TWISTS OF TIME

- five years after the return of peace to Hyrule -


Clad in the Hero's Clothes, Link stood in the Temple of Time alongside Princess Zelda, where a hollow, ghostly air filled the lobby. With its polished, ageless walls, it looked like a place that should have teemed with royalty.

Maybe the spirits of dead monarchs still walked the halls, but to the living it was a lonely, empty temple. Zelda felt a strange stillness that chilled her, and somehow she knew that time was frozen.

The Temple of Time was built by the goddesses so that when disaster struck, the Hero of Time could go back down the Time Paths and undo it.

After looking through old books in the Hall of Archives back in Hyrule, Zelda believed there was something odd about the Temple of Time. Long ago it was said to be right near Hyrule Castle, accessible via a short path from the marketplace. There were no records of how or when it moved from the heart of Hyrule to deep within the Faron Province.

Interestingly, she found that in old times, Faron Woods used to be known as the Lost Woods.

The Temple of Time was now in ruins. Why did the goddesses create the the temple only to seal it off, then move it to the woods, and destroy it?

It was also said that two magic doors existed deep inside the temple: one to the future and one to the past. She wanted to find them. She and Link went from room to room, and she strode along the walls in silent awe, listening to him recall his experiences from five years ago.

"I never saw another door," he mentioned. He took out his map, an old scroll that was loosely packed in the bag strapped to his back.

Zelda stopped by his side to trail a finger from the entrance point to a higher section on the map, where there was nothing drawn. "Here is where we would find the Door to the Past."

Huh. That would explain it, Link thought. He didn't go that way.

As the hour passed, Link led the way to the northern end of the temple. Eventually they found the uncharted door.

Zelda understood his curiosity, but seeing him there worried her. She had a strange feeling, a sensation like those of her visions. A bad one that Link was going to do something rash. Maybe he longed to return to Ordon while it was still the place of his childhood memories, if not to see Midna again.

Link turned back around to face her, but there was resolution in his eyes that confirmed her fear. "I can stop Ganondorf."

Zelda shook her head. They were oppressed by Ganondorf for a short time, and still they faced a future of uncertainty, but what if he undid their past? "No, you can't," she said insistently, stepping forward. "The twists in time aren't separate indents in a malleable strip of metal to be reshaped by a novice blacksmith." She stepped back again and motioned for him to move away from the door, but he didn't.

He opened the door and a bright, white light filled the chamber. She saw his silhouette step into the light before she shielded her eyes, then the door closed.

He was gone.