After the three goddesses created the land of Hyrule, they left the Triforce behind in a Sacred Realm. The Triforce was composed of three parts, each containing the power of one of the goddesses. The Triforce of Power contained Din's power, The Triforce of Wisdom contained Nayru's wisdom, and the Triforce of Courage contained Favore's courage. If someone obtained the Triforce who wasn't balanced in wisdom, power, and courage, they kept the Triforce representing the force they believed in the most. The other two parts of the Triforce would be given to the people who believed most in the force that Triforce represented, such as Link getting the Triforce of Courage, since he is very courageous.

During this time in Hyrule, many wars were being fought, and some of the armies were using evil magic. The Hylians forged the Master Sword to reflect this evil magic, giving it special powers to select the hero worthy enough to wield it. At this time, there was no one worthy of wielding the Master Sword, so it just sat in it's pedestal in the Tower of Time. Eventually, the wars ended, and Hyrule was united under Hylian rule.

Hyrule was peaceful for a few centuries until a Gerudo man named Ganondorf began trying to find an entrance to the Sacred Realm to obtain the Triforce. At this time The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time happened. The period of time between when Link removed the Master Sword from the Temple of Time and when Ganon was imprisoned in the Sacred Realm is known as the Imprisoning War, since during the time Link was in suspended animation, there was a war between Ganondorf's forces, and the forces of the King of Hyrule. Ganondorf's forces easily won since they were strengthened by the Triforce of Power, but in the end, Ganon was defeated by Link, and the seven sages used their power to imprison Ganon in the sacred realm. At this time, the King declared that the firstborn daughter of the Royal Family must always be named Zelda in honor of Princess Zelda, the leader of the Sages who imprisoned Ganon in the Sacred Realm. Link I dies between Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Zelda: A Link to the Past due to old age.

Centuries passed, and the people of Hyrule forgot about the Sacred Realm (sometimes referred to as the Golden Land). At some point in this period, the original Link and Zelda died. During the time Ganon was imprisoned in the Sacred Realm, he transformed it from a paradise to a world of evil soon to be known as the Dark World. After centuries of peace, soon disasters such as plague, drought, earthquakes, and fire began to hit Hyrule. A wizard named Agahnim used his magic to put an end to these disasters. The King continued to give Agahnim more trust until he began to abuse his power. The first thing he did was imprison the seven descendants of the original seven sages in the Dark World. At this time, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past happened.

After Ganon was defeated, the Dark World returned to being the paradise it once was, and peace returned to Hyrule. Ganon was supposed to be defeated forever, but as legend has it, if the person holding the Triforce is defeated, all that is needed to revive him is a drop of blood from the person who killed him. During the battle, Link undoubtedly shed some blood, and while he was retrieving the Triforce, one of Ganon's minions took some of Link's blood from the ground, and dropped it on Ganon's ashes. Knowing that he couldn't do anything now to stop Link since he had the Triforce, Ganon transformed into a bat and flew to Death Mountain. Since nobody lived in Death Mountain, and people rarely visited there, Ganon had no trouble making a hidden palace for himself inside Spectacle Rock, and building up his power there. Link thought the best way to keep the Triforce out of the wrong hands was to leave it in Hyrule Castle where it would be guarded by the Knights of Hyrule. Figuring that eventually either Ganon would return once again or that another evil creature would try to take the Triforce, Link decided to go onto a journey to become a better fighter, and because of a shipwreck, he ended up on Koholant Island. At this time The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening happened. At some point in time between Link's Awakening and The Legend of Zelda, Link II dies of old age. Link III is born about 12 years before The Legend of Zelda happens.

After spending a long time building up his power in Spectacle Rock, Ganon invaded Hyrule Castle and took the Triforce of Power. Princess Zelda was able to take the Triforce of Wisdom and split it into eight pieces. Link heard about this, and on his way to the castle, he saw an old woman being attacked by goryas. He easily defeated the Goryas, and the woman told Link that she was Impa, Princess Zelda's caretaker. She asked Link to find the eight pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom (so that he could enter Ganon's underground palace) and defeat Ganon so that he could rescue Princess Zelda. At this time the original Legend of Zelda happened.

After Ganon was defeated, and Link rescued Princess Zelda, many of Ganon's minions remained with the mission of getting Link's blood in order to revive Ganon again. On Link's 16th birthday, he noticed a Triforce shaped mark on the back of his hand. He went to talk to Impa, and she took Link to North Castle. Link was able to open "The door that does not open" because he had the mark of the Triforce on the back of his hand. Link noticed that Princess Zelda was lying in a bed in the middle of North Castle asleep. Impa explained what had happened to Link. 'After Ganon was defeated, The King of Hyrule died, and had the Triforce of Wisdom and Power, but had hidden the Triforce of Courage. The Prince should have taken the throne, but since he did not have the Triforce of Courage, the Prince would not be as powerful as he should be. He searched everywhere for the Triforce of Courage, but was unable to find it. A magician told the Prince that Princess Zelda knew the location of the Triforce of Courage, but when he asked her, she told him nothing. The magician threatened to put Zelda into an eternal sleep if she would not answer, but she still would not reveal the location to him. The magician cast the spell of sleep on Princess Zelda. The magician had exhausted all of his energy in casting this spell, and he died. The Prince put Zelda into North Castle hoping that someday someone would be able to awaken her.' Impa then took six crystals and a scroll from a treasure chest next to Princess Zelda, and gave them to Link. The scroll said "You who'll control the Triforce of the future. I shall hand down to you the secrets of the Triforce. There are three kinds of Triforce - Power, Wisdom, and Courage. When these are brought togeather, the Triforce will show its maximum power. Of the three, I have left Power and Wisdom in the kingdom, But the Triforce of Courage I have hidden for a reason. Not everybody can use the Triforce. It requires a strong character with no evil thoughts. But an inborn special quality is also necessary. Unfortunately, I have not found such a person during my lifetime. Therefore I will cast a spell on all of Hyrule. A crest will appear on a young man with that character who has been brought up correctly, has gained many kinds of experiences and reached a certain age. But, what will happen if someone else uses the Triforce before then? If it is misused, it will produce many evils. The Triforce of Courage is hidden in the Great Palace in the Valley of Death on the largest island in Hyrule. However, to enter there you must first fight the guardians and undo the 'binding force .' When you have defeated the guardians, which I made to prevent enemies from invading the six palaces in Hyrule, set a crystal in the forhead of the statue you find. When you have set crystals in all of the statues in the six palaces, the 'binding force' plaved on the Valley of Death will be removed and you will be able to enter the great palace. Then you must fight the last guardian. And you can obtain the Triforce of Courage only by defeating that guardian. There's nothing to fear. You are the one to get the Triforce. You are the beacon of hope for Hyrule." At this time Zelda II: The Adventure of Link happened.