The Story of Hyrule
The First Sage

The Legend Unfolds...

To understand the first Hylian Civil War, we must first travel back seventy years earlier to explore the life of one of its key figures: Rauru, First Sage of Hyrule and Guardian of the Triforce. A descendent of the Hero of Legend through his second child Groose (named for his close friend), Rauru had at a young age been apprenticed to the Sages of Hylia (an order established by the first Zelda to look after the various temples and shrines) after his parents were killed during Volvagia's attack on Hyrule Town. From there he would rise to the top of the order's ranks, second only to the High Sage of Hyrule himself. By all accounts Rauru was dedicated to his work and highly proficient in the magical arts passed down from Zelda and the few Sheikah travellers willing to instruct the Hylians. As second in command of his order he had also been briefed on the true secret of the Triforce and the need for a better protection for it.

Without other events, it is likely that Rauru would have progressed to the leadership of the sages in due course and governed there until his own death or retirement. However fate had other ideas and before the Sage's own eyes his master was hacked to death by rebels, signalling the start of the First Hyrulian Civil War. The rebels were inhabitants of the border towns of Hyrule, far enough away from the capital that the angry propaganda about Skyloft's fate had gained heavy traction. The actual identity of the villages responsible is contentious to this day, as propaganda has retroactively identified them as Ordon (a town that wouldn't be founded for over a millennium), Kakariko (deemed unlikely as there is no evidence of any sort of conflict) and several other locations that wouldn't emerge for centuries. Most evidence suggests that they were located in the west, likely due to that location benefiting the least from the Hylian-Sheikah-Goron trade routes.

Regardless of the true origin of the rebels, the murder would shock Hyrulian society and the resulting scramble for answers would lend the rebellion enough time to formalise itself. Their names of their leaders have been deliberately struck from the record, though some surviving documents suggest that they had names similar to Kina, Ichiro and Shiro (popular names of the period, though they would fall out of fashion in the eras after the birth of Ganondorf). There were definitely three of them, that at least is confirmed as they styled their council after the 'misused' artifact of the Goddesses - the Triforce. The three of them threatened war unless said artifact was handed over "to the free peoples of Hylia" and the descendants of Link stripped of their 'undeserved titles'. And as a show of force they annihilated three small hamlets between their own village and Hyrule Town, falling upon them with sword and torch.

History tells us this was a mistake, though the strategic value behind destroying the outermost defences of Hyrule Town cannot be denied. But the premature attacks hardened the hearts of the common people against the rebels and turned they themselves into the scapegoats they had hoped to make out of the Mayor's family. Without this action things might have been different as the Mayor of Hyrule of that time (named Cawlin) was a notoriously weak and fearful man, considered a bit of embarrassment for the town and a disappointment compared to others in his line. His daughter Zelda (the second to bear the legendary name) was comparatively much more popular and beloved, but was limited in what she could affect by the fact that at that time the post of Mayor was for life. Nonetheless, after this despised action the citizens of Hyrule would have rallied behind a simpleton so Mayor Cawlin had an easy time recruiting the Knights of Hyrule to his side; along with a sizeable number of ordinary townsfolk who enrolled as guards to protect the town from a siege.

They would prove to be sorely needed as once again the rebels had not been idle. While the Mayor had been recruiting forces from Hyrule Town itself as well as the territories to the north and east; the rebels had been doing the same with villages of their native west and the south. They also reached out to the Gorons for aid - only to be soundly rebuffed when the Death Mountain tribe declared itself allies of their opponents. Five of the rock tribe had been murdered in the sacks carried out by the rebellion and the Goron Patriarch Coro made clear his intent to seek retribution for their deaths. In total the numbers for both sides (discounting civilians of course) were around 400 for the Rebels and 700 for the Loyalists - though the latter had a force of 50 armoured Gorons inbound from Death Mountain. As the reader can see therefore the Loyalists had a clear advantage in numbers, though not to the extent that they could crush the rebellion with ease. They also arguably had a much better class of soldier with almost all of the knights staying loyal to the mayor.

With these odds it is understandable why it was the Loyalists who made the first move. Under the command of Zelda (in place of her father) and Rauru (who had called up his brethren to support the ranks of the militia with magic), the Hylian army advanced on the central territory of the rebels with the aim to divide their forces in half and hopefully catch the rebel leaders flatfooted. They both succeeded and failed at these aims. A significant portion of the men - around 80-100 in number - were caught on the wrong side of the main army and after taking heavy losses attempting to assault a village surrendered to a group of 60 men (and five knights) sent to defeat them. The home village of the rebellion also fell very quickly to the armies of Hyrule, with barely ten men dying to break through the wooden fences and capture one of the three rebel leaders (who was immediately executed without trial).

But as for the rest of the rebellion, no sign could be found. No documents were discovered to hint at where the missing 250 had vanished off to, no prisoners were able to reveal the information - even under torture. And so the army of Hyrule was faced with the alarming realisation that they had no idea where the enemy army was.

After the initial panic, the Loyalists acted with impressive speed and decisiveness. Scouts were released throughout the Hylian lands to look for the telltale clues of marching, along with several horsemen charged with heading back to Hyrule Town with all speed to warn of a possible siege. 200 men of the army would follow them there, while three sets of 100 would search out the Hylian lands to the southeast, the Hylian lands to the north and the western lands beyond Hyrule's territory (including Lanayru Desert) for the missing troops. The last 200 would stay in the occupied territory to prevent a second uprising. Rauru and Zelda were among none of the groups however as the former had received a dream (which the Sage insisted was a warning) of an attempt to steal the Triforce. The two of them knew that the artifact was hidden in the Mayor's Castle to the north of Hyrule Town and hastened to ride there, knowing full well that if the Triforce fell to their enemies it would all be over for their side.

The rebels knew this as well (though how they discovered the location is still debated to this day though it is possible a defecting Knight knew the secret) and so for the same reasons were making their way north to the castle, followed eventually by one of the groups of 100 when they had discovered the trail. It was by pure luck the two riders made it to the castle first, literally by a few hours in which the garrison of 53 prepared the fortress for a siege. Apparently the actual Mayor Cawlin suffered a nervous breakdown upon realising the danger, his last sane act being to grant his daughter complete control and to pass the knowledge about the other defences of the castle onto Rauru (with the whispered instruction to flee with the artifact if the castle fell). And then a few hours later the siege began in earnest. It was very fortunate for the Loyalists that the rebellion had little experience in the finer arts of warfare, otherwise the castle almost certainly would have fallen to the greater army. But thankfully the enemy did not and so threw away dozens of their men attempting to storm the heavily fortified battlements. Another of the rebel leaders died here, his blood staining the stone walls of the fortress.

After losing 80 men of their own, the rebels resolved to simply starve out the loyalist garrison; content that their greater numbers would win them victory in time. They still apparently suffered numerous desertions and the majority of the army was only kept around by their leader's threat to turn the Triforce on them first. Ironically said artifact was currently being used by Rauru to create more food for the castle garrison, though he had decided not to use it on the enemy to avoid more damaging comparisons to Skyloft. The siege would finally be shattered about a week later by the arrival of not only the 200 man army sent to Hyrule Town (and subsequently alerted by a scout), but the 50 strong Goron force who had followed them north - to call the resulting battle a massacre is a massive understatement. All in all, the rebellion lasted about three months and succeeded in doing nothing but improving the common perception of the descendents of the Hero.

That is not to say that it had no lasting impacts however. On the contrary, the effects of the First Hylian Civil War are large are far reaching; enough that they would take an entire book to go through in detail. They include the gradual depopulation of the western regions of Hyrule and the resulting rise of the future Wind Tribe in those areas; the beginning of a slow shift towards greater worship for the three Golden Goddesses compared to Hylia; the formation of an official Hyrulian army aside from the knights and guards (though the latter was gradually absorbed into the army) and the rise in Triforce iconography. The stress of the war also supposedly led directly to Mayor Cawlin dying to a fever, though by that point his title was in name only.

The two most important impacts are also the most well known and the ones with the effects that last to this present day. I am of course talking of the creation of the Temple of Time atop the ruins of the Sealed Temple and the creation of the Royal Family. Naturally they were brought about by the two central figures of the war; Rauru the Sage and Zelda the Second. The former was responsible for the creation of the Temple as the first step in a long term plan for the protection of the Triforce. With the aid of the Master Sword (and presumably the spirit that remained within it) the Sage cast open the portal to the ancient location of the Triforce - the former Silent Realm - and constructed a great fortress within it to house the sacred artifact. No longer would this be a realm to fear, now it would be a golden dimension to house the power of the Gods. He named it the Sacred Realm and sealed the portal (with himself inside) behind both the Master Sword and a more obvious seal (nicknamed the Door of Time in the coming centuries). The door would only open with the aid of three enchanted gems which Rauru gave to the Gorons, the Parella and the ancient guardian of the Forest currently unknown to all but the Kikwi.

The creation of the Temple was also intricately linked to the foundation of the new monarchy. In the years following the civil war the Hero's descendents had again risen in popularity, providing the perfect opportunity for Rauru (officially because of a vision from the Gods) to declare Zelda as the first Queen of Hyrule, a position required by the Goddesses and deserving of one who had led the country through the war. Hyrule Castle would serve as her seat of power and with the Knights of Hyrule standing behind the young woman the foundation of the monarchy would be secure. And more importantly for Rauru, the stage was set for the final part of his master plan.

For under the guise of a gift the Sage presented the new Queen with a beautiful blue instrument forged from a Timeshift Stone and told her to defend it with her life...

The Legend Unfolds...


Link named his second child after Groose. You may ahhhh now.

Volvagia burnt Hyrule Town two chapters ago. The Temple of Hylia/Sealed Temple was destroyed during the incident.

As I've said before, the Sheikah of this period are a very secretive race. Them sharing knowledge is the exception rather than the rule.

The First Hylian Civil War was first announced as an event in Hyrule Historia, though several games prior to the book had announced wars over the Triforce.

Ordon is Link's hometown from Twilight Princess and a complicated situation we will see the origins of following Majora's Mask.

Kina is a name from Skyward Sword (Lumpy Pumpkin Barmaid), while Ichiro and Shiro are names of the carpenters from Ocarina of Time.

Here we see the second use of Zelda as a name for a significant figure. It will not be the last. Definitely not the last.

Death Mountain has fully overtaken Eldin Volcano as the name of the region. Hilariously enough it will now lose prominence since Mt Crenei (a mountain in the west) is the resident fire region in Minish Cap.

The west is our main theatre for this war, towards Lanayru Desert and away from the other surviving sentient species. This is partly foreshadowing for the general lack of civilisation (excluding Gerudo) in that compass direction in later Zelda Games including Minish Cap, Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess and Breath of the Wild. To be fair it's fairly natural - who wants to live next to a desert.

The fate of Skyloft will indeed haunt the Royal Family for years to come...

Wind Tribe is from Minish Cap. They'll be a key focus of the next Hyrule chapter.

The Golden Goddesses start to take over Hylia's position in this era, owing to the lack of references to Hylia around the events of Ocarina of Time. This is a by-product of Rauru's insistence on the visions granted to him.

The rise in 'Triforce Iconography' is a nod to the guards from Ocarina of Time. LOOK AT THEM!

This is the Temple of Time from Ocarina of Time and Breath of the Wild. The others from Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword are either not built yet or has fallen into disrepair.

The Silent Realm becoming the Sacred Realm is a very popular fan theory, which I've decided to use as it ties up a loose end.

The Gorons will keep their stone until Ocarina, the Parella will eventually lose theirs to the Zora and the Ancient Guardian (aka the Deku Tree) will protect his until Ganondorf kills him. Spoiler alert.

And the monarchy of Hyrule is finally created. Blimey that took ages. Oh and yes, the Ocarina of Time is from Ocarina of Time. Maybe.

A Note on Numbering: I've increased the numbers for all species beyond what the games might suggest. This is deliberate and one of the few areas (Breath of the Wild's 10,000 year time jump being the other) where I'm pulling a minor contradiction of the games. I don't like doing this, but the story probably wouldn't make sense without it.