The Story of Hyrule

The Era of the Sky

The Legend Unfolds...

"In the sky, where the Hero and the other Hylians lived, the surface world is only a legend. Similarly, amongst tribes like the Gorons and Kikwi on the Surface, there are legends of a great landmass that floats in the sky."
- Hyrule Historia

"So get this: people actually live on this sky island, and they get around by flying on the backs of huge birds that are way bigger than birds down here! Up there everyone reveres the goddess, and the residents of all the little islands in the sky live in a perfect society, totally free of conflict or unhappiness! Not only that, but from what I can tell, their civilization is way, way more advanced than ours down here. But it does not even stop there, bud! This Isle of the Goddess has even more stuff to marvel at! The place was crafted by the goddess herself, so it figures that it is filled with wonders we do not have here. The buildings are all made of gold! An endless spring of mystical water feeds a river through the place. One sip of that stuff, and you live forever! The trees are heavy with plump fruit that cures all disease! The fields are crowded with pumpkins that never rot! Magic wildflowers bloom everywhere! And the weather. Oh, the weather, bud! Not too hot, not too cold. No chance of sweaty weather in this garden paradise! That is the Isle of the Goddess... Amazing, right? WRONG! IT IS BEYOND AMAZING!"
- Gorko, Goron Historian (most of this is inaccurate).

"Great goddess, guiding light and protector of our people, grant us your blessing and mercy as I act in your stead during this ceremony. Valiant youth who grasped victory at the celebration of the bird folk... In accordance with the old ways... I now bestow the blessings of the goddess upon you. The blessings of the goddess drift down from the heavens aloft a sail, which I now pass on to you."

- The traditional Blessing of the Wing Ceremony.

Demise's resting place in the former Temple of Hylia would eventually give rise to a new name for the complex, that being the Sealed Grounds. As the land slowly fell into decay, the nearby forest would expand to surround the area - cutting it off from the fields beyond. The temple itself partly collapsed during the following centuries, as it's soul attendent was unable to fully prevent the wear brought on by time. This attendent was the Lady Impa, foremost warrior of the Shiekah (and future namesake of many a great warrior). In the moments before she had passed on, Hylia had entrusted the duty of watching over the sealed demon king to her, giving her the warning that it would be many centuries before Demise could truly be defeated. Nonetheless Impa would dedicate her life to this task, spending an eternity in the temple waiting for the return of the Goddess.

According to rumour, part of the duties Impa took on herself was sealing away the ancient technology of the Sheikah tribes. The shrines, guardians and divine beasts (the future Vah Naboris, Vah Medoh, Vah Ruta and Vah Rudania) were hidden away across the land, so that the monsters and any surviving Demon Lords could not gain control over them. With the Sheikah Tribe near extinction this proved necessary, as the hidden race retreated to inhabiting Kakariko Village alone. A few of them still helped Impa in the Goddess' task, as did the last few Ancient Robots - one of which ended up stranded on Skyloft during the process. The Gates of Time in both the Temple of Hylia and the Temple of Time were sealed away as well, with enchantments prepared to ensure that only the Goddess's own Harp could awaken them. Various dungeons were locked away by Impa as well, including the Shadow Temple and the Hidden Temple.

Hylia had also given the Sheikah a final role to play in the great task, though that would only become clear with time.

Meanwhile, above the clouds Skyloft prospered with the aid of the Loftwings. Though never a large society, the inhabitants were always healthy, dutiful and pious before the Goddess. Regular feast days were held in Hylia's honour and it became customary for each Skyloftian to offer their prayers before a 'bird statue' at least once every day. But even with the prominent worship of the Goddess, the story of how they came to be above the clouds faded quickly from memory. Knowledge of the surface receded into myth; the gods and lands of the Surface being forgotten except in the occasional old book. Even the Triforce was forgotten, except by the very small band of scholars known as the Legend Keepers.

These men and women dedicated themselves not only to keeping the myths of the ancient land alive, but to ensuring that when the time came Skyloft was ready to return below the clouds and retake the Light World. To this end several Knight Academies were formed; the latest of them coming into creation 25 years before the true rediscovery of the Surface at the hands of Kean Gaepora. This order is the direct descendent of the Hyrulian army of today and the Order of Knights, though obviously customs have changed since the Era of the Sky. For example, the uniform of the knights in this era (long tunic with chainmail and cap) is no longer used for the armies of the realm - though the clothes of the various reincarnations of the Hero have been usually based on the outfit's of the protectors of Skyloft.

Over the few hundred years lived above the clouds, the culture of Skyloft evolved into its own distinct style; many customs and traditions that would shape the coming Hyrule would find their origin here. For instance, the Wing Ceremony where hopefuls would have to attempt to retrieve an statue to present to a representative of the Goddess, became the Knight's Trials - though the later ones would happen more than once a year out of necessity. The tradition of pumpkin soup on the fifth day of the week began in this era, started by the restaurant known as the Lumpy Pumpkin. Music was considered as the finest of arts, with the harp and voice being the most popular instruments. Clothes were built thick and durable to withstand the strong winds high in the sky and while that tradition has not entirely endured, Hylians have continued the style of weaving or dying bright colors into everything. Aside from color however, life was relatively frugal on Skyloft due to the lack of space. Perhaps from necessity, many Skyloftians preferred to their ashes scattered into open sky rather than be buried in the small graveyard on the island.

Life in the Sky aside from the Hylian race was more widespread than it at first might appear. The Loftwings are by far the most famous of course, but several other animals that would prove popular in artwork were popular during this period; including the Ringer (a small flying rodent) and the Remlit (a predecessor to the common cat). Various species of insect also existed, such as the Skyloft Mantis, the Starry Firefly and the Sky Stag Beetle. Blessed Butterflies also inhabited the Sky, as they did throughout the entire world. The elephant was also popular as a symbol on Skyloft, though sadly the actual animal went extinct during this period and the Skyloftians slowly forgot what the animal was. Plant life existed in the form of several flower types (including the so-called Heart Flower) along with trees that had travelled to the Sky with the Hylian race.

After many centuries, there came a day when a young man named Link participated in the Wing Ceremony and handed the statue to his childhood friend Zelda.

The Legend Unfolds...


The Divine Beasts are a nod to the backstory for Breath of the Wild, partly so I can avoid the 10,000 year time skip suggested by that game. The reason why the the later kingdom believes they are to deal with Ganon rather than Demise is due to the latter slowly fading from memory.

Scrapper is the Ancient Robot who got marooned.

The Shadow Temple will become very important later, but it originates in Ocarina of Time. The Hidden Temple is from BOTW.

Headmaster Gaepora's first name (Kean) is based upon the Kea species of bird, which is often regarded as the most intelligent in the world.

Quite a bit of information on life in Skyloft has been taken from the encylopedia, though the scattering of ashes was my own invention.

All of the animals mentioned can be found in Skyward Sword (except the elephant, which is of course a nod to Vah Ruta).