The Gnibeuy Network

So to be brief...

The purpose of this timeline is to create a skeletal narrative to build upon.  Most of the information I cite is open to interpretation.  While I will often point out where I take creative liberties or suggest multiple possibilities, the fact is most of what I include is made up to suit my fancy.

Also, I didn't proof read ****.  **** the system



In order to understand the world of Termina, it is important to recognize how much of the world must resonate thematically with the gameplay.  Majora’s Mask is about regret.  It’s about conflict, and squabbles, and jealousies.  Just look at the Bombers Notebook.  There are many characters that will reward you for helping them out who are not present.  The reason Gorman is notable when all he gives you is a useless mask is to make a point about how a family can be torn apart by their insecurities.  But NPC’s like Don Gero and the Business Scrubs are otherwise tangential to the story and, by extension, Termina, so they don’t get an entry.  On the other hand, the inclusion of the Frog Choir might add an interesting color to our portrait of this world.  Whatever we decide, this distinction needs to be made clear.

When we talk about the history of Termina, we’re really talking about the history of the kingdom of Ikana.  While each area has its own culture and shared past, the game designers spent the most time fleshing this kingdom out.  This portion of the prequel will plot-wise be the most rigid.  This is actually pretty great for us, since we will have a lot to play with.  I’ll go more in depth as we go along, but I see us using the sharp brothers and the dynamic between Igos Du Ikana and Commander Keeta used to great effect.

Our Timeline needs to be divided into 3 parts:  What we know, what we can infer, and what we can make up.  We know that the Garo’s waged war against the kingdom of Ikana.  We can infer that a 5th Giant was stripped of his powers to make the Giant’s mask.  And we can make up the fact that King Ikana and Keeta were possibly gay lovers, maybe.  The sky’s the limit, until some **** fires a light arrow.

So, without much ado, my rough timeline so far:



The life and times of the Ancient Tribe is open to interpretation.  What we do know is that the tribe used Majora’s Mask in hexing rituals that most likely involved human sacrifice, and eventually that same tribe sealed it away.  There are many theories about what became of the tribe.  Some say they are now the Garo, others say they became the Sheikah.  Perhaps they are the Interlopers in Twilight Princess.  Perhaps they are the common ancestor from which all possibilities came.  The Tower of Babel Theory places their sealed desert in hell.  It therefore is possible that Termina is a kind of purgatory, and the Stone Tower serves as a link connecting it to heaven and hell (theories of Majora’s Mask acting as a metaphor for the 5 stages of grief and Link being dead also support this line of thinking).

What we do know (from the Manga) is that Majora’s mask was carved from the armour of a man devouring beast.  By consuming the desires of those it killed, the beast was granted a wish:  for time to move.

I suggest that the Ancient Tribe performed human sacrifice in order to gain the power for a single wish.  They wished for a tower, connecting their lands to the gods, so that they may climb the tower and trespass upon the sacred realm.  As punishment, their land was brought down into hell.  The survivors sealed the mask away to prevent anyone from repeating their mistakes, or worse.

How the Ancient Tribe came across Majora’s Mask is unclear.  One theory suggests that the Moon Children and the ancient tribe are one and the same.  I personally see the Moon Children as being more alien in nature.  The children speak of one day becoming Mask Salesmen themselves.  The Happy Mask Salesman (HMS) appears in multiple worlds and timelines, and there is a sinister masked cult that appears in Lorule during TLOZ: A Link Between Worlds.  Could the HMS have given the Mask to the ancient tribe as a part of some larger plot?  And how does the figure who suspiciously resembles Link in the Manga fit into all this?  Things to Ponder!



There are a number of key events that take place within this period.  I see Igos in a tragic light, doomed by his own pride.  Ikana itself is locked in an endless period of civil war.  The people have turned their back on the gods, and simmer with resentment under the long shadow of the stone tower.  Eventually, Ikana is cleaved in two in a bloody Civil War.  The rebels claim what will eventually become Clock Town.  This is the first of many conflicts within the land of Termina.

It is at this time that the Garo begin sending their spies out into Ikana.  I theorize that the Garo serve more or less the same purpose as the Sheikah:  They serve the gods of Hyrule and protect the Stone Tower.  The Garo- sensing the unrest, decide to gather information on Ikana.

Captain Keeta, Hero of Ikana (who I feel should bear more than a passing resemblance to Link) is aware of this inevitability and sends his men to investigate the secrets of Termina, to strengthen the kingdom.

Eventually war does break out, and neither side is victorious.  While the Garo are almost completely obliterated save for their Master, the armies of Ikana are decimated.  Captain Keeta is defeated and sealed within the Ikana Graveyard, and Igos Du Ikana is sealed within his impenetrable castle.



Much like the fall of Rome, the destruction of Ikana creates a ripple that changes the rest of the world.  Clock Town becomes a center for all races, and naturally the Giants themselves make their homes here.  I theorize that there are 5 giants in clock town…

Under the protection of the giants, the people grew arrogant.  They lose faith in their benign feminine Goddesses, who they see as responsible for the destruction of Ikana.  Instead, they misattribute their fortune to their masculine guardians.  Eventually, decide to tread upon their sacred realm.



Flat and Sharp are opposites.  Sharp, the older sibling, is death.  He wrote the Melody of Darkness, which sucks the life of all who listen to it.  Flat is life.  He composed the Song of Storms, which is nurturing and brings new life.  The two may be derivative of the Mario brothers (The Happy Mask Salesman carries a mask resembling Mario).

Sharp dreams of reviving the Royal Family, and has studied them extensively.  He discovers the Elegy of emptiness, and is thus the only man capable of making his way through to the top of the Stone tower temple.  To accomplish his goal, he made a “Deal with the Devil”, the Happy Mask Salesman, allowing him to lead the 4 races up the stone tower in order to retrieve Majora’s mask.  Flat protests his brother’s actions, and so Sharp had him killed.  To hide his crimes, Flat is sealed under the graveyard.  As a result, Sharp is cursed for his sins.  Upon retrieving the mask, the HMS feels its power, and refuses to honor his part of the deal.  However, when he Skull Kid puts on the mask, he returns to Ikana and curses the land with a spell of unlife, fulfilling the promise.

It is possible that Termina may be an alternate timeline to Hyrule, and that the composer brothers may in fact be trying to restore the Hyrule royal family to power.  This could put them at odds with the kingdom of Ikana.

Parallels can be drawn between the Composer Brothers and the story of Caine and Abel.



With the path to the Tower now opened, the people of Termina, led by the Happy Mask Salesman, climb upwards to heaven.  But their power alone is not enough.  The Giants are not ruling deities; they want no part in the conflict.  Now, it’s established that each mask within the game is made at a cost.  Whether shedding regret or life itself, something must be lost in order for the mask to have power.  Bremen’s mask strips the leadership from the Theater Troupe leader.  Gorman’s mask contains the tears of the middle brother.  It stands to reason that the power of a Giant must come from a Giant.

My theory is that the 5th giant of Clock Town was stripped of its power by the Happy Mask Salesman, in agreement with the people who sought to strike at the goddesses.

It’s a stretch, but a recurring symbol includes the four cardinal points and a 5th in the center which acts as a seal.  It fits.

The goddesses do not take this affront lying down.  When the Humans reach the absolute top of the tower, they release their sacred light arrows, which flips the tower.  Instead of attaining heaven, the rebelling people fall to hell.

Back in clock town, the goddesses punish the residents for complying with the plan.  Now this can take on one of two interpretations.  Either the Goddesses turned the people of Termina into the 4 different races (Deku, Zora, Goron and Human/Hylian), or they simply created a rift among them, causing them to split into the swamp, mountains, ocean and canyons.  In any case, the seed of doubt was planted in their hearts.

This, of course, is perfectly in line with the HMS’s plans.  The temple is not uninhabited.  Inside, the Garo master waits to perform his duty, but he is easily dispatched by the HSM, who strips him of the Garo mask (to be sold to the Gormans at a later date) and places another upon him to keep him within the temple to stand guard over the light arrows, so no others may use them to reach hell.  For sealed within is the desert of the ancient tribe, their sacrificial alter and Majora’s Mask.



The Deku were the most mistrusting of other races.  Their kingdom shut out the rest of the world, refusing any help or contact from outsiders.  Trade is conducted through the business scrubs, while the rest of the people remain hidden within their palace.

The Gorons, despite their compliance during the events of Babel, held close to the old ways.  They remained in their mountains, and kept with them remnants of their past, as evident from their Goron’s Ruby tribal tattoos.

The Zora inhabit the oceans, far away from humans, though their music and culture remains popular, thus they established the Concert Hall in the great bay.  Their success makes them easy targets for the Gerudo Pirates, however.

Eventually, the Giants decide that it is their time to leave, as they must be able to protect the people now spread out across the land. 

One goes to the swamp, to guard Woodfall, the heart of the swamps.

One goes to the mountains, to protect the Gorons from the harsh winters and blizzards of Snowhead.

One goes to the ocean, keeping the great bay clear for all who use it.

And one returned to the dead kingdom of Ikana to ensure the Stone Tower remains sealed, and to watch over the mask of his brother.

They left behind their only friend, a tiny imp (possibly the Giant, stripped of it’s power?)

The Giants had gone, but their legacy was felt for years to come.

In a Link Between Worlds, the inhabitants of Lorule, a world that runs parallel to Hyrule, join a cult that wears masks and celebrates pagan rituals in order to avoid becoming monsters.  This might suggest that the HMS is a prophet, or cult leader, spreading his teachings from world to world.  Now, if we decide that the punishment of the goddesses transformed the inhabitants of Termina into different races, we can play with the idea that the people of clock town wear masks to avoid turning into Zoras or Gorons or Deku Scrubs.

An alternate theory is that the people of Clock Town first summoned the giants to deal with the Skull Kid, who was causing a ruckus.  Because the imp lacked a face, it is possible that the tradition of wearing a mask grew from this event (spite, perhaps?).

Whatever we go with, what is known is that in honor of the Giants, the “Gods”, the people of clock town hold the carnival of time every harvest (also, new year?) while wearing masks.  At first, they resembled the giants (who are essentially large faces with limbs) but over time the tradition evolved until most major events and traditions involved masks in some way.

• Treasure hunters in the well:

It seems the curse over Ikana turns lingering souls into Poes, soldiers into Stalfos and the living into Gibdos.  A group of treasure hunters, possibly thieves trying to infiltrate Ikana castle, have been transformed, and stand guard in the well.  I think it might be interesting to make them a group of Bandits with some relation to the thief-crow Takkuri

• Elder Goron:

Dude is old.  He’s probably seen some ****.  So we should probably stick him somewhere in the past.

• Gormans:

How did they get the Garo masks?  Perhaps they are descendants of the Garo tribe?  Perhaps their masks were stripped from Garos in the Stone Tower and sold to them by the HMS?

• Koutake and Koume:

These two characters suggest a shared history between Hyrule and Termina, perhaps an alternate timeline?  Both keep their names from Ocarina of Time.  However, without the triforce, there is no Ganon, and so the pair are toothless.  In any case, they are also ancient, and will pop up here or there.

• The Great Fairies:

 
At some point, they need to fit into the plot.  I got nothing.

• The Gerudo:

There needs to be more of them than what we’ve seen

• The Goddess of Time:

Most associate the power of time with Nayru, the Goddess of Wisdom.  However, it is likely that the goddess is a separate being altogether (perhaps  one who corresponds to the “fourth” triangle?)

• Tingle:

I still hold on to the possibility that Tingle is Termina’s counter to Link.  Without the triforce, Tingle is left without a purpose.  He longs for the day when a fairy, and adventure, will come, but they never do.  It’s possible that by growing up in Kokiri forest Link is far older than he appears.
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Its hard to date the Zelda Series... It doesn't seem like that universe measures its time well.

Anyhow, I suppose the end goal for the story is to write the tragedy and fall of Ikana Kingdom.. Revealing the ancient events that would lead to the game Majora's Mask. I suppose we should write this story for seinen audiences, gearing it towards the original age group at the time of MM's release.

Keeping the story as canon as possible is very important. Trying to draw plot-points relating to Majora's Mask from every zelda game is a crucial part of the research for our story. Fortunately for us, the internet is vast. If you're like me and don't own the game, I recommend watching a full play through on Youtube.

Now that I'm done this reply, I'm going to hyperlink things in Connor's article.

Yeah, I read ya' .. Well, we're here to discuss the order and placement of the fictional historical events... Sadly my knowledge of the Zelda Franchise is vague too, I'm behind on my reading.. v.v"... As for the Goron's actual age, I don't know.  As the research comes along though, we'll be updating the Timeglider Timeline on The Origins of Termina page. There's some stuff on it now, not much.

I see. Got some reading and video watching to do then xD

Lol. Its tough work, but some of us got to do it.

Sadly I've had all the time I can have on the computer for now... Connor should be commenting soon enough, he's the better man to do so. Hopefully, when I'm back online. I'll be more engaging.