Dear Diary,

Two big, dusty old crates were taken into my studio this morning. The Head Librarian came with some assistants that carried them.

'Your Highness, these records contain sensitive material', he said, adding 'Discretion is advised', and gave me the keys to the crates.

I requested to be left alone until I was done, and cancelled any appointments. I only allowed Impaz, Master Auru, and Link to visit me.

This is a very brief account of what I have learned from them.

The first rulers of Hyrule - after the Spirit Maiden Zelda and the Hero of the Skies defeated Demise, and the humans and Hylians returned to the land from the City in the Sky, or Skyloft, as it is referred in the records - were not that dreadful. Some were womanizers, drank too much, or liked gambling. Some were just plain, or mediocre. I honestly thought it would be worse. The kingdom was prosper and tranquil, despite their defects.

The threats were scarce. A mage named Vaati wrecked havoc a couple of times, looking for a golden power- very likely to be the Triforce - under the care of the first of several Princess Zelda.

They sent a child to defeat him in both occasions. History books always mention a hero clad in green with a pure heart, but never his age. The threat is never mentioned, either.

Things took a dark turn when rumors about this golden power spread like wildfire across the land. Everybody coveted it, which lead to a horribly long war. In my history lessons it was referred as the Hyrulean Civil War. They mention it as something akin to a struggle for power, being a war of a group of some tribes against Hyrule, one described just as the Interlopers.

They do not mention these people were what came to be the the kin of the dearly missed Midna, the Twili, nor the fact that these people were users of dark magic - which is forbidden.

Before what remained of them were banished, their villages were raided. Not a single soul was spared. The Army of Hyrule, with endorsement of the King of that time, behaved like monsters.

They committed every form of violence, abuse, and other atrocities towards these people.

It was not justice, it was mere viciousness and malice.

And later the Sages dumped that scum of Ganondorf - and several other criminals probably - through the Mirror of Twilight.

Now, with all this knowledge at hand, I can fully understand why Midna broke the Mirror. I would have done the same.

Other tribe was involved in this conflict, although later: The Gerudo. Some early records call them the Geldo, but the first is what remained.

In most history books, they are portrayed as a ruthless, all-female, scantily clad tribe of thieves, with brown skin and red hair.

Well, there is only one true thing about the former statement: their physical features.

They lived in the desert peacefully, in a matriarchal society; men were really fewer than women, it was quite common that they married people from other races. They were highly skilled in combat and magic. They would strip off of their belongings and leave in the desert anyone trying to intrude in their lands - especially if they were slave traders. Gerudo women were coveted for their exotic traits, and their alleged insatiable sexual appetite. They were sold to brothels; the younger the girl, the higher the profit, how disgusting and infuriating!

Ganondorf raised as leader of the Gerudo when there was a truce ongoing. His early motivations were fair - establish trade, ban slave trade of women - but his unbridled thirst for power nullified the good he could have done. His plans were thwarted by the Princess Zelda of that time and the Hero of Time.

He ran away and went into hiding for some time, which caused a rift on the Gerudo. A minority remained loyal to him; a large group led by a warrior named Nabooru sided with Hyrule.

War waged on, until Ganondorf was captured. What followed was out of any proportion. The books only mention his defeat and the conquest of the Gerudo tribe.

The King - despite Princess Zelda's plea for mercy- allowed the genocide of an entire race, not before giving the Army permission to do as they pleased.

There are no words to describe what they did to those people. I am deeply disgusted, horrified and ashamed of my ancestors.

When Queen Zelda III took the throne, it was too late to make amends. The Kings that came after her only swept things under the rug, my very own father included.

Paraphrasing what Ganondorf said after Link defeated him: the history of Hyrule is written in blood.

It has always been like that.

I have no idea why this information has been kept away for generations. The citizens need to know this. They need to know Hyrule has not been always this warm and welcoming place. They need to know the whole story, not the tidbits shown in the books.

I will refer to this during the next Council meeting. Link will have to be there too. He must be made aware of this as Lord Commander.

This country will not hold secrets anymore, no matter how dark they are.

Yours,

Zelda

P.S.: There is an old scroll on the second crate that says 'For Zelda'. It is sealed. Maybe my father wrote it?