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The Legend of Zelda is one of the flagship video game series for Nintendo. Since 1986, there have been nearly 30 games that span across several consoles. Tears of the Kingdom and its predecessor Breath of the Wild are set at the end of the Zelda timeline, almost acting as a completely separate period compared to the other games.
But Tears of the Kingdom has an event that occurred one other time in the Zelda series: the Imprisoning War. We take a look at what this moment meant for Hyrule in the past and what it means for the realm in Tears of the Kingdom.
Legend Of The Triforce
As a concept, the Imprisoning War is a major moment in the history of two Zelda games: A Link to the Past, and Tears of the Kingdom. While both events deal with Ganondorf invading Hyrule with an army, the similarities between the two wars end there.
In A Link to the Past, it’s explained that Hyrule was created by the Golden Goddesses. The deities were believed to be all-powerful and immortal, as well as having left a great power hidden in Hyrule.
Legends told of a magical place called the Sacred Realm and the power left behind by the Golden Goddesses was called the Triforce. The Triforce could grant the user any wish and the possibilities led to an infection of greed throughout Hyrule.
Ganondorf Finds The Sacred Realm
Hylians banded together as thieves, searching for the Triforce. One group, led by Ganondorf, found a gateway to the Sacred Realm. The sight of the Triforce drove the thieves into a frenzy, and they all attacked each other for the power.
Ganondorf emerged victorious, having slain the rest of his band of thieves. As he reached for the Triforce, Ganondorf laughed and wished to become the ruler of the world.
The Sacred Realm began to decay and morph into a misrepresentation of Hyrule, turning into the Dark World. Now the Demon King Ganon, his dark magic engulfed the Dark World with a curse that transformed people into monsters. Drunk with power, Ganon wanted to conquer Hyrule too, and created a portal to Hyrule from the Dark World.
More and more people traveled from Hyrule to the Dark World in search of the Triforce but were transformed into monsters for Ganon’s army. Once his army reached a suitable size, Ganon invaded Hyrule and sparked the Imprisoning War.
The Imprisoning War
In preparation for Ganon’s invasion, the protectors of Hyrule were seeking their champion. The Seven Sages were a powerful group of magic-users, and they needed someone who could wield a weapon crafted to banish evil itself. Unfortunately, the Seven Sages couldn’t find anyone before Ganon’s attack.
Without their champion and Master Sword, the Seven Sages elected to create a seal to trap Ganon in the Dark World. The massive battle that ensues between Ganon and the Knights of Hyrule is the Imprisoning War.
The knights protected the sages long enough for them to trap Ganon successfully but nearly all of the knights were killed. The price of trapping Ganon was high for the kingdom of Hyrule. The realm began to suffer economically and politically, causing many Hylians to lose their trust and faith in the domain.
Spoilers for Tears Of The Kingdom from this point on.
Tears Of The Kingdom
Similar to A Link to the Past, the Imprisoning War is a major plot element used in Tears of the Kingdom. According to legend, Ganondorf tried to invade the kingdom of Hyrule with an army of Gerudos and monsters. King Rauru defeated his army.
Impressed by the power of the Zonai Secret Stone, Ganondorf swore his allegiance to Rauru and plotted to steal the stone in the future. Rauru knew there was a possibility of Ganondorf betraying him, but he still couldn’t prevent him from killing Queen Sonia and taking her Secret Stone.
With the power of the Secret Stone, Ganondorf transforms into the Demon King Ganon. He becomes incredibly powerful and begins destroying realm, prompting the Imprisoning War. Rauru calls for the aid of the Six Sages and offers each a Secret Stone to help him defeat Ganondorf.
Unfortunately, Ganondorf proved too much for the sages, and Rauru sacrificed his life to seal Ganondorf away. When Ganondorf came back, the spirit of Rauru guided Link to gain the necessary powers to defeat Ganondorf again.