Gears of Memory AU
“Gears of Memory” is my original Zelda story. Link “Paige” Hightower, who I roleplay on this blog, is the main character of this story. This post details the AU and serves as a reference for anyone who wishes to roleplay with Paige and/or insert your Zelda muse into the story. This post will be updated as my AU develops. Feel free to help contribute to its development! ♥
Locations
Hyrule has a Victorian aesthetic with a few tiny steampunk elements. Most recurring locations present in other Zelda games appear here, though with some changes.
Hyrule City is the kingdom’s thriving industrial metropolis, and serves as a hub for the heroes. The majestic Hyrule Castle stands at the far end. Hyrule University, the famous clock tower, and the Sanctuary for the Arts are other notable landmarks that make the city grand.
The Lost Woods is home to the Great Deku Tree, the ancestor of the same tree from the Era of the Hero of Time. He watches over the shy Koroks that live in its depths.
Kakariko Village is once again a Sheikah town, having been rebuilt from nothing after the great disasters of long ago.
Zora’s Domain is home to both the Sea Zoras as well as River Zoras. They both live in harmony, protecting the coral reef on the shores of Hyrule.
Rito Treetown is the village of the Rito, made of treehouses and bridges high in the forest canopy. It’s powered by a famous windmill.
Death Mountain hides Goron City, home of the Gorons, within its depths. Thermal energy inside the mountain powers the city’s factory that manufactures equipment for the whole region.
Gerudo Town, home of the Gerudo, is a city in the desert known for its welcoming attitude, delicious food, and infamous magic school. People from across Hyrule travel to learn from the greatest Gerudo magic scholars.
Soulshire Mines, located just outside of Hyrule City, is a cave filled with gemstones where Mogma and Hylians alike often go to get rich quick. Only hard work is rewarded.
Lake Hylia, on one end, is home to a resort town with a thriving entertainment district. The richest Hyrulians travel to this resort to escape their everyday lives. Some people make their summer homes along the lake. Sailing, rafting and fishing are popular.
Characters
Link (Paige) is a clockmaker’s apprentice who works at the Hyrule Clock Tower in the center of the city under their father Thaddeus’s tutelage.
They have a mysterious pocket watch that can slow down or speed up obstacles. The gears of the watch also hold memories of its previous owner. Link travels across Hyrule to collect all of them.
Zelda is the princess of Hyrule who escapes her traditionalist parents to become an independent artist. She goes by the pen name Zinnia Fay and dreams about Hyrule’s unknown past.
Zelda searches for unique pigments that have the power to recall dreams perfectly. She adventures through Hyrule City to obtain these special pigments and discover the meaning of her dreams.
Ganondorf Dragmire is a history professor at Hyrule University and the king of the Gerudo, using his power as a king to spread knowledge to the masses. He vigorously searches for proof of Hyrule’s legends.
Ganondorf delves into ruined temples across Hyrule, battling gauntlets of enemies which guard pieces of a tapestry telling the story of Hyrule’s cycle of rebirth.
Lore
The timeline placement for “Gears of Memory” is on an alternate, branching timeline in which Link dies in Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.
Several centuries ago, a green-clad hero named Link gathered the pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom to defeat Ganon (The Legend of Zelda). Four years later, he attempted to seek the Triforce of Courage to wake the ancient Princess Zelda (Zelda II: The Adventure of Link), but was defeated by Ganon’s minions who used his blood to resurrect their master.
Upon his defeat, Ganon merged with Link’s spirit, turning him into Dragon Ganon. Ganon was then able to seize the Triforce of Power and the Triforce of Wisdom, but the Triforce of Courage was still sealed away.
Demise’s anger and hatred was directed inward toward Link’s heart, with the power of the Triforce of Wisdom causing the fallen hero to remember all of his past lives. Falling into despair, natural disasters ravaged the land of Hyrule, powerful enough to shatter the Master Sword into pieces.
The seal on the Great Palace, which contained the Triforce of Courage, was broken following the natural disasters. However, Farore intervened to make sure Ganon would not ever hope to discover its location.
This Link’s last attempt to protect the people of the future was to seal everyone’s memories of the legends inside the gears of a pocket watch, scattering the gears across Hyrule.
Dragon Ganon was eventually sealed inside the ruins of the Sacred Realm by the Goddess Hylia. She has been keeping her seal on the ruins for the past 300 years to contain Demise’s power, waiting for the moment when another hero will rise again to defeat it.
Hyrule modernized rapidly over the next few centuries, becoming an industrial powerhouse. A new Link (Paige), Zelda and Ganondorf came to appear in this Hyrule, with Link being born with the Triforce of Courage gifted by Farore.
Because of Hylia’s seal, the Ganondorf of Paige’s Hyrule is not a reincarnation of Demise’s hatred.
(with @wrathistic) Demise’s Sword, now known as simply Ghirahim due to no longer being under the evil entity’s ownership, rested in one of the temple ruins for a time before Ganondorf discovered it. It stores power as Ganondorf defeats more and more enemies. Ghirahim was one of the few individuals whose memories of the legends were not erased following the disaster of Dragon Ganon.