Sacred Grove



In Twilight Princess, deep within the Faron Province and adjacent to the Forest Temple entrance, is the Sacred Grove, an ancient forest that not only holds strong ties to the Royal Family and the Sages, but also protects the Master Sword from outsiders. Upon entering the Sacred Grove, Wolf Link must howl the Zelda's Lullaby at the Howling Stone to set off a chain of events, including a long, relentless Skull Kid chase. This Skull Kid will traverse the forest, expecting Link to find him, in a difficult game of hide-and-seek. After finding the Skull Kid three times, he will retreat into a new area, a new section of the forest that is surrounded by ruins. He summons his Puppets at Link in hopes of distracting him from his horn-blowing, which would eventually be used to attack the Skull Kid in the end. The longer this game progresses, the tougher it becomes to reach the Skull Kid in time for him to blow his horn, as more and more of his minions strive to stand in Link's way. After striking at the Skull Kid three more times, he vanishes.

The actual area where the Master Sword lies is in the ruins of the Temple of Time. In Twilight Princess, Link takes it out once again.

Later in the game, Link must travel to the Sacred Grove in the past--the halls of the Temple of Time. From there, he may access the rest of the Temple.

As the grove within itself is not marked on the map of Faron (though it receives a label), it is entirely plausible that it is the northeastern area of the Lost Woods; not only is the background music Saria's Song, but Skull Kids exist there. In the ending credits of Twilight Princess, "The Group" is seen investigating the Sacred Grove area.

Guard Puzzle
Before entering the final forested area where the Master Sword is hidden, one last puzzle awaits. The two guards that oversee the old Door of Time have dislocated themselves and expect Wolf Link to place them in their respective positions again. There are 60 unique ways to solve the puzzle. Due to its vertical symmetry, half of these combinations simply swap left and right.

Link's Crossbow Training
The Sacred Grove appears as a Defender Mode scenario in Stage Finale of Link's Crossbow Training. Link again stands fixed in place and must eliminate enemies from all around him. Skull Kid appears and conjures his puppet army. Skull Kid himself will flash green to offer the automatic firing upgrade which is useful for taking down the large number of puppets that appear. As with Twilight Princess Skull Kid will warp to various niches in the surrounding landscape to protect himself.

Trivia

 * The statue guards bear a resemblance to another statue found in a screenshot of Twilight Princess while in its early development.
 * The fact that the Master Sword's pedestal lies deep in a secluded grove in a forest serves as a reference to its location in A Link to the Past, as well as a link between the locations of the sword in that game and Ocarina of Time.
 * Upon hacking, a second version of the song from Sacred Grove was found. This version resembles the Lost Woods from A Link to the Past, rather than Ocarina Of Time. The reason why the song was not included is unknown.