The Golden Land (The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, BS Zelda: Kodai no Sekiban) or, by later translations, the Sacred Realm (The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker) is one of the more fantastical locations in the Zelda world.

In each of the games, the Sacred Realm was a mythical plane, or alternate dimension, created by three world-creating goddesses to be the holding place of the Triforce, an artifact of great power.

The Triforce

The Triforce is composed of three golden equilateral triangles (themselves arranged as the three corners of a larger equilateral triangle). The three pieces of the Triforce represent the essence of each of the three goddesses that created the game's world, Hyrule: Din's Power, Nayru's Wisdom, and Farore's Courage.

The Sacred Realm in the story of Ocarina of Time

The realm sealed

The realm remained sealed off from the physical world by a seal that can only be opened with a unique collection of items: The three spiritual stones (belonging to different races in the game and also representing one of the goddesses: The Kokiri Emerald represents Farore, the Goron's Ruby represents Din, and the Zora's Saphire represents Nayru), the Ocarina of Time (which opens the seal of the Temple of Time, gateway to the Sacred Realm), and the Master Sword (which was created to defeat evil and can only be wielded by the righteous).

The seal broken

Link and Princess Zelda, discovering that Ganondorf, the game's antagonist, seeks to possess the Triforce, attempt to stop him by getting to the Sacred Realm first. Unfortunately, their efforts to stop Ganondorf merely unseal the sacred realm for him (which he would have been unable to do as he could not wield the master sword). Ganondorf takes the triforce, but because his heart is not in balance, he only ends up with the Triforce of Power, temporarily thwarting his plans for becoming the ruler of the world. The other pieces of the triforce reverted to their keepers (Princess Zelda gaining the Triforce of Wisdom and Link gaining the Triforce of Courage). Although the Sacred Realm was beautiful (the midday sky was gold, not blue), it becomes warped and twisted under Ganondorf's control, as the realm reflects the heart of the last person to enter it. Only the Temple of Light at the center of the Sacred Realm remains uncorrupted.

The realm restored

At the end of Ocarina of Time, Link defeats Ganondorf, who is then sealed in the sacred realm (which can also be known as the dark world) by the Sages, mythical protectors of Hyrule. It is disputed whether the realm returned to normal after these events.

The Sacred Realm in Wind Waker

The Sacred Realm as the resting place of Hyrule

Before the beginning of Wind Waker, Hyrule has been threatened by a great cataclysm. The people pray to the gods for protection, but the gods are only able to protect the land using extreme measures. They seal Hyrule under a vast ocean, destroying the impending threat and leaving only a few survivors on the islands that were originally the world's mountaintops.

Hyrule rediscovered

A new impending danger drives a new hero (supposedly the reincarnation of Link, but probably a descendant of a Hylian knight, due to references in the game, i.e. the family shield) to attempt to recover the lost land of Hyrule from beneath the sea. Unfortunately, his efforts to restore Hyrule from the sacred realm result in him accidentally freeing Ganondorf. Ultimately, the King of Hyrule accepts that the age of the ancient kingdom is over. He sacrifices Hyrule.

See also

• List of Nintendo 64 games
• List of GameCube games