When it comes to video game timelines, The Legend of Zelda has a notoriously complex lore, but it’s possible that Breath of the Wild's two Great Calamities revealed more about Hyrule’s long history than fans initially expected. BOTW’s story and vague timeline placement vexed Zelda lore buffs when the game was released in 2017, introducing two separate Calamity events that took place 10,000 years apart. While this premise seemed to make BOTW’s plot more obscure and complicated than it needed to be, it’s possible that the game’s upcoming sequel, Tears of the Kingdom, will shed some light on Hyrule’s history leading up to the latest installments in the series.
While much of Hyrule’s past has been left intentionally obscured by the overarching Zelda timeline, there are shreds of details present throughout the canon games and companion books that may add deeper context to the series’ main events. Namely, the Hyrulean Civil War mentioned in Ocarina of Time and the Interloper War alluded to during Twilight Princess are two major events in Hyrule's history that have yet to be thoroughly detailed. It’s possible that BOTW’s First Great Calamity is actually another name for the Interloper War, which would place almost every single game on the Zelda timeline between BOTW’s two apocalyptic Calamities.
The Mysterious Disappearance Of Zelda’s Zonai Tribe
Tears of the Kingdom's trailers contain references to the ancient Zonai tribe, whose ruins litter BOTW's southeastern Faron region. This ancient warlike tribe is said to have mysteriously vanished, leaving the citizens of Hyrule to whisper about their strange and powerful magic, according to the Creating a Champion art book released in 2018. According to Twilight Princess, there were many years of peace after Hyrule was established thanks to the power of its Triforce. However, as word of the Triforce spread, a group of powerful sorcerers known only as the Interlopers attempted to gain control of The Legend of Zelda's Sacred Realm. In order to stop their plot, the Goddesses had them sealed away in the Twilight Realm along with the Fused Shadow created by their magic.
Popular theories draw connections between the Twili and the Zonai, including the serpent imagery noted in both the Palace of Twilight and the latest TOTK trailer, and the distinct blue-green hue of their magic. As such, the Zonai tribe’s disappearance could be directly related to the banishment of the Twili’s ancestors, making it possible for these tribes to actually be the same. If that’s the case, however, then the Zelda timeline implies that the Zonai vanished from Hyrule sometime after Skyward Sword when the residents of Skyloft repopulated the surface world, placing their disappearance significantly earlier in the kingdom of Hyrule's past than the events of BOTW.
Zelda’s Interloper War - The Start Of Hyrule’s Civil Conflicts
Not much is known about the Interloper War mentioned in Twilight Princess, but its placement on the official Zelda timeline may have some deeper implications for the series when combined with the lore about BOTW’s two Calamities. Assuming that the Zonai truly are the ancestors of the Twili people sealed away to end the Interloper War, then it’s possible that this group was among the first to attempt to revive the Demon King after Demise was sealed away in Skyward Sword. While the vague legend about the Twili’s origins leaves plenty of room for interpretation, it’s possible that the Interloper War has since become known as the First Great Calamity.
While the exact details of the Interloper War are left unclear by the split Legend of Zelda timeline, it did ultimately lead to Rauru's construction of the Temple of Time, sealing the entrance to the Sacred Realm. It’s worth noting that the Interloper War only came to an end through divine intervention thanks to the godlike power that the Fused Shadow. Despite being crafted by the Interlopers, this magical artifact rivaled the Triforce itself, leaving Hyurle with no way to combat future attempts to possess it without the help of the Goddesses.
Zelda’s First Calamity & The Ancient Technology Of Hyrule
Considering the godlike power of the Twili’s ancestors and their Fused Shadow with regard to the rest of the Zelda timeline, it’s likely that the royal family of Hyrule and its allies were pressed to find a way to combat the power of the Demon King after the Interloper War came to an end. Hyrule’s ancient period of technological advance first mentioned in BOTW’s 10,000-year-old legend may have been a result of the efforts of The Legend of Zelda's Sheikah tribe to protect the land from his evil during this chaotic period. This would place the creation of the Divine Beasts and Guardians much closer to the era of Skyward Sword than previously expected, likely sandwiching BOTW’s original Calamity between Skyward Sword and every other game on the timeline.
The machines created by Zelda's Sheikah tribe were as powerful as the gods themselves, leading to a time of peace in Hyrule thanks to this advanced technology. However, the ancient Sheikah were later ordered to bury their inventions and forced into exile by the king of Hyrule at the time, who realized that his citizens feared their power and its potential to be used for evil. If Hyrule’s technology developed far enough to the point of being feared, this could also explain why the advanced machinery shown on the Surface of Skyward Sword’s pre-Hylian world disappeared long before the story of any other Legend of Zelda game. As such, it’s not only possible for BOTW’s First Great Calamity to take place shortly after Skyward Sword, but this placement could resolve several other questions regarding Zelda’s lore that were raised in past games.
What BOTW’s Two Calamities Mean For The Zelda Timeline
BOTW’s history of Hyrule is told primarily through vague legends, most of which are passed to Link by Impa after he loses his memories. As such, the legend of the First Great Calamity 10,000 years before the game’s events create a lot of confusion about BOTW’s story and the overarching Zelda timeline. Either BOTW must take place more than 10,000 years after every other event on the official timeline so far, or the First Great Calamity occurred during some earlier era of the timeline that has yet to be revealed. If the Zelda theory about the Zonai tribe's identity as the ancient Interlopers is true, however, then it’s possible that learning the full story of their mysterious disappearance may reveal the truth of Hyrule’s history. This outcome would, however, introduce yet another paradox to The Legend of Zelda's timeline - Ganondorf is first introduced in Ocarina of Time, meaning there would have to be justification for Calamity Ganon's appearance in the Interloper War/First Great Calamity in an earlier era.