The Legend of Zelda might have an established timeline, and a continuity, but direct sequels are few and far between: Phantom Hourglass follows The Wind Waker, The Adventure of Link follows the NES original, and more famously, Majora’s Mask follows Ocarina of Time. Once Link is returned back to the time of his childhood at the end of OoT, he eventually finds his way to the world of Termina and has to save it from its impending doom. But what really happens in between?

The ending of Ocarina of Time is not especially ambiguous, but the implications of time travel make things a little more difficult. What happens to Link once he gets to relive his childhood? What about his friends? Are there any consequences to Link and Zelda messing with the timeline? And what about Termina? The world of Majora’s Mask is a rich one, and its inhabitants have intricate backstories to explain exactly what happened to make the game such a dark one.

We have consulted the foremost authorities on Hyrule lore to come up with this extensive list which explains everything that goes down between two of the most beloved games in The Legend of Zelda. From the time Link enters the Castle’s Courtyard to the moment he sets out to stop the moon in Termina, it’s all in there. These 25 tidbits will tell you everything you need to know about the whereabouts of this fascinating cast of characters.

25 In The Nick Of Time

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Once the credits are done rolling on Ocarina of Time, the last thing we see is a young Link joining the Princess once again the castle’s courtyard. At that point, she is still spying on Ganondorf because of her suspicions about his activities. So what happens then? Obviously, Link spills the beans about everything he has been through and about what exactly Ganondorf plans to do in the immediate future.

This sets a completely different series of events in motion.

More importantly, Zelda actually believes him, because as she stated during his first visit at the start of the game, she envisioned that he would come. Zelda is still in danger at that point with the dastardly Gerudo still roaming free, so she still leaves the castle with Impa, only this time, she does not have to do it in a panic in the middle of the night.

24 Simple, Yet Effective

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Before leaving for her temporary hiding place, Zelda still gives a task to Link. This time, instead of sending him on a quest to gather the Spiritual Stones, she asks of him something much simpler. Link has to take the Ocarina of Time far away from the castle and protect it at all cost. This is a lot easier than it sounds like, because at that point in time, Ganondorf is still unaware of the existence of Link. Since he does not know who he is yet, he would thus have no reason to suspect he has it. Without the Ocarina of Time, the ritual to open the doors of the Temple of Time cannot be performed. This plan is so effective in its simplicity that you almost wonder why Link and the Princess didn’t just do that in the first place instead.

23 I AM THE LAW!

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With the information that she got from Link (information that comes straight from the future, mind you), Princess Zelda also goes to her father, the King of Hyrule, to inform him of Ganondorf’s evil intentions. Her plight is convincing enough to get the King to put out a warrant for Ganondorf, and the King of Thieves is thus arrested.

Despite his nickname, it is unclear if he has committed any crime at the time of his arrest.

Still, despite its presentation as a fairly good place to live at the time, Hyrule is a monarchy, not a democracy, so it’s not like the King needs any reason to throw Ganondorf in jail. It looks like the guy wasn’t that popular already, because no one batted an eye when, a little bit later, his sentence is pronounced. We will get back to this later!

22 The Chosen One

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One unintended effect of Link’s return to the past is the split of the Triforce. In the Childhood timeline, at that point, the Triforce was still intact. However, in the Adult timeline, it had been split in three when Ganondorf entered the Sacred Realm. When Link defeats him, he only imprisons him back into the Sacred Realm, which means that Ganondorf keeps his Triforce of Power. The artifact is never made whole again, so when Link comes back to his own time, he maintains possession of the Triforce of Courage. This is best illustrated by the fact that Link still bears the mark of the Triforce on the back of his hand during the ending of Ocarina of Time. So what now? Are there two Triforce of Courage in one place now? Well, about that…

21 An Equal Distribution

via hiddentriforce.com

The fascinating book Hyrule Historia states that there can only be one Triforce. This means that although Link keeps the mark on the back of his hand when he comes back into the past, the Triforce of Courage itself does not follow. However, upon Link’s re-entry into the child timeline, the Triforce of Courage native to that era notices the mark and automatically bonds to him. As for the other two pieces, they do the same:

The Triforce of Power seeks Ganondorf while the Triforce of Wisdom seeks Zelda.

However, possessing the Triforce does not come with paperwork. Therefore, since Ganondorf and Zelda have no recollection of the adult timeline, they are not aware of the fact that the Triforce is with them for now.

20 Can’t Get Rid Of Him So Easily

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So after being arrested because of the whim of Princess Zelda (remember that despite his intentions, there are no shreds of evidence against him at that time), Ganondorf is sentenced to be executed because once again, monarchy not a democracy and all that. Now, remember what I said about Ganondorf having the Triforce of Power with him and not knowing about it? Well, no one else knows either. Much later on, this will pose a major problem. When it is actually time for him to get put down, the Triforce will put a stop to that, which means that the Sages have to come up with a plan B: Exiling Ganondorf in the Twilight Realm. Obviously, this will eventually directly factor into the events of Twilight Princess.

19 It Would Mess You Up Too

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Now that we have had a vision of the future, let’s get back to Link. In between Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask, the poor kid gets very depressed. That is because he has memories of saving the world which he is the only one to remember. There’s also the fact that most of the friendships he has known during his adult life will never actually happen, or haven’t happened yet. Because the land of Hyrule is in a pseudo medieval setting, Link has no experts to talk to about this.

The poor kid lives the rest of his life full of regrets.

Eventually, he becomes a spirit roaming the land hundreds of years later during the events of Twilight Princess. It’s a major jump from being depressed to becoming a bitter ghost stuck in limbo, but that’s unfortunately what’s in store for the Hero of Time.

18 Needle In A Haystack

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One other thing which really upsets Link is the loss of his long time fairy companion, Navi. At the end of Ocarina of Time, Navi can be seen flying up and leaving the Temple of Time by herself, without so much as a goodbye to her friend. With nothing else to do, and feeling lonely, Link sets out to find her over the course of several months. Unfortunately, Navi is a small fairy, which must be hard to spot in such a vast world, and she can fly, which means that she could be almost anywhere. Needless to say, Link is not having much success tracking her. His search will eventually lead him back to the Lost Woods, which is exactly when Majora’s Mask opens.

17 Everything’s Coming Up!

via zelda.wikia.com

While Link’s life is kind of a bummer between Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask, most of his former friends are having a good time. In particular, all of those people who would normally go on to be awakened as Sages get to live a normal life. But, isn’t being a Sage supposed to be super awesome? Yes, and no. Being a Sage does make an individual more powerful.

However, being the protector of a Temple also means that you become a non-corporeal being.

So with Ganondorf out of the way and the Sacred Realm still on lock down, Saria gets to keep being alive and well in Kokiri Forest, while Impa can continue being a cool ninja who takes care of the Princess. As for Rauru, the Sage of Light, he had passed a long time ago anyway, but I'm sure he's happy that he can still take some time off.

16 That Was A Close One

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One of the almost-Sages which gets an especially sweet deal out of Link coming back to the past is the leader of the Gerudo, Nabooru. In this new reality, she never encounters Link, and because Ganondorf gets arrested, she never feels the need to get to the treasure of the Spirit Temple before he does. Therefore, she also dodges being kidnapped by the twin witches Koume and Kotake, which means that she does not have to spend more than half a decade of her life hypnotized into cosplaying as an Iron Knuckle. Because if you remember correctly, in the original timeline, the poor Nabooru has to spend seven years under the spell of the witches, forced to do their bidding. Being the leader of a band of thieves might not be everyone’s idea of a good time, but it’s an improvement.

15 The Best Timeline

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It really is everyone but Link who benefits from that little reset they are afforded by his return to the past. Even the background characters get a big boost simply from the fact that their path never crosses that of the little green guy.

The Gorons get to keep eating rocks from Dodongo Cavern.

King Zora never gets frozen for seven years, which no matter your opinion on cryogenic preservation, is a huge plus. Malon and Talon also keep control of Lon Lon Ranch, because it is Ganondorf who originally put Ingo in charge. At this point, I am starting to think that Link might be a bit of a jinx for the rest of Hyrule.

14 When I Grow Up

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One character who does not get to start over is the Great Deku Tree. By the time Link first travels in time, the curse has already been put on the Tree, and though Link defeated the monster living inside, it is too late for the ruler of the Kokiri. However, this time around, the Deku Tree Sprout gets to grow much faster. Within Ocarina of Time, the sprout only arrives once Link clears the Forest Temple. After Link comes back to his childhood, the sprout gets a boost because it is explicitly stated in the game that it was the curse on the Forest Temple that was stopping the sprout from making his great entrance. That spell never gets cast by Ganondorf in the new timeline, so we can assume it’s nothing but good times ahead for the Kokiri and their new leader.

13 No Need For The Ninja

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There is one character which is so beloved that she even made it to the Super Smash Bros roster.

Sheik is the proof that Princess Zelda has some impressive fighting skills in her.

Indeed, that persona was born out of necessity. In the Adult Timeline, Princess Zelda goes into hiding for seven years and develops her alter ego of Sheik in order to fool Ganondorf. After the ending of Ocarina of Time, in the new reality created by Link's return, the young Princess Zelda does go into hiding, but can thankfully go back home once Ganondorf is arrested. This time around, she does not need to become Sheik. Sure, she might still develop her incredible ninja skills, but it will only be for her own amusement.

12 Could I Borrow That Horse For A Moment?

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It is well established by now in Zelda lore that Epona is Link’s official steed. This association started with Ocarina of Time, and continues into Majora’s Mask. At the start of the latter, we can see Link riding a young Epona into the forest. And yet, in OoT, young Link never gets to ride the horse. It is only adult Link which is afforded that privilege. It means that in between the two games, as a child, Link is able to convince Malon and Talon, two people he has just met, to either give or lend him one of their best horse. Or you know, maybe he just does like every other teenager looking to buy their first ride and cuts down a bunch of grass hoping to find some rupees.

11 Homewrecker

Giantbomb.com

This item is one which will bring the DeviantArt and Tumblr communities to tears: To the delight of many producers of fanarts, Princess Ruto and Link get “engaged” over the course of Ocarina of Time. This happens when Ruto gives Link the Zora Sapphire because, as the Zora tradition states, the Princess will give the sapphire to her future husband. Link doesn’t think much of it, but as we learn once he wakes up from his seven-years slumber, Ruto did not forget.

The only reason they do not get hitched is that Ruto becomes a sage.

Now here’s the kicker: With Link going back to his childhood before he starts chasing the three Spiritual Stones, he and Ruto never meet, and never get engaged. Still, Link remembers that he used to have a fiancée. There is no canon record of what, if anything, Link does about this. I’m guessing he just thinks “dodged a bullet there”.

10 Interdimensional Explorer

via zelda.wikia.com

So one really cool thing that happens between Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, and which is essentially central to Majora's Mask happening at all, is the discovery of a portal between two parallel worlds. By who does the discovering, exactly? Link might not be the first person to cross from one world to another, because there is a cutscene which makes it clear that the Skull Kid has made the trek from Hyrule to Termina a few times before. When he addresses Link, he refers to the Lost Woods of Hyrule as if he thinks that it is a place within Termina. The Skull Kid does not even realize what he is doing. So, before you go crediting either Link or the Skull Kid as Hyrule’s first interdimensional explorer, let’s remember one man who’s been there way before him… The Happy Mask Salesman!

9 Maybe You Shouldn’t Have Done That

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So the Happy Mask Salesman was the first one to discover a portal between Hyrule and Termina, with the goal of getting his mitts on Majora's Mask. But how did he even do it? From what we know, after learning of the existence of the Mask, he set out to find it because he is a collector of rare things. Still, with the mask being an object which is exclusive to the world of Termina, how did the Happy Mask Salesman, a Hyrule inhabitant, even hear of it? And let’s say rumours of the mask’s existence did make it to Hyrule, surely, its reputation would have too. The tales tell of Majora’s Mask being used as an instrument during an ancient tribe’s hex rituals. So no matter how he ended up getting the mask in his possession, maybe seeking it wasn’t such a good idea in the first place.

8 Everybody Betrays Me

via zelda.wikia.com

So what happened exactly to make the Skull Kid such an angry and bitter little creature? As a former denizen of the Lost Woods, the Kid somehow stumbled face first into the world of Termina.

There, he made a few new friends: The Four Giants themselves, the deities protecting Termina from evil.

Now the story doesn’t say what they did with their time. A game of hide and seek with a bunch of giants cannot be that interesting, and I can’t imagine that they would have enough in common to sustain a conversation. What matters is that in the end, the Giants had to leave to do their job, which is to protect the world, and the Skull Kid saw that as being abandoned. Since they are his only friends at that point, he doesn’t take it well to say the least.

7 The Replacements

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With the Skull Kid becoming sad and angry and just a bit unstable, he ends up crying his heart out in a hollow tree stump during a rain storm. There, he is discovered by two fairies, siblings Tatl and Tael. Because they are not completely cold-hearted, the two fairies start hanging out with him, and they pass the time with the usual things a forest creature and two tiny balls of light do when they hang out.

They draw on trees, they play in the bushes, and they mug people for fun.

That’s right! It is unclear when they graduate from harmless fun to theft, but let’s just say that theirs is a friendship the rest of Termina would soon come to regret.

6 “After all your posturing, all your speeches, you're nothing but a common thief"

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So, mugging, eh? While stealing Link’s ocarina and horse could have been explained by the evil influence the spirit inhabiting Majora’s Mask has on the Skull Kid, the same cannot be said for his first offence. Before Link ever makes it anywhere close to Termina, the Skull Kid and the two Fairies are content stealing Majora’s Mask from the Happy Mask Salesman. In fact, the cut scene depicting the action shows that they have even knocked out the Salesman to get his goods. That is something they did all by themselves. Maybe it could be explained by the Mask’s power compelling the trio unknowingly, but if that is the case, it makes Majora’s Mask worse than the One Ring.