Hyrulean Forces

Subseries warning: This article or section contains information on a subseries within the Legend of Zelda series and should be considered part of its own separate canon.

The Hyrulean Forces are one of the main factions that appears in Hyrule Warriors. As their name implies, it is the Hyrulean Army that serves Hyrule's crown Princess Zelda. Its main goal is to defend the land of Hyrule and its people from evil, as well as defend and serve the Royal Family of Hyrule. The army is mostly made up of Hyrulean Soldiers, however it also employs Gorons as well. Link is originally a talented new recruit before it is discovered during a battle with Cia's Dark Forces that he is actually the chosen Hero reborn.

Background and History[]

The Hyrulean Forces came into existence at some point around or after the foundation of the kingdom of Hyrule. Its main function was to serve the Royal Family of Hyrule and defend the Kingdom of Hyrule from its enemies such as the evil Demon King Ganondorf/Ganon and the Usurper King of Twilight Zant during the Era of Twilight. Composed mainly of Hylian (and possibly Human) soldiers, the Hyrulean Forces are Hyrule's main line of defense and army in times of war.

Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.

Dark Forces Invasion Begins[]

In Cia's Tale: The Invasion Begins, Cia and her Dark Forces had begun hunting the Fairies of Hyrule in order to prevent them from aiding the Hyrulean Forces as precursor to invasion. One fairy named Proxi manages to escape with the aid of a mysterious sorceress named Lana and alerted to the Dark Forces presence on Hyrule Field, the Gorons rush to alert Princess Zelda and the Hyrulean Forces of the Dark Forces. Princess Zelda is surprised to see the sudden appearance of some many monsters, while Cia decides to take Princess' appearances as a chance to kill Zelda and seize the Triforce of Wisdom and orders her forces to attack. Worried that her soldiers may not be able to handle so many monsters, Impa decides to enter the battle but is defeated and forced to fall back, stopping the Hyrulean Forces advance. Refusing to stand idly by as her kingdom is threatened, Zelda decides to join the battle herself and summons her Rapier. Determined to protect Zelda, Impa returns to the battlefield and advances towards the Dark Forces' base. However they are defeated and forced to retreat back into Hyrule Castle, where Impa and Zelda prepare to rally their troops to defend Hyrule Castle.

The Armies of Ruin[]

Link Knight Uniform - HW — Link wearing Hyrulean Forces' Trainee Tunic (sans helmet)

At the beginning of the game, Princess Zelda has a prophetic dream of darkness descending on Hyrule and tells her trusted advisor the Sheikah General Impa of her fears. The two realize they must find the reborn spirit of the Hero. Zelda decides to see if the reborn Hero is among the new trainee recruits, though Impa is skeptical that the Hero could be found among them. However Zelda notices a young recruit named Link who demonstrates great skill and unnatural power while wielding a simple Wooden Sword and Wooden Shield during sparring practice. However she and Impa receive news that an army of monsters is headed for Hyrule Castle. Zelda has Impa ready the troops to defend their home from the invading monsters and the two women enter the battle to lead the forces of Hyrule in a battle against the monsters lead by the Dragon Knight Volga and the Dark Wizard Wizzro. Despite being a simple trainee, Link bravely equips himself a Knight's Sword and a Shield, then courageously rushes off to aid the Zelda and the forces of Hyrule. During the battle, Link saves a Fairy named Proxi who becomes Link's Fairy Companion and then confronts the Dragon Knight Volga. He manages to put up a decent fight, but knocked down by a hit from Volga's dragon claw. Fortunately, the boy is saved by the timely arrival of Impa. Just as it seems as if Volga has managed to finish them off with his fire breath, the light from the mark of the Triforce of Courage shines from the back of Link's left hand, shielding himself and Impa from the blast and causing Impa to wonder if Link is the chosen Hero that she and Zelda have been searching for. After Volga retreats, Link aids a Goron Captain fight off a Lizalfos near the northern mine and rewards Link by opening the door to the mine. Inside the mine, Link finds a chest containing Bombs which he uses to remove some boulders some Bokoblins had used to seal the entrance of the mine. Link uses the Bombs to access the West Field Keep in order to link up with Princess Zelda and her forces that had gotten cut off from Link and Impa's group. Zelda recognizes Link as the trainee she had seen in the training yard and Impa tells her of Link heroism. Zelda then orders her forces to capture the Central and East Field Keeps to close their northern gates as part of Zelda's plan to deal a devastating blow to the Dark Forces lead by Wizzro. After capturing these two vital keeps, Link supports Zelda as she heads to the south-eastern Fairy Fountain to summon the aid of the Great Fairy. After using a Bomb to open the Fountain's entrance, Link and Zelda pray to the Great Fairy who appears to assist the forces of Hyrule. Using her fairies to gather bombs from Link and the Goron Captain, the fairies create a giant Super Bomb which is then dropped on the Dark Forces trapped in the northern portion of Hyrule Field decimating the Dark Forces. Believing the battle to be won, Impa tells Zelda to retreat and leave the rest to her and Link. Zelda complies with Impa request and retreats to Hyrule Castle. However Wizzro summons the mighty King Dodongo to the battlefield and it easily breaks through the north gate of the Central Keep. Impa and Link find themselves in an epic battle with the ancient dinosaur, but Link manages to take advantage of its weakness to Bombs and deals a crushing blow to King Dodongo, killing the beast. However while they where fight King Dodongo, Wizzro infiltrated the castle. After the defeat of King Dodongo, Princess Zelda is nowhere to be found in Hyrule Castle and it is assumed that she was captured by Wizzro. As Link returns to Hyrule Castle, he is attacked by a group of Bokoblins but is saved by Impa (repaying him for saving her earlier) who gives Link the Hero's Clothes in recognition of his status as the chosen Hero of Legend.

The Sheikah Tribesmen[]

Following the battle with the Dark Forces lead by Wizzro and Volga, Hyrule Castle had fallen into enemy hands and Princess Zelda was no where to be found, Impa and Link searched the battlefield but failed to find any trace of her. Knowing the despite their victories, the battle had been lost, Impa saw Link's importance in the coming war and bestowed upon him the green tunic, a sign of the legendary Hero. Link did not consider himself worthy of the honor, but was determined to help Impa and her remaining soldiers in located the Princess. Weeks pasted and Impa heard a rumor that a band of soldiers were holding off against the monsters in Faron Woods. The leader of this resistance was supposedly a young woman, Impa dared hope the unknown woman was Zelda. Hoping to find Zelda, Impa and Link decided to make their way to Faron Woods by way of the Eldin Caves, a path filled with its own dangers.

In the Eldin Caves, Impa and Link found that they have to go around from the north of the cave to reach the south-east exit. However some of their troops who had gone on ahead ended up getting cut off from Link and Impa forcing them to rescue them. After saving the soldiers, Impa and Link find their path to north blocked and require the use of a Bombchu to clear a path for them while protecting it from Wizzro's troops. After destroying the stone spire blocking their path the Hyrulean Forces advance to the North Square Keep where they encounter and army of Stalchildren lead by a Big Poe and are quickly surrounded. Fortunately, a mysterious warrior arrives and destroys the monsters saving the Hyrulean Forces. The warrior declares that the Princess is not dead and that they will meet her later on during their journey. The warrior introduces themself as Sheik a warrior of the Sheikah Tribe that defended the Royal Family of Hyrule. However Impa being a Sheikah herself is doubtful of Sheik's claims, however Sheik suggests she save her questions for later until they get out of the cave and Sheik joins the Hyrulean Forces in fleeing the pursuing Dark Forces. After capturing Tunnel Square Keep, Proxi and Sheik point the Hyrulean Forces into finding and defeating the Spirit of the Caves, while Sheik acts a rear guard. Defeating the Spirit opens up the tunnel gate allowing the Hyrulean Forces to continue onward. However they find their path blocked once again by not one but two stone spires. The Goron Captain arrives with a Bombchu but reveals that one Bombchu is not enough to destroy both spires. Fortunately, one of the Gorons remembers that one of his fellow Gorons left a Bombchu in the mine and suggests they look for it. Eventually the Hyrulean Forces discover a Bombchu in Central Square and after capturing the keep, they unleash their two Bombchus to destroy both spires. However Wizzro decides to take matters into his own hands and destroy the Bombchu. Eventually the Hyrulean Forces manage to defeat Wizzro forcing him to return while protecting both Bombchu. With the spires destroyed, the Hyrulean Forces finally manage to reach the cave exit.

The Sorceress of the Woods[]

Joined by their new ally Sheik, Impa's troops exited the cave and made their way to Faron Woods, where they find a hidden village built near the Great Deku Tree overrun with monsters. Link and Impa wanted to continue their search for Zelda, but could not ignore the plight of the villagers. Without hesitation, they sprang into battle. During the battle they encounter a young sorceress named Lana who they learn is the woman leading the local resistance. From Lana they learn that she is part of the same tribe as the person who started this war and the Supreme Leader of the Dark Forces, a Sorceress called Cia. Lana offers to tell them about what Cia is planning, in exchange for them assisting her in defending the forest from Wizzro and his troops. After removing Deku Babas from the village, Lana orders the Hyrulean Forces under her command to retreat to the Deku Tree to allow her troops time to rest up for a bit, while Impa, Link, and Sheik hold off the enemy and protect them from the Gibdos that Wizzro sends to take the Deku Tree Keep. With his Gibdo Forces defeated, Wizzro sets the Deku Tree on fire, forcing Lana and the Hyrulean Forces to seek the aid of the Great Fairy. The Great Fairy commands her fairies to create a rain cloud which puts out the fire, improving the morale of the Hyrulean Forces, while Link and Proxi are angered Wizzro's attempt to burn down the Deku Tree and Impa believes that Wizzro may hold information as to Zelda whereabouts, as a result both Link and Impa resolve to defeat the evil wizard. However upon invading the Enemy Base, Wizzro retreats and summons Gohma to deal with the Hyrulean Forces. Taking advantage of Gohma's weak spot, the Hyrulean Forces manage to overcome the beast and successfully defend the forest from the Dark Forces. Impa laments that she had hoped Zelda would be there and wonders where she may be, while Lana heals the injured soldiers with her magic.

The Sorceress of the Valley[]

Following their victory in Faron Woods, Lana reveals to Link, Sheik, and Impa that she has been fight Cia's army since it started and that Cia sought to complete the Triforce and use it to conquer Hyrule. Link and Impa decided to join forces with Lana to prevent further tragedy. Although the monsters of Faron Woods had been defeat, Cia still controlled most of Hyrule and everyday more creatures appeared and swarmed the land. Link and Impa fought on against the darkness, while sorely missing Zelda's leadership. Only one solution remained, to stem the tide of monsters by closing the Gate of Souls. The four heroes (Link, Impa, Sheik, and Lana) lead their troops to the Valley of the Seers to end the bloodshed and put a stop to Cia's plans. During the battle, Lana suggests they split into two teams: with Lana & Link taking one keep while Sheik and Impa take the other. However Impa unsure if she can trust Sheik, decides to go off on her own and ends up facing Volga. After capturing two vital keeps while fighting off Volga, an Engineer from the Hyrulean Engineering Corps arrives to assist with lowering the east bridge. Link and Sheik manage to fight their way to the summit, where they confront Cia, who they discover possesses the Triforce of Power. Cia is pleased to find that not only does Link possess the Triforce of Courage, but learns that Sheik is in possession of the Triforce of Wisdom. Cia summons Manhandla to defeat the Hyrulean Forces. After damaging the planet monster and defeating its Manhandla Stalks to force it out of hiding, the Hyrulean Forces manage to kill the monster. Back at the summit, Link, Sheik, Impa, and Lana confront Cia, however Link triggers a Magic Circle that ends up trapping Link, Sheik, and Impa while Lana manages to jump out of the circle before it is completely triggered, but is powerless to stop Cia from stealing the Triforce pieces from Link and Sheik. Using the power of the complete Triforce, Cia bends the fabric of time and space connecting various eras from Hyrule's past with the present, transforming the landscape of Hyrule.

Separate Ways[]

Lana manages to shield herself, Link, Shiek, and Impa from the warping of time & space. Following these events, Lana explains to the others that a Gate of Soul had been opened in three eras, and it was through these gates that the monsters of Cia's army came. By opening these gates, Cia had released the fragment of evil's spirit imprisoned in each of the three eras. The task before the Hyrulean Forces was therefore to travel through each portal and close its gate. Once all the gates were closed, they could begin repairing the damage Cia had inflicted on their land. With time growing short, Link and his allies split up to handle all three gates simultaneously. They each vowed to close their gate and return safely.