Twilight Realm

"Some call our realm a world of shadows, but that makes it sound so unpleasant...The twilight there holds a serene beauty...You have seen it yourself as the sun sets on this world. Bathed in that light, all the people were pure and gentle...But things changed once that foul power pervaded the world..."

- Midna

The Twilight Realm is the name of a parallel dimension to the realm of Hyrule, a world of shadows and perpetual twilight whose only source of light comes from the two sacred orbs known as the Sols that are kept in a special shrine near the plaza of the Palace of Twilight. It is the homeworld of the Twili, a race of shadow-beings descended from the Dark Interlopers that were banished from Hyrule to this strange new world as punishment for their attempted conquest of the Sacred Realm in an attempt to seize the Triforce. In the aftermath of the Interlopers' banishment, they evolved into the Twili race. The only link between the Twilight Realm and Hyrule is a relic known as the Mirror of Twilight, which acts as the gateway between the two worlds. While Hyrule resides in the World of Light and is lit by the Sun, the Twilight Realm exists in perpetual Twilight, with the Sols acting as the Twilight Realm's equivalent of the Sun. The Twilight Realm is a gloomy, hazy, yet very serene world. It is often known as a world of shadows, though that makes it seem unpleasant. There is a serene beauty to the Twilight Realm, a beauty which the Hylians have seen every time the Sun sets, at the hour of Twilight.

For much of its early history, the Twilight Realm was a peaceful place, until the King of Evil known as Ganondorf was banished to the realm by the Ancient Sages, where his evil influence would cause a coup of the government and cast the realm into darkness by overthrowing the true Twilight Princess and installing a puppet ruler named Zant into the position of ruler of the Twilight Realm. Zant would go on to seal away the Sols, leaving the Twilight Realm in darkness, and invade the land of Hyrule on Ganondorf's orders in order to merge the two worlds together into a single empire. After the Dark Lord's defeat however, peace was restored, and the Twilight Realm was truly free of his grip. This was made possible by the efforts of the Hyrulean Hero Link and Hyrule's Princess Zelda, before the Mirror of Twilight was shattered by Princess Midna, the Twilight Realm's rightful ruler that was restored to power. This action severed the only known road between the two worlds, destroying the only known means of travel between them to prevent similar events from happening again.

History
The Twilight Realm's full history is incomplete, leaving only a brief bit of its origins and its recent history as the only available information regarding its past.

Origins
At a certain point in the history of the land of Hyrule, a war broke out across the land when a group of shadowy magicians known as the Dark Interlopers learned of the mythical Triforce located within the Sacred Realm and attempted to establish dominion over it to harness the Triforce's power. To this end, the Interlopers crafted an ultimate weapon, the dark relic known as the Fused Shadow, inside which they had vested a vast amount of their magic.

When the Interlopers seemed on the verge of victory in this effort, the Golden Goddesses decided to order the Light Spirits of Hyrule to intervene and seal away the dark magic of the Interlopers to halt the war. The Light Spirits, at the order of the goddesses, shattered the Fused Shadow into four fragments (hiding three of them across Hyrule and leaving the fourth in the hands of the Interlopers) and drove the Interlopers across the land of Hyrule into the twilight. They were then imprisoned within the Twilight Realm, a prison world meant to hold those who displease the goddesses, and lost their ruler as punishment for their greedy actions that sparked the war.

In addition, the Twilight Realm's effect of causing those that dwelled within it for an extended period of time to only be able to exist as shadows outside of it took its toll on the Interlopers, dooming them to this fate as well. Over time, the Interlopers would evolve into the Twili and reestablish their monarchy that would come to rule over the Twilight Realm. The goddesses did not completely sever the Twilight Realm's connection to Hyrule however, for they left a lone link between the two worlds in the hands of the Ancient Sages, the Mirror of Twilight, which could only be shattered by the true ruler of the Twili.

The Rise of Zant
A long time after the banishment of the Interlopers to the Twilight Realm, the King of Evil Ganondorf attempted to launch an invasion of Hyrule, but he was thwarted by the Royal Family of Hyrule, who had been forewarned by Link, the Hero of Time. As a result, Ganondorf was arrested and sentenced to execution at the Arbiter's Grounds, the home of the Mirror of Twilight. Ganondorf was kept there for a time until the day his sentence was to be carried out in the Mirror Chamber atop the prison. When the Ancient Sages impaled him with the Sword of the Sages however, the Triforce of Power suddenly activated within him and prevented his death. The evil Gerudo soon broke free of his chains, obliterated the Sage of Water, and turned the blade on its owners. As a last resort, the remaining Sages activated the Mirror of Twilight to open the portal to the Twilight Realm and sent Ganondorf through it before the portal closed.

About a century later, the Twilight Realm entered a period of political instability when the throne was suddenly left vacant. One of the hawkish advisers of the Royal Family of the Twilight Realm, Zant, stood as a prime candidate to ascend to the throne. However, Princess Midna was selected as the true Twilight Princess, and Zant became enraged that he was not selected instead. He became severely depressed, and in this state was approached by Ganondorf, who masqueraded as a god. Ganondorf offered him the power to take the throne by force in exchange for his freedom from the Twilight Realm. Zant used his newfound magical abilities to curse Midna and usurped the throne of the Twilight Realm, transforming the Twili into Shadow Beasts and sealing away the Sols within the Palace of Twilight, leaving the Twilight Realm in darkness and bringing misery to the Twili. Meanwhile, Midna escaped to Hyrule with the lone piece of the Fused Shadow left in the hands of the Twili and decided to seek out the other fragments to use against Zant.

Once secured in the throne of the Twilight Realm, Zant now had the authority to open the portal generated by the Mirror of Twilight as the self-proclaimed King of Twilight. Exercising his new authority to do so, he was persuaded to attempt conquest of Hyrule by Ganondorf, whom he now released back into the World of Light in fulfillment of their bargain.

The Invasion of Hyrule
Zant then proceeded to launch an invasion of the World of Light itself, intending to conquer both worlds and mix shadow and light together to make pure darkness, as ordered by his "god". His armies spread Twilight all over Hyrule as they conquered each of its provinces. In this Twilight, the people of Hyrule became like spirits, unaware of what had happened to them. Eventually, Zant and his army conquered the stately Hyrule Castle, where he offered Princess Zelda, the country's matriarch and bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom, the chance to either surrender or face the deaths of her people. At this, Zelda surrendered the throne of Hyrule to Zant, and Twilight completely engulfed the country's main regions, leaving only the small annex of Ordona Province free of the grip of the King of Shadows. With this, Zant now had control of Hyrule's government and imprisoned Princess Zelda in one of the towers of her own castle so as to hold her hostage.

It was Zant's subsequent attack on the last remaining province that drew a new Hero into these events, a young ranch-hand named Link who bore the Triforce of Courage within him. Eventually, Link was captured when he entered the Twilight and was transformed into a divine wolf, being drug to the dungeons of Hyrule Castle by Zant's soldiers. Here he met Midna in her transformed state and the imprisoned Princess Zelda, who related to him the fate that had befallen the kingdom of Hyrule. Link teamed up with Midna to locate the lost fragments of the Fused Shadow to defeat Zant and free Hyrule of his power. After succeeding in reversing the spread of Twilight and finding all of the Fused Shadow fragments, the pair were confronted by Zant himself, who stole the fragments and fatally injured Midna before they could escape. Zelda sacrificed her being to save Midna and instructed the pair to find the Master Sword to combat Zant and save Hyrule before vanishing into nothingness.

After finding the mythical blade in the ruins of an ancient temple, the pair journeyed to the Gerudo Desert in search of the Mirror of Twilight, eventually locating its resting place, the Arbiter's Grounds, far across the desert. After facing the remains of an ancient beast reanimated by Zant, the pair found their way to the Mirror Chamber and discovered a shocking truth: before leaving for the Twilight Realm, Zant broke the Mirror of Twilight into four shards and scattered them over Hyrule to prevent anyone from entering the Twilight Realm. It was here that the Ancient Sages appeared and related the story of Ganondorf's execution to the pair and instructed them to find the three lost fragments of the Mirror of Twilight to restore it and enter the Twilight Realm to dethrone Zant.

The Assassination of Zant
After journeying to the snowy mountain heights, an ancient grove and the heavens, the pair succeeded in finding the three lost fragments and restored the Mirror of Twilight to its original state, reopening the gateway between the two worlds. It was here that the Ancient Sages offered their apologies to the Twilight Princess for sending Ganondorf away into her world and causing so much misery for she and her people. With this, Link and Midna used the Mirror of Twilight to journey to the Twilight Realm, where it deposited them in the plaza of the Palace of Twilight. After seeing the terrible fate that had befallen the Twili by means of Zant's transformational powers, Link and Midna entered the two side wings of the palace in search of the missing Sols that could restore light to the darkened Twilight Realm and the Twili to their original forms. After facing Zant's phantom twice and evading Zant's Hands, Link succeeds in restoring the Sols to their proper shrine in the plaza of the Palace of Twilight, restoring the normal flow of light in the Twilight Realm and causing the Twili to revert to their true forms. In addition, the power of the Sols transferred into the Master Sword, a sign that the gods of the Twilight Realm were on Link's side as well.

The pair then entered the central structure of the palace to face Zant himself, eventually finding the usurper king atop the structure in the Throne Room of the Twilight Realm and sitting on Midna's throne. It was here that Zant revealed to his unwelcome guests the truth of his relationship with Ganondorf, stating that Ganondorf was a god that had given him his power so he could merge the two worlds of light and shadow into a single empire of darkness. Link is then forced to battle Zant in several deadly skirmishes for the fate of the Twilight Realm, facing him in arenas that Link had visited throughout his adventure to defeat the King of Shadows. Despite his great magical power bestowed by Ganondorf, Zant fell to the Master Sword's evil-banishing power and lay dying upon the throne as he stated his belief that regardless of what Link and Midna did, he would be resurrected by Ganondorf indefinitely. After taunting Midna by revealing to her that the curse on her would not lift until Ganondorf was vanquished, the Twilight Princess, after taking back the Fused Shadow fragments from him, obliterated Zant, causing him to explode in a final scream of anguish. With this, Zant's reign of terror over the Twilight Realm was brought to an end.

The Closing of the Road Between Worlds
After the Twilight Realm was freed of Zant's iron fist, Link and Midna journeyed back to Hyrule and infiltrated the overtaken Hyrule Castle using the Fused Shadow, realizing that Ganondorf had already regained the power he'd bestowed upon Zant by this point and was now occupying the castle. Inside, they were faced with a multitude of powerful enemies seeking to hinder the path to their master at the top of the castle. Link battled Ganondorf's general, King Bulblin, and gained the key to the castle's main structure before the Bulblin ruler acknowledged Link's strength and deserted Ganondorf's army. Entering the structure, Link and Midna are faced with even more powerful enemies such as Darknuts and obstacles as they made their way up Hyrule Castle Tower.

At the top, they found the Throne Room being circled by dark, foreboding clouds. Inside, they found Princess Zelda's lifeless body suspended in the central hole of the Triforce statue adorning the chamber and Ganondorf himself sitting on Zelda's throne. After a brief conversation, the pair began a battle against Ganondorf for the fate of Hyrule, battling him in many different ways and forms. After Zelda was restored to her physical being, she and Link were warped away by Midna, who attempted to kill Ganondorf with the Fused Shadow, but ultimately failed. Link and Zelda then engaged Ganondorf in a horseback battle across Hyrule Field and Link engaged him in one final sword duel before impaling him with the Master Sword, killing the Dark Lord and restoring Midna to her true form as the Twilight Princess.

Link and Princess Zelda accompanied Midna back to the Mirror Chamber to bid her farewell as she returned home to resume her place as the ruler of the Twili. Zelda encouraged relations between Hyrule and the Twilight Realm to continue, stating that they are two sides of the same coin, to which the Twilight Princess thanked her for her kind words and true heart. Midna then addressed Link one final time as she shed a single tear and sent it drifting toward the Mirror of Twilight, seeming to wish to confide something very personal to him but losing the nerve at the last moment as the tear collided with the Mirror of Twilight, causing it to begin to crack and fragment. The Twilight Princess locked her gaze with Link's as she vanished through the portal back to the Twilight Realm just before the Mirror of Twilight utterly shattered, sealing off the only known road between the worlds.

Palace of Twilight
The Palace of Twilight is the seat of the Twili government and the eighth dungeon in. Here, Zant ruled the Twilight Realm after he expelled Midna, and locked away the Sols within its walls. He used minions such as Zant's Mask, Zant's Hands, and Zant's Phantom to protect the Sols and prevent Link from restoring them to their rightful place. Link obtained the Light Sword here, allowing him to cut through the Dark Fog that pervaded the palace.

Sol Shrine
The Sol Shrine is made up of two pedestals and is the rightful resting place of the Sols, located just outside of the Palace walls. Here, Link restores light to the realm and has his sword infused with light, creating the Light Sword.

Inhabitants of the Twilight Realm
While the only natural inhabitants of the Twilight Realm are the Twili, Zant's interference caused it to become filled with monsters such as Shadow Beasts who were once Twili themselves.

Trivia

 * The Twilight Realm originally had a flat, monochromatic look. This early version of the Twilight Realm was featured in several trailers for before it was revamped before release.