History of the 3rd Hylian Empire

Chiefly concerning the events in between Aeorin the Terrible's Rise to Power and the Establishment of the 1st Republic of Hyrule

The Rise

Little is known about Aeorin the Terrible (Also known as Aeorin the Cruel, Aeorin the Great) fast rise to power in Hyrule. Most of what we know is from the research of scholars at the Hyrule National Academy of Science and Natural History during the Aeorin Project (1965-1970), and Aeorin's personal documents. These allow us to narrow it down to two main theories.

Theory 1- A witch, shaman, etc. summoned Aeorin from another dimension or timeline (different documents suggest either one) into Hyrule. This theory has been lambasted by most of the scholars by stating the fact the last beings powerful enough were the Twin Rova (See- "Rise and Fall of the First Empire, or the Ocarina of Time", by Rofnava, 1995). But proponents of this theory use the one solid piece of evidence available- Aeorin himself. In his journal, he writes of "three crones… to which I am indebted". But, opponents say there could have been other reasons he used the services of a witch.

Theory 2- What this theory lacks in Aeorin's evidence, it makes up for with scientific evidence. This theory states that the fabric of time in space had a "blip" in it, and that it transported Aeorin from his time and location to Hyrule. This is supported by the Terminian Science and Astronomical Society, the only one in existence at the time of Aeorin. They state that their instruments discovered an inconsistency in time during that year, but the economic crises in Termina prevented them from investigating further.

All speculation I leave to the reader, but in any case, Aeorin appeared in Hyrule in the year 1425. He almost immediately began to plot his rise to power. To this end, he forged alliances with some of the creatures in Hyrule, almost exclusively with the remnants of the Bulblin tribes. But, unlike previous attempts at power by other dictators, most of his support came from humans, who were disenfranchised with the king and the class divisions.

After twenty years of gathering support, Aeorin decided to begin his campaign. Leading an army 45,000 men and 1,000 Bulblin strong, which he called the Dark Legion, he attacked the small, frontier village of Ordon, which had just, three days previously, declined a Royal Army garrison in the town. Luckily for the villagers, they had heard the Dark Legion long before it came within striking distance. 10 men and 7 women stayed behind while the rest made a break for it through the woods. They eventually made it into the Wildlands, and were found by the Wild Men, who took them in, along with the other refugees from the frontiers.

But back to the Battle of Ordon. Aeorin, obviously underestimating the courage of villagers saving their families from death, sent in a single contingent of 10 Bulblin archers and 25 human warriors to take the village. Most the east bank of Ordon was secured before arrow fire came from a store across the river. The Bulblins returned fire while the human infantry took cover in a two story house. The Bulblins , however, were at a disadvantage, and they all were killed quickly.

Seeing he was disadvantaged, the human commander sent a messenger back to Aeorin to inform him of the enemy's presence. Aeorin sent another 25 man unit, but with a catapult as well. He also ordered the rest of his army to kill the entire Bulblin contingent. This is the first example of Aeorin's "human race is the master race" ideal.

The catapult arrived at the battle and pounded the store into dust. But, the villagers escaped via an underground stairway, escaping in a direction that ended up in a cave in the Gerudo Desert. But in the meantime, Aeorin declared victory and sent his soldiers through Faron Woods towards Hyrule Field. It was a major defeat, though- he killed his entire contingent of Bulblin, and dragged down the morale of his troops. There was talk of desertion, though this never came about.

By this time, the Army of Hyrule was mobilized and moving towards Faron Woods. It was a massive force of 75,000 men, divided into 25,000 corps under one commander. But, it had one major flaw- the chain of command. Commander Cederine greatly admired Aeorin's ideals, and sent a secret message to him- If you attack our army and I discover the opportune moment, my corps will help you.

Three days later, the armies faced off, but they were both tired, so they pitched tents only 100 yards from each other and rested for the night. But the night would be cut short for many Hylian soldiers, as Aeorin had been brainstorming ideas for a quick and decisive victory. He found it in the "Shock and Awe", which involved breaking through enemy ranks with cavalry, then sending in infantry to finish off the disorganized foe.

At 3:00 a.m., the Dark Legion's cavalry charged the Hylian lines. The soldiers of that camp were just awakened by the sentry's trumpets when the cavalry hit. Slashing the troops stumbling out of their tents, the entire battle was going well until the cavalry hit a snag halfway through. The legendary Knights of Hyrule charged back at them. The well trained knights stopped the assault, allowing the rear guard to form up. This is where the death bell tolled for Hyrule- the rearguard was Cederine's Corps.

Aeorin, blissfully unaware of the impasse, sent his infantry to charge. The disorganized Hylian vanguard ran up the white flags when they heard the thundering of feet and screams of the Dark Legion. Cederine ran up a different flag to. His troops strapped poles to their backs with Aeorin's red and white flag, and fell upon the rear of the knights just as the Dark Legion hit their front. Amazingly, the Knights held out for another hour, then fought their way out, and escaped into the Gerudo Desert with 20 soldiers out of 200.

But, the Hylian army had been crushed. Aeorin and Cederine marched on Castle Town, where utter anarchy was reigning. The King had left with 10 members of the royal guard, the rest had thrown down their arms, and opened the gates and flew white flags. When Aeorin's army arrived, the people welcomed some semblance of order, and flew the red and white flags, threw confetti, and cheered their new master.

But in Aeorins moment of triumph, just as the Crown of Hyrule was in his grasp, he hit a snag. No one could lift up the crown, or open the throne room doors. When Aeorin appealed to the populace for help, and old crone stated "Only one of the royal family can wear the crown or open the throne room."

Bowing to tradition (Sources say he was considering making a new crown and blowing up the throne room doors with bombs), he declared himself Steward of Hyrule, and began his reign as the virtual dictator. But for those poor souls! Many frontiersmen and women fled with their children into the Wild Lands, where the Wild Men took them all in. A few soldiers who had escaped the battle retreated into the Desert, along with their families.

What their lives must have been like…