A Clockwork Ocarina

Occurring approximately five centuries after the events of The Legend of Zelda:  Ocarina of Time and respectively after the events seen in LoZRP, A Clockwork Ocarina sees the Zelda universe in a period of Industrial Revolution where Hyrule has fallen beneath the waves of Lake Hylia only to be rebuilt again as New Hyrule.

Era of the Hero of Time
The Hero of Time vanished, and Hyrule was left in the hands of the young Queen Zelda, who began to repair the wounds caused by the seven year war and whatever damage preceding it that she was able to.

The Sages, deceased from the war—their awakening having demanded it— existed in spirit form until they were needed again. Ganondorf, being freshly sealed in the sacred realm, became a bad dream that was eventually forgotten as time went on, as dreams so often are.

The legend of the Hero of Time, the Princess of Destiny, and their fight against Ganondorf was passed around and retold as both a bed time story and a tavern tale, where it quickly became a favourite.

The Travelling Years
The land to the west of Hyrule, called Labrynna, was discovered during the reign of King Daltus II, near the end of Hyrule’s healing process. Hyrule learned of Holodrum through Labrynna, due to their relationship as sister countries. Finding out that the countries were not only friendly but willing to open communication and trade with Hyrule boosted Hyrule’s economy and brought new technology to the land. It also introduced the three Oracles to Hyrule, who were quite content helping any way they could.

Given how lucky and prosperous Hyrule’s first contact with neighbouring countries was, they began searching for other civilizations. During this time, they found Termina. At first interaction with the kingdom of Termina seemed tense—after all, parts of it were having their own problems—but eventually they became receptive to trading with Hyrule. This proved difficult, however, due to the restricted passage between the mountains, causing imports and exports between Hyrule and Termina to be limited.

Trade routes were created that navigated through the North mountains, across the Gerudo Desert, and to the east of Zora’s Domain. Agreements were created with the Gerudo and the Zora, and both races received a significant portion of the goods so long as the routes were protected.

Return of the Demon Thief
Hyrule entered a time of great prosperity, as their technology was beginning to advance. While magic was still used, inventors begin searching for more sustainable—and less temperamental—sources of power. A massive project began to create a man-made canal to both replace the old trade route to Termina and make it accessible by water, and to create a series of dams that would be used to create electricity. At around this time, the Church of the Goddesses was established by the Oracle Nayru, due to the fact that while Hyrule had plenty of Temples of their own, none of them seemed adequately safe or easily accessible enough to be suitable places of worship.

At first the project was successful, and Hyrule looked as if it would be pushed into a golden age of technology. However, a sudden attack from Ganondorf took Hyrule by surprise and rocked the country. He had previously broken the seal on the Sacred Realm and had been biding his time, waiting for Hyrule to amass a big enough weakness for him to exploit successfully. The dams that kept the ocean at bay were the perfect weakness and he wasted no time in attacking them.

It turned into a battle between Hyrule’s army and Ganondorf and his minions before the fight escalated into a war when the Sages reawakened and the Oracles assisted. With no hero, and Ganondorf possessing the Triforce of Power, it was a struggle to slow his forces as he began destroying the dams.

After a long battle, the queen managed to kill Ganondorf with the assistance of the Sages and the Oracles. While they had won, the Oracles and several of the Sages did not survive to see the aftermath, nor did they live to see the last dam crumble.

The Great Flood
The effects of the dams breaking were felt gradually at first, and ultimately shadowed by the war caused by Ganondorf. When the final dam broke it was clear that the flooding would not subside.

With the speed of the water, and the debris it was claiming as it slammed into houses and fields, it was clear an evacuation was in order. However, getting all the citizens of Hyrule to safety would be impossible. The people of Kakariko managed to travel up Death Mountain, but it created tension between the Hylian refugees and the Gorons.

Knowing the water would continue to move faster as it neared the lands of the west, Zelda and the remaining Sages used the last of their powers to raise several islands of land to act as a place for the Hylian people, as she had done as Hylia in the ancient past.

However, Zelda was no goddess, and the islands were meant to be a temporary haven before they could arrange to migrate to one of their neighbours. Sadly, the message that the magic wouldn’t last forever only went as far as Zelda’s husband, as Zelda and the remaining Sages sacrificed their lives to perform the magic.

With everything they could gather and carry, the people living in Castle town and on the field moved onto the floating islands, praying that the water would recede. It did not, however, and became a muddy, inhospitable sea. It would remain dirty and filled with debris for some time.

The Birth of New Hyrule
The call of the now struggling Hylians was answered fairly quickly by their allies, and while the muddy sea was difficult to navigate, they did receive enough help to begin rebuilding on the floating isles. While the people of Hyrule could offer little back they were thankful for the assistance from the other countries.

Though the land they lived on was technically their own, the Hylians were refugees in their own homes. Supplies were limited, and many died of sickness and starvation during this time. The fate of the kingdom seemed bleak, as the neighbouring countries could only give so much before they risked compromising their own economy.

Using the scraps of their broken land and the supplies they had been given, the Hylians slowly began to rebuild their kingdom. For the first few decades, times were hard and many lives were lost as the summers became unbearable and the winters were unforgiving. The castle was built on the northern island with the new Church of the Goddesses, and bridges were constructed to connect the islands together.

The sea of dirt and debris settled finally, with the waters turning a clear blue beneath the rebuilt kingdom, and the king decreed that the land would now be known as New Hyrule.

The King's Treachery
It became clear over the next generation that New Hyrule would need more supplies, and without anything to offer in a trade, their neighbours would not be coming to their aid again. Instead, the current King and Queen ordered that what parts that remained of Old Hyrule would be scoured.

This led to the discovery that the Kokiri Forest and the Lost Woods were untouched by the flood and full of potential supplies. The King gave the order to cut down the trees for use as lumber and for trade — an act that many scholars and advisors claimed was unwise, backed by the current Oracle of Seasons.

When he ignored her words and began cutting down the forest — beginning by having the Great Deku Tree destroyed down to eliminate the magic protecting the forest — she openly opposed him and was later ambushed by his magician, leading to her death. The Rod of Seasons was placed in the church catacombs and the Oracle of Seasons’ death was covered up for a time. The Kokiri at this point had no choice but follow their trees, taking the seed of the Great Deku Tree and moving to New Hyrule.

Secrets couldn’t exactly be kept from the Oracle of Secrets, the remaining Oracles discovered what had happened to their sister and planned to take revenge, only to be assassinated with the Harp of Ages taken by the Church as well.

News of the death of the Oracles reached Holodrum and Labrynna, who were told they died in the Lost Woods. When Holodrum and Labrynna asked for the artifacts to be returned to their proper places, the King refused. As a result, Holodrum and Labrynna cut all ties with Hyrule.

A Brighter Outlook
Eventually the kingdom was handed down to the last King’s daughter Zelda and her husband. Both worked together to right the wrong of the previous King, but without the aid of their neighbours they could only count on those within Hyrule. Together they extended invitations to all the remaining races to come to New Hyrule to live and do business, and also opened up trade with the Gorons and Zora. All of their attempts were well received, and together the whole of Hyrule began to advance again technologically, entering an industrial revolution.

New Hyrule found itself with a diverse population all living in relative peace as everything seemed to flourish. Different modes of transportation were made, some to replace the boats that were previously used. It was at this time that air travel was first explored seriously, as the New Hyrule’s altitude demanded a more suitable method of travel to the surface lands. Eventually the King and Queen became sick and passed away, an appointed regent ruling in their place until the young prince came of age.

Another Decline
King Gustaf VI thought very poorly of his parents, believing them to be fools for inviting so many non-Hylians onto the floating islands and wasting space and supplies that could go to those more worthy of it. He favoured his grandfather’s methods, despite only being able to read about him as he had disappeared from his bed one night. He aspired to ‘free’ New Hyrule, but found it hard when so many were still loyal to his mother.

Prior to the current day, the King enacted a final set of laws that separated those deemed “humans” — Hylians, Terminians, Holodren, Labrynnians — and those who qualified as “non-humans”; in other words, anyone who did not fit under the umbrella of the aforementioned humans. This forced many of the non-humans, stripped of status, out of their homes in the Northern or Eastern Districts and into the slums of the Southern District or the aptly named Undesirable County.

In the years that followed the King’s decision, the unrest in the streets has only grown…