Sacred Realm

The Sacred Realm is a fictional location in The Legend of Zelda series of video games. It was introduced in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past as the Golden Land-the land that became the overworld known as the Dark World in the events preceding those of A Link to the Past-though later games have renamed it the "Sacred Realm". In each of the games, the Sacred Realm is described as a mythical plane, or parallel world, created by three goddesses to be the holding place of the Triforce, an artifact of great power.

The Sacred Triforce
According to The Legend of Zelda backstory, three golden goddesses descended upon the chaotic void that would become Hyrule. Din, the Goddess of Power, created the landscape, and "dyed the mountains red with fire". Nayru, the Goddess of Wisdom, created the physical laws of Hyrule, bringing law and order to its chaos. Farore, the Goddess of Courage, created life that soon filled the barren land.

After the goddesses had finished their work, they left Hyrule and returned to the heavens, but only after creating a symbol of their power. They left behind three mystical golden triangles, that came to be known collectively as the Triforce. Though the Triforce holds only a fraction of the Goddesses' power, it was more powerful than anything but them.

The land in which the Triforce resided became the Sacred Realm (or Golden Land), and entered into legend.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

Information from the game's English manual:

In Hyrule, legends say the mythical gods of Hyrule had as their chosen people the Hylian. These ancient people left scrolls that are the primary source of the legends. According to the Hylian scrolls, the mythical gods descended from a distant nebula to the world and created order and life. After the gods had finished their work, they left the world, but not before creating a symbol of their strength, a golden triangle known as the Triforce. A small but powerful portion of the essence of the gods was held in this mighty artifact, which was to guide the intelligent life on the world of Hyrule.

With their magic infused blood, the Hylian people were endowed with psychic powers and skill in wizardry. It was also said that their long, pointed ears enabled them to hear special messages from the gods, so they were held in high esteem by many people in Hyrule. Their descendants settled in various parts of the world and passed on their knowledge and magical lore to all people. But in its passing, the lore was often distorted or lost altogether.

In Hyrule, there are many Hylian buildings which are mentioned repeatedly in the legends. These buildings, which now lie in ruin, pale shadows of their former splendor, are closely tied to the Triforce. Some were even said to house the Triforce.
If it were only a symbol of the gods, the Triforce would be coveted by many. But a verse from the Book of Mudora (a collection of Hylian legends and lore) made the Triforce even more desirable:

::"In a realm beyond sight,
::The Sky shines gold, not blue.
::There, the Triforce's might
::Makes mortal dreams come true."

Many aggressively searched for the wish granting Triforce, but no one, not even the Hylian sages, was sure of its location; the knowledge had been lost over time. Some said the Triforce lay under the desert, others said that it was in the cemetery in the shadow of Death Mountain, but no one ever found it. That yearning for the Triforce soon turned to lust for power, which in turn led to the spilling of blood. Soon the only motive left among those searching for the Triforce was pure greed.

Ganondorf, the leader of a band of thieves, was one of the first mortals to ever enter the Golden Land. Through his own resourcefulness, Ganondorf gathered from ancient texts the means by which to enter the Golden Land. Their minds filled with propaganda and false-promises of riches and glory, followers willingly assist him in gaining entry into the Golden Land. Once Ganondorf and his followers reach the Temple of the Triforce, Ganondorf reveals to his followers that he has merely been using them, and that their usefulness has expired. He slaughters his entourage, and with blood-stained hands claims the Triforce. The essence of the Triforce speaks:

::"If thou has a strong desire or dream, wish for it..."

His evil heart and its power combined made the world change utterly. Ganondorf's wish was to conquer the world. The Golden Land withered and died and became a place of darkness and evil, it became the Dark World, a reflection of Hyrule that was meant to serve Ganondorf's wish of conquest. But Ganondorf was not satisfied, and plotted to take over Hyrule to make his wish come completely true.

Ganondorf began to use the Triforce's powers to lure others into the Dark World. Once there, they were transformed into reflections of their own hearts. Ganondorf became a boar or pig-like creature. Upon this transformation, Ganondorf went by the name "Ganon, the King of Evil". Ganon used the men lured into the Dark World by the Triforce to build an army, with which he attacked Hyrule. The Knights Of Hyrule combined forces with the Seven Sages to wage war on this evil horde. The Knights of Hyrule bought precious time for the Seven Wise Men to erect a barrier to seal the Dark World away, preventing any from entering.

Within time, Ganon sent a portion of his spirit across the barrier to become the wizard Agahnim. Using the wizard as his pawn, he killed the King of Hyrule and began to capture the descendants of the Sages. By using a dark ritual to send them over the barrier into the Dark World, the barrier would break free once again. Although Agahnim is killed, he ultimately succeeds in breaking the seal. Later, upon Ganon's death, the Dark World vanishes entirely.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
The realm remained sealed away from the physical world by a seal that could only be opened with a collection of these unique items:
*Three Spiritual Stones-each belonging to a different race of Hyrule and representing one of the three goddesses
**The Kokiri's Emerald, Spiritual Stone of the Forest, representing Farore, Goddess of Courage
**The Goron's Ruby, Spiritual Stone of Fire, representing Din, Goddess of Power
**The Zora's Sapphire, Spiritual Stone of Water, representing Nayru, Goddess of Wisdom
*The Ocarina of Time-when the Song of Time is played upon it in the presence of the Spiritual Stones, the Door of Time will open in the Temple of Time, which acts as the gateway to the Sacred Realm
*The Master Sword-created to defeat evil and can only be wielded by the brave and righteous Hero of Time.

Link and Princess Zelda, discovering that Ganondorf seeks to possess the Triforce, attempt to stop him by arriving at the Sacred Realm first. Unfortunately, their efforts to stop Ganondorf merely unseal the Sacred Realm for him. Ganondorf attempts to claim the Triforce, but because his heart is not in balance, he is only able to obtain the Triforce of Power, temporarily thwarting his plans for becoming the ruler of the world. The other pieces of the Triforce are drawn to those in Hyrule whose hearts most reflect the quality that the piece embodies; Princess Zelda gains the Triforce of Wisdom and Link gains the Triforce of Courage.

Ganondorf uses his newfound power to take over Hyrule, while Link is held in the Temple of Light inside the Sacred Realm for seven years until he physically matures into the Hero of Time. The sage, Rauru, had remained in the Temple of Light seemingly since its creation, before the seal of the Realm, and gives Link his first medallion in his quest, the "Light Medallion".

By the end of the game, Link defeats Ganondorf in Hyrule, and the Seven Sages seal him in the Sacred Realm, in which the Triforce no longer resides. However, even though Ganondorf is banished to the Sacred Realm, he retains the Triforce of Power and awaits his return to the Light World.

Dark World
After Ganon was sealed into the Sacred Realm, he used his powers to corrupt it and transform it into the Dark World, a mirror-world of Hyrule where monsters thrived. It appears as a major gameplay feature in A Link to the Past, where Ganon breaks out of the Dark World to conquer the real Hyrule. Link has to travel between the two worlds many times to complete his quest. Anyone who enters the Dark World is transformed into something else that represents his heart; Link is quickly turned into a pink rabbit when he enters the Dark World. In this form, Link has no use of any of his equipment, and is therefore utterly defenseless. His only hope for bringing light back to the Dark World is to acquire the mysterious Moon Pearl, which allows its holder to retain his Hylian form. Link teleports to the Dark World via magical panels that can be found throughout Hyrule, and can return by using a magical mirror. (He can also use the teleportation points that the mirror creates in the Light World to return to the Dark World.)

There are also two separate places in Hyrule called the Dark World in The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, though not much known about the region. It is apparently filled with live vegetation, whereas the other is not. The true Dark World in this game is entered through portals that must be activated with a Moon Pearl. Once there, the player must look at the Game Boy Advance screen to see their Link in the Dark World. Link's shadow can then be seen in its equivalent location in the Light World on the television screen.

The Sacred Realm is briefly referred to in Ocarina of Time as becoming evil and full of darkness, and during the end sequence the sage Rauru refers to it as the "Evil Realm", alluding to the state of the realm.

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