Sacred Realm

"When all was chaos, the goddesses descended and gave order and life to the world. They granted power equally to all who dwelt in the light, and then returned to the heavens. The lands where the goddesses descended came to be known as the Sacred Realm."

- Lanayru

The Sacred Realm (聖地, lit. Sacred Land) or Golden Land is a mystical parallel dimension to the land of Hyrule that serves as the home of the sacred relic known as the Triforce. After the three Golden Goddesses created the land of Hyrule and its inhabitants, they created a parallel dimension to Hyrule that served as their departure point from the world back to the heavens. The realm was one of midday golden skies rather than blue and allowed spirits to roam free as they pleased across its plains. At the heart of this magical realm sat a mighty temple, the Temple of Light, and it was from there that the Golden Goddesses departed upon completion of their labors. However, they left a symbol of their power there at the point from which they departed: a sacred golden triangle, made up of three smaller triangles, collectively known as the Triforce. The Sacred Realm would serve as a mirror to reflect the heart of any who would enter it and come to claim the Triforce as their own. If that person's heart was pure, the realm would become a paradise. However, if that person's heart was not in balance, the Triforce would separate into its three component pieces (leaving only the piece representing the force that one most believes in) and the Sacred Realm would become a world of evil until another would come to challenge and defeat the one who shattered the Triforce, at which time the Sacred Realm would return to its former beauty.

Appearances
The Sacred Realm makes several appearances throughout the series and is mentioned by multiple characters in stories and legends. It is first seen in A Link to the Past as the Golden Land of the Triforce, which was corrupted into the foreboding Dark World by the demonic sorcerer Ganon. This story of the Sacred Realm is later expanded upon in Ocarina of Time, which explains that the realm had been created by the three Golden Goddesses shortly after Hyrule's creation and serves as the resting place of the Triforce. The evil Gerudo King of Thieves Ganondorf (who would go on to become Ganon) seeks to enter this mystical plane and take the Triforce for himself, and succeeds with the unwitting assistance of Link and Princess Zelda. As a result, the legend speaking of the Sacred Realm comes true when Ganondorf touches the Triforce with bloodstained hands and shatters it, resulting in the Sacred Realm's transformation into the Dark World and Ganondorf's transformation into Ganon. At the end of Ocarina of Time, Ganondorf is sealed within the void of the Evil Realm by the Seven Sages, largely conforming to the story told in the backstory of A Link to the Past. The Sacred Realm then makes another appearance in the story of Twilight Princess, which speaks of how the ancestors of the Twili, the Dark Interlopers, attempted to break into the Sacred Realm and claim the Triforce for themselves, sparking a civil war that resulted in much bloodshed over lust for the Triforce's power as well as the banishment of the Dark Interlopers to the Twilight Realm, where they evolved into the Twili race.

A Link to the Past
The Sacred Realm is first mentioned in the opening story of A Link to the Past, where it is depicted as the mythical "Golden Land" where the wish-granting Triforce is said to reside. It is said to have been a beautiful realm where the sky shined gold rather than blue and where spirits roamed free, as described by the ancient Book of Mudora, a record of Hyrule's long history. This magical realm was said to be home to a mighty structure at its heart where the Triforce would shine down upon the Golden Land from above, beckoning to the outside world for one to come in search of it.

The Imprisoning War and the Spoiling of the Golden Land
It is said that at a certain point in Hyrule's history, a man of great evil, the leader of a band of thieves known as Ganondorf, discovered a gateway into the Golden Land of the Triforce and killed all of his followers that were present with him so he could claim the Triforce uncontested. After touching the golden relic, the Golden Land withered and died, transforming into a dark, twisted copy of Hyrule that was meant to serve Ganondorf's wish for the conquest of the world. Meanwhile, Ganondorf himself was transformed into a horrible demon that came to be known as Ganon. From here, he launched an invasion of Hyrule that was repelled by the Knights of Hyrule and the Seven Wise Men. The wise men then sealed the gateway to the Golden Land that Ganondorf had discovered, locking him away within the now-tainted Sacred Realm in a conflict that came to be known as the Imprisoning War.

Restoration of the Golden Land
The Golden Land remained tainted and corrupt under Ganon's rule for many generations as he built up his army in what was now known as the Dark World. Finally he enacts a scheme to break the seal between the worlds and free himself from the constraints of the Dark World. A new Hero rises to stop this plot, and the Hero, Link, is drawn into the Dark World (formerly the Golden Land) by the Dark Wizard Agahnim, who was serving as a vessel for Ganon's soul in the Light World. Link discovers the Dark World to be a corrupted version of Hyrule itself and notices many similarities between the two throughout his adventure there. Upon his first visit to the tainted Dark World, he discovers that Ganon has used the Triforce to place a curse over the realm that transforms any not possessing a magical gem known as the Moon Pearl into a shape reflecting what is in their heart. Link scours this Evil Realm and frees the descendants of the Seven Wise Men, the Seven Maidens, from Ganon's monsters all across the realm. Finally he faces Ganon at the heart of the Dark World, the Pyramid of Power, and utterly defeats him with the power of the Master Sword. Link is then introduced to the Essence of the Triforce, the magical entity that animates the ancient relic. The Essence of the Triforce explains that the Dark World was formerly the Golden Land where the Triforce had resided since ancient times, before Ganon found his way into the realm by accident and laid claim to the Triforce, causing the realm's radical transformation into the corrupt Dark World. It goes on to explain that the Triforce will now await a new master (Link), and that the Dark World will vanish entirely upon the new master's wish before going on to instruct Link to touch the Triforce with a wish in his heart. Link touches the Triforce and wishes all of Ganon's evil to be undone, which returns peace and prosperity to the land of Hyrule and restores the Golden Land to its former beauty and serenity.

Ocarina of Time
The Sacred Realm makes its next appearance (and first under that name) in Ocarina of Time, which supposedly takes place many centuries prior to A Link to the Past. Many gamers consider this game to chronicle the events spoken of in the backstory of A Link to the Past, as the game's creators stated that they made this game with the Imprisoning War in mind and wanted to make the Imprisoning War a playable adventure. As such, the game begins at a time when the Sacred Realm has never been successfully opened and the only known gateway to it resides in a mighty temple known as the Temple of Time. The game also shows the origins of Ganondorf, the thief spoken of in the backstory of A Link to the Past that would go on to become Ganon, where he is depicted fittingly as the leader of a band of thieves, the Gerudo, residing in the desert of Hyrule, namely Gerudo Valley. Ganondorf somehow learns of the legends of the magical Triforce and lusts for its power, until his mind is twisted and warped to the point that he is not beyond committing murder to obtain it. He travels to the land of Hyrule in search of a way into the fabled Sacred Realm so he could steal the Triforce. Gamers first see the Sacred Realm in the tale of Hyrule's creation told by the Great Deku Tree to the game's hero, Link, where it is shown as a magical place that serves as the home of the legendary Triforce and has not been visited by any in living memory since the departure of the Goddesses back to the heavens. The Triforce is shown to be shining down upon the Sacred Realm from above in this story as well as a later one told by Princess Zelda to Link, awaiting the time when one worthy of its power would come to claim it from its hiding place.

Creation
The Sacred Realm is first seen and mentioned within the game by the Great Deku Tree, who after being relieved of a debilitating curse by Link sees fit to give the young Hero information about his coming quest to stop the evil Gerudo King Ganondorf and relates to him the story of Hyrule's creation as well as the creation of the magical dimension known by Hyrule's populace as the "Sacred Realm". In his story, the Sacred Realm is shown to be a serene place that serves primarily as the home of the Triforce, with the magical relic shining down upon the realm from above.

The Deku Tree explains that after the three Golden Goddesses (Din, Nayru, and Farore) breathed their essences into the world of Hyrule, they also created a parallel dimension to Hyrule that was the very place from which they departed the world to return to the heavens. The Goddesses also chose to leave a symbol of their power at that same location. Three golden sacred triangles were left there, joined to form one single larger triangle, each representing the three forces of power, wisdom, and courage. This golden relic came to be known as the Triforce, a relic that came to be the basis of Hyrule's providence. And the lands that served as the home of the Triforce came to be known as the Sacred Realm, a place that none had visited in living memory and that was currently being aggressively sought after by Ganondorf himself.

The Legend of the Triforce
Princess Zelda is the next to speak of the Sacred Realm within the game, relating to Link the story of the Triforce. She states that the Golden Goddesses left the Triforce in the Sacred Realm at the time of Hyrule's creation and that the ancient relic possesses the power to grant the wish of one who holds the Triforce in his or her hands. A similar image to the one shown by the Deku Tree of the Triforce within the Sacred Realm is shown, revealing the Triforce to be the primary point of interest within the Sacred Realm. Zelda states also that the only known entrance to the Sacred Realm from the world of Hyrule is the Temple of Time, an ancient structure located very close to Hyrule Castle Town's markeplace. She states that in order to open the gateway between the two worlds, one would need the three Spiritual Stones kept by Hyrule's various races as well as the Royal Family's sacred treasure, the Ocarina of Time. When one who possesses the three stones stands with the Ocarina of Time and plays the mystical Song of Time within the Temple of Time, the gateway between the two worlds could then be opened, yielding access to the Sacred Realm.

Transformation into the Evil Realm
The seal between Hyrule and the Sacred Realm is finally broken when Link gains possession of the three Spiritual Stones and the Ocarina of Time from Hyrule's differing races and Princess Zelda. He journeys to the ancient Temple of Time to protect the Triforce from Ganondorf and uses the collection of objects to open the Door of Time, the mighty stone barrier separating the two worlds. Beyond the Door of Time rests the Pedestal of Time and the mythical Master Sword, the lock and key to the portal between the worlds. Link removes the sword from its pedestal, opening the portal between the two worlds but is put into suspended animation because he was too young to properly wield the Master Sword at the time. Ganondorf is then shown entering the Sacred Realm through the portal Link opened and is later revealed by the Sage of Light Rauru to have obtained the Triforce from the Temple of Light at the heart of the Sacred Realm, causing his power to radiate from the temples of Hyrule and to transform the Sacred Realm into a corrupt world of evil and despair, with only the Temple of Light itself remaining uncorrupted. Link never visits the areas of the Sacred Realm surrounding the Temple of Light within the game, instead being warped to the Chamber of Sages at the temple's heart each time he succeeds in awakening one of the Seven Sages.

A Mirror That Reflects What is in the Heart
Toward the end of the game, Princess Zelda reveals herself to be the seventh Sage and Leader of the Sages and reveals a final, previously unknown legend of the Triforce that explains what happened to the Sacred Realm after Ganondorf's invasion of it. According to legend, the resting place of the Sacred Triangle, the Sacred Realm, is a mirror that reflects what is in the heart of one who enters it and touches the Triforce with a wish in their heart. If that one's heart is pure, the realm will be defined by the purity of his or her heart, transforming the Sacred Realm into a paradise. However, if that one's heart is not in balance, the Triforce will separate into its three components, leaving only the part representing the force that one most believes in and transforming the Sacred Realm into a world of evil that is reflected into the heart of the evil one that shattered the Triforce. Only when this evil person is utterly defeated can the Sacred Realm then be restored to its former glory.

The Seal of the Seven Sages
In the conclusion of Ocarina of Time, the Seven Sages, with the assistance of the Hero of Time, are able to throw Ganondorf back into the Sacred Realm-turned-Evil Realm and seal the portal to prevent Ganondorf from wreaking further havoc on the land of Hyrule. Using the power of the Master Sword, Link is able to stun the Dark Beast Ganon (with the assistance of Princess Zelda) long enough to buy the Sages the time they needed to bind him and throw him back into the void of the Evil Realm before creating their seal. As he drifts away into the void of the realm, Ganondorf screams that as long as the Triforce of Power is in his hand, he will be able to return one day from the Evil Realm and exterminate the descendants of those who defeated him. This is supposedly the seal Ganon was attempting to break in A Link to the Past, as it prevented him from being able to return to Hyrule. The game ends with the Triforce separated between its three pre-destined holders (Ganondorf, Princess Zelda, and Link), and the Sacred Realm transformed into a world of evil that now serves as Ganondorf's prison.

Twilight Princess
In yet another appearance, the Sacred Realm features into a story told in Twilight Princess by the Light Spirit Lanayru. When Link comes to the Lanayru Province in search of the final fragment of the Fused Shadow and light has been restored to the Lanayru Province, the Light Spirit relates to Link the story of the Dark Interlopers, the ancestors of the Twili.

The Story of the Interlopers
In this story, Lanayru shows Link images of the creation of Hyrule by the Golden Goddesses as well as the Sacred Realm itself, speaking of its beauty and how the Triforce came into being. The goddesses descended upon the then chaotic world and granted peace and life to the world, and once they granted equal power to all the living beings, they returned to a land in the heavens that came to be known as the Sacred Realm. For ages, the people lived content in mind and body, but soon word of the Sacred Realm spread across the world, along with that of the wish-granting Triforce it contained. Tales spoke of how the Triforce could make mortal dreams come true and would grant the wishes of whoever held it as long as they lived. Lust for the Triforce's power turned friends against each other and caused much bloodshed amongst Hyrule's people until finally a group of powerful sorcerers, the Dark Interlopers, attempted to seize control of the Sacred Realm and take the Triforce for their own (by means of a mighty weapon that was of their own design, the Fused Shadow), sparking a civil war that raged across Hyrule. As this war dragged on, the four Light Spirits intervened at the behest of the Golden Goddesses, chasing the Dark Interlopers across Hyrule and into the twilight, locking them away in the Twilight Realm and shattering the Fused Shadow into four fragments that were separated henceforth to prevent the weapon's misuse. As time would go on, the Twili would grow into a gentler race in the form of the Twili. Lanayru finished his tale by warning Link that those who do not know the dangers of wielding power will soon be ruled by it instead. It was then that Link learned just how tempting and lustful the Sacred Realm's awesome power could be, powerful enough to turn lifelong friends into murderous enemies.

The Temple of Light
The Temple of Light is a mighty temple that is said to reside at the heart of the Sacred Realm and is the home of the Triforce itself. The Temple of Light remained the only place within the realm that was not corrupted by Ganondorf's evil influence according to the Sage of Light, Rauru. Rauru's personal history remains shrouded in mystery, and it is unknown how he came to reside in the Sacred Realm or when, but he is depicted as the guardian of the Temple of Light and is depicted to be ancient in age. After obtaining the Triforce, Ganondorf's power radiated from the temples of Hyrule and allowed him to transform Hyrule into a world of shadows while the Sacred Realm was reflected into his evil heart and became a world of evil monsters and dark skies. To date, the only confirmed locale visited within the Temple of Light is the Chamber of Sages, where the Sages gather to meet in council. The Hero of Time visits this chamber of the temple each time he awakens one of the Seven Sages in Ocarina of Time. Rauru, the Sage of Light who guards the temple, states that it was from this temple that Ganondorf obtained the Triforce, casting both the Sacred Realm and Hyrule into darkness as a result. It remains unknown how the temple was built or by whom, but the general consensus is that it has been in existence as long as the Sacred Realm itself, functioning as the home of the Triforce.

The Pyramid of Power
One prevalent theory concerning the Temple of Light consists of speculation regarding the Pyramid of Power located at the heart of the Dark World in A Link to the Past. Some fans of the series believe the Pyramid is actually the Temple of Light that was the home of the Triforce before it was stolen by Ganon and used to serve his wishes. Support for this stems from the generalization that the Temple of Light rests at the heart of the Sacred Realm (as stated by Rauru in Ocarina of Time), and the Pyramid appears to indeed sit at the heart of the Dark World in A Link to the Past, right where the temple should be located. The fact that the Triforce is finally reclaimed in this structure by Link at the end of A Link to the Past also brings into question the relic's relation to the Pyramid. Another point made by supporters of this theory includes the fact that the pyramid appears to have an observation deck at its summit as well as steps ascending up its sides, suggesting that perhaps the Triforce once resided at the summit of the Pyramid before Ganon came to the realm and stole it. It is also worth noting that this is the location Ganon fled to after Link stormed his tower, and it is known Ganon was preparing to re-enter the Light World at the time. This fact, combined with the belief that the portal linking Hyrule to the Sacred Realm is in the Temple of Light, also makes supporters of this theory wonder if Ganon was heading for the Pyramid to access this very portal once again. However, this remains mere speculation at the present time with no confirmation by Nintendo or associates.

Temple of Time Theory
While it remains pure speculation, there has been some word amongst gamers that the Temple of Light (and by extension the Sacred Realm itself) may be visited in Twilight Princess as the dungeon part of the Temple of Time lying beyond the Chamber of the Master Sword. Some reasons for this include the hidden entrance to the back part of the temple seeming to lead to a place completely separate from Hyrule. This would also be in line with where the portal to the Temple of Light should have logically been, in the Chamber of the Master Sword. One of the most cited reasons for this theory however is the presence of the Light Medallion throughout this segment of the temple however, as well as the size of the dungeon part of the temple, which has multiple floors. This also remains unconfirmed however by any official source and remains to date merely a theory.

The Temple of Time
The Temple of Time was an ancient structure located in the realm of Hyrule that was best known for being the sanctified gateway between Hyrule and the Sacred Realm. According to Princess Zelda, it was constructed by the Ancient Sages near the time of Hyrule's creation to protect the portal to the Sacred Realm and subsequently the Triforce stored within. The Master Sword, embedded in the Pedestal of Time, served as the key and lock respectively that could open the portal between the worlds. The sword could only be drawn by one pure of heart that could claim the mantle of "Hero of Time". The Chamber of the Master Sword was in turn protected by a mighty magical barrier known as the Door of Time, which could only be opened by one possessing the three Spiritual Stones (the Kokiri's Emerald, the Goron's Ruby, and the Zora's Sapphire) and the magical instrument known as the Ocarina of Time (as well as knowledge of a mysterious song known only as the Song of Time). Taken together, this set of items would open the Door of Time and yield access to the Chamber of the Master Sword, and by extension the Sacred Realm itself.

The Dark World
The Sacred Realm has only ever been toured in gameplay in A Link to the Past, but in this form it appears as the corrupt Dark World ruled by the demonic Ganon. The Dark World was previously the Sacred Realm that was home to the Triforce before Ganon's incursion into the realm and the subsequent theft of the Triforce, resulting in the transformation of the realm and the creation of the Dark World. In this form, the Sacred Realm appeared as a twisted, distorted copy of Hyrule that was meant to serve Ganon's wish to be the ruler of the world. It was filled with evil creatures, and the spirits of the realm and any who ventured into the realm henceforth suffered as they were transformed by the Triforce's magic into a shape reflecting what was in their heart, leaving them to pray for the day when a Hero would come to challenge Ganon and take back the Golden Power, the Triforce. The Dark World was plagued by dark skies and the very air was as poisonous fumes. As a mirror to Hyrule, the Dark World featured several similar locales to its Light World counterparts, though they were typically inverted to reflect the darkness of the world in which they were found. For example, Kakariko Village of the Light World (Hyrule) was replaced in the Dark World (the Sacred Realm) by the Village of Outcasts. And replacing the Tower of Hera of the Light World high atop the Dark World's version of Death Mountain sat Ganon's stronghold, Ganon's Tower. The Dark World eventually vanished after Link utterly defeated Ganon and took back the Triforce at the conclusion of A Link to the Past, restoring the Sacred Realm to its former beauty, as it was before Ganon ever entered it.