Link took an unusually high amount of damage going through what seemed like a string of traps leading him on, but he was able to heal himself using some potions he purchased and some faeries he had obtained. The sheer reality of his situation continued to intensify as he continued down into the ground until he was met by the guardian of the lair, the evil that had escaped, Bongo Bongo.

The beast rendered its body invisible, thinking itself safe from the likes of Link. However, the Lens of Truth was able to make this tactic useless. Bongo Bongo smashed Link around with its powerful hands, and it took Link quite a while to develop a system that could consistently occupy the attention of both at the same time. Once he did, Bongo Bongo charged, but Link was ready, shooting an arrow into its eye. The beast flailed on the ground in pain as Link swing his sword against it. After several shots, the beast surrendered, and Link avenged the burning of Kakariko.

The Sage of Shadow was Impa, Zelda's Sheikah caretaker. After their escape from Hyrule Castle those seven years ago, she was forced with the decision of saving herself or saving Zelda, as capture at the hands of Ganondorf was imminent. Over the months of running and hiding, Impa had taught Zelda most of what she knew, and decided to sacrifice herself so that Zelda could remain safe, as she had had a sign from the goddesses that Zelda was a special child blessed by Destiny. Like Rauru, Ganondorf sent her to a world of darkness and shadow, freeing her mind that she could become the Shadow Sage.

Impa directed Link into the desert to find the sixth Sage. When Link trespassed into the land of the Gerudo, however, he was caught and placed into a prison. After going though several tests by the top members of the Gerudo clan, they applauded his skills and chose to trust him, allowing him to have access to the Gerudo land.

Link needed to cross the desert to get to the sixth temple, so the Gerudo gave Link some advice about the trials that he would have to face. Link had to cross over a river of sinking sand and use a spirit guide to cross the remainder. Link used his Longshot to accomplish the first task, and then used his trusty Lens to follow the spirit guide the rest of the way. At the ends of the desert, he found a large statue of a Gerudo goddess, and so he entered the temple. However, he quickly found that he couldn't get anywhere within the temple. Sheik caught up with him again as he exited the temple, and suggested coming back to the temple as a child.

Link returned to his childhood and entered the Temple of Spirit. Within, he found the second-in-command to the Gerudo, a woman by the name of Nabooru. She couldn't fit through the small crawlspace, so she asked Link to do her a favor and retrieve an artifact within and that his reward would be well worth his time. Link found the temple difficult, as he had to face many of the enemies he'd faced as an adult as a child, making progress somewhat slow. After an arduous upward journey, he claimed the artifact, but not before seeing Nabooru being kidnapped by two witches. Link was too high up to save her, unfortunately, so all Link could do was keep the artifact and come back to the temple as an adult.

The temple was easier as an adult, and the going was much quicker, though it was filled with several more puzzles than the other half of the dungeon. Eventually, he fought his way up the other side of the dungeon to claim a second treasure in the dungeon, the Mirror Shield. He then worked his way back to enter the central chamber from above, where he melted the head of a statue of the Gerudo goddess with sunlight to reveal a hidden door.

He entered to fight an armored knight with a deadly axe. The few blows Link took were brutal, but Link eventually was able to strip away the armor, only to surprisingly reveal a brainwashed Nabooru inside. The witches appeared, and, partly for having no more use for the girl and partly in disappointment and anger, then banished her to a place locked by magic. Link then had to fight the witches themselves, Koume and Kotake. One would throw fire magic at Link, while the other would conjure up ice magic. Using his new shield, Link reflected it back at the witch of the opposing element. After several deflections, the witch sisters grew tired and combined to form a more powerful, single entity: Twinrova. Link's shield would absorb the magic she cast, eventually letting it out in a brutal attack after becoming fully charged. Link returned to unleashing his sword at the form, and before long, the sisters were forced to split apart, and they were defeated in death.

Nabooru, captured by the witch sisters, was to be the Sage of Spirit, thus calling six Sages together in the Temple of Light. Rauru telepathically told Link to meet the seventh and final Sage within the Temple of Time on the other side of the void. Link used Sheik's songs to transport him there, and there he met Sheik himself. Sheik, however, confessed that he wasn't Sheik at all, but really the Princess Zelda, and she transformed back to her true self as presentation of proof.

Being the seventh sage was different from being one of the other six. Unlike the other six, Zelda had not been captured, but had evaded kidnap attempts for seven long years. The reason for this is because the seventh sage is the Sage of Sages, and sometimes referred to as the Sage of the Triforce, and is marked by having one of the Triforce fragments. The seventh sage would thus be allowed to assist the Hero of Time, the bearer of the third Triforce piece, during the time of the Triforce's fracture.

The Princess Zelda regretted her naïveté at not understanding the consequences of tampering with the Sacred Realm, blaming the entire ordeal upon herself. However, she still had hope, for she revealed to Link that she herself was chosen by Destiny to have the Triforce of Wisdom, and that it was Link with the Triforce of Courage.

As they spoke, however, Ganondorf was now able to see Zelda in her true form, and he spent his built-up power to encase Zelda within a crystal, and took her to his chambers within his tower. He beckoned Link to come and rescue her if he was bold enough to do so. He was.

Link entered the tower, and the six sages were able to build a bridge into Ganon's Tower. Inside, six seals, one for each of the six sages, Forest, Fire, Water, Shadow, Spirit, and Light, had to be broken to give Link access to Ganondorf. Link quickly went through each of the small areas, shooting a Light Arrow that Zelda had given him into the six seals, breaking them. When the last of the six were destroyed, Link entered the central tower and met up with Ganondorf.

Ganondorf, Zelda, and Link stood in the room, and their fragments of the Triforce began to resonate, signifying that all three were in close proximity to each other. Ganondorf stopped playing his organ and leapt out to make a surprise attack on Link, but he missed. Ganondorf's attacks, for the most part, were akin to Phantom Ganon's. Energy blasts were exchanged between them, and when Ganondorf was finally hit, Link would fire a Light Arrow at Ganondorf, destroying his defenses and allowing the Master Sword to be used.

Soon enough, Ganondorf had had enough, the Triforce of Power seeming to falter within him. His tower, loosened by his release of power, started to collapse. Zelda, now free, led the way down the tower, followed by Link. It was a race against time, and to make matters direr, Zelda was taken up by a monster, and Link had to defeat the monster to save Zelda and continue their way down.

They finally escaped the tower, thinking the worst over. However, in the midst of the tower's rubble, Ganondorf emerged once again, using the last of his arcane power to turn into a gigantic monster. He called himself Ganon, and his first act was to remove the Master Sword from Link's possession.

Link bravely fought the demon, but the daggers that were around three armlengths long forced Link to be careful. Though Ganon was powerful, he was also slow. Link used the last of his Light Arrows to slow him down to strike his weak tail with his only other big weapon, the Megaton Hammer, but after his quiver had run dry, he used evasive maneuvers to get around him. Eventually, Ganon faltered, giving Zelda and Link enough time to get the Master Sword back into Link's hands. Ganon rose again, exhausted but refusing to give up. Link continued his onslaught, and eventually, time just ran out for Ganon. Zelda used her magic power to bind Ganon to the ground for Link to deliver the final blow.

As he did, Zelda and the six sages used their magic to transport him to the Sacred Realm. In doing so, the six sages were transported out of the Realm, and Ganondorf was locked within it. As a consequence, the Sacred Realm would become tainted with Ganondorf's evil magic, making it become the Evil Realm.

Zelda and Link stood together, talking about of what had happened. Ganondorf was sealed, and Hyrule was safe, but not after the brutal damage he had caused it. Zelda asked Link forgiveness for robbing him of his childhood, and Link told his friend that it was okay. Zelda asked Link for the Ocarina of Time back so that she could send him back.

Though she wished wholeheartedly that Link could stay, and probably Link did too, Zelda knew that by sending him back, she would rewrite history. By the magic of the Master Sword, the sealing of Ganondorf within the Sacred Realm would take effect just as the bitter war between Hyrule Castle and Ganondorf's army was coming to a close. Ganondorf would be sealed in the now Evil Realm by the seven sages, and this story would be the one spread across the land, not the true story of Link's grand journey through Hyrule. In short, the story of the Ocarina of Time would become a myth, and the story of the Imprisoning War would become a reality.