Everyone knows the tale. 

The legend. 

The people, the places, the races and tribes. 

But even bigger- everyone knows of the Calamity that happened; when everything that had been built was burned down in the course of a single day. 

But that is only half the story.

Several millennia ago, when the land and sky interacted as one, evil first seeped into the world, breaking through the earth an unleashing hundreds of monsters- untold horrors and demons of pure malice. But chief amongst them all, was the great Demise. 

Demise sought to control all pieces of the Triforce- an ancient artifact of immense power, courage, and wisdom, which when combined could grant the user any wish they wanted. However, the goddess Hylia was watching, and sent a savior in the form of two Hylians- a princess, who's body was a pure incarnation of the goddess herself, and a swordsman to protect her, who wielded a blade forged with the purpose of sealing away evil. Together, the princess and the swordsman defeated Demise, forever wiping him from the plane of existence. 

But Demise was cunning. He made a contingency- placing a curse upon the swordsman that as long as his spirit lived, a reincarnation of Demise's evil would return to finish his mission.

And return he did, in the form of a male Gerudo named Ganon. Ganon followed his predecessor's wish, seeking out the princess and her loyal swordsman, with the intent to steal the Triforce and claim the world for himself.

Over the next several centuries, events occurred that split time itself into three fragments, doomed to forever be plagued by Ganon's reign of terror. But no matter how many times Ganon returned, the spirits of the princess and the swordsman would prevail- albeit through descendants of their bloodlines- overcoming floods, crossing through twilight, and even traveling across time itself.

Eventually, the stories of the princess, the swordsman, and Ganon were lost to history- crossing into an unknown period that enveloped all three fragments of time;

A period known simply as the Era of Myth.

However, the story didn't end there...

many years later, the Sheikah- an ancient tribe of shadow warriors who had been loyal to the princess' bloodline since the dawn of time itself- had a premonition of a Calamity; an event in which Ganon would return, stronger than ever, and finally claim his prize. The Sheikah relayed this premonition to the royal family and the current princess, not knowing when this event would even happen.

In preparation for this, the Sheikah called upon their mastery of magic and science to create technological marvels that would give Hyrule a fighting chance against the great Calamity that was to come. They created hundreds of Guardians- massive eight-legged dome-shaped automatons made of both stone and steel, and infused with the Sheikah's mysterious blue magic energy. 

Alongside their legions of Guardians were the four Divine Beasts- gargantuan mechanical monoliths whose power was so great they could blast mountains to rubble. To aid them, they called upon the other inhabitants of Hyrule- the races of the desert, mountains, waters, and skies- each of whom presented a warrior of great accomplishment who would represent their race and pilot their respective Divine Beasts.

To protect the base of Hyrule's operations, Hyrule Castle, the Sheikah constructed a magic shield that would protect the castle from attack if it sensed the arrival of Ganon, along with five great pillars that would erupt from the ground and release the armies of Guardians to fight. With the preparations finished, Hyrule waited for the inevitable.

And then it came- the great Calamity of Ganon erupted from the ground, and attacked Hyrule castle. Hyrule was ready, and retaliated, raising the shield, and unleashing the Guardians, as well as the four Divine Beasts. Leading the charge were the reincarnations of the Princess and the Swordsman themselves- armed with the Goddess Hylia's divine power, and the sword that slew Demise.

The battle against Ganon would last nearly a decade, with the Princess, the Swordsman, and their forces putting everything they had into defeating this monstrosity. And when the Calamity was at its weakest, the Princess struck- using her divine powers to seal away Ganon once more-

for the time being.

Knowing that it would be centuries until the event repeated itself, the Sheikah hid their weapons across the land- where they would eventually be lost as the land was changed by time. The Sheikah left scriptures- messages which conveyed the events that had transpired before and during the Calamity- and warning future generations that the threat still stood.

And that, my friends, is where our story truly begins...