After the Events of Ocarina of Time..

[GerudoDesert]

I wonder..

As stated in Wind Waker, when Ganondorf returns and causes havoc in Hyrule, the people pray to the Gods that the Hero of Time returns to defeat Ganondorf. But when the Hero of Time fails to return, the God's flood the earth.

Could this have been during the time of when Link goes to Termina? I mean, it would make sense because Link was not their at the time. And because, Link is still little in Wind Waker.

So basicly the timeline is:

Skyward Sword > Ocarina of Time > Majora's Mask > Wind Waker > Phantom Hourglass > Spirit Tracks

 

[Seth]

MM and WW are on two different timelines, so no. MM is on CT and WW on AT.

 

[GerudoDesert]

If I am correct, by AT you mean Adult Timeline?

And if so, Link was not an Adult in Wind Waker.

 

[Seth]

If I am correct, by AT you mean Adult Timeline?

And if so, Link was not an Adult in Wind Waker.

Yes, and that doesn't matter. It is called the Adult Timeline because after OoT there was a split, the AT is what happened after you beat Ganon and sealed him away, the CT is the new timeline formed after Link was sent back as a child to live out his childhood.
WW Link is a different Link, and its on the AT because in Hyrule Castle you see stained glass windows with the OoT sages on it, which in the CT is assumed were never awakened since it is again assumed that when going back Link warned the king of Ganon before he could do anything, thus no need to awaken the sages.

 

[Justeazy]

If I am correct, by AT you mean Adult Timeline?

And if so, Link was not an Adult in Wind Waker.

It's not the same link. Plain and simple.
There are several games where the link is the same between individual games (these include MM/OoT, LoZ/AoL, ALttP/LA, and WW/PH I believe) but outside of the exceptions all the links are different. So a link can be born hundreds/thousands (the actual span of time is up for debate) of years later after the events of OoT and he's still a child in the events of WW, but he's on the side of the split that arose from Adult Link in OoT, hence the AT regardless of the age(s) of the link(s) in the games on that side.

 

[GerudoDesert]

I see what you mean, by why call it the Adult Timeline? Why not call it something that would actually make sense to different timelines? And at the end of the Ocarina of Time, Zelda sends Link back seven years to re-live what he missed. Thus, Ganondorf never ruled over Hyrule and the sages were never awoken. But like I stated, when Link was in Termina and Ganondorf was slowly rising to power, people needed Link to save them. And since Link was in Termina and could not save them, the Gods flooded the earth... It makes sense, Seth.

 

[Capitaine]

But like I stated, when Link was in Termina and Ganondorf was slowly rising to power, people needed Link to save them. And since Link was in Termina and could not save them, the Gods flooded the earth... It makes sense, Seth.

Except for the fact that Link was only gone for three days....

 

[GerudoDesert]

Well, technically it's actually four* But since you can not rewind time in Hyrule, it would actually be more than three days.

 

[Seth]

I see what you mean, by why call it the Adult Timeline? Why not call it something that would actually make sense to different timelines? And at the end of the Ocarina of Time, Zelda sends Link back seven years to re-live what he missed. Thus, Ganondorf never ruled over Hyrule and the sages were never awoken. But like I stated, when Link was in Termina and Ganondorf was slowly rising to power, people needed Link to save them. And since Link was in Termina and could not save them, the Gods flooded the earth... It makes sense, Seth.

Except both happen. Link goes 7 years in the future and defeats Ganon, that is called the Adult Timeline because Link was an adult when he defeated Ganon, Link gets sent back as a child, which creates a new timeline. This is called the split. What happened as an adult did happen, it didn't go away when Link went back in time, it just created a new timeline.
WW does happen on AT because we see the sages depicted, if they were never awakened why would they be depicted in Hyrule castle?

 

[Capitaine]

Well, technically it's actually four* But since you can not rewind time in Hyrule, it would actually be more than three days.

Okay, well, in that case,, Link was gone for two weeks at the most. I still don't think the gods would be so hasty to flood the world just because Link was gone for two weeks though.

And TWW takes place after the adult ending of OoT because TWW itself says that "the Hero of Time journeyed through the flows of time and disappeared." If that was referring to MM, then that would still be from the perspective of the AT because Link did travel through time to his childhood before journeying to Termina.

TP is the game that takes place after MM.

 

[Locke]

According to WW, "the Hero of Time journeyed through the flows of time and disappeared." He wasn't there to defeat Ganon again because he went back in time. The last scene with Zelda playing the Ocarina is the last anyone ever saw of Link on the AT.

Next, it is said that the legend of the HoT was passed down for several generations before Ganon returned and Hyrule was flooded.

After that, several more generations pass until WW occurs with a brand new Link. His age doesn't matter at all. It's called the Adult Timeline because it follows the ending of OoT in which Link (the Hero of Time) was an adult. The Child Timeline follows from the point he was sent back in time to as a child, which leads into MM and TP.

 

[GerudoDesert]

Why would Twilight Princess go after Majora's Mask? Wasn't Twilight Princess set after 100 years from the events of Ocarina of Time?

 

[Locke]

Yes. OoT and MM are in very close proximity, with MM being a sort of side-game. So TP is "a hundred and something" years after OoT, but MM is also a couple months or so after OoT. (OoT/MM -- TP)

 

[425]

Okay, this is the very basic outline of the timeline, I'm going to try to explain this so it is easy to understand...

Ocarina of Time occurs. At the end, the "Modern" Sages are awakened and Ganondorf is sealed in the Sacred Realm. Then, Zelda sends Link back in time. She doesn't obliterate what happened, rather, when Link goes back, it creates a parallel universe; I.e., there are two Hyrules, at the same time, but they cannot mingle in any way, they're alternate worlds from each other. These are called the Adult Timeline (because Link of OoT was an adult at the end of OoT on that timeline, the timeline where Ganon is sealed and the Modern Sages are awakened), and the Child Timeline (because Link of OoT was a child after being sent back). From Twilight Princess' backstory, we can assume that Ganondorf is imprisoned in the Desert by the king and the Ancient Sages, after his nature is revealed by Link.


Then, the same Link from OoT, on the Child Timeline, goes to Termina, and MM happens. There after, we can assume he lived a fairly quiet life until he either died or turned into a Stalfos, but that's debatable.

Then, on the same timeline, 100s of years later, a new hero, also named Link, goes through the events of TP.

Meanwhile, on the Adult Timeline, where Link from OoT doesn't exist, because he was sent back, Ganon escapes, and the people pray for the hero, who isn't there, because he lives in a completely different alternate reality. The world is flooded, and on Outset Island, a completely new boy named Link becomes a hero, and WW occurs.

So visually:

------WW
----/
OoT
----\
------/MM---TP

WW and TP happen in parallel universes.

 

[Pen]

Adult side of the timeline:
At the end of OoT Link defeats Ganon(dorf), and he is sent back seven years in time to relive his childhood. So on this side of the timeline, the Hero of Time doesn't exist. A couple of hundred years later the Goddesses flood Hyrule because of Ganon(dorf).

Child side of the timeline:
Link is sent back to this side of the timeline after that he had defeated Ganon(dorf) as an adult. He eventually goes to Termina to find his lost friend. After about 100 years TP begins.