Hyrule Army

Lore & Background

The conflict began when Ganondorf led the Gerudo to attack Hyrule Castle, a move thwarted by Rauru. After falsely conceding, Ganondorf betrayed his subordinate Ardi, framing her for the assault before she was rescued by Calamo and the Knight Construct. Ganondorf subsequently used a phantom doppelganger of Zelda to activate a second Forbidden Construct, which destroyed its inactive counterparts before he killed Queen Sonia and transformed into the Demon King. In response, Rauru's forces rallied the tribal leaders against this new threat. The army faced four archfiends serving as commanders, including Grimgera, who was repelled by Calamo's construct. Following the devastation of Korok Forest by a Forbidden Construct, Rauru and his sages launched a full-scale attack on Hyrule Castle. When they failed to defeat Ganondorf directly, they executed a tactical retreat into the Depths at Hyrule Field, where Rauru sacrificed his life to seal him away.

In Their Own Story

The surface battle raged as the Knight Construct and Calamo distracted Ganondorf's army while the sages engaged in the Depths. The Knight Construct successfully destroyed the rampaging Forbidden Construct but perished after the Master Sword shard it powered broke from overexertion. Inspired by this sacrifice, Calamo rooted himself as a tree beside his friend's remains to create a new forest. In the aftermath, Zelda's lady-in-waiting, Lenalia, designed murals chronicling the war to ensure Ganondorf's defeat was remembered for the future. However, at Mineru's request, she reluctantly omitted all records of the Knight Construct and destroyed documentation of its existence to prevent misuse of its technology, leaving only pieces of the construct embedded in Calamo's tree form as a memorial.

Reader's Guide

This force operates through a combination of tribal leadership and sage magic. The strategy involved rallying the Rito, Zora, Goron, and Gerudo leaders under the Royal Family's banner. Key tactical elements included the use of secret stones granted to the sages and the deployment of the Knight Construct to counter specific threats like the Forbidden Constructs. The army's survival depended on splitting forces: while the main body lured Ganondorf into the Depths for a sealing ritual, the Knight Construct and Calamo held the line on the surface. Unlike standard garrisons, this army relied heavily on unique allies; the Knight Construct acted as an instinctive battle machine traveling the land to fight monsters, while Ardi's leadership stabilized the Gerudo faction after their betrayal.

Did You Know?

• The army included a unique ally named Calamo, a Korok wanderer who accidentally activated a benign Forbidden Construct.
• Ganondorf framed his own subordinate, Ardi, for attacking Hyrule Castle before she joined the resistance as the new Gerudo leader.
• The Knight Construct was powered by a shard of the broken Master Sword that had been sent back in time with Princess Zelda.
• Rauru sacrificed his life to seal Ganondorf away during a tactical retreat into the Depths at Hyrule Field.
• Records of the Knight Construct were deliberately destroyed by Lenalia and Mineru to prevent its technology from being misused.