In times of peace, the kingdom of Hyrule found itself prosperous. To neighboring lands it was a golden one, a nation to be envied. The economy was high, resources were allocated with finesse, and crime was low. Spearheading these golden times were often queens of the everlasting royal family. Some of the greatest queens in history, many holding the family's traditional name: Zelda.

But darkness had a way of pervading this nation like no other. Throughout history, time and time again the kingdom, and the leading women of the country, often were forced to take actions to battle this evil. All Hyrulians knew the legend, never a name, but the tale of the young boy. A boy, barely a man, garbed in green, wielding a holy sword and the blessing of the goddess, and thus he would come to destroy the evil with the help and guidance from the Princess of Destiny.

In a war against the Twilight itself, and the corrupted creatures within, this hero and princess fought that same evil that plagued the nation for eternity. He who cursed the descendants of the land at its birth would come to fight the two over and over, and this time he found a path through the very mirror of the Light Kingdom. In the end, when the kingdom was once again on the verge of destruction, it was saved. Despite all that was lost, that recurring evil was thought to have been obliterated, defeated for the final time. The goddesses gift faded from him, marking his mortality.

And within time, it surely once again felt like no evil could befall them. The nation was brought from the brink, built back up from rubble into something wonderful. Truly, a land blessed by the goddesses. As tradition, with each passing generation, a woman sat at the throne, typically hailing the name of the legendary queen that ran through their bloodline.

However, centuries after the dark lord lay dying on the battlefield, lost from grace, a new queen was born. Like many others, she carried the name Zelda. She had no Triforce or memories, no telltale signs that she was connected with the goddesses. However, when the time neared for darkness to loom over her people once more, the visions began. At night, as she slept, the goddesses made contact with her, plagued her with images of her people's demise. They also gave her another gift, granting her with memories of her past lives. She was able to recall a boy garbed in green. A boy she once knew well, throughout multiple lives.

She attempted to prepare for this evil, expecting that along the way he would show again to aid her in fulfilling their destiny. When the dark lord came, he took her by surprise and diverted from his usual warpath. He hid his true face from others, gaining the love and admiration of her people. When time came to take what he desired, he struck in the most cunning of ways.

As the princess' family and friends—anyone rightfully suitable for the throne—all tragically fell died around her, she was framed under the conspiracy of these murders. A rebellion began. Standing at the forefront, manipulating the people, was none other than the incarnate of the dark lord. He was young, brilliant, and lovable in the eyes of a broken kingdom. He would be a great leader. Through the calm of this facade, he was able to shatter Hyrule's devotion to the nation's oldest family, their royal line and heritage that had started it all.

The princess was executed publicly. The hero never showed. The end to the royal bloodline left a silence across the nation that was nearly impermeable. Nearly.

With persuasive speeches on the corruption of the monarchy, the new leader changed the entirety of the country. He formed a republic in place of the abolished government. At its birth, it seemed that the country would once again thrive.

Hyrule never did rise back into a golden age, and at its greatest peak all seemed to forget that times even better had existed. With all evidence of the royal family burned, all monuments defaced, the nation was able to forget their origins and saviors. The dark lord passed on, but the damage he'd done remained. A decline in the prosperity of Hyrule was gradual over time. Throughout the ruling of the most recent appointed, Hyrule had met a new low, tapered with corruption teeming at its edges.

All had been forgotten of a golden kingdom and their beautiful queens. Even the hero garbed in green was mere ashes in the wind. With one exception.

In a small southern village of Ordon, separate but still one with Hyrule, the legends were remembered. Children were told the tales as bedtime stories, kept novels on their bookshelves, and mentioned them in idle conversation. The one place history could be preserved through blurry lines between fairytales and truth. One family in particular kept the memory alive well, rooted deep in secrets they could never share, generations of holding the greatest of tales never to be told.

Their descent began with the arrival of Faron's people. The last century found the forest mysteriously purged with horrors come the night. Monsters walked in the dark, hunting out the peaceful humans that had called the forest home for centuries prior. They fled to Ordon, where the light kept the monsters at bay. The village was forced to expand geologically to hold the new families. A gate was placed for when the grotesque creatures came too close. The village was at a loss. Financially they were weak, and they had lost many of their strongest men to the monsters. However, their suffering would not be over.

Freedom was torn away from these people when they were overtaken by an outside ruling. The peaceful Ordonians found themselves threatened and enslaved. Forced to work the land for another, tied to servitude, and grounded by strict laws placed above their heads. Ordon became a prison for its people. Like livestock, they were marked as servants to Ordon's master. The screams of children, men, and women as the emblem was burned into their skin echoed clearly throughout the province.

No one came to save them. Illegal as it would seem to be, the Hyrulian government never stepped in, claiming intervention on such a territory would be an abuse of Hyrule's power and resources. Ordon had been cast aside.

Eighty years passed like this. Many of the oldest residents passed on, but a few still live that remember the story as clear as present day. Servitude controls them, but they have learned to live with the suffering. As a people, they have grown closer than ever. They suffer now, but the legends our still told on whispered breathes. Hope still breeds light in the young.

A blessing is coming.