#windwakinghero

((Anyone who has played The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, aka Toon Link’s primary game, knows that he’s lived his life with his little sister Aryll and their grandma. Many theorize as to who his grandfather may be, often times claiming it’s Orca. Orca may be what equates to an adoptive grandfather, but he isn’t actually related to Toon Link.

I’ve often thought about this myself too, and I’ve come up with my own theory. Since we know that Toon Link is roughly 12 during the events of Wind Waker, with it beginning on his birthday, and we know that Aryll is younger than him, we can figure out a good estimation of when Toon Link’s parents went missing. Based on how the rest of the characters on Outset treat Aryll, she has to be older than the other children, yet still young enough that she needs to be looked out for, putting her around…let’s say 8 years old, with the other boys on the island around 6. Taking all personalities and experiences, dialogues into account, this seems it can work out. This means that Link’s parents have to have been around at least 8 years ago, for Aryll to exist. 

Moving on, thinking of the time of when other events in Wind Waker happened…Tetra’s mother was said to pass on when Tetra herself was at a young age, which was why she became a pirate leader while still a child. During the events of the game, she’s about the same age as Link, so about 12 or 13. She mentions knowledge of the Forsaken Fortress once being inhabited by rival pirates, but by her phrasing, it’s possible she meant when her mother was in charge and not her. She also mentions that, for a while, it’s nothing but evil in the fortress.

Continuing with this, there’s no way that Ganondorf’s return to power happened in a short year or two. He had to not only build his army of evil creatures, but also finish by laying forth an attack on the holy temples and deities (like Valoo). Ganondorf’s return to power must have taken several years, especially since it had to build up enough for the spirit of the king of the sunken kingdom itself, King Daphnes, to also return in some form to challenge Ganondorf.

So, let’s say it took Ganondorf somewhere between 3-5 years to reach the point he was at during the events of Wind Waker (especially since his influence over Hyrule in Ocarina of Time takes nearly the full 7 years Link is sealed). Aryll would have been about 3-5 years old, and Link being 7-9. I believe that somewhere in this time, Link and Aryll’s parents went missing.

During Ganondorf’s return, he had to attack the deities holding the Goddess Pearls, to prevent any possible hero from stopping him. Valoo and the Great Deku Tree would be the hardest to attack due to their location, terrain, and influence on surrounding islands, not to mention if Ganondorf was not yet to full power.

However, Lord Jabun, who, during the events of Wind Waker, is found inside Outset Island, was much more vulnerable. Jabun was hidden inside an island that simply housed a peaceful village, nothing more. Greatfish Isle. Based on the ruins you can find of it, the island was destroyed to find Jabun, who had fled to Outset Island. Talking with various NPCs, such as Tingle using the Tingle Tuner, it’s said that the island was “once such a lovely island.” There are some objects on the island you can make out, which appear to be stands for small markets, or something similar.

Based on how well-hidden into Outset Island Jabun is, I don’t believe he “just” went there. Many of the islanders may have noticed a hollowing of their island to house a giant fish. It may have happened years ago, and since the “stormy” Great Sea is when Link must hurry to Jabun, it’s not far off to think it was just as stormy when Greatfish Isle was destroyed, and Jabun fled to Outset. 

While I’m not sure where Link and Aryll were at the time, I have a feeling that they originally stayed with their grandma for a temporary time. Based on how various characters in Wind Waker make a living, it’s possible their parents sailed the Great Sea to various inhabited islands, such as Windfall and Greatfish, to do business. In the game, not a single NPC you find, with the exception of Jabun, comes from Greatfish Isle. Unfortunately, it’s safe to assume anyone on Greatfish Isle was taken out at the same time as the island.

I believe Link’s family was on the island, gone missing with the rest of the inhabitants of Greatfish Isle. Before I’m told that the island was “just recently” destroyed, let me explain further.

You’re never able to really reach the island before this point. Therefore, there’s no way to prove it was just destroyed. In fact, when Quill finds Link on the island, he informs him that Valoo had informed him of such travesty. If the island was just recently destroyed, much of the inhabitants of the Great Sea should be talking about it with fear, rather than simply naming the isle a “cursed” land. In fact, the idea of a “curse” upon the isle would further lead to the idea that it was destroyed some time ago. Characters that mention traveling never once mention going to Greatfish Isle just recently, so, theoretically, it was destroyed some years ago.