Sacred Realm

File:Triforce.jpg

The Sacred Realm and the Triforce residing at its heart, before Ganondorf came to steal the Triforce and the realm was transformed into the corrupt Dark World as a result.

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 corrupt Dark World 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

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The Dark World in A Link to the Past that Link explores during his adventure is actually a corruption of the Sacred Realm. The Essence of Triforce told him how Ganon had created the Dark World, and informs Link that the Dark World will vanish upon Ganon's defeat. It told Link to touch the Triforce and wish for what he wanted.

Ocarina of Time

While the there is less action or gameplay in the Sacred Realm in Ocarina of Time, it plays a key role in the game. The Temple of Light, which houses the Triforce, is located at the very center of the Sacred Realm.

Each time Link completes a temple in the Adult portion of the game, a portal from the temple to the Temple of Time opens up. Upon entry into the Temple of Time, someone from Link's childhood awakens as a Sage, and bestows a medallion and some of their power upon Link.

After Ganondorf is defeated, he is sealed within the corrupted Sacred Realm by all of the awakened Sages.

The Role of The Master Sword

In Ocarina of Time when child Link has collected all of the Spiritual Stones and played the Song of Time - the Door of Time opens. Behind the door of Time is big room, at the center of which a pedestal sits. Held within the pedestal is the Master Sword. When Link draws the Master Sword he opens a path from Hyrule to the Sacred Realm and without knowing it letting Ganondorf in. Link's body is then sealed away in the Sacred Realm for seven years until he is old enough to be the Hero of Time