I've only ever played Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, and a tiny bit of A Link to the Past, but I've always liked the world of The Legend of Zelda, so recently I've started delving more into the lore of the series, reading the mangas and watching walkthroughs on YouTube to beef up my knowledge. That inevitably got me to thinking how I'd go about adapting the games, either into a movie or a series. I decided TLOZ would work best in the form of a series. Then I started thinking about narrative and characterization. To me, OOT is quintessential TLOZ, but I wouldn't want to make this series a mere adaptation of that one game. I decided I'd use OOT as the basic template, keeping to the main beats, but including elements from other games/my own imagination as desired.
The following is a treatment for the first season, with character bios, lore, and the general plot.
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TRIFORCE
According to the Hylian creation myth, the Triforce was created by the Triune Goddess after the foundation of the world, though its true antiquity and origins are ultimately unknown. The Triforce consists of three tetrahedrons of golden crystal: the Triforce of Power, the Triforce of Wisdom, and the Triforce of Courage. Each Triforce capable of bestowing immense power in its own right, the combined Triforce can make its bearer a living god, though only someone balanced in power, wisdom, and courage can weild all three directly; the Triforce separates when apprehended by an unbalanced soul, two of the three Triforces dispersing to find hosts which embody their qualities.
Coveted by the ruthless and ambitious, the Triforce was the cause of many terrible wars and dynasties. To prevent further misuse, the Seven Sages sealed the Triforce away in the Dark World many centuries ago. The only entrance to the Dark World is in the Temple of Time, located deep in the Lost Woods. The gate is kept sealed by the Master Sword, which can only be drawn from its pedestal by a hero with a pure heart.
HYRULEAN CIVIL WAR
The Hyrulean Civil War was a series of armed conflicts fought between the kingdoms of the Hyrulean subcontinent. Instigated by the Hylian king Rhoam and perpetuated by his son, Harkinian, it lasted several decades, ending with the unification of the realm under the Hylian banner. The Gorons, Rito, and Zora became vassals of the Hylians, while the Bokogoblins, Gerudo, Lizalfos, Molblins, etc. were hunted to near-extinction and dispossessed of their lands.
GANON
Ganon was born fifty-nine years before the end of the Hyrulean Civil War. His people, the Gerudo, had made their home on the Great Plateau, a lush and fertile land which had been coveted by the Hylians for ages long before the war. After the Gerudo were brought to heel, King Rhoam decreed that all Gerudo males and pregnant women be put to the sword, the surviving females exiled to the inhospitable desert to the west. Ganon's mother died with him still in her womb, but by a stroke of fate, he survived to be found by the twin sorceresses, Kotake and Koume. Raising him in secret away from even their fellow Gerudo, the sisters instructed him in their art, grooming him to become the Gerudo messiah.
At the appropriate age, Ganon took his place as leader of the Gerudo. Under his stewardship, the withering group of nomads settled in an uninhabited valley, where they were reforged into a tight-knit tribe of woman-warriors, taking what they needed in raids on the outlying settlements of the Hyrulean Empire. All the while Ganon remained in the shadows, content to let his favourite wife serve as figurehead until the time was ripe to reveal his existence to their enemies.
After Rhoam's death, long into the war, Ganon made his move. Making himself known to the Hylians, he travelled to Hyrule Castle. Kneeling before King Harkinian, he beseeched him for vassalage, offering his very life in exchange for peace between their peoples. His charisma won Harkinian over, earning the Gerudo his blessing. Following the Hyrulean Civil War, Ganon maintained the facade of a loyal vassal, but began brokering alliances with the marginalized peoples of Hyrule in secret, sowing the seeds of the Imprisoning War.
LINK
The Hylian boy Link was born towards the end of the Hyrulean Civil War. Orphaned when he was three years old, he was found in Faron Woods by the Deku, who sheltered him, raising him collectively. Essentially a feral child with only the mute Deku and telepathic/empathic Faeries of the forest for companions, Link lost whatever speech he had acquired from his parents, becoming mute. At the age of nine, Link was found by Talon, a rancher from Ordon Village. Befriending the boy, Talon took Link back with him to Lon Lon Ranch to raise alongside his two-year-old daughter, Malon.
When Link was sixteen, the Imprisoning War broke out. Drafted into the Hyrulean Forces, Link was shipped out to Central Hyrule, where he began his training at the castle as a soldier.
ZELDA
Princess Zelda grew up isolated on the grounds of Hyrule Castle. Raised largely by her caretaker, Impa, Zelda was totally unlike her indolent and indifferent parents. A precocious child, with an interest in the world beyond the castle walls, at the age of thirteen she began sneaking out of the castle, mixing with the common people under the alias "Tetra".
IMPRISONING WAR
Ganon learned of the Triforce from his surrogate mothers at a young age. He knew the talisman would grant him the power to liberate the subjugated races of Hyrule and establish a just new order. To gain access to the Temple of Time, he needed to first procure the Golden Keys to the sealed chamber housing the Master Sword. The Ruby Key was with the Gorons, the Sapphire Key with the Zora, and the Emerald Key with the Royal Family of Hyrule.
After befriending Darunia, the Goron king, Ganon was gifted the Ruby Key. Darunia dispatched his warriors to the Zora domain to attain the Sapphire Key. Harkinian sent two-thirds of his forces to assist the Zora, leaving a third behind to protect Central Hyrule. This was the opportunity Ganon had been biding his time for. With Harkinian's blessing, Ganon brought his forces to Hyrule Castle, ostensibly to reinforce the Hylian troops in the event of invasion. The Hylians were betrayed. The Gerudo staged a coup, smashing the Hylian defense and killing the king and queen. Impa, Zelda, a few knights, and a handful of trainees, including Link, escaped.
After the fall of the Zora, Ganon finally had all three Golden Keys in his possession. Now only the Lost Woods stood between him and the Triforce. The refugees from Hyrule Castle split into two camps; Impa would go alone with Zelda to a place of safety, leaving Link and the rest to stop Ganon at the Temple of Time.
Neither Link nor his comrades were able to prevent Ganon from penetrating the Temple of Time. With greater skills and experience, Ganon beat the boy to within an inch of his life. In a last-ditch effort to stop the Gerudo, Link grasped the hilt of the Master Sword and pulled it free, unsealing the portal to the Dark World. They were transported to the Temple of Light, finding themselves on a stone platform raised over a yawning abyss, the Triforce waiting on another platform across from them. Link came at Ganon with the Master Sword, but the Gerudo easily swatted him aside, casting the boy to the void below. Ganon then went to claim the Triforce.
