Labrynna

Labrynna is a distant land located far away from the land of Hyrule. Like its sister countries of Hyrule and Holodrum, Labrynna is a vibrant country rich in beauty and resources. The land is bordered by a vast ocean, the Zora Seas, that flows to Labrynna's southern border, and the land is home to many interesting tribes such as the Labrynnans (the Human population of Labrynna), the Zoras, the Gorons, the Tokay of Crescent Island, and many other citizens. Labrynna's most imposing feature however is perhaps the great Black Tower that stands at the center of the country, visible from almost anywhere, even from far out into the sea. Rich in history, Labrynna has had more than one type of a ruling government, originating with a monarchy several centuries in its past but ruled in the present day by a democracy, though it has always retained the same capital city seemingly, Lynna City (previously known as Lynna Village). Curiously, the land of Labrynna is most noteable for its deep connection to the flows of time (as the home of the eight Essences of Time) and is best known for being the home of the guardian of the flows of time, the Oracle of Ages, and the Oracle's protector, the Maku Tree.

History
Like the land of Hyrule, Labrynna is a country blessed with a long, rich history. It is unknown how the land of Labrynna was formed, though it is assumed by many to have been created, like the land of Termina, as a side effect of the Golden Goddesses' creation of the land of Hyrule. It is also unknown exactly how long the country of Labrynna has been established, though it is confirmed that the country has existed for more than 400 years by the Maku Tree. Four hundred years in its past, Labrynna was ruled by a royal family (who ruled from the capital city of the country Lynna Village) similar to that of Hyrule, with the ruler of the time being the beloved Queen Ambi, known best for her kindness and benevolence amongst her people. Many diverse races have inhabited Labrynna since this ancient period as well; in fact, pretty much all of the current races inhabiting Labrynna have their roots going back as far as the reign of Queen Ambi and beyond. With the passing of time however, so did the times change, as a new democratic government was formed at some point to supplant Labrynna's ancient monarchy. In the present age, Labrynna is presided over by the mayor of present day Lynna City, Mayor Plen. As the government of Labrynna changed with the passing of time, so too did the land's geography. Over the course of 400 years, previously small deities such as Lord Jabu-Jabu and the Maku Tree grew to humongous sizes, and many geographical features of the land changed, such as Crescent Island's drift eastward, the receding of the Zora Seas, the transformation of the Sea of No Return into the Yoll Graveyard, the sinking of Ambi's Palace, and many more changes that came to pass over the course of four centuries.

Government
At one point or another throughout its history, Labrynna has been ruled by both ends of the political spectrum. Though its political beginnings remain unclear, it is clear that for much of its early history, Labrynna was ruled by an ancient royal family that ruled from their palace at the heart of Lynna Village. One of the most famous monarchs of Labrynna's early history is Queen Ambi, the ruler that commissioned the building of the gigantic Black Tower that stands at the center of Labrynna to the present day, long after the end of her reign. After being ruled by a monarchy for many generations, Labrynna shifted to a democracy at some unspecified point in its history, reverting power into the hands of elected officials and renaming the capital city of the country instead as Lynna City, the city having grown over the course of the 400 years since Ambi's reign. The current ruling official of the country is the Mayor of Lynna City, Mayor Plen.

Currency
Like almost all countries visited throughout the Zelda universe, Labrynna also shares a common currency with its sister nations, that currency being the Rupee. Much of the same values applied to differing colors of Rupees also apply to Labrynna's financial system (e.g. green is worth one Rupee, blue is worth five Rupees, red is worth twenty Rupees, etc). Pretty much every shop or establishment throughout Labrynna accepts Rupees as the preferred form of payment for good or services.

Geography
Like its counterpart land of Holodrum and even the land of Hyrule itself, Labrynna's geography greatly varies from region to region. The mountains of Rolling Ridge dominate the northeastern region of Labrynna and are primarily the home of the graceful Goron race. Also found in the northern section of Labrynna are the rolling hills and steep ridges of the Nuun Highlands that border Rolling Ridge. In the northwestern corner of Labrynna lies Talus Peaks with its springs and waterfalls as well as the symmetrically-constructed Symmetry Village, a sister city to Lynna City. To the east of Lynna City sits the Forest of Time, well known for being home to many talking animals, and the creepy Yoll Graveyard, where many residents of Labrynna are laid to rest after passing away. Meanwhile, to the west of Lynna City sits the Fairies' Woods, a forest that is magically enchanted to lead travelers astray by causing them to become lost within the woods. To the south is the vast Zora Seas, home to many different locales such as the Zora Village (home to the Zora race), the confusing and violent Sea of Storms, the geographically interesting Crescent Island (shaped like the Crescent Moon and home to the Tokay race) and the Crescent Strait separating Crescent Island's northern shores from the mainland. At the heart of the country sits the bustling Lynna City itself and the massive Black Tower that overlooks the entire land.

Locations and Landmarks
Labrynna is and has always been home to many very interesting and curious locales throughout its history, many of which survive to the present day. With the passing of time, many of these places have changed aesthetically in a variety of ways ranging from the very subtle (e.g. Crescent Island's shift eastward) to the most radical (e.g. the transformation of the Sea of No Return into the Yoll Graveyard). By and large however, many locales are still halfways recognizeable in their present states in comparison to how they looked in the past.

Ambi's Palace
Ambi's Palace is the home of Labrynna's royalty far in the country's past and located in Lynna Village. It is unknown how long it had existed by the time of Queen Ambi's reign, but seeing as it bears her name, it appears that she may possibly have been responsible for the construction of the palace. Another possibility too is that the palace had been the home of Ambi's family for generations and that it merely took on her name when she became queen. In any case, it served as Queen Ambi's home and the seat of government in Labrynna as far back as 400 years in the past. Ambi's Palace has a large courtyard, complete with trees and small mazes. In the southeast corner of the courtyard is a secret passageway leading to an underground waterway that connects to another secret passageway within the palace itself, allowing one to enter the palace undetected if they wish. The palace itself is two stories tall and boasts of impressive halls and large chambers befitting Labrynna's royal family. It is here that Link pries Nayru from the grip of Veran, the Sorceress of Shadows, who subsequently possesses the hapless Queen Ambi herself when she returns to the palace just in time to see Nayru freed. Following this encounter, Link was unable to access the palace until he later pried Queen Ambi from Veran's grip as well and destroyed her utterly. However, in the present, the remains of Ambi's Palace have been sunk beneath water and the palace has vanished entirely, leaving almost no sign of its existence and instead being replaced by Nuun Highlands.

Black Tower
The Black Tower (originally called Ambi's Tower) is a massive tower of stone and grout that was built to the heavens 400 years in Labrynna's past by the order of Queen Ambi. Originally, the project of building the tower was intended to guide Queen Ambi's love, the Captain, home from the sea. Having left Labrynna several years prior and not yet returned, Queen Ambi worried about his safety and decided to build what was originally called Ambi's Tower to the heavens to search the entire land and sea for any sign of his return or to act as a beacon to guide him home. These peaceful plans for the construction of the tower changed however when the Oracle of Ages, Nayru (secretly under the control of Veran, the Sorceress of Shadows), arrived as though from nowhere and became Queen Ambi's most trusted adviser through Veran's cunning. She convinced Queen Ambi to send those closest to her away so as to prevent a power loss and then convinced the hapless queen to push her people much harder to build the tower. Soon she also hoodwinked the queen into believing that if she was able to push the construction of the tower to the heavens, she would go down in history as Labrynna's greatest queen as well as conning her into allowing Veran to use the powers of the Oracle of Ages to create an endless day so the people would have to work on the tower without rest. Oblivious to the suffering and misery she was inadvertently bringing upon her people, Queen Ambi's project, Ambi's Tower, began to earn a new title amongst her subjects: the Black Tower. Near the end of Oracle of Ages, the Black Tower serves as the site of the final battle between the Hyrulean Hero Link and Veran when he comes to pry Queen Ambi from her grip and stop her plot. After Link deals Veran her death blow, the Flame of Sorrow is lit (much to the delight of Twinrova), meaning Veran's purpose for the tower succeeded nonetheless. After Veran's death and long after the end of Queen Ambi's reign over Labrynna, the Black Tower still stands to this day overlooking the land and visible from almost anyplace.

Cheval's Tomb
Cheval's Tomb is the final resting place of the famed inventor Cheval, who was responsible for the creation of Cheval Rope (a special rope that would not dissolve in water) as well as the Flippers (a special tool that can enable a person to swim). Cheval, who wanted to leave his mark on society and create things that would continue to help people long after his death, was buried with his inventions, and before he died, he transformed his watery tomb into a sort of test course meant to only yield access to his inventions to one worthy to wield them. His tomb is discovered by Link, who comes in search of both inventions in order to reach and navigate the regions around Crescent Island while on his quest to find the eight Essences of Time. Both of these inventions would prove invaluable to Link, who meets Cheval himself in the past and discovers his tomb in the present, discovering both of his inventions soon thereafter and moving him one step closer to reaching the mysterious island of the Tokay.

Coast of No Return
The Coast of No Return is a small bit of coastline on Labrynna's southern border that also borders the mysterious Sea of No Return. It is not easily accessible to many, and the only known resident of the area is an elderly Zora, who gives Link the Broken Sword in return for the Sea Ukulele as part of a trading game that can allow Link to ascertain a more powerful weapon in a new sword.

Crescent Island
Crescent Island is the name of a unique landmass shaped like the Crescent Moon residing a small ways just off the southern coastline of the mainland of Labrynna in the Zora Seas that is home to the reptilian Tokay race. With the passing of time, it is said that the island is drifting eastward, and this is found to be true when observing the island in both the past and present, with the island being further east in the present and a bit more above sea level as the waters of the Zora Seas receded a bit over time. The island can only be reached with the aid of a raft, an animal capable of swimming the waters of the Zora Seas, or some other means of navigating water. Its location is not entirely well known to Labrynna's human population since the mainland is separated from the mainland by the Crescent Strait, and in turn the Tokay are not entirely familiar with humans visiting their native island, making them cautious of visitors to the island. The island seems to be primarily occupied by solely the Tokay, with no sign of familiarity on the part of the Tokay when they are confronted with a being of a different race (as seen when they first meet Link upon his arrival on the island). The only source of commerce and society on the island is the Tokay settlement located on the island's eastern border, with the Tokay Shop seemingly the only source of supplies to the island. The island is home to a tree nursery, where in centuries past it was well known to house a special Scent Tree that was blown over in a storm at some unspecified point in the past until a new one was planted when the Hyrulean Hero Link came to the island on his quest for the eight Essences of Time and planted a Scent Seedling in the nursery, restoring the island's source of Scent Seeds. Crescent Island is also home to the Moonlit Grotto that is located within a unique statue in the center of the island's bay (considered to be a "guardian" to the Tokay) and extends deep beneath the island. It is here one may find the Echoing Howl, one of the eight Essences of Time, in the present. In the past however, this same passageway within the Tokay Guardian could only be opened by one possessing its missing eyeball, a special jewel that is missing from the statue's edifice, which when restored to its proper place would open the passageway then said to lead into the Sea of No Return and the Ancient Tomb.

Eyeglass Island Library
The Eyeglass Island Library is one of the greatest sources of literary material in the entire realm of Labrynna and is located on its namesake, Eyeglass Island out in the Zora Seas. The Library's edifice is made of stone and shaped like that of which it is home to, with a large open book as a roof. In the past, it was known to hold Fairy Powder in its depths, stirring the interest of Link when he arrived in Labrynna and discovered the Zora Seas to be heavily polluted by Veran's doing. When he first sees the library in the present, it has long been deserted and locked tight, with not even a sign of a keyhole with which to open it up. Traveling to the past and discovering the truth behind what was happening to the sea from the Zoras, Link received the Library Key from the ill King Zora in order to open up the Eyeglass Island Library (which is shown to have a keyhole in the past) and study its books for a remedy. The pollution, which was laying waste to the entire ocean and threatening the sea creatures including the aquatic Zoras with illness and death (namely their ruler, King Zora, and their patron deity Lord Jabu-Jabu). This caused Link to seek a way to cleanse the Zora Seas and save it from destruction, and he learned of the Fairy Queen who was said to have vanished around the same time the sea became polluted. Upon further investigation, Link discovered that Veran had transfigured the Fairy Queen into an Octorok and was still inhabiting her cavern on the other side of Eyeglass Island. Learning that only Fairy Powder could restore the Fairy Queen to her true form and powers, Link reopened the library and eventually discovered that it did indeed contain Fairy Powder. However, it was located in a room that could only be navigated when a complete set of books giving directions were present. Link discovered that the Book of Seals was missing from the first checkpoint in the chamber and traveled to the present, where he found his actions in the past had caused the library to now be open to the public. Within he was able to locate the lost Book of Seals and traveled with it back to the past, where he restored it to its proper place and navigated the back chamber to reach the Fairy Powder and the old man watching over it. Honoring Link's dedication and skill, the old man rewarded him with the Fairy Powder, which he then used to restore the Fairy Queen to her true form. With her return to her true form, the Fairy Queen cleansed the Zora Seas of all of Veran's pollution, restoring the sea to its natural beauty and restoring health to King Zora and Lord Jabu-Jabu. This enabled Link to enter Jabu-Jabu's Belly in the present to search for the Rolling Sea (an Essence of Time) as a reward from King Zora for his noble aid.