What is Lorule, the apocalyptic mirror world of Hyrule in The Legend of Zelda

What would happen if the Triforce from The Legend of Zelda was destroyed? At first glance, one might think that without such a powerful relic, capable of tempting greedy villains and beings of darkness, the Kingdom of Hyrule would overflow with the kind of peace and prosperity that can be expected in a busy fantasy world. Long ago, the king of Theirs thought exactly the same thing and in the process ended up condemning his people.

As its name suggests, Theirs (“Low-Rule”) is the mirror world of Hyrule (“Hi-Rule”), and it is worth making an additional distinction: this is not the Kingdom of Darkness. Both exist in parallel to the main setting of the saga of The Legend of Zeldabut while in the Kingdom of Darkness we see that the light of Hyrule is replaced by evil, darkness and despair, what we find in the Kingdom of Lorule is directly the opposite, so that the hero of courage is actually a coward. But, even in those, as we will see, in their own way He is still a hero.

The concept of a mirror world exists in the saga of The Legend of Zelda for years. In fact, technically the first NES game hid something very similar to its own Minus World that was absolutely inaccessible through conventional means.

That said, we had to wait until November 2013 to set foot in Lorule, its discovery and exploration being one of the main attractions of A Link Between Worlds. And as Link soon discovers, the entire kingdom is falling apart.

Spoiler Warning: Below we will talk about many of the events of the main plot of The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

The story of Lorule, the reverse kingdom of Hyrule

Explaining the nature of the Kingdom of Lorule is relatively simple, but that doesn’t make it any less interesting: for all intents and purposes It is the mirror world of Hyruleand that implies that the way people are is the opposite of what we have seen until now. That there is so much darkness and uncertainty in the hearts of its inhabitants, however, is something more recent.

Like Hyrule, Lorule once had its own Triforce. Just as incredible, but inverted. To put it in context, in both cases it was a powerful relic granted by the creator goddesses of the world that, in addition to containing its enormous power, was capable of granting any wish of whoever touched it.

A gift that, collaterally, aroused the interest of greedy beings and beings of darkness, generating wars and destruction. A cycle that, in fact, has been constantly repeated in the history of both kingdoms. Is the Triforce a gift or a curse?

In both cases, Hyrule and Lorule decided that it was best to keep the Triforce away from evil. So while Hyrule decided to seal the Triforce, a king of Lorule decided to put an end to the problems at the root and came to the conclusion that destroying it would put an end to the conflicts and misfortunes that plagued his people for generations.

However, the king of Lorule forgot the most essential thing: both the Triforce and the world are the great works of the goddesses of creation and, by extension, one cannot exist without the other. So, despite his intentions, instead of saving the kingdom, by destroying the Triforce he ended up condemning it.

What would happen in The Legend of Zelda if the Triforce is destroyed?

From here a note: the destruction of the Triforce did not imply the immediate disappearance of Lorule, but a slow decline into misery.

Over the next few years, the land of Lorule began to crack, animals began to turn into monsters and creatures of darkness, and the sky became covered in black clouds. And what’s worse: without that relic, darkness had gradually flooded not only the kingdom, but also the hearts of its inhabitants.

Pushed beyond their limits, the inhabitants of Lorule had not only lost all hope, but had accepted their end as they watched their few resources slowly run out. And then, the darkest part of their souls surfaced: they began to commit crimes and robberies out of sheer desperation.

So the inhabitants of Lorule not only began to dress like creatures of the night, but to behave like them, becoming less civilized and, at times, even becoming masked villains. Some even became resigned and lost their fear of becoming real monsters.

“The world is coming to an end… but that shouldn’t be an excuse for you to start stealing. If you become a thief, your soul will be corrupted! People are treacherous and heartless.

Only monsters can be trusted! You must do as we do, put on a mask and sing to aspire to become a monster”

Naturally, feelings towards Princess Hildathe heiress of the royal family of Lorule was not one for gratitude. Quite the opposite. There was neither a guide of wisdom in these dark times, nor a light of hope. Which brings us to the other key question: Where is the supposed hero of the kingdom?

Who is Ravio, the “hero” of Lorule?

It is normal to think that the Link of Lorule would be something similar to the Dark Link of Ocarina of Time or the Dark Link of Link’s Awakening. However, and as we mentioned, Lorule is a mirror world and the counterpoint of the hero of courage is Ravio, a somewhat lazy guy, quite cowardly and greedier than expected.

Ravio is at the service of Hilda of Lorule in the same way that Link’s destiny is linked to Zelda’s, so that when he sees the despair of his princess and his people he acts very differently than we are proposed in the games of The Legend of Zelda and, with no other options, he makes a decision: to steal the Triforce from the Kingdom of Hyrule and impress its heir. Great evils require great remedies.

However, and despite the fact that Ravio has many obvious flaws, he is not a thief. Or at least, he is not brave enough to steal something like that. So he just needs someone capable of doing the dirty work while he watches from a more or less safe distance. And that is precisely where his destiny crosses with Link’s and the adventure of A Link Between Worlds.

Thus, after several adventures, an unexpected trip to the mirror world and numerous tests of wisdom, courage and bravery, the hero and the princess of Hyrule completed their great feat and used the wish of the Triforce to make Lorule hers again. And even though Ravio’s methods were cowardly and his intentions quite questionable, one thing must be granted to him: in his own way, saved his own kingdom from destruction.

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