Sealed Grounds
The Sealed Grounds
First appearance	Skyward Sword (2011)
Country	The Surface
Point(s) of interest	Sealed Temple
Inhabitants	The Imprisoned

The Sealed Grounds, formerly known as Hylia's Realm, is a location from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.

Before the events of the game, the Sealed Grounds served as a place of worship for the goddess Hylia. It is here that Demise was sealed away in the form of The Imprisoned. The Sealed Temple also stands on the Sealed Grounds. This temple is where Link lays the Master Sword to rest at the end of his adventure.

The artwork from the game's prologue can be found along the bottom walls of the grounds, depicting the attacking demons, Skyloft's creation, and the races who remained on the surface with the goddess to imprison the demons.

Story Edit

During the events of the game, Link visits the Sealed Grounds numerous times. It is the first area of the surface to which Link descends. At the bottom of the large pit in the Sealed Grounds lies the sealing spike which keeps The Imprisoned incarcerated. Link must restore power to the seal using a Skyward Strike when he first arrives at the grounds. Link returns after obtaining the Goddess's Harp from Zelda, and is followed by Groose, who perused Link in the hopes of being the one to find Zelda. Link learns the the Ballad of the Goddess from the Old Woman in the Sealed Temple, awakening a Gate of Time as he plays it. However, the awakening of the gate stirs The Imprisoned, which breaks free of its seal. Link is able to defeat the creature and restore the seal temporarily. At this point Groose realizes that Link is truly the hero meant to find Zelda, and remains in the Sealed Grounds. The Old Woman convinces him that he has an important role to play, and Groose goes on to build the Groosenator to help battle The Imprisoned in the future.

After tempering his sword into the Master Sword, Link returns to the Sealed Grounds to activate the Gate of Time, but the Imprisoned once again escapes its seal. Link, with the help of Groose and his Groosenator, manages to seal the Imprisoned once again.

Later on Link returns to learn part of the Song of the Hero from Faron, but is forced to land in the Sealed Grounds as the Faron Woods have been flooded. The Imprisoned escapes for a third time, but Link again reseals it with Groose's help. Groose then catapults Link into the flooded Faron Woods to continue his quest.

After Link traverses the Sky Keep and makes wishes upon the Triforce, the Statue of the Goddess falls into the Sealed Grounds, destroying the Imprisoned.

Theories Edit

Future Edit

It is possible the Sealed Temple later became the Temple of Time seen in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. This is due to to structural similarities, such as a sword pedestal in the back, large doors and tall ceiling. There is also the war of time that means it could become the Temple of Time. The town center could also be what becomes of the circular area outside, due to the circular nature and proximity to the Temple of Time. Additionally, the Temple of Time from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is located in Faron Province, which corresponds to the Sealed Grounds' location. Though Hyrule Historia does not confirm this theory directly, it does state that this is one possibility.

The Seal Edit

It is possible that the seal holding back Demise has a relationship to the Fused Shadow from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Both are ancient artifacts made of a dark substance that bears considerable magical power, and are both capable of transforming those that come in contact with into massive, twisted versions of themselves. Additionally, the process of the seal absorbing the Imprisoned greatly resembles the appearance of the Fused Shadows reconstituting themselves, as the massive monster in question explodes into many black fragments, which are then pulled into a central point.