Twilight Realm - Story

Story

Twilight Princess takes place one century after Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, and begins with Link as a young adult working as a ranch hand in Ordon Village. One day, the village is attacked by monsters, who carry off the village’s children. Link pursues the attackers, but encounters a wall of twilight. A shadow beast pulls him beyond the wall into the realm of twilight, where he is transformed into a wolf and imprisoned. Link is soon freed by an imp-like twilight being named Midna, who guides him to Princess Zelda. Zelda explains that Zant, the King of the Twilight, has stolen the light from three of the four Light Spirits and conquered Hyrule. In order to save Hyrule, Link must first restore the Light Spirits by entering the twilight-covered areas and, as a wolf, recover the Spirits' lost light. He must do this by collecting the multiple "Tears of Light"; once all the Tears of Light are collected for one area, he restores that area's Light Spirit. As he restores them, the Light Spirits return Link to Hylian form.

During this time, Link also helps Midna find the Fused Shadows, fragments of a relic containing powerful dark magic. In return, she helps Link find the village's children. After Link restores the Light Spirits and Midna has all the Fused Shadows, Zant attacks them; he takes the Fused Shadows, turns Link back into a wolf using his magic, and critically injures Midna. Link then brings a dying Midna to Zelda. Zelda tells Link that he needs the Master Sword to be restored to human form, then heals Midna before vanishing mysteriously. After the Master Sword returns Link to human form, now able to switch between forms at will, Midna leads him to the Mirror of Twilight, the only known gateway between the Twilight Realm and Hyrule. However, they discover that Zant has broken it. The sages there explain that Zant tried to destroy it, but he was only able to shatter it into fragments; only the true ruler of the Twilight can completely destroy the Mirror of Twilight. They also tell them that a century ago, they used it to send Ganondorf, the leader of a band of thieves, to the Twilight Realm.

Link and Midna set out to retrieve the missing shards of the Mirror. They use the repaired mirror to open a portal to the Twilight Realm. Before they enter, Midna and the sages tell Link that Midna is the true ruler of the Twilight; Zant transformed her into an imp after he usurped her power. In the Twilight Realm, Zant informs Link and Midna that his god, Ganondorf, granted him great power to do whatever pleases him, on the condition that he use it to conquer Hyrule. After Link defeats Zant, Midna recovers the Fused Shadows and then destroys Zant after he reveals that only Ganondorf's death can undo Midna's curse. Returning to Hyrule, Link and Midna find Ganondorf in Hyrule Castle, with a lifeless Zelda suspended above his head. After Link defeats Ganondorf, who possesses Zelda's body and then assumes his Ganon incarnation, Midna manages to revive Zelda as she and Link help her to her feet.

Ganondorf then revives, and Midna teleports Link and Zelda outside the castle so she can hold him off with the Fused Shadows. Link and Zelda watch as the castle is wrecked before Ganondorf appears before them on a horse with Midna’s helmet (one of the four Fused Shadows) in his grasp before breaking it. Link and Zelda mount Link's horse, Epona, and continue the battle after receiving Light Arrows from the Light Spirits. Eventually, Ganondorf is knocked off his horse, and he battles Link on foot. Finally, Link strikes down Ganondorf and plunges his sword into Ganondorf’s chest, defeating him. The Light Spirits are then seen reviving Midna, who is restored to her true form after Ganondorf's defeat.

After saying her goodbyes to Link and Zelda, Midna returns home while using a single tear to destroy the Mirror of Twilight, thus severing the only known link between Hyrule and the Twilight Realm. Near the end, as Hyrule Castle is rebuilt, Link is shown leaving his hometown of Ordon on Epona heading back to Hyrule Castle.