Guardians are some of the most formidable enemies in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, but they were originally designed to destroy Calamity Ganon, not stop Link. The machines were built by the Sheikah, who hail from Kakariko Village, and by the time BOTW takes place, the Guardians are roughly 10,000 years old. The Guardians actually succeeded in their original purpose, but the unforeseen eventuality of a Second Great Calamity and the preparedness of Ganon resulted in the ancient machines turning on the defenders of Hyrule.

BOTW takes place in the far future of an unspecified Legend of Zelda timeline split, where the Sheikah Tribe had once grown into a prevalent and highly developed culture. In previous games, the Sheikah were mysterious and rarely seen, yet frequently involved in saving Hyrule from the machinations of Ganon. In what is considered ancient history to the characters of BOTW, however, the Sheikah were the designers of advanced technology, whose inventions would play the largest role in rebuffing Ganon's attempted conquest.

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The Sheikah would eventually fall victim to their own creations, alongside the rest of Hyrule. The Guardians were unexpectedly consumed by Calamity Ganon's malice, and seem to be a major contributor in the kingdom's utter destruction. Castle Town was razed and the denizens of Hyrule were cloistered into isolated communities while Zelda contained Ganon himself for a century. The Legend of Zelda's Sheikah Tribe, once great in BOTW's history, withdrew into Kakariko Village and even splintered, resulting in the rise of the militant Yiga Clan.

The Sheikah's Guardians Succeeded In The First Great Calamity

The tapestry in Impa's house depicts the First Great Calamity, in which the Guardians succeeded in sealing away Calamity Ganon

When Link wakes up in the Shrine of Resurrection at the beginning of Breath of the Wild, he has no memory of not only the last 100 years while he's been in hibernation, but also the larger history of Hyrule. The tale relayed by the ghost of King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule atop the Temple of Time largely informs Link of what happened a century ago, but it isn't until Impa is spoken with in Kakariko Village that the game's full historical context is learned. A tapestry that hangs in Impa's house (pictured above) depicts the ancient first encounter with Calamity Ganon and the monumental defense required to seal him away 10,000 years ago. All four of BOTW's Divine Beasts were the spearhead of a mechanical army of Guardians designed to support a princess imbued with sacred power and a knight wielding the sword that seals the darkness.

These are quite plainly allusions to the recursive, predestined conflict central to most Zelda games. The power of the Goddess Hylia is passed down through the royal bloodline, manifesting in princesses named Zelda, while the spirit of the hero is inherited by individuals chosen by the Golden Goddesses - a boy or young man canonically always named Link. Together they are thrust into conflict with the reincarnations of Demon King Demise's hatred, a man or beast named Ganondorf or Ganon respectively. When Demise's hatred manifested 10,000 before BOTW, however, it took on a new form. Calamity Ganon is a massive creature made of Malice, the pink and black, viscous substance players encounter throughout the game. Despite this unprecedented appearance, Calamity Ganon was defeated by the Princess, the Hero, and the Sheikah's army of machines.

With Calamity Ganon sealed away, Hyrule had a chance to prosper with its newfound cooperation and technological prowess. Instead, the Sheikah were viewed as a threat to the status quo. The tribe was exiled and their technology banished, with the powerful Guardians and Divine Beasts seemingly entombed by the ancient Hylians. Most members of the Sheikah Tribe then returned to a simple life, as seen in BOTW's version of Kakariko Village. Some claim that this was the beginning of what would eventually become the Yiga Clan, with disillusioned Sheikah forsaking those who scorned them and choosing to instead swear allegiance to Ganon.

Malice Infects The Guardians During The Second Great Calamity

The Sheikah Guardians failed in the Second Great Calamity because they were infected by Ganon's Malice

A little over a century before Breath of the Wild begins, it is prophesied that Calamity Ganon will break free of the seal and return. The prophecy also stated that the key to defeating Calamity Ganon "lies dormant beneath the ground," according to the recollection by King Rhoam. After conducting widespread archeological surveys, the ancient Sheikah creations were uncovered and reactivated. King Rhoam decreed that the Gerudo, Goron, Rito, and Zora peoples would each select a Champion to pilot the Divine Beasts and once again lead the army of Guardians against Calamity Ganon and his hordes. When the Second Great Calamity began, Breath of the Wild's four Champions were quickly overwhelmed when Malicious phantoms of Ganon attacked the Divine Beasts.

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Hyrule's mechanical Guardians likewise succumbed to Ganon's Malice. The Sheikah's Guardians didn't just fail in the second fight against Calamity Ganon, they were commandeered, turning the kingdom's greatest defense into the cause of its destruction. Hylians in and around Hyrule Castle are implied to have been indiscriminately slaughtered by the ancient machines, their armor and weaponry far beyond anything developed in the last 10 millennia. Only Princess Zelda stood in the way of utter failure, her sacred power finally manifesting to keep Calamity Ganon at bay, swirling around Hyrule Castle. With the survivors of the Second Great Calamity fleeing to the far corners of Hyrule, the possessed, intact Guardians continued to patrol, while damaged ones laid in wait.

The Sheikah hid primarily in the hills of West Necluda while BOTW's Hyrule was in ruins for a century. Kakariko Village exists largely without the aid of machines, and research into ancient technology is handled by a select few Sheikah in Hateno Village (a Hylian settlement) and the Akkala region. Although a machine army was used to thwart the First Great Calamity, Ganon overtaking the Guardians leaves only Zelda and Link to save the kingdom. Individual Guardians still pose a significant threat to Link, especially early in the game, but Zelda occupying Ganon allows Link to purge the Blight Ganons from the Divine Beasts, the more important facet of the ancient Sheikah defenses. Guardians are the quintessential enemy from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and their origins are deeply rooted in both Hyrule's triumph and defeat against Calamity Ganon.

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