With peace comes a price, and Hyrule's price was a heavy one. The land was plagued by pestilence and drought. The source of the problems was seemingly magic, thus the King of Hyrule ordered the seal to the Sacred Realm be inspected. The Sages determined the seal was intact and Ganon was not the cause. Distressed, the King sent out a royal decree for a reward to any wizard who could stop the problems.

A young wizard named Aaghnim answered the call. Agahnim used a previously unseen form of magic and quelled the drought. Hyrule felt relief, and the King showed his gratitude by making Agahnim chief Advisor. Agahnim however had other plans.

He first killed the King, and installed himself as the hidden ruler of Hyrule. Then Agahnim, one by one, sent the descendants of the Six Sages, six women, into the Dark World (Ganon's version of the Sacred Realm).

Princess Zelda was worried of the wizard's plans, which were very clear to her. Zelda tried to hide that Zelda I, the Sage of Wisdom, was her ancestor. Agahnim soon did discover this and immediately sent the guards to capture her. As the guards were dragging Zelda to the dungeon, Zelda sent a telepahtic message into the night.

A young boy named Link and his Uncle both heard the message, but the Uncle responded. After the Uncle left, Link decided to go after Zelda as well. Link found his dying Uncle in the entrance to the Castle dungeon.

After searching throughout the Castle dungeon, Link found Zelda in a cell being guarded by a large Knight. Link vanquished the knights using a pot and rescued Zelda from her cell. The two fled the castle and into a holy building of Hyrule- the Sanctuary. There Link met a descendant of the Seven Sages, the old Sage. After telling Link of the Master Sword, Link embarked to find the sword.

After travelling through dense forests, vast deserts, and a giant tower, Link recovered the three magic pendants needed to pull the Master Sword from its pedestal. After then making his way through the Lost Woods, Link reached the Mast Sword's meadow and pulled the sword from its pedestal. The sword gleamed and Link felt the power needed to smite evil's bane!

Unfortunately, the wizard, Agahnim, had attacked the Sanctuary and kidnapped Zelda, and mortally wounded the Sage.

Link returned to Hyrule Castle and destroyed a seal that bound Agahnim's tower. He infiltrated the tower and encountered the wizard, as Agahnim was transporting Zelda into the Dark World. Link was too late, but still defeated Agahnim, and was sucked into the Dark World.

Link found the Dark World to be a strange plus, but through the aid of the Kakariko Village leader, Sahasarla, Link was able to recover the six descendants of the sages- encased in crystals, and shortly re-encountered and defeated Agahnim. A dark shadow flew from the wizard's corpse, rvealing Ganon. Ganon turned into a bat and flew from Death Mountain to the Pyramid of Power. Link rushed to the Pyramid and faced Ganon for the ultimate battle. It was not the first time Ganon had faced a member of the family of the hero. As did he the last time, Ganon put up a monumental battle, but through his greed and the Power of the Triforce of Courage, Link prevailed. Ganon was locked away within the Dark World, which collapsed upon tself after Link recovered the occupying piece, Ganon's Triforce of Power. Ganon was trapped within the collapsed Dark World, as the Golden Realm returned to its peaceful state, removing Ganon's threat for an eternity.

Link returned to Hyrule as a hero. However, Link was not satisfied, for he wanted adventure, and he sought out to get it.