The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess/The Beginning


 * This section refers to the Wii version of the game. To view the GameCube version, click here.

Sunset At The Spring
''Near the settlement of Ordon Village, you sit and admire the serene view. "Tell me..." Rusl asks you, "Do you ever feel a strange sadness as dusk falls?" But enough of this melancholy! Rusl is delivering something to the royal family of Hyrule in two days' time. Rusl encourages you to explore the kingdom and the world around it. You lead your horse, Epona, who is carrying some bundles of kindling you both gathered, over the Ordon Gorge Bridge. Rusl locks the bridge gate. Rusl rejoins his family, Uli and Colin. He leaves you and Epona at your woodland home, and heads to the village entrance. Colin takes Epona's reigns and leads her off to rest. You climb up into your home. A moment later; Fado yells up to you. He needs help wrangling a few goats.''

Head over to Fado when the opportunity presents itself, and press to speak to him. He tells you to hurry up and bring Epona with you. You saw Colin leading Epona down the forest path to the of your house, so go this route. When you get to the spring, pluck a reed from the ground and use it to whistle for Epona. Mount her and ride her into town.

Goat Herding
Travel south of town into the ranch and talk to Fado. He will ask you to round up ten goats for him and get them into the barn. The easiest way to do this is to start by making sweeping runs at the far end of the ranch and then narrowing in on the barn. Keep the goats between you and the barn, and press to make them run faster.

Following the herding exercise, Fado will set up fences for you to jump over with Epona. Simply guide Epona to a fence, press to make her run fast, and she will jump it automatically. When you are tired of jumping fences, jump the gate at the north end of the ranch to get out.

Of Bottles and Slingshots
Following your time at the ranch, a new day will dawn and the village kids will be waiting outside your door. They mention a slingshot on sale at Sera's shop and how they would really like one. When you go to the shop, however, you'll find that Sera's cat is missing and she won't sell anything until it returns.

Jaggle is standing on a tall bluff overlooking the water. Talk to him from below, then climb up. He will show you that Sera's cat is trying to catch a fish and that he has spotted some grass on another bluff. Hop to it, pick the grass, and whistle for a falcon. Use it to attack a bee's nest. Then, jump to the bluff in the middle of the lake, call for a falcon, and hit the monkey on the rock to the northwest. The falcon will bring you the cradle the monkey was carrying.

Take the cradle to Uli, who will give you a fishing rod. Cross the midvillage bridge and walk to the dock on the far side of the mill. Drop a line and catch two fish. Sera's cat will steal the second one and run home.

Return to the shop, and purchase the slingshot for 30 rupees (you can find rupees by running around in tall grass and by smashing rocks and pumpkins). Sera will give you a half-full bottle of milk for returning her cat.

Combat Training
After you purchase the slingshot, return to your home. The village kids will ask you to demonstrate your skills by hitting targets. After hitting them all, you will discover that Rusl left an item in your house. Use the slingshot to destroy the spider on your ladder, then climb inside to find a treasure chest with a wooden sword inside.

After you exit your house, the village kids will want to see your sword skills. Follow the onscreen instructions to demolish the dummy.

Lighting the Way
Talo and Malo have run after a monkey. Climb onto Epona and head north. Jump a fence after you cross a bridge, advance to the Forest Temple path, then dismount. You discover Talo's wooden sword just inside the cave.

A sign outside the cave warns that it is too dark to venture in without a light, and a spider web prevents further movement inside until you have fire. Venture north from the cave entrance into a clearing and talk to Coro to receive the lantern.

Go back to the cave and use the lantern to burn the spider web. Destroy the enemies and light torches to get a better view of your surroundings as you explore.

Link to the Rescue
When you emerge from the cave, you'll see two red-marked destinations on the Faron Woods map. Go to the item in the north first. It is a small key in a chest. While you are there, it is also an opportune time to pick up piece of heart #1.

Now go to the other destination, which puts you on the doorsteps to Forest Temple. Defeat the Bokoblins guarding the cage, then smash it to free Talo and the monkey he was chasing.

The End of the Beginning
Upon your return to Ordon, Fado will ask you to herd twenty goats in three minutes. Call Epona to get started. If you take more than three minutes, you will still proceed, but Fado will comment on your lack of speed.

After you leave the ranch, you will engage in a brief conversation with Ilia and the mayor that results in Ilia taking Epona away to the spring. You can't go anywhere beyond your house until you give Talo your Wooden Sword, however.

When you get to the spring, talk to Colin through the locked gate. He will tell you of a tunnel into the spring. Crawl through and make a left turn to get in. A cutscene showing marauders on a boar knocking you out and taking Ilia. After you awake, you give chase, not knowing what fate might befall you as well...