Sorry, it's long.
I was struck by the Unexpected Fist of Inspiration today, and as a result, I give you the tentative plot synopsis and song list of Legend of Zelda: The Golden Power, the first ever Zelda musical.
Legend of Zelda: The Golden Power
Storyline
Note: Somewhere within the action of each paragraph of the synopsis the characters sing the corresponding song on the following list.
Curtain opens to a surreal, dramatic confrontation between an evil-eyed man and a princess inside of a temple. Both parties are attempting to break through some kind of stone door. Upon the door is a strange triangular symbol. Witnessing the scene is a lost, confused peasant boy of around seventeen years. Eventually, the man and the woman notice his presence. They try to make him open the door, but he finds he cannot act. As the man moves toward the boy to strike him, the boy suddenly wakes up. It was a nightmare.
The boy, Link, is a herder in the provincial village of Kakariko, nestled deep within the kingdom of Hyrule. Kakariko is a peaceful village which is currently undergoing economic distress due to a mysterious blight upon the land. Within the village, Link is considered a figure of some mystery. He has no known family, keeps mostly to himself, and is rumored to have prophetic dreams. His only true friend in the village is a young woman named Saria, to whom he confides everything. He tells her of his nightmare; she muses that he may be destined for greatness. She identifies the symbol Link saw in his dream as the legendary Triforce.
Meanwhile, in the Greudo Desert at the other side of Hyrule, a Greudo warband has just returned from looting a Hylian village. The leader of the warband, a man named Gannondorf, is in high spirits, until Nabooru, the leader of his Greudo village, delivers him bad news. While the warband was away, a Hylian strike force retaliated against the Greudo people, killing every man, woman, and child in the village. Nabooru urges diplomacy, but Gannondorf is consumed by revenge. He vows to use the power of the Trifoce to bring ruin to Hyrule.
Meanwhile, there is turmoil among the lords of Hyrule castle. Reports are coming in regarding increased Greudo action from the west, armies of Moblins swarming in from the east, rebellious murmurings from the Gorons and Zora, and economic blight in the Hylian villages. The lords are at a loss for what to do, until the independent-minded Princess Zelda takes control of the meeting. She claims to have a plan for solving Hyrules problems, a plan that centers around the legendary Triforce and the cooperation of a certain villager. The lords are incredulous, but for lack of a better plan, they summon the village boy Link.
Back in the village, Link receives his royal summons. Saria encourages him to ignore the call, noting that his help will be needed to keep the village fed, but he argues that perhaps the royal family will hear their plight and send aid. Knowing that there is no way he can convince him to stay, Saria gives Link her blessing to leave, wishing him good fortune. After he leaves, she sings of her pure love for Link.
Link travels to Hyrule City, and is instantly overwhelmed by its size and population. Wondering why the princess would choose him of all people for her quest, he seeks audience with her. The palace guards deny knowledge of his summons, and he is forced to sneak into the palace. Finally, Link meets with Zelda. After apologizing for the odd behavior of the guards, she tells Link why he is here. Gannondorf, the evil figure from his dreams, is building an army to attack Hyrule, and can only be stopped with an item called the Master Sword. The Master Sword is an item of incredible power, as such, the ability to access it is controlled through special keys: the Spiritual Stones. One stone is held by each of the races of Hyrule: the Gorons and the Zora. Link must obtain these two stones, that he may wield the Master Sword in the fight against evil. Zelda promises aid to Kakariko village should Link perform admirably, and Link agrees to do her bidding. Link heads off to the Goron homeland, Death Mountain.
Link reaches the Goron city, deep within the heart of Death Mountain. The Gorons are a materialistic people, obsessed with wealth. They spend all of their time mining for precious minerals, and are loath to give up their Spiritual Stone due to its supposed value. They are heedless to Link's warnings of approaching evil: they see no threat, so how could it exist? Link finally gets the Spiritual Stone from them by wagering his lifelong servitude against the Stone that he can best the Goron leader Darunia at a wrestling match. He wins, and quickly leaves the now less-than-friendly Goron society.
Back in the court at Hyrule Castle, the lords of Hyrule ask Zelda to go into more detail about her plan. How will obtaining the Master Sword have any meaningful effect in the war against Gannondorf's army? Zelda chides the lords for their foolishness, explaining that the sword itself is not her aim. The sword acts as a key to a greater treasure, the Triforce. Any person who holds the Triforce wields ultimate power to shape the world as they see fit. Unfortunately, for reasons unknown, only certain people can grasp the Master Sword. Link is one of these people. After the nobles file out, Zelda sings of her twisted fondness for Link.
Meanwhile, Link has reached the Zora's Domain. The Zora are an aquatic tribe concerned with nothing but pleasure. They try to lure Link from his quests with all manner of delight. Particularly, the Zora princess Ruto lusts after Link, and will not let him leave her sight. She has possession of the Zora's Spiritual Stone, and offers it to Link if he agrees to never again leave the Zora Domain. He agrees, escaping shortly thereafter while Ruto attention is diverted by one of the Domain's endless distractions.
Throughout this time, Gannondorf has not been idle. He has raised an army of vengeful Greudo to attack Hyrule Castle itself. But, as he explains to Nabooru, now his unwilling subordinate, the attack is merely a ploy to lure Hyrule's army out of the way. Gannondorf himself will be assaulting the Temple of Time, where he believes the Triforce to be hidden. Nabooru is appalled at her master's willingness to needlessly sacrifice lives, both Greudo and Hylian, and vows to oppose him if he carries out his plan. In return, Gannondorf has Nabooru banished from Greudo lands, punishable by execution.
And so, the three parties move towards convergence at the Temple of Time. Link thinks he is simply going to obtain the Master Sword, but Zelda and Gannondorf are both after the Triforce. Zelda plans to take the Triforce once Link has opened the way; Gannondorf means to break his way through the Door of Time with brute force and dark sorcery. Link arrives with Zelda and places the Spiritual Stones on the pedestal before the Door of Time, causing it to open. Just before he grabs the Master Sword, Gannondorf bursts into the chamber. Link draws the sword high, with Zelda and Gannondorf looking on in tableau. Lightning strikes, the Master Sword shatters in Link's hands, Link falls to the ground unconscious, and a piece of the Triforce manifests in each of the characters. End of Act 1.
Act 2 begins two years later, when Link finally awakens from his unconsciousness, having been preserved by the nature of the Temple of Time. He finds himself in a Hyrule that has made many obvious changes for the worse. Gannondorf has kidnapped Zelda, and while the lords still nominally rule Hyrule, the Greudo King is all but in command. The people of Hyrule live in fear, as strange monsters walk the streets at night. No message has been heard from the Gorons or Zora in months. It would appear that all is lost. The only lead Link has in this alien world is the phrase 'find me in the desert' scrawled on the walls of the Temple of Time. And so, Link gathers the shards of the Master Sword and embarks on his quest to save Hyrule.
Link travels to the Greudo desert, where he learns of a Gannondorf resistance movement. After proving his good intentions, he is brought to the movement's leader, Nabooru. She tells him that the Master Sword was created as the final key to the Triforce: only one who does not lust for the magic of the golden relic can pull the Master Sword from it's stone. Link inadvertently provided the way for Zelda and Gannondorf to reach the Triforce, but the presence of so many powerful people in the room caused the Triforce to split into its component parts. Link received the Triforce of Courage, Zelda the Triforce of Wisdom, and Gannondorf the Triforce of Power. Only a person who has all three of these virtues in balance can reunite the Triforce, but before that action can even be contemplated Gannondorf must be defeated and Zelda freed. Nabooru believes Link to be the right person for the job, pledges her support to him, and encourages him to reforge the Master Sword. When he leaves, she sings of her yearning for his success.
Link proceeds to visit the Gorons and the Zoras for help, but finds that their respective vices have worsened in the past few years. Gorons are dying from overworking and Zora's Domain is slowly freezing over, but both races refuse to ignore the problems and continue their normal existence. The Gorons refuse to help reforge the Master Sword, claiming that Link will only use it to stir up trouble. The Zora's refuse to send aid against Gannondorf, as they are unwilling to die for any cause. Both races recommend that Link go home and try to live his normal life.
Finally, Link returns to Hyrule Castle and entreats the help of the nobles. Among other things, he cites the blight on the village crops as the influence of Gannondorf, and begs their aid in overthrowing him. The weak-willed nobles are unwilling to commit to any action, saying that things could be worse. They mention off hand that the blight on the villages was actually caused by Zelda's sorcerers, on the Princess's orders.
Link is shattered. He realizes that the blight was put into effect solely for his benefit. Zelda was willing to let hundreds of her own people die so that Link would be motivated to seek her help. It was all part of her plan to get the Triforce for herself; Link has been manipulated by others since the beginning. He is nothing but a pawn in other peoples' power-hungry schemes, and he doesn't know who he can trust anymore. In a rage, he abandons his quest and returns home to Kakariko village. Zelda used Link to get herself into her current situation, let her figure out how to get out of it.
But the state of Hyrule worsens. Eventually, Saria and Naburoo come to visit the embittered Link and implore him to complete his quest. He refuses, claiming that everybody he's ever interacted with in Hyrule has had some sort of devious machination in effect and are consequently not worth saving. The two women are eventually able to convince him that if there are even a handful of people worth saving in Hyrule, he should take up the quest for their sake. Reluctantly at first, Link begins preparations to take on Gannondorf alone.
Over time, Link reforges the Master Sword and trains himself for battle. As he prepares himself, first Saria and Naburoo, then the other villagers as well, leave him offerings and good luck charms. Heartened by the kind-hearted support of his friends, Link heads off to his final confrontation with Gannondorf.
Link battles his way through endless hordes of Gannandorf's minions before finally reaching the chamber of the power-hungry king. He finds Gannondorf fully prepared for battle, with Princess Zelda trapped in an energy field beyond. Link and Gannondorf engage in an epic duel, courage versus power, until finally the Hylian hero has the Greudo thief at his mercy. Instead of killing Gannondorf, however, Link grants him his life. Similarly, he grants Zelda her life, though she has risked his for her own purposes. Link has reached a balance of power, wisdom, and courage within himself, and the Triforce manifests in its completeness. He wishes for peace in all of Hyrule and the surrounding lands. His quest completed, Link returns home to a newly-fertile Kakariko village.
Songs (Unless Otherwise Noted, from OoT)
Act 1
Prologue: Link's Nightmare == Temple of Time (very distorted)
Hyrule Setup/ Link Setup == Hyrule Field Theme
Gannondorf Setup == Zelda II: Temple Theme
Council of Lords/ Zelda Setup == Majora's Mask: Deku Palace
Saria's Lovesong: Goodbye == Kakariko Village (chords) OR Twilight Princess: Illia's Theme
Hyrule City == Shop Theme
Among the Gorons == Goron City
Zelda's Lovesong: Naive Forest Boy == Nocturne of Shadow
Among the Zora == Majora's Mask: New Wave Bossanova
Gannondorf Prepares the Assault == Bolero of Fire (expanded)
Convergence == Link's Awakening: Mountain/ Temple of Time/ Link to the Past: Darkworld
Act 2
Something Rotten in Hyrule == Twilight Princess: Hyrule Field, Night (maybe?)
Greudo Desert == Greudo Valley Theme
Naburoo's Lovesong: Hero == Requiem of Spirit
Everything is Fine == Lost Woods Theme (frantic)
Things Could Be Worse == Kotake and Koume Theme
A Pawn == Link to the Past: Hyrule Castle Theme
Ten Good Men == Windwaker: Wind God's Aria/ Earth God's Lyric
Preparing for Battle == Windmill Theme
Showdown == Zelda II: Temple Theme (epic)
Epilogue == Legend of Zelda Theme
Legend of Zelda: The Golden Power
Storyline
Note: Somewhere within the action of each paragraph of the synopsis the characters sing the corresponding song on the following list.
Curtain opens to a surreal, dramatic confrontation between an evil-eyed man and a princess inside of a temple. Both parties are attempting to break through some kind of stone door. Upon the door is a strange triangular symbol. Witnessing the scene is a lost, confused peasant boy of around seventeen years. Eventually, the man and the woman notice his presence. They try to make him open the door, but he finds he cannot act. As the man moves toward the boy to strike him, the boy suddenly wakes up. It was a nightmare.
The boy, Link, is a herder in the provincial village of Kakariko, nestled deep within the kingdom of Hyrule. Kakariko is a peaceful village which is currently undergoing economic distress due to a mysterious blight upon the land. Within the village, Link is considered a figure of some mystery. He has no known family, keeps mostly to himself, and is rumored to have prophetic dreams. His only true friend in the village is a young woman named Saria, to whom he confides everything. He tells her of his nightmare; she muses that he may be destined for greatness. She identifies the symbol Link saw in his dream as the legendary Triforce.
Meanwhile, in the Greudo Desert at the other side of Hyrule, a Greudo warband has just returned from looting a Hylian village. The leader of the warband, a man named Gannondorf, is in high spirits, until Nabooru, the leader of his Greudo village, delivers him bad news. While the warband was away, a Hylian strike force retaliated against the Greudo people, killing every man, woman, and child in the village. Nabooru urges diplomacy, but Gannondorf is consumed by revenge. He vows to use the power of the Trifoce to bring ruin to Hyrule.
Meanwhile, there is turmoil among the lords of Hyrule castle. Reports are coming in regarding increased Greudo action from the west, armies of Moblins swarming in from the east, rebellious murmurings from the Gorons and Zora, and economic blight in the Hylian villages. The lords are at a loss for what to do, until the independent-minded Princess Zelda takes control of the meeting. She claims to have a plan for solving Hyrules problems, a plan that centers around the legendary Triforce and the cooperation of a certain villager. The lords are incredulous, but for lack of a better plan, they summon the village boy Link.
Back in the village, Link receives his royal summons. Saria encourages him to ignore the call, noting that his help will be needed to keep the village fed, but he argues that perhaps the royal family will hear their plight and send aid. Knowing that there is no way he can convince him to stay, Saria gives Link her blessing to leave, wishing him good fortune. After he leaves, she sings of her pure love for Link.
Link travels to Hyrule City, and is instantly overwhelmed by its size and population. Wondering why the princess would choose him of all people for her quest, he seeks audience with her. The palace guards deny knowledge of his summons, and he is forced to sneak into the palace. Finally, Link meets with Zelda. After apologizing for the odd behavior of the guards, she tells Link why he is here. Gannondorf, the evil figure from his dreams, is building an army to attack Hyrule, and can only be stopped with an item called the Master Sword. The Master Sword is an item of incredible power, as such, the ability to access it is controlled through special keys: the Spiritual Stones. One stone is held by each of the races of Hyrule: the Gorons and the Zora. Link must obtain these two stones, that he may wield the Master Sword in the fight against evil. Zelda promises aid to Kakariko village should Link perform admirably, and Link agrees to do her bidding. Link heads off to the Goron homeland, Death Mountain.
Link reaches the Goron city, deep within the heart of Death Mountain. The Gorons are a materialistic people, obsessed with wealth. They spend all of their time mining for precious minerals, and are loath to give up their Spiritual Stone due to its supposed value. They are heedless to Link's warnings of approaching evil: they see no threat, so how could it exist? Link finally gets the Spiritual Stone from them by wagering his lifelong servitude against the Stone that he can best the Goron leader Darunia at a wrestling match. He wins, and quickly leaves the now less-than-friendly Goron society.
Back in the court at Hyrule Castle, the lords of Hyrule ask Zelda to go into more detail about her plan. How will obtaining the Master Sword have any meaningful effect in the war against Gannondorf's army? Zelda chides the lords for their foolishness, explaining that the sword itself is not her aim. The sword acts as a key to a greater treasure, the Triforce. Any person who holds the Triforce wields ultimate power to shape the world as they see fit. Unfortunately, for reasons unknown, only certain people can grasp the Master Sword. Link is one of these people. After the nobles file out, Zelda sings of her twisted fondness for Link.
Meanwhile, Link has reached the Zora's Domain. The Zora are an aquatic tribe concerned with nothing but pleasure. They try to lure Link from his quests with all manner of delight. Particularly, the Zora princess Ruto lusts after Link, and will not let him leave her sight. She has possession of the Zora's Spiritual Stone, and offers it to Link if he agrees to never again leave the Zora Domain. He agrees, escaping shortly thereafter while Ruto attention is diverted by one of the Domain's endless distractions.
Throughout this time, Gannondorf has not been idle. He has raised an army of vengeful Greudo to attack Hyrule Castle itself. But, as he explains to Nabooru, now his unwilling subordinate, the attack is merely a ploy to lure Hyrule's army out of the way. Gannondorf himself will be assaulting the Temple of Time, where he believes the Triforce to be hidden. Nabooru is appalled at her master's willingness to needlessly sacrifice lives, both Greudo and Hylian, and vows to oppose him if he carries out his plan. In return, Gannondorf has Nabooru banished from Greudo lands, punishable by execution.
And so, the three parties move towards convergence at the Temple of Time. Link thinks he is simply going to obtain the Master Sword, but Zelda and Gannondorf are both after the Triforce. Zelda plans to take the Triforce once Link has opened the way; Gannondorf means to break his way through the Door of Time with brute force and dark sorcery. Link arrives with Zelda and places the Spiritual Stones on the pedestal before the Door of Time, causing it to open. Just before he grabs the Master Sword, Gannondorf bursts into the chamber. Link draws the sword high, with Zelda and Gannondorf looking on in tableau. Lightning strikes, the Master Sword shatters in Link's hands, Link falls to the ground unconscious, and a piece of the Triforce manifests in each of the characters. End of Act 1.
Act 2 begins two years later, when Link finally awakens from his unconsciousness, having been preserved by the nature of the Temple of Time. He finds himself in a Hyrule that has made many obvious changes for the worse. Gannondorf has kidnapped Zelda, and while the lords still nominally rule Hyrule, the Greudo King is all but in command. The people of Hyrule live in fear, as strange monsters walk the streets at night. No message has been heard from the Gorons or Zora in months. It would appear that all is lost. The only lead Link has in this alien world is the phrase 'find me in the desert' scrawled on the walls of the Temple of Time. And so, Link gathers the shards of the Master Sword and embarks on his quest to save Hyrule.
Link travels to the Greudo desert, where he learns of a Gannondorf resistance movement. After proving his good intentions, he is brought to the movement's leader, Nabooru. She tells him that the Master Sword was created as the final key to the Triforce: only one who does not lust for the magic of the golden relic can pull the Master Sword from it's stone. Link inadvertently provided the way for Zelda and Gannondorf to reach the Triforce, but the presence of so many powerful people in the room caused the Triforce to split into its component parts. Link received the Triforce of Courage, Zelda the Triforce of Wisdom, and Gannondorf the Triforce of Power. Only a person who has all three of these virtues in balance can reunite the Triforce, but before that action can even be contemplated Gannondorf must be defeated and Zelda freed. Nabooru believes Link to be the right person for the job, pledges her support to him, and encourages him to reforge the Master Sword. When he leaves, she sings of her yearning for his success.
Link proceeds to visit the Gorons and the Zoras for help, but finds that their respective vices have worsened in the past few years. Gorons are dying from overworking and Zora's Domain is slowly freezing over, but both races refuse to ignore the problems and continue their normal existence. The Gorons refuse to help reforge the Master Sword, claiming that Link will only use it to stir up trouble. The Zora's refuse to send aid against Gannondorf, as they are unwilling to die for any cause. Both races recommend that Link go home and try to live his normal life.
Finally, Link returns to Hyrule Castle and entreats the help of the nobles. Among other things, he cites the blight on the village crops as the influence of Gannondorf, and begs their aid in overthrowing him. The weak-willed nobles are unwilling to commit to any action, saying that things could be worse. They mention off hand that the blight on the villages was actually caused by Zelda's sorcerers, on the Princess's orders.
Link is shattered. He realizes that the blight was put into effect solely for his benefit. Zelda was willing to let hundreds of her own people die so that Link would be motivated to seek her help. It was all part of her plan to get the Triforce for herself; Link has been manipulated by others since the beginning. He is nothing but a pawn in other peoples' power-hungry schemes, and he doesn't know who he can trust anymore. In a rage, he abandons his quest and returns home to Kakariko village. Zelda used Link to get herself into her current situation, let her figure out how to get out of it.
But the state of Hyrule worsens. Eventually, Saria and Naburoo come to visit the embittered Link and implore him to complete his quest. He refuses, claiming that everybody he's ever interacted with in Hyrule has had some sort of devious machination in effect and are consequently not worth saving. The two women are eventually able to convince him that if there are even a handful of people worth saving in Hyrule, he should take up the quest for their sake. Reluctantly at first, Link begins preparations to take on Gannondorf alone.
Over time, Link reforges the Master Sword and trains himself for battle. As he prepares himself, first Saria and Naburoo, then the other villagers as well, leave him offerings and good luck charms. Heartened by the kind-hearted support of his friends, Link heads off to his final confrontation with Gannondorf.
Link battles his way through endless hordes of Gannandorf's minions before finally reaching the chamber of the power-hungry king. He finds Gannondorf fully prepared for battle, with Princess Zelda trapped in an energy field beyond. Link and Gannondorf engage in an epic duel, courage versus power, until finally the Hylian hero has the Greudo thief at his mercy. Instead of killing Gannondorf, however, Link grants him his life. Similarly, he grants Zelda her life, though she has risked his for her own purposes. Link has reached a balance of power, wisdom, and courage within himself, and the Triforce manifests in its completeness. He wishes for peace in all of Hyrule and the surrounding lands. His quest completed, Link returns home to a newly-fertile Kakariko village.
Songs (Unless Otherwise Noted, from OoT)
Act 1
Prologue: Link's Nightmare == Temple of Time (very distorted)
Hyrule Setup/ Link Setup == Hyrule Field Theme
Gannondorf Setup == Zelda II: Temple Theme
Council of Lords/ Zelda Setup == Majora's Mask: Deku Palace
Saria's Lovesong: Goodbye == Kakariko Village (chords) OR Twilight Princess: Illia's Theme
Hyrule City == Shop Theme
Among the Gorons == Goron City
Zelda's Lovesong: Naive Forest Boy == Nocturne of Shadow
Among the Zora == Majora's Mask: New Wave Bossanova
Gannondorf Prepares the Assault == Bolero of Fire (expanded)
Convergence == Link's Awakening: Mountain/ Temple of Time/ Link to the Past: Darkworld
Act 2
Something Rotten in Hyrule == Twilight Princess: Hyrule Field, Night (maybe?)
Greudo Desert == Greudo Valley Theme
Naburoo's Lovesong: Hero == Requiem of Spirit
Everything is Fine == Lost Woods Theme (frantic)
Things Could Be Worse == Kotake and Koume Theme
A Pawn == Link to the Past: Hyrule Castle Theme
Ten Good Men == Windwaker: Wind God's Aria/ Earth God's Lyric
Preparing for Battle == Windmill Theme
Showdown == Zelda II: Temple Theme (epic)
Epilogue == Legend of Zelda Theme