Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, locations, or elements that are found in other Nintendo Zelda games.


With the sword over his shoulder and armed with a new revelation, Link bolted out of his hut, livid at all that was withheld from him. His thoughts swirled as he rushed past the residents of Torrhes.

"Watch it, hero coming through," Link screamed toward one passerby, who just stared at him.

To think that Aryll and Sahasrahla were trying to protect me… from what? he thought as he nearly ran into Ilia, one of the female farmhands.

"Oh Link, I'm sorry what happened earlier, could you…" she began, but her cut her off.

"Not now, I'm busy," Link replied back, continuing toward Sahasrahla's hut. The previous day, he was supposed to have a magic lesson, which was disrupted due to a detour to the Arcadian capital, Drigoor.

He could handle putting out the fire and being the hero, but not if it was in fact caused by his old mentor. He could handle risking his life and saving Arcadia from Hyrulian slavery, but not if it meant his friends were put in danger. What he couldn't handle the most was that his father was apparently the previous Hero of Time, and how no adults ever cared to mention that detail.

In very little time, Link made it to Sahasrahla's hut, and for the second time in two days, entered hoping to receive some answers.

"Sahasrahla, we need to talk!" Link shouted once in the entranceway. It was not a big building, and he soon heard the hobbling of his old mentor approaching him.

"Link, I heard what you did last night. Queen Ambi can't thank you enough," Sahasrahla spoke.

Link held his breath for a moment, letting the old man speak before he thought of what he was going to do. He glanced at his hands, still slightly raw from destroying the moon stone.

"You've been lying to me. What have you been hiding?" Link asked, his temper rising due to how calm Sahasrahla was. He was staring down at the old man, each a short distance away from the other.

"I only just returned from Drigoor. I waited there with the queen, and it now appears that our relations with Hyrule have reached an all-time low," the old man responded, still calm despite Link's noticeable anger.

"All these years I thought you were my friend, but you've just been protecting me, isn't that it? Or were you keeping me from reaching my true potential as the Hero of Time? Have you been working with the enemy?" Link asked, rattling off what was going through his head.

The old man let out a sigh, walked past Link, and sat on the purple sofa beneath the window. This angered Link even more, and he pulled out the sword meant for Ingo. He brought it toward Sahasrahla's throat, whose eyes grew wide and fearful.

"Answer me!" Link threatened, relishing in the moment.

The old man stared at Link, and let out a sigh. "It is a long story..."

"...and I want to know everything. You know more about history than anyone else I know," Link interrupted.

"Very well." Sahasrahla replied calmly. Link was panting, but he waited for the old man to start talking before he did anything. "You can stay standing there, or you can sit down, I don't mind. It all began hundreds of years ago..."

In the glory days of Hyrule, all people were united under one throne. The kingdom stretched as far as the eye could see, and all was fair between Hylians, Kokiri, Gerudo, Gorons, and Zoras. Gradually, the powers of the monarchy became less and less, as people took power into their own hands. All remained united, for a time. About 200 years ago, a group of anarchists rose through the Hyrulian government, calling for a new enlightened era. With little opposition, the monarchy was disbanded, and so began an era of democracy.

By that time, the stories of ancient Hyrule became legends, each distorted more and more over the years, and some overlapping. Instead of a varied group of people, the legendary characters received the same names with similar characteristics: the hero always became known as Link, the princess as Zelda, and the antagonist as Ganon. People had stopped using magic and instead were developing wonderful new technologies, like…

"Wait, I used magic last night, you use magic. It can't have been stopped," Link spoke up. He was sitting on the floor, mildly interested in what appeared to be a very long story. He had calmed down enough, and was now twisting the sword in a circular fashion, and Sahasrahla let out a sigh.

"This is why I didn't want to tell you the story. Hyrulian history is so long and complicated. Someone as yourself just couldn't understand half of it," the old man retorted.

"No, I'm sorry, please continue," Link requested.

"Hmm... you see..."

For a while, the Hyrulian democracy was stable, and all people seemed content with each other. As people grew complacent, there was increasing inbreeding between the Hylians and other races. However, as such peace occurred, the many races chose to exert nationalist desires. One by one, the Zora, Gorons, Gerudo, and Kokiri all voiced their dissatisfaction with the government, and so they all became increasingly independent. The Hyrulian traditionalists wished nothing more than to keep the countries together, but still under a democracy. Meanwhile, a group of revolutionaries wished to retain semblances of the former Hylian monarchy, specifically the devotion to the goddesses. About 50 years ago, one Hyrulian delegate rose through the ranks, and was able to impose a lasting impression on his peers.

By that point, there was still the age-old myth that only one male Gerudo was born every 100 years, but no one dared to declare himself as such. Nevertheless, that one man, with the demeanor of someone with power and, in particular, resembling a Gerudo, led a rebellion to reaffirm the power of the Hyrulian government over its constituencies.

And so began the great Hyrulian Civil War. That man, self-proclaimed a leader, who vowed to bring the world together by force, while the rest of the world was in shambles, awaiting a victor to determine how peace would prevail. As the Gerudo man gained influence across the government, a group of people started pushing for a link to the past. Known as the Arc of the Triforce, the group staged demonstrations across Hyrule, saying how the end of the world was near unless we restored such basic values as properly worshipping the goddesses.

"Wait, how do you know all of this again?" Link asked, with the story piquing his curiosity. He was lying down on the ground, with his hands clasped behind his head. After his adventures during the previous two days, he was rather tired, and he felt relaxed listening to the story, despite his earlier rage.

"I said 'we' for a reason. I was one of the Arc of the Triforce," Sahasrahla responded with a tinge of annoyance, although his face grew into a smile. He stretched out his right hand, and suddenly the sword Link was playing with was hovering in mid-air.

"I thought this was supposed to be here," the old man joked darkly, chuckling. Link just stared, not sure how to react at a sword levitating magically. It appeared that Sahasrahla was having more fun talking than Link was listening.

The old man continued. "Anyway..."

The Arc of the Triforce gathered a loyal following. Our people began demanding for more responsible government, for someone who would last during times of turmoil. At the same time, the others were blindly following the Gerudo man. We suspected some sort of trickery, but we could never prove it. It appeared that many people across Hyrule actually believed his teachings, that we were better off with an incompetent and corrupt government.

I only joined the Arcadians - as they were commonly known - because of my university studies. Earlier in my life, I had a keen interest in the past. In Ordon Village, I was in the library every day, learning as much as I could about our history. I finally went to Darunia University to pursue my passion. You see, my dissertation was a meticulous survey on the ancient royal family, everything from how they governed to how they determined the next monarch. I was in the process of determining who would have been the next ruler of Hyrule. They brought me in so I would have all of their resources, in order to find, without a doubt, who was the god-chosen successor to the throne. Little did I know that they were planning a coup as soon as I determined my results.

I could sense excitement within the Arcadians. Their numbers were growing, and it seemed like there would be some inevitable conflict between them and the follower of the Gerudos. I could sense they were relying more and more on my studies, so I took my time in translating the ancient Hylian texts. Most of the members were mindlessly following us, much like our opposing group. Even the Arc's leaders seemed as if they were just going along with the flow.

...except one, Ambi.

She stopped by my room one night. She wanted to talk with someone, anyone, who would make plans for the future. Ambi opened herself to me, and I knew she was different. Her ideas were more specific than the others. She called for compromise with our actions, and tried to prevent the conflict from becoming anything more. I diligently listened to her, and I shared my own ideas with her. We saw each other increasingly more, and began to depend on each other through the difficult times. Ambi often spent entire evenings in my loft, and I fell in love with her.

However, she was outnumbered, and the rest of the Arcadians were just interested in holding rallies that often devolved into drunken parties.

When I had a clear mind and was free from Ambi, I was beginning to worry that I was on the wrong side. The people following the Gerudo only wanted to have a strong government and keep the people together, and I almost envied them, if they weren't blindly following a potential tyrant.

One day, I finally completed my studies, I was disgusted by my results. The rightful king of Hyrule should have been Harkinian, a greedy man who would have ruled with an iron fist. He was one of the few Arcadian leaders who had a mind of his own, and he spent most of his time corrupting other members. I knew that if he became the king, then Hyrule would become a dark place. However, I was blinded by love. I quickly edited my work and forged my results, and at one meeting, I announced that Ambi was to be the rightful monarch. The group celebrated at my results, and no one doubted me. Instead, it seemed they were ready to go ahead with doing something big and bold, only no one knew to what to do.

At the same time, the so-called democracy was becoming increasingly under the influence of the Gerudo man. Everyone was becoming afraid. Friends turned against friends, family against family, Zoras against Gorons. They all knew a war was coming. Demonstrations became violent, and people burned down the few churches remaining from when the monarchy was still around. While at one time the different races were all evenly represented in the Hyrulian democracy, they all became targeted and ridiculed. To quell the disorder, the government increased the size of the military, in a show of force. However, this heightened tensions more.

The Zoras, long known for their oath to order and loyalty to the royal family, took action and declared their independence. Any Hylian with Zora blood was invited to join their new nation, and many took up that offer, including a brave young man who deserted the Hylian army.

"That's my father Talo," Link interrupted, hanging on to Sahasrahla's every word. "I can tell how described him, your face lit up."

"Yes, very perceptive Link," the old man responded, before continuing.

With my duty finding the royal successor finished, I was directed to spy on the Gerudo man. Others had more useful duties, so they claimed, such as organizing more rallies, or training a small militia.

And so I followed as he led a garrison of the Hylian army toward Zora Domain. I managed to join them as a spy without any of them knowing. They were disorganized, and it took weeks to make the trek from Hyrule Castle to the waterfalls just outside of the Zora borders. I heard rumors that the Gerudo man used magic to control people's opinions, and I wanted to see for myself.

The only goal of the Gerudo, as I found out, was to force the Zoras to rejoin Hyrule, either by persuasion or by force. The Gerudo man went alone into the Zora territory, but some of the soldiers helped me sneak in. What I saw I couldn't believe.

Talo stood with a sword in his hand, and the Gerudo man was lying on the ground, grasping his chest. I walked over to Talo, and he was in disbelief. We both watched as the man took his final breath, and finally collapse. Talo dropped the sword and shook his head in disbelief, saying how it shouldn't have been him – a mixed blood – killing the evil force. He ran away from me as a Zora came over to me. His name was Ruto, and he was only supposed to be the guard on duty for the night. I told him to take credit for what happened, and I promised him that I would return to help.

I made my way back outside to rejoin the soldiers. Everyone was calm as if nothing happened, and I tried to act as normal as possible. After an hour, one of the leading officers, General Sakon, went into the domain, and he quickly returned to proclaim a message: that the leader had been captured, and that we were to return to Hyrule Castle to prepare for war.

I was in disbelief, for I saw their leader die at the ledge of Zora Domain. The garrison gradually disbanded, with no one to lead the troops. I managed to sneak away to the Arcadian camp, but by then they already knew that war had begun. Ruto, the Zora, was already a hero, and our militia was preparing to aid them

However, by then, the Gorons led a sneak attack against the Kokiri, demanding access to the Lost Woods. The Zoras became more independent with their surge of nationalism, and they declared war against the Hylians. Everyone was at war with each other, and increasingly no one felt they could trust each other. Society and progress came to a halt. The Hyrulian democracy was disbanded in favor of a dictatorship. We Arcadians tried to straddle the various ethnic groups and gain their support, but we had no luck. With the increasing bloodshed across the world, we declared our own independence, claiming the sparsely inhabited territory in the mountains and beyond.

I tried maintaining a connection with Ambi, as she instituted her reforms and ideas. However, I could never be completely honest with her, since she was not the rightful ruler. We drifted apart, and during the years of civil war, I wandered the world, looking for my purpose in life. I eventually reached the distant land of Termina, where all was peaceful, in contrast to Hyrule where it felt the sky was falling. Although I was only there for three days, I learned much from the Terminans, such as magic and even more about the history of the world.

For a while, I isolated myself from the world. I couldn't help think how Ambi was not the god-chosen successor, and how I could've helped the Gerudo man – at least he kept all of the races together. In the subsequent years, the tensions calmed and the fighting abated, but Hyrule had a deep scar that lives through today.

Without the unity of the different races, the world became very dark. The Hylians were the first to recover, as they were the most populous. They restored their democracy, and resumed their progress, only they maintained their fear of the other races. The Zoras became very proud of their capabilities, and they too grew prosperous, but they hardly resembled their ancestors, who swore to work hand-in-fin with the Hylians. The Kokiri suffered the worst losses, owing to their population being children, but the forest gradually repopulated them. The Gorons only fared minimal casualties, but they lost any progress as a civilization, resuming their barbaric rituals of the ancient past. And so Arcadia was on the outskirts, struggling to find its own identity.

We built our nationhood on the monarchy and the goddesses, and for a while we were largely successful. We were always on edge with the Hylians, and there were minor skirmishes over the following decades. In one such battle, your father Taro left with a militia group, and was never seen again. Before he left, he met a young Arcadian widow - your mother. They quickly grew close, but he died going to save his country, and before they could get married. Nine months later, a young child was born, and it was with my suggestion that the mother name him Link.

"I'm sure you know the rest by now," Sahasrahla spoke, ending the story. Link sat quietly. It was dark outside by now. He had no idea the true history of Arcadia. He was only taught a much more fantasized version in his schooling. As the information digested, Link knew there was still more to the story.

"But there's so much that you left out. Who started the fire from the other night? What is Ganon planning now? Is he the son of that Gerudo man - who is evidently nameless? You said that a Gerudo was born once every 100 years, but wouldn't that be impossible for there to be a Gerudo father/son? How did my mother really die? Does anyone even know your side of the story?" Link asked, going through everything on his mind.

"Another day, Link. My throat is tired," the old man said, standing up and walking past a confused Link. "Would you like to stay for supper? You could use a good meal after all you've been through the past few days."

"No thanks, Sarsa. I have some thinking to do," Link replied, picking up the sword. He walked outside without another word and headed toward his hut, wondering how much of the story was true.

But Din said to be more trusting in people... Link thought. The goddess also spoke of him saving the world, but with Sahasrahla's story, it appeared to be an impossible task. The only way the world could be saved is by bringing everyone back together.

By the time he reached his hut, Link had realized that he had been unfair to the old man. After years of training and friendship, he had no doubt that Sahasrahla was honest with him, after all, and that he should trust him. Making up his mind, he turned around and ran back to Sahasrahla's house. He walked in without knocking, and saw the old man in the little kitchen.

"Link, did you forget anything?" asked Sahsrahla.

"Yes. I am sorry how I treated you, and I would love to have dinner with you, if you don't mind," Link replied.

The old man smiled, and the two bonded over a meal. They avoided talking further about the past. Link knew that his curiosity could wait until another time.