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Sheerow is Lorule's Wind Fish
Ravio's pet bird has a deep emotional attachment to Link's counterpart, but he looks nothing an actual bird at all or even a fairy. Lorulian birds resemble turkeys or pterodactyls. He doesn't need to flap those wings when imitating Ravio's emotions, he just levitates. He moves at a blindingly fast speed and can carry an insane amount of items in one go. It's an egg with wings. The Wind Fish's Egg?
  • Perhaps it's a baby version of the whale god? Just like how Jabu-Jabu in the Oracle games was depicted as both baby and adult.
    • Maybe he's weakened to the point where he can only assume that form due to Lorule's Triforce being destroyed by Hilda's ancestors, and as such Lorule is in a state of chaos. The world and its reality is crumbling apart. People have become depraved and antisocial, monsters rule, plants are dying, animals often and inexplicably do lose their forms and turn into monsters themselves. The deities have also lost the better part of themselves.
  • Being a physical god that can travel to multiple dimensions may explain how Ravio was able to return to Lorule to confront Hilda despite not having his bracelet in his possession.
    • It's able to retrieve Ravio's items from the parallel world Lorule, after all.
  • While he cares deeply for Ravio, just like the Wind Fish, Sheerow has no compassion whatsoever for Link. He'll leave the fallen-in-battle hero there, crumbled body on the cold floor, and take the items away without a second thought. This echoes how the whale god just left Link in the ending of Link's Awakening, alone, in the middle of the ocean.
  • It humors everyone by imitating Ravio's emotions (bowing, begging etc) when under the guise of a travelling merchant and his pet. The moment Ravio reveals his true identity, Sheerow ceases any previous false pretenses, and will not bow before Hilda, a mere ruler of a kingdom.

Yuga is the lovechild of Ganondorf and Ghirahim.
Come on, just look at him.

Yuga is genderqueer
He is referred to as a man, and his name spelled backward is "a guy", but he sounds like a woman, wears makeup, and is obsessed with beauty. Best guess here is biologically female, and identifying as male, but having some reservations about doing so.

He appears to be a Gerudo, like Ganondorf. Seeing as Gerudo society seems to have such rigidly defined gender roles (men being the ruling caste, with women being the common folk), perhaps Yuga was trying to usurp power from the rightful ruler of the Gerudo by posing as a man, but doesn't really enjoy identifying as a man.

Nabbit was inspired by Ravio, not the other way around.
When Iwata explained that their striking similarity was just a coincidence, he suggested that maybe someone on one of the games' teams saw some sketches from the other team.

The reason Ravio would've come first is because he's Lorule's Link. Him dressing like a rabbit in another dimension is a reference to The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, where Link turns into a rabbit in the Dark World. In contrast, there's no real reason Nabbit had to look like a rabbit.

  • That makes a lot of sense, specially since, as per the Iwata Asks about the game, the development of A Link Between Worlds was fragmented, and before it could really start, the team was scattered to the four winds, including people being sent to work on New Super Mario Bros. U.

The Lorule Triforce pieces are...

  • Ravio — Faith, Hilda — Cunning, Yuga — Desire
  • They could also be Caution — Ravio. It can keep you from blindly rushing in, but also can become cowardice. Focus — Hilda. The ability to see things through, but can also lead to being narrow-minded and missing details. Ambition — Yuga. Forward drive and the desire to improve. Like Power, the most easily corrupted.
  • This troper has the headcanon of Guile (Hilda), Compassion (Ravio), and Prestige (Yuga). Guile is similar to wisdom but lacks certain insights while taking a more aggressive role. Compassion is just as important as Courage when it comes to being a hero. In the end, it's Ravio's compassion that convinces Hilda, along with Link and Zelda's compassion that saves Lorule. Prestige is about social standing, and Yuga — obsessed with beauty and perfection — wanted to become a god. Finally, these traits are more externally focused. An invert of Hyrule's more internally focused traits.
  • Here is perhaps a better idea (unspoilered for clarity). Consider the shapes of the two Triforces. Lorule's Triforce pieces are visibly between Hyrule's Triforces. And thus, each of Lorule's virtues should be a blend of the two Hylian ones (and vice-versa). So let us consider the three blendings, as well as the people they belong to.

    Courage & Power. Courage is all about the willingness to act, while Power is all about forcing upon others. What do you get when you combine them? Will: the energy and drive to achieve one's goals. It stands in direct opposition to Wisdom, and represents a very forceful, not entirely thoughtful or self-aware state. The Triforce of Will belongs to Hilda, as she has proven that she will do whatever it takes to save her Lorule, and she will seek out whatever power is needed to achieve those ends. Will is very subject to temptation, as it focuses on the goal rather than the means to achieve it.

    Power & Wisdom. What happens when you combine the ruthless exercise of Power with the understanding and guidance of Wisdom? Cunning: It stands in direct opposition to Courage, and it represents a somewhat cowardly state. The Triforce of Cunning belongs to Yuga. Consider that Yuga could have betrayed Hilda and taken Zelda's Triforce of Wisdom at any time after merging with Ganon. And if he actually were Ganon, he'd have done so immediately. But he waited, because to do otherwise would not have been wise. To strike too quickly could have led to Hilda escaping and really helping Link defeat him, or some other bad end. No, he waited for the most opportune moment to pull off his betrayal.

    Wisdom & Courage. To combine these is to temper the willingness to act with thoughtfulness. Prudence: It stands in direct opposition to Power, and it represents a carefully considered, thought-out planning. It is not explicitly cowardly, but it can seem that way to others. Prudence represents a way to achieve one's ends without direct force, with care. The Triforce of Prudence belongs to Ravio, naturally. He couldn't directly confront Hilda about the issue, for many reasons, not the least of which is that she might not have listened to him. So instead, he chose a plan that could work: find someone who could stop her, then "give" him whatever aid would be needed to stop her. Oh, and make sure she doesn't get killed along the way.

    What I like about this is that it goes backwards too; it's not Lorule-centric. If you temper Cunning with Prudence, you get Wisdom. Will mated with Cunning yields Power. And if you combine Prudence and Will, you get Courage.

    Another thing I like: the virtues use the same first initial as their Hylian opposites.
  • I'm not sure why people assume it has to have different virtues. It having the same virtues makes more sense thematically with the presumed bearers' characters (who do not have the pieces, remember, and so can't be assumed to display the virtues in the first place). Ravio failed as a hero because he didn't have enough courage, Hilda's narrow-mindedness and inability to notice the obvious solution was due to a lack of wisdom, and Yuga didn't have the power to overthrow the kingdom on his own.
    • While that might be appealing, there are several problems with that. The most important being this line from Hilda: "We NEED a Triforce. So imagine my surprise when I learned of the existence of another one. Yours. A Triforce based on such virtues as Power, Wisdom, and Courage." That strongly implies that Lorule's Triforce is not based on those virtues.

      Furthermore, Ocarina of Time tells us about the relationship between the virtues and the Triforce fragments. Ganondorf only got the Triforce of Power because that was his only virtue. The other two Triforces sought out those people who naturally held their particular virtues in their hearts. Zelda had already displayed wisdom in seeing through Ganondorf's facade. And Link had already displayed courage in fighting to stop Ganondorf. So even though Ravio, Hilda, and Yuga don't have their native Triforce pieces, they can still hold to the virtues of Lorule.
    • For the first point: not necessarily. It's possible that she needed a Triforce with the same virtues, or was surprised to notice that Hyrule's Triforce had the same virtues. I admit I am definitely reaching, but since we're given no hints towards other virtues even existing, I prefer to imagine they're the same virtues. It's simpler that way, and like I said, works better from a literary perspective. For the second point: I wasn't trying to say that they couldn't display the virtues, but that we can't be certain that they do. It's kind of a Schrodinger's Cat situation; if Lorule had a Triforce, maybe they'd be the bearers, but maybe they wouldn't. It's impossible to say one way or the other.
    • It's not out of the question that Lorule's triforce did share its virtues with that of Hyrule's. It's impossible to tell through just text, but with the right inflection in her voice, Hilda mentioning the virtues of Hyrule's triforce could be taken as an expression of surprise that they were the same as that of her own kingdom. If this is the case, then the bearers of each virtue are simply different. Ravio lacked courage, sure, but he had the wisdom to devise and execute a plan to save his kingdom. Hilda's oversight couldn't have been made by someone wiser, but her rule oversaw all of Lorule and her pursuit of her goals was relentless — that's certainly powerful. Yuga was a mere lackey and needed Ganon's help to even come close to overthrowing Hilda, but to perform the type of coup he was going for takes guts. In short: Ravio had the triforce of Wisdom, Hilda had the triforce of Power, and Yuga had the triforce of Courage.

There will be 2 more alternate dimensions in future installments
  • Elrule (Triforce pointing left), and Arule (Triforce Pointing right).
    • Where does the world of Ja Rule fit in this?
      • Pointing forward.

The elements of each of the sages
Going from most to least obvious-

  • Impa — Shadow Sage/Descendant of Impa
    • Besides the obvious, she resembles a Sheikah.
    • Also most closely resembles a Lorulean, which could be called the "shadow" version of Hyrule.
    • Her painting's frame is dark purple, like the Shadow Medallion.
  • Rosso — Fire Sage/Descendant of Darunia
    • He greatly resembles a Goron.
    • His ore mine is volcanic.
    • He has prior knowledge of being a Sage.
    • He strikes the same pose as Darunia in the Chamber of Sages.
    • He wears a belt with the Goron emblem on it, further implying mixed ancestry.
    • His painting's frame is red, like the Fire Medallion.
  • Oren — Water Sage/Descendant of Ruto
    • She's a Zora.
    • Her portrait is hidden in the water dungeon.
    • She strikes the same pose as Ruto in the Chamber of Sages.
  • Gulley:
    • Forest Sage/Descendant of Saria.
      • He greatly resembles a Kokiri.
      • He gets along well with animals.
      • He spends lots of time in the forest.
      • His painting's frame is green, like the Forest Medallion.
    • On the other hand, he could be descended from Princess Zelda.
      • He's a Hylian.
      • He resembles Link despite not being his biological relative. Assuming that ALttP!Zelda wound up with ALttP!Link, he could very well be a cousin to this game's incarnations of Link and Zelda (or at least just of Zelda).
      • He resembles the Flute Boy from ALttP, and if he is indeed a descendant of both the Flute Boy and OoT!Zelda, he both could explain how the Flute Boy obtained a rather familiar-looking blue ocarina, and suggest that the Flute Boy is descended from Hyrulean royalty.
  • Irene:
    • Light Sage/Descendant of Rauru.
      • She's a Hylian.
      • Owls and witches are thematically linked.
      • She strikes the same pose Rauru does within the Chamber of Sages/
    • Sage of Spirit/Descendant of Nabooru.
      • Her portrait is hidden in the desert-themed dungeon.
      • She's female.
      • She's a witch who rides a flying broom, much like Twinrova.
      • She has orange triangles on the hem of her robe. Orange is the color associated with Spirit.
      • She's possibly a descendent of Maple, who has round ears, lending credence to the interbreeding idea.
      • If her portrait is switched with Oren's, the obvious Sage of Water, it would be orange, like the Spirit Medallion.
  • Osfala:
    • Spirit Sage/Descendant of Nabooru
      • His effeminate appearance can bring to mind the all-female Gerudo.
      • He shows reluctance at becoming a sage.
      • He's awakened as a sage by being captured and "killed" by the villains.
      • The item he takes from Ravio is the Sand Rod. Sand is very closely tied to the Sage of Spirit.
      • He's kept in the Thieves' Hideout, whereas the Gerudo were a tribe of desert thieves.
    • Sage of Light/Descendant of Rauru.
      • He's the apprentice to/possibly related to Sahasrahla, someone known to be descended from the old Sages and who physically and thematically resembles Rauru.
      • He dresses similarly to Rauru himself, in a robe with Triforce patterns on it.
      • He has a very bright colour pallet, suggesting a "light" theme.
      • His painting's frame is yellow, like the Medallion of Light.
      • He's in training to be a scholar. Owls, like the form Rauru used to communicate with the Hero of Time before they met directly, are traditionally associated with knowledge.
  • Seres:
    • Time/Heart/etc. Sage/Descendant of Princess Zelda
      • She's a Hylian
      • Her painting's frame is a color that does not match any of the Sage Medallions.
      • Her cloak is held by the same clasp as Zelda, implying that Seres has some link to the royal family.
    • Sage of Forest/Descendant of Saria.
      • Her portrait is hidden within a shadow-themed dungeon that is located within a forest.
      • She somewhat resembles Saria (who she might have been named for in-universe).
      • She strikes the same pose as Saria in the Chamber of Sages.

"Gramps," the Street Pass guide, is the Link from A Link to the Past.
This is a somewhat common fan theory floating around, with a fair amount of hints in the game:
  • "Rumor Guy" by the Lost Woods claims to have seen Gramps doing one-fingered handstands each morning, and practicing his cucco calls regularly. How does Link get around in A Link to the Past?
  • When you complete all of the Street Pass challenges, you can fight Gramps at any time — and he has every item.
  • During the staff roll, a brief scene is shown for each major character, with appropriate accompanying music (Impa gets a Hyrule Castle remix, Rosso gets a Death Mountain remix, etc). After a couple of scenes with most of the game's Non Player Characters crammed into them, Gramps is shown alone, accompanied by the main Zelda fanfare.
  • Not much can be seen of his outfit, as most of it is obscured by his beard, but Gramps appears to be wearing a green tunic.
  • The only hole in this is that the events of A Link to the Past are ancient history, so he should be long dead. Unless he's a ghost, which would also explain why he doesn't bother saving the day himself.
    • The events of A Link to the Past were in the time of "[Sahasrahla's] grandfather's grandfather", which could have been about 100 years agonote . So the preteen Link of ALttP could easily still be alive, given that other Hylians have shown to live a very long time.
  • The other main stumbling block with this theory hinges on how one interprets the "spirit of the hero" thing the various Links embody — if it's simply a question of a shared heroic spirit, no problem arises; if it's actual reincarnation, then it does not seem possible for the same soul to be incarnated in two distinct people at the same time.

Lorule, Termina, and the World of the Ocean King originated from a timeline split resulting from the initial Triforce Wars after Skyward Sword but before The Minish Cap, as did the Sacred Realms of both Hyrule and Lorule. Also, Yuga is not merely an Alternate Self of Ghirahim, but Ghirahim himself in a different form/incarnation.
(Note: This originally appeared on WMG.The Legend Of Zelda Skyward Sword, but has been updated and modified in light of A Link Between Worlds. Also, no spoiler tags will be used for this game or any other games due to the logistics of blanking out large portions of a Wall of Text.)

In the timeline in which most of Skyward Sword takes place, Demise is completely eradicated by the Triforce, and Link, Zelda, and all the humans and other races watch over the Triforce in peace (Timeline 1, or T-1). In the timeline accessed through the Gate of Time, Link faces Ghirahim and the fully resurrected Demise, and Demise curses Hyrule to face an incarnation of his hatred, who would come to be known in most forms as Ganon (Timeline 2, or T-2).

So in T-1, let's assume that Demise was never fully resurrected and never made his curse, and that the Triforce never has to be sealed away because evil has been pretty much eradicated. It follows that this Hyrule becomes a golden land blessed by the presence of the whole Triforce completely controlled by the forces of good. This blessed Hyrule becomes the Sacred Realm.

But in T-2, with Demise having been sealed in the Master Sword but not fully destroyed, and with Demise's curse, evil still lurks across the land, leading to the wars for the Triforce first mentioned in A Link to the Past. But while the backstory states elsewhere that the Triforce in T-2 was sealed away, what might have actually happened is that the Seven Sages wished specifically for the Triforce to be "beyond the reach of evil." Thanks to the vagueness of the wish and the fact that the Triforce seems to be a Literal Genie, this may have been fulfilled by having the timeline split in two yet again in order to enact both possible interpretations of the words: one in which the T-2 Triforce was sealed in the Sacred Realm/T-1 Hyrule and fused with the Triforce already there (this will still be referred to as T-2), and one in which both the T-1 Triforce and the T-2 Triforce are eradicated (this will be referred to as the Shadow Timeline, or T-S). Thus, by the time of Ocarina of Time, there is only a single Triforce across all timelines that exist by then.

Thus, the Temple of Time seen in Ocarina of Time does not actually access an entirely different dimension, but simply lets anyone using the Gate of Time access T-1. So when Ganondorf goes through to the Sacred Realm when Hero of Time Link gets the Master Sword, he is going to the Hyrule that was free from evil until he came. As a result, the golden Hyrule of T-1 is conquered by evil once again, and the Triforce is stolen.

The reason the Dark World is Hyrule's dark mirror is not just because Ganon's dark heart turned it into that purely by magic, but because it was already Hyrule in another timeline. Because T-1 Hyrule was an evil-free utopia, there was no need to maintain any sort of army, meaning that Ganondorf conquered it rather easily. Certain gloomy aspects of the Dark World may stem more directly from the natural effects of being a subjugated realm. At the same time, Ganondorf stealing the Triforce from T-1 and taking it into T-2 may have also made it experience the same decay that Lorule faced.

As a result of all this, the split timelines that Word of God has officially confirmed (Adult timeline, Child timeline, Decline timeline) split off directly from T-2. However, T-1 gets split alongside it because the Sacred Realm/Dark World is confirmed to exist in all of them and gets affected differently each time as a result. It can also be assumed that T-S exists alongside all these, and that it forms the basis of certain other universes visited in certain games. The reason that these other universes are so similar to Hyrule is because, like the Sacred Realm, they technically are Hyrule, yet the reason they are simultaneously so different from each other is because of the different time periods in which they are encountered and due to the different ways the main characters from T-2 interact with them (which will be discussed later).

In essence, there are actually twelve different timelines resulting from the individual timeline splits: the two from Skyward Sword, the four resulting from the “beyond the reach of evil” wish (remember, T-1 and T-2 are both split along with the wish), and the three pairs of splits for those preexisting splits from Ocarina of Time.

This might also result in two other effects regarding the two swords that are central to the plot of Skyward Sword, and in turn affect the natures of the various T-S realms.

For one thing, the Master Sword of T-1 does not contain the lingering essence of Demise. It's possible that, because it is completely free from any evil, it becomes the ultra-powerful Golden Sword from A Link to the Past. This would explain why it is found in the Dark World/Sacred Realm/T-1 Hyrule. And the reason it is found in the possession of the Great Fairy Venus rather than in a pedestal is because, during Ganondorf's invasion of the Sacred Realm/T-1 Hyrule, the forces of good took the T-1 Master Sword/Golden Sword from its pedestal and hid it before Ganondorf could find it and destroy it.

Also, as speculated on WMG.The Legend Of Zelda Skyward Sword, Ghirahim becomes the Trident of Power. The Ghirahim of T-1 goes through the Gate of Time to T-2, revives Demise, gets forcibly turned into the Anti-Master Sword, and is eradicated when Link defeats Demise. However, the Ghirahim of T-2 would still exist; it's just that Demise being locked in the Master Sword would mean that his evil machinations would unfold quite differently from how they did throughout Skyward Sword.

First, because the resurrection of Demise is no longer a goal that T-2 Ghirahim can attain, his efforts instead focus on conquering Hyrule himself and/or making sure Demise's curse is brought about. It's possible that Ghirahim became the founder and leader of the Dark Interlopers who tried to steal the T-2 Triforce and eventually became the Twili of Twilight Princess. This would explain certain similarities between the Twili characters and Ghirahim (similar Villain Teleportation, strange skin coloring, over-the-top mannerisms, ultimately subservient to the vastly more powerful Demise/Ganon). In fact, when Midna talks about the ancient king who was driven mad by the same greed that she sees in Zant's eyes, she may have been referring to T-2 Ghirahim.

But due to the failure of Ghirahim's Dark Interloper plot, he falls back on Plan B. In fact, thanks to the numerous splits in the timeline, he ends up having multiple Plan Bs.

The Plan B that comes to fruition in the Child and Decline T-2 Timelines is to seal himself in the Trident of Power and make sure that, in this form, he can help the eventual incarnation of Demise's hatred attain the height of his magical potential. In fact, Ghirahim may have either created or influenced the development of the Gerudo to make this flow more smoothly. For one, he influenced their culture so that they would wish to isolate themselves from the other inhabitants of Hyrule, making them extra protective of their desert land and all dwelling in it, including the Trident of Power's resting place. Also, he altered their biology so that there would only be one male Gerudo every 100 years, ensuring that, among this pet race of Ghirahim's, there would be a convenient vessel for Demise's curse who would be in a position of sufficient power (King of the Gerudo) to amass an army and be on high-enough diplomatic ground with the Royal Family of Hyrule to manipulate them. Twinrova may have been a colleague of Ghirahim's who made sure all this came to pass.

However, in T-S, where the Triforce gets destroyed, Ghirahim’s Plan B is born of a Villainous Breakdown. With no more hope of using the Triforce to fulfill his old master’s goals, he forms those few remaining Dark Interlopers under his aegis into a mad cult that goes around hexing and torturing everyone out of spite. At the same time, assuming Twinrova was indeed an ally in his schemes, he probably enacted a Demonic Possession and/or Fusion Dance with her in order to consolidate their magic powers in the wake of the gradual crumbling of the world (this will be important later).

What happens next must be seen in light of the likelihood that the Kingdom of Hyrule as seen in T-2 never formed, due to the Triforce’s destruction causing a general amount of entropy and disorganization, and also due to the machinations of Ghirahim’s mad cult.

First, because the destruction of the Triforce severs the link the people have with the gods, knowledge of the Golden Goddesses and Hylia is gradually lost, and the lost memory of the latter means that the land of T-S is never given the name "Hyrule." Instead, it gets the name "Termina" to reference the fact that the world is starting to face its demise. This may also explain why there are Triforce emblems in certain parts of Termina despite there apparently being no actual Triforce. Furthermore, the heterogeneous political organization of Termina as seen in Majora’s Mask is a result of there being no unifying Kingdom to hold the various races together. It is possible that the Four Giants, lesser gods who protect Termina, stepped up to fill the void left by the loss of the link to the greater gods. The T-S version of the Sacred Realm/T-1 Hyrule, which has faced its own entropy due to its Triforce being destroyed, also becomes the comparatively formless Chamber of Giants.

Meanwhile, the mad cult led by Ghirahim-Twinrova culminates its efforts into the creation of Majora’s Mask as the T-S incarnation of Demise’s hate. Thanks to the more chaotic nature of the realm due to the Triforce’s destruction, this object itself becomes the epitome of chaos. The fact that it was created by this timeline’s descendents of the Dark Interlopers also explains why it has a faint resemblance to the Fused Shadows from Twilight Princess (but note that the separate existence of both Termina and the Twilight Realm in the Child timeline indicates that the latter is not T-S). Its fate diverges along with the timeline splits from Ocarina of Time.

In the Child timeline, Link is able to work with the Four Giants to defeat Majora’s Mask and save Termina (in this case, Child T-S) from the Moon after dealing with Ganondorf note . But because Link is either dead (Decline timeline) or absent (Adult timeline) in the other T-2 progeny, the two other Terminas (both Decline T-S and Adult T-S) are not so lucky, and the Moon crashes into them. These two T-S realms end up becoming Lorule (A Link Between Worlds) and the World of the Ocean King (Phantom Hourglass), and they diverge in part because the divergent events taking place in the T-2 realms sorta “bleed” into it.

In the Decline timelines, Ganon’s jumping back and forth between Hyrule (Decline T-2) and the Sacred Realm (Decline T-1), along with his subsequent imprisonment in the latter with the entire Triforce in the Imprisoning War, alters Decline T-S thanks to the indirect influence of the Triforce leaking into it through the gaps between dimensions/timelines. As a result, the survivors of the Moon cataclysm are able to rediscover at least some of the lost knowledge of their Triforce and link it with the events that have happened to their land. Because the ancient manuscripts of their world depict the Triforce as upside-down to symbolize its “death” during the Triforce Wars, the people mistake this for the actual appearance of the Triforce and start to use its upside-down appearance in their emblems. They also pull together and form a unified kingdom called Lorule to hold out against the increasing decay of their land. At the same time, the monster mask cult ("mumbo jumbo, mumbo jumbo") may be the result of the mask-wearing traditions of the Carnival of Time being repurposed in light of how people have reacted to the state of the land. The icy version of Death Mountain from A Link Between Worlds is actually what was once Snowhead Mountain, and their Misery Mire is actually the Southern Swamp. And the reason why Lorule has Alternate Self/Legacy Character versions of Link and Zelda (namely, Ravio and Hilda) while Termina as we see it in Majora’s Mask did not is also because of said “bleeding.”

Also, the Decline T-S version of Ghirahim-Twinrova eventually gets reincarnated as Yuga, which explains the latter’s resemblance to the former two and also why he gets the idea to fuse with Ganon himself. And just as the events of the Imprisoning War influenced Decline T-S by “bleeding” into it, so too did T-2 Twinrova’s attempt to revive Ganon in Oracle of Ages/Seasons influence Yuga’s plot to revive Ganon by “bleeding” across timelines.

It is also possible that this "bleeding" goes both ways, and the geography of Termina/Lorule in Decline T-S influenced the geography of the Dark World as it appeared in A Link to the Past. The bleeding may have also combined with Ganon’s memories of Child timeline Hyrule, which is why the Dark World’s Misery Mire is like Lorule’s Misery Mire but the Dark World’s Death Mountain is like Hyrule’s Death Mountain.

Furthermore, at the end of A Link Between Worlds, the reason the Lorulean Triforce is remade in an upside-down form is either because Link and Zelda thought that was its original appearance when they wished it back into existence or because it served as a convenient way to distinguish it from their own Triforce.

Meanwhile in the Adult timelines, Termina was also destroyed by the Moon (Adult T-S), but because of the events of Adult T-2 where Ganon’s invasion led to the flooding of Hyrule as seen in The Wind Waker, Termina was also flooded following this cataclysm. This led the Ocean King, who probably ruled the ocean well beyond where the impact of the Moon would have reached, to step in and take care of the survivors in the same way the Four Giants once did. Thus, Adult T-S became the World of the Ocean King.

The fact that Link and Tetra’s crew were able to just accidentally sail into the World of the Ocean King instead of having to access it through some constrained portals like in the other versions of T-S may stem from King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule’s wish on the Triforce at the end of The Wind Waker. His wish was for Link and Zelda to have hope and a future, as well as to "let our destinies finally be fulfilled." It is possible that this also bled across timelines and worked on Adult T-S/World of the Ocean King so that the Link/Ravio and Zelda/Hilda of that world would also have hope. The gods accomplished this by making Adult T-2 and Adult T-S into a Merged Reality so that both realms could have access to the light of the Triforce. The reason they are still considered separate during the events of Phantom Hourglass is because this merging was a gradual process so that the inhabitants of Adult T-2 and Adult T-S would not have to abruptly deal with the change all at once. Also, it seems likely that Bellum is the reincarnation of the spirit of Majora's Mask and thus the new incarnation of Demise's hate, since both are Eldritch Abominations bent on chaos and destruction.

This merging also occurred with both versions of the Adult timeline Sacred Realm/Dark World/T-1 Hyrule. However, while the merging of Adult T-2 and Adult T-S improved both by letting both have the Adult Triforce, the merged Sacred Realm had no Triforce. This, along with the combining of the entropy of both Sacred Realms, led to the Adult T-1 being all but annihilated. This dark, nearly formless timeline became the Dark Realm of Spirit Tracks, which explains why certain localizations of Spirit Tracks give it the same name as the Dark World. It seems likely that Malladus is, rather than another incarnation of Demise’s hate like Ganon and Majora’s Mask, an entirely new demon who emerged from this void.

Also, relating to the above WMG noting how Termina's primary number motif is 4 while Hyrule's is 3, the recurrence of the number 4 may relate to Four Is Death, what with the T-S Triforce being dead. This may also explain why the World of the Ocean King and the New Hyrule of the merged Adult timeline are delineated into 4 quadrants. The reason Lorule doesn't have as discernible a 4 motif may have to do with the decimation of the 4 motif-heavy land by Majora's Mask being coupled with their rediscovery of the Triforce and subsequent reintroduction of a 3 motif.

  • ...This. Is. EPIC!!!!!!!
  • I'd like to mention, it's highly likely that there was a split long before the beginning of this, at the Ancient Battle. I believe that it was the Triforce that was actually responsible for Skyloft being created, and the wish was a vague one. (Save the Hylians or something like that) Its other interpretation was to simply kill Demise like what happened in T-1. However, since it is roughly 10000 years removed from any other splits, it's too far removed to be accessible, and is inconsequential anyway given that there is no Demise cycle and no Zelda, because Hylia did not need to reincarnate. The point of this is that the earliest split was during the Ancient Battle. Later, something happens in the timeline, I haven't figured out what yet, that creates an offshoot of Adult T-2 in which Ganondorf obtains the triforce. His wish was to restore Hyrule to how it once was, which the Triforce interprets as merging all the timelines back to a single line. As Ganondorf was Demise reborn, he was returned to the time of the original split, and because multiple instances of Ganon, some having the complete Triforce, were merged together, he was driven mad and became Calamity Ganon.

Ganon was subtly influencing Yuga from within after they merged.
He still acts and talks mostly like himself after the fusion, but it's notable that he went straight for the Triforce as soon as he had the chance. Possibly coincidental, but he never expressed much of an interest in it prior, so you never know.

Demise and his demons are from Lorule
First, Demise's forces appeared from a fissure in the earth after a great earthquake. The cracks that allow Link to travel between the two worlds also opened during an earthquake. Demise's sword bears a mark of the Triforce, but pointing downward — just like the Lorulean Triforce. While it could be a result of their Triforce being gone, the enemies in Lorule are much more like demons or monsters than the ones in Hyrule. In fact, most of the monsters in Lorule are creatures from the Dark World in A Link to the Past. If Demise really is from Lorule, that would explain why they destroyed their Triforce as well. In Hyrule, there was a great war between Hylia and Demise over the fate of the Triforce, and it's just as likely that Demise would have stopped at nothing in his home dimension as well. Once the Triforce of his universe was destroyed, he likely found a way through to Hyrule in a second attempt to obtain its power.

Yuga is another incarnation of Demise.
(SPOILERS AHEAD for Skyward Sword. I'm not sure how to put this in spoiler tags without making it an unreadable mess, so here's your warning.)

When Demise died, he said that his hatred would be born again to torment the descendants of Link and Zelda. Obviously Ganondorf was one of them, but it's never specified that ONLY Ganondorf is one of his incarnations. Depending on your interpretation of reincarnation, it's even possible for multiple versions of a soul to exist at the same time (a la Avatar: The Last Airbender). Even disallowing that, Ganon's revival could have potentially resulted in a situation similar to the Oracle linked ending, where the revived Ganon would have been a (literally) soulless monster with no will of its own. Yuga, being a Descendant of Hate, could have taken advantage of that fact, which is also why he remained in control of Ganon, and even why Ganon never seemed to put up a fight.

Summoning Ganon in the The Legend of Zelda: Oracle Games sucked the Triforce of Power back into him.
The three Triforce were whole in the beginning; and Link Between Worlds takes place long after. Reviving his body (even if not his mind) pulled the Triforce back into his soul, so that he had to be summoned again to regain it.
  • Why would that happen? Ganondorf was never supposed to have the Triforce of Power. He just stole it. If the Triforce of Power is going to get dragged back to anyone, shouldn't it be the unidentified person chosen by the Goddesses for it like Link and Zelda were?
    • Ganondorf is that person, as shown in Twilight Princess.
    • To be fair, stealing the golden power of the godesses seems like a good sign of being worthy of it.
      • Not necessarily. He could have gotten it because he stole it in the parallel timeline, not because he was supposed to have it.
  • Furthermore, the Triforce isn't supposed to split in the first place, at least according to the version of reality established in Ocarina of Time. The splitting is a weird contingency defense mechanism, which would imply the universe is not predisposed towards enforcing it. However, given that the games since OoT have fallen madly in love with the split Triforce concept, it can probably be assumed that that's how reality works now.

The Sheikah race is originally from Lorule, and is in fact Lorule's dominant race.
All confirmed Sheikah look like Hylians, just with red eyes. Hilda looks like a Hylian but has red eyes. Also, the Sheikah are said to be "the shadows of the Hylians". Lorule is essentially Hyrule's shadow. Perhaps, in the ancient past, a portal between the two worlds was opened. Maybe by accident, maybe on purpose, maybe it was the above WMG about Demise originally being from Lorule. Either way, some of Lorule's inhabitants went through and settled in Hyrule. Some Hylians may have done the same with Lorule.

Before the events of the game kept him otherwise occupied, Ravio served as Lorule's treasurer.
Unfortunately, Lorule's resources were so limited that there was never enough money to take proper care of its citizens. That's why his bag of money was more important than life itself. He needs that to help save his people.
  • A treasurer should know that money doesn't work that way... He might have still been desperate enough to try it, though.

Yuga is the reincarnation of the Tennō(天皇) of Lorule.
The Tennō(天皇) AKA the Heavenly King is practically the opposite of the Demon King/Mao(魔王) unless one becomes a God themselves. Yuga has shown a desire to take his place among the Gods, which is different from Demise and Ganon's desire to unleash their hatred against the Gods. Yuga might have the mind of the Tennō(天皇) yet not the power, thus contrasting Ganon who has the power of the Demon King yet not the mind. It also fits that as Ganon had good intentions, only for them to be corrupted. Yuga would have evil intentions with zero interest in doing any good due to being Ganon's inversion.

The Goddess Hilda was descended from is just as if not more morally bankrupt than Hilda!
As shown by Hilda's lack of Wisdom concerning Hyrule's Triforce. Hilda is an inversion of Zelda, so it should follow that her Goddess ancestor is an inversion of Hylia and thus morally ambiguous. The Tennō(天皇) would have seen her as a means to obtain the power to join the ranks of the Gods (inverting Demise's desire to destroy the Gods), and during their encounters they most likely fought and lost their main sources of power (at least the Tennō(天皇) did), forcing one (Hilda's Goddess ancestor) to start a royal line and the other (Tennō(天皇)) to reincarnate constantly.
  • While this is logical given your premise, I must question the premise itself. Where does it say that Lorule and Hyrule counterparts are inversions of each other? I also don't see how Hilda is "morally bankrupt" — she just seems desperate.

The infamous Chris Houlihan room is present somewhere
  • The Ghost of Misery Mire is here (an infamous glitch in ALTTP), so maybe that's here too.

The entire game's soundtrack is playing in Link's head.
Whenever Link travels to Kakariko Village, he always stops at the Milk Bar, pays the two musicians, and listens to the song that they play. Then, once he's out on his adventures, he remembers those songs and plays them in his head to motivate himself. Having a vivid imagination, Link is able to take songs he's heard played by a recorder and guitar and mentally orchestrate it into a day-to-day soundtrack for his life.

The thief girl is meant to be Ghanti from the ALTTP manga
Hair color and clothes nonwithstanding, think about it. They are both girls who are thieves who help Link. And when she gets a mask, it is a fox mask, which is Ghanti's dark world form in the manga.

The goddesses of Lorule are associated with cyan, magenta, and yellow
The inverse of the color scheme for the Golden Goddesses. At least, an inversion using the RGB model as a guide makes more sense than an inversion by the RYB model, which would give orange... and a second red and green. It should also be noted that these colors can be seen as the flames of both Lorule Castle's torches and the tip of Yuga's staff.

Assuming Literary Agent Hypothesis, the Lorule part of the story is propaganda made up by the royal family and/or the religious leaders of Hyrule.
It's one of the few Zelda games where the Triforce is actually used for something positive, and it debunks the strategy of just destroying the thing that's causing so much trouble. You can practically hear the people who depend on the Triforce's acceptance (royals and priests) desperately screaming, "Sure, the Triforce seems to be nothing but a force of destruction, but it's totally a good thing and we really need it, see?!" It sounds exactly like the kind of propaganda a threatened administration would use to quell a troubled populace, or the kind of moral parable a religious order would use to entrench its teachings. Perhaps the story was crafted after a particularly bad Triforce war that pushed the kingdom to the brink of revolution.

The Triforce was not split intentionally.
The backstory says that the royal family had the Triforce in their possession after ALttP, but later decided to break it into the three components to keep it out of the wrong hands. That sounds like a bizarre tactical decision to me — Skyward Sword demonstrates that the Triforce isn't single-use as previously thought, so the royal family would have virtually unlimited power as long as they could keep their virtues balanced. It's absurd to think they wouldn't be able to defend it under those conditions — and even in a worst-case scenario, they could break it at the last moment by throwing some servant at it. Also, if they couldn't defend the whole Triforce, why in the world would they try to defend a single piece of it after they become even more impotent? It seems more likely that the royals pushed their luck too far and tried to use the Triforce with an imbalanced heart, thus triggering the defense mechanism. Naturally, they made up the "we totally did that on purpose" explanation to save face; royalty must be seen as infallible, after all.

Yuga is Ganondorf's Lorulean Counterpart.
This would at least explain how he managed to invert Hijacked by Ganon.

The Stylish Woman is secretly a fairy or Great Fairy
  • Not only does she resemble the Fat Fairy in the pyramid in A Link to the Past, with her design being subtly different from other Non Player Characters in this game, but she has a picture of a fairy on her wall and heals Link whenever he visits her, while behaving somewhat flirtatiously toward him, similarly to how Great Fairies in past (and future) games have done. She also lives in the same house as the Sweeping Lady in ALttP, who turned into a fairy when sprinkled with magic powder, and she seems to lack a counterpart in Lorule — something that's generally reserved for the sages and other important characters.

Lorule is an alternate timeline caused by Skyward Sword
We know the timeline split in Ocarina of Time because of Link's time travel, creating three timelines, the Downfall, Child and Adult Timelines — the Child Timeline spawns from when Child Link and Zelda stop Ganondorf before he makes his play for power, and the Adult Timeline spawns from when Ganon was sealed in the corrupted Sacred Realm and then Link was sent back in time. A very similar thing happens in Skyward Sword at the end of the game, when Link uses the Triforce to destroy Demise, but Ghirahim takes Zelda to to the past to revive Demise there. In the past, Demise is revived and killed by Link, and Demise curses Link and Zelda with his dying breath.

When Ghirahim took Zelda to the past and revived Demise, it split the timeline at this point. The first timeline is the one in which Link wished on the Triforce for Demise's death, and he was dead, the timeline that splits off as a result of Ghirahim's actions is a timeline in which Demis was released and Link killed him and his essence was sealed into the Master Sword. We'll call the first timeline the Defeated Timeline, and the second the Sealed Timeline.

The Sealed Timeline is the main timeline of the Zelda series. When Link and Zelda returned to the present after Demise's death, they returned from the Defeated Timeline to the Sealed Timeline. In this time period, Link and Zelda carried the curse of Demise, and his essence still slept within the Master Sword. This leads to the rise of Ganondorf and all subsequent events, including Ocarina of Time and its own timeline splits.

But in the Defeated Timeline, things are very different. Skyward Sword doesn't say exactly when the past era is relative to the present, but let's say it's at least 100 years. 100 years ago, Demise is killed. This would create a chain of events that unravel the entire story of Skyward Sword — Ghirahim would not try to abduct Zelda to free Demise, because his master is dead. And Link would not find the Goddess Sword and temper it into the Master Sword. For that matter, the Triforce would remain in the Sealed Temple.

The Defeated Timeline is where Lorule is — a timeline in which, in the distant past, there was never a Ganondorf, but there was a Ghirahim that could be reborn in Yuga. The Master Sword never had to be used for its intended purposes and faded away into myth and legend, which is why Lorule does not have a Master Sword. Link and Zelda would live out their lives and die without becoming the heroes of legend destined to be reincarnated through history. And when the people of Skyloft did eventually recolonize the surface and discover the Triforce, they abused its power, not understanding its significance, and eventually this led to Lorule's decline.

Ravio was using a fake name the whole time.
  • Not only does his name not bear any correlation or resemblance to Link's name like Hilda's does to Zelda's (not that that's a requirement, but even still), but he was also plastering his name on signboards all around Hyrule at a time when he must've figured Yuga was prowling around looking for the sages — yet when Yuga discovers Link was able to emerge from the wall in the Eastern Palace, he's mystified as to how he did it and never suspects that Ravio had a hand in it. Hilda never refers to Ravio by name after he returns to her, either, meaning she could know him by a completely different one.

    Confirmed WMGs 
The 3DS game will be a Genre Throwback to the NES originals, called New Legend of Zelda
  • The breeding ground for this is a recent message from Eiji Aonuma via Swapnote, where he announces that new Zelda games are indeed in development. First off, he asks fans if they enjoyed the OoT remake, meaning that the next game will probably be for the 3DS. Second off, he (or his translator) capitalizes the word "New" on the last slide. This could be some sort of clue that the next Zelda will be something along the lines of the first Zelda, or at least A Link to the Past.
  • Confirmed. A Link Between Worlds is very heavily based on A Link to the Past.

Even if ALBW isn't a remake of ALttP, Link still needs to find the Pendants Of Virtue.
Evidence: Link is holding the Master Sword in the image on the main page.
  • Confirmed in a recent trailer, where Link is shown retrieving the Master Sword. The Pendants are clearly shown hovering over him as in ALttP.

The old woman that can be seen next to Zelda is Impa
  • Confirmed. That is indeed Impa.

Hilda is the true antagonist.
Yuga is actually her Dragon and both of them are manipulating Link for some kind of twisted plan.
  • Confirmed. However, she's a Well-Intentioned Extremist, while Yuga is a straight villain and betrays her and takes two of the Triforce pieces for himself.

The picture that's a part of the logo isn't meaningless...
Dark Triforce.
  • Dark Triforce?
  • Each third of the Triforce would have its own designation, given to the Dark World versions of each character
  • The Triforce of Weakness — Dark Ganon
    • Dark Ganon? How does that work exactly?
  • The Triforce of Ignorance — Dark Zelda
  • The Triforce of Fear — Dark Link
    • Not exactly confirmed, but Link's counterpart, Ravio, is a self-admitted coward.
      • Yet his world, and him by extent, happens to lack the Triforce. So maybe Lorule Triforce has /had/will have exact designations of Hyrule one, and Ravio's cowardice is caused by simply lacking the usual courage reinforcement.
      • Hilda's dialogue towards the end of the game itself seems to imply that Lorule's Triforce does indeed have the same designations as Hyrule's Triforce.
  • The inverted Triforce does indeed represent something — Lorule's own Triforce, which is arranged to be point-down. It was not however stated if its inverted pieces represent anything at all.

    Jossed WMGs 
Ravio's rupee bag is actually an Artifact of Doom.
Ravio panics whenever Link wanders near the bag in Link's house/Ravio's shop. He warns Link not to touch it, for inside is something more important than life itself. The fact that the item is sitting right next to Majora's Mask and Ravio shares uncanny similarities with the Happy Mask Salesman from Majora's Mask, is troubling to say the least.
  • Perhaps it's some terrible world-destroying monster/dark god whose wrath and hunger can only be sated by feeding it rupees? Guess Link really was saving the world by shopping after-all.
    • Or he's just looking to make a dishonest buck, by making Link do all the work.
    • Remember that Ravio is the counterpart to a Link that is likely to amass tens of thousands or rupees over the course of the game. A bit of an obsession with money wouldn't seem out of place.

The game will end with a reference to the opening sequence of the Oracle games
Either it will recreate the opening entirely, or just end with Link getting on his horse.
  • Assuming this Link is not the same as the one from ALttP/OoX/LA, that may be unlikely.
  • It's been confirmed that this is not the same Link and that this game takes place far in the future from ALttP.

And the shocker that will happen in the game is...
According to Aonuma "A Link Between Worlds" has something in the beginning that will shock fans. With that in mind let's start placing bets on what that shocker is.
  1. Zelda is the new villain of the game.
  2. Link comes across a big, blue, police box.
  3. At first, it appears villain A is the mastermind, but then the plot is Hijacked by Ganon.
  4. The worlds in question are Hyrule and the Twilight Realm, and the shocker in the beginning is the appearance of Failure Timeline Midna, who will be shockingly different than Child Timeline Midna.
    • And she will be the villain this time. Or antihero.
      • And/or Hilda the anti-Zelda!
  5. It will be an evil Link. Probably Dark Link.
  • In the end, it turns out that Ravio, the Lorule Link, is actually assisting the Hyrule Link to foil the plans of Hilda and Yuga.

The worlds in question are two of the timelines
We know it takes place in Failure Timeline; the other is probably Child.
  • Subverted.

Expanding on the above, the Dark Triforce is the same one represented by Demise.
Ah, the Master Sword. It's beautiful. It even bears the mark of the Triforce at the base of the blade. But what about the great evil Demise? Let's take a look at his sword. It's got an upside down Triforce on it...

This sword has been the center of much debate, and with the revelation of a potential second Triforce, the pieces fit together too well.

  • Jossed? It's simply another world's Triforce, it seems, and doesn't appear to be evil or anything of the sort.

There will be three realms to explore: (Light) Hyrule, the Dark World, and the Twilight Realm
This will tie into the franchise's recurring Rule of Three motif, with Hyruleans being mainly good, Twilight Realmers mainly exhibiting Grey-and-Grey Morality, and Dark Worlders largely being Always Chaotic Evil (with the infrequent mandatory good monsters thrown in). Midna will inhabit the Twilight Realm and will remotely give Link his painting transformation ability.

Dark Link will play a huge role
Since there is a Dark World, there is perhaps a parallel dark version of Link that exists, likely to be an antagonist.
  • Or maybe it will be a case of Dark Is Not Evil, and he will be an ally or playable multiplayer option.
    • Confirmed... sort of. Ravio is Lorule's Link.

This game will explain Ganon's revival in the original Zelda
As well as serving as Ganon's big return to the Zelda franchise.

I was about to mention this too! To expand on this, Ganon died at the end of ALTTP, was resurrected in the Oracle games, and then died again. He is mysteriously alive again at the beginning of the original Legend of Zelda without explanation. Presumably, the villain in this game will resurrect Ganon again, and this time he'll only be sealed away until LOZ.

  • Better yet, it's the other World's Ganon after taking the Triforce!
  • Does this fellow look familiar to anyone? Gray skin, red hair, medallion on his forehead, pointy shoes... granted, it could be a Red Herring of some sort, but he does look like pretty much a dead-ringer for Ganondorf.
    • He's been introduced as a new villain named Yuga, BUT there is always a chance of it being Ganon pulling an Agahnim again.
    • And it's now confirmed that Yuga's goal is to resurrect Ganon.
  • Jossed; Yuga revives Ganon's body and possesses it, and gets killed at the end of the game. That seems to be it.

Ravio is actually ALTTP's Link
He owns items that was found in "A Link to the Past" and he rents them out to the new Link. The screenshot shows that he's a human in a costume. His costume makes him look like a rabbit which is the form ALTTP's Link turns into when he first enters the Dark world.
  • Ravio's shop is ALTTP!Link's house, in both the Light and Dark worlds.
  • Jossed. Ravio is Link's counterpart in Lorule.

Ravio is the Happy Mask Salesman and the real Big Bad AKA Majora.
He has Majora's Mask on his wall and as an above WMG stated he's a human wearing a mask so obviously he's the Salesman and his wearing a mask makes him seem very suspicious; what's to stop him from being a bad guy and better yet using Majora's Mask during the Final Battle?
  • Alternatively, the mask could be a simple hint that Majora's Mask 3D is currently in the works.
  • Regardless of being good or evil, there's also the fact that the mask salesman is connected to the moon, and Ravio of course dresses as a rabbit.
  • Jossed. Ravio is Link's counterpart in Lorule.
    • Arguably doesn't really joss much. Could be both.
      • Well, half of it is still Jossed, as Ravio is definitely not bad in any way.

Nintendo will eventually make a Zelda game that mixes an overhead view like the one here with the third-person view of the 3D games.
The game could jump back and forth between the two views depending on what playstyle the developers wanted to go for in a particular level, similar to how Super Mario Galaxy 2 went back and forth between fully 3D directional movement and Side View areas.

Yuga is Good All Along.
Certainly of the Good Is Not Nice variety, but doing everything he does to help Hilda save her world from the real villain.
  • Jossed. He's exactly the rat bastard he appears to be.

Yuga is Good All Along and Hilda is the true antagonist.
Lorule plays the Mirror Universe trope completely straight.
  • Jossed with Yuga being good all along, but played straight with Hilda being the Big Bad.

Lorule is a Kingdom that was founded in the Sacred Realm/Golden Land after the events of ALTTP.
After Ganon was defeated and the Triforce retrieved, humans (the ancestors of Hilda and Yuga) were able to go from Hyrule to the Dark World/Sacred Realm without becoming Forced Transformation victims. Some time after A Link to the Past, the two worlds were once again separated for some reason, and the humans stuck in the Dark World formed a new kingdom modeled after Hyrule in order to survive — thus was Lorule born. The reason Lorule is no longer referred to as or associated with the well-known Dark World of yore is because the passing centuries have removed all knowledge of that connection.
  • Jossed. You visit both Hyrule and Lorule's respective Sacred Realms in the ending, so Lorule can't be ALttP's Dark World centuries down the line.

Lorule is Termina in the Link Fails timeline.
According to Aonuma, "Lorule is a place where something cataclysmic has happened in the past." The moon crashing into it because Link isn't around to stop it is pretty cataclysmic, isn't it?

  • According to this interview, Eiji Aonuma states that A Link Between Worlds will have a significant connection to Majora's Mask. So you may be on to something...

  • Agreed. Let's look at some other points of evidence:
    • All the characters from Hyrule have all these counterparts and such.
    • Termina's big religious number dealie is 4, not 3. 3 Hylian goddesses, 4 Terminan giants. 3 elemental stones in OoT, 4 boss masks in MM. You get the picture. Well, if you'll take a look at Princess Hilda's staff, you'll notice sitting atop it is not a proper triforce, but a three-dimensional tetraforce. If Lorule's "triforce" actually looked anything like that, then casting Lorule as future Termina would cast Lorule's triforce as Termina's triforce, explaining why everything in Termina is a matter of 4 and not 3.
  • The cataclysmic event is described in the game itself as the destruction of Lorule's Triforce by the hands of the royal family. Furthermore, Lorule's Triforce looks exactly like its Hyrulean counterpart, but upside-down. No fourth piece, and Hilda's staff just has four images of the Triforce forming a tetrahedron, not really a single 3D solid.
  • In addition, Majora's Mask was created for ritual use by an ancient tribe. Masks certainly seem to play a part in Lorule's culture, and there seems to be a cult or tribe dedicated to them. Mumbo jumbo, mumbo jumbo.
    • Except for the fact that the term "ancient tribe" heavily implies that the tribe that created Majora's Mask was formed many years, maybe centuries or millennia, prior to the events of the game where the eponymous mask makes its debut. The whole thing about "masks playing a part of Lorule's culture" seems more like a recent thing. Which is most likely formed to cope with the impending doom Lorule faces, given what the leader of the apparent cult in question says.

Ravio set up shop in Link's house just so he could get Majora's Mask.
It seems just odd for someone to set up shop in Link's house instead of setting the shop up elsewhere. As I theorized before, I suspect him to be the Happy Mask Salesman (they have very similar color schemes) and since The Happy Mask Salesman was desirous of Majora's Mask to the point that he sought and found it in the Child Era he would obviously seek it in the Downfall Era... Of course just taking it off Link's wall might draw suspicions so he set up shop in the house so he could wait for the right moment to take it (most likely when Link gives him the Dark Triforce).
  • Yes and no. Ravio did set up shop in Link's house, but merely because he had no other choice, all other possible places being infested with monsters. Majora's Mask isn't brought up at all, and the "Dark Triforce" doesn't even exist.

Yuga is the evil "true" ruler of Lorule, while Hilda is a benevolent usurper, keeping with the Mirror Universe theme.
Yuga ruled Lorule with an iron fist, trapping its citizens in paintings both as punishment and for his own amusement. Hilda led a coup against the evil king and was set up as princess in his stead. Yuga then opened the way to Hyrule (likely with Ganon's help) so that he could take over the new kingdom and/or reclaim Lorule.
  • Jossed. Hilda's family has been reigning in Lorule for generations, same as Zelda's family in Hyrule. Yuga is more of a chancellor.

Yuga was initially loyal to Hilda, but his fusion with Ganon corrupted him.
He wanted to restore Lorule to its former beauty, but when he combined himself with Ganon, this was corrupted into wanting to remake the world in his own image. If Yuga is Ganon's Lorule counterpart, then this allows their stories to run parallel — both men start out with noble intentions, but lose sight of them as they gain power.
  • This is jossed, actually; you can find and read Ravio's diary in the game's Hero mode, which pretty much states that Yuga couldn't be trusted and was using Princess Hilda from the start.

The Triforce of Lorule embodies the same virtues as the Triforce of Hyrule, but they are distributed differently.
  • Yuga embodies Courage. He went to Hyrule to retrieve the Sages, and he volunteered to absorb Ganon.
  • Hilda embodies Power. Her magic can bind the combined Yuga/Ganon and seal off her palace.
  • Ravio embodies Wisdom. He knew Hilda's plan was a bad idea, but he couldn't stop it himself, so he went to help Link.
    • The way Hilda talks about how the Hyrule Triforce "embodies such virtues as Courage, Wisdom, and Power" seems to suggest that this is not the case for the Lorule Triforce.
      • Not necessarily. She could have been speaking wistfully/nostalgically, if the Hyrule Triforce embodies the same virtues that Lorule lost.

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