Here is the short version of my theory. It is in my signature, but I am not sure how many tweaks could be made in the future, so I'll type it here.
Imprisoning War Timeline:
The Minish Cap -> Ocarina of Time (Adult Ending) -> A Link to the Past -> The Legend of Zelda -> The Adventure of Link -> Oracle of Ages/Oracle of Seasons -> Link's Awakening -> Four Swords -> Four Swords Adventures
Split Timeline:
Ocarina of Time (Adult Ending) -> The Wind Waker -> Phantom Hourglass
Ocarina of Time (Child Ending) -> Majora's Mask -> Twilight Princess
Okay, here's the long version:
BEGINNING (In every timeline)
-Creation of Hyrule (ALttP, OoT, TP)
-Hero of men seals monsters away with the Picori Blade and light force. (TMC)
-Link I born.
-Ezlo makes Minish Cap, then Vaati curses Ezlo and comes to Hyrule. (TMC)
-THE MINISH CAP
-Vaati is revived.
-Vatti terrorized Hyrule and kidnaps maidens. A strange young boy imprisons Vaati in the Four Sword. The people build a shrine in which to place the sword. (FS, FSA)
-Sages build Temple of Time and forge the Master Sword to protect the Sacred Realm and the Triforce. (ALttP, OoT, TWW, TP)
-Evil tribe seal a demon inside Majora's Mask. (MM)
-Ganondorf I born to Gerudo. Twinrova sisters Kotake and Koume raise Ganondorf. (OoT, OoA, OoS)
-Twili battle Hylia over Sacred Realm and the Triforce; the "fierce war." (ALttP, OoT, TP)
-Link I and Zelda I born. Link's mother takes him to Kokiri Forest. (OoT)
-Twili banished to the Twilight Realm by the Light Spirits of Hyrule. (TP)
-OCARINA OF TIME; the Imprisoning War
IMPRISONING WAR TIMLINE
-Link IIIa is born. He is possibly descended from Link II. (Who know's what Link and Zelda did between Ganon's sealing and the adult ending, amirite?) Zelda IIIa is born, possibly descended from Zelda II. The Triforce of Courage and Wisdom are passed down through those bloodlines, respectively.
-Ganon I causes tragedies in Hyrule from the Dark World, then sends Agahnim to "help" Hyrule. (ALttP)
-A LINK TO THE PAST [Since Link IIIa, Zelda IIIa, and Ganon I all possess a crest and are all present at the final battle, the Triforce is whole after Link IIIa defeats Ganon I.]
-Link IIIa gives the Triforce to the Royal Family of Hyrule.
-The king of Hyrule uses the Triforce to bring peace to Hyrule. To protect the Triforce, the king of Hyrule hides the Triforce of Courage in the Great Palace. (TAoL)
-King of Hyrule dies, giving the prince part of the Triforce. Because Zelda (IIIa?) refuses to tell the prince how to obtain the rest, a wizard places a sleeping spell on her. The prince regrets telling the wizard to place the spell, and decrees that every princess be named Zelda. (TAoL)
-Zelda IVa born, possibly descended from Zelda IIIa [who is possibly the Zelda in TAoL's backstory].
-Link IVa born, possibly descended from Link IIIa.
-Ganon is (in some way) revived. (ALttP) [The Japanese manual implies that ALttP's Ganon is TLoZ Ganon.]
-Ganon invades Hyrule, stealing the Triforce of Power and kidnapping Zelda IVa. Before her capture, she splits up the Triforce of Wizdom into 8 pieces and scatters them across Hyrule. Impa finds Link IVa and asks for his help. (TLoZ)
-THE LEGEND OF ZELDA
-The Triforce of Wisdom and Power are returned to the Royal Family of Hyrule.
-Link IVa turns 16, and the mark of the Triforce appears on the back of his hand. Impa explains what happened to a previous Zelda (possibly Zelda IIIa), and Link IIIa sets off to find the Triforce of Courage. (TAoL)
-THE ADVENTURE OF LINK
-Link IVa gives the complete Triforce to the Royal Family of Hyrule. The Triforce is then kept in Hyrule Castle.
-Link Va born, possibly descended from Link IVa.
-Zelda Va born, possibly descended from Zelda IIIa, IVa, or both.
-Twinrova sisters are revived.
-Triforce sends Link Va to Holodrum and Labrynna. (OoA, OoS)
-ORACLE OF AGES/ORACLE OF SEASONS
-Link Va leaves Hyrule to sail the seas. (LA, OoA, OoS)
-LINK'S AWAKENING [DX]
-A dark tribe builds a pyrimid, in which it places a magic trident possibly containing an evil spirit. This tribe is banished to the Dark World (possibly the Sacred Realm or the Twilight Realm). (FSA)
-Ganondorf II is born to the Gerudo.
-Link VIa and Zelda VIa are born, possibly descended from Link Va and Zelda Va.
-Link VIa and Zelda VIa become friends at an early age. (FS, FSA)
-FOUR SWORD
-Ganondorf II finds the magic trident, becomes Ganon II, and uses the magic mirror to creat Dark Links. (FSA)
-FOUR SWORDS ADVENTURES
SPLIT TIMELINE (CHILD)
-Link II arrives in his own time before he met Zelda II, as implied by Zelda looking through the window (as she was when she was spying on Ganondorf) and her shocked reaction (as she had when she first saw Link in the flesh). He warns Zelda and the king about Ganondorf's upcoming attack, so when it finally happens, the castle is ready for it. (My interpretation of OCARAIN OF TIME's ending)
-Months after warning the Royal Family of Ganondorf's threat, Link leaves Hyrule to search for Navi, but not before Zelda gives him the Ocarina of Time. (MAJORA'S MASK)
-MAJORA'S MASK
-Link II returns to Hyrule. (My interpretation of MAJORA'S MASK's ending)
-Since Link II didn't obtain the Spiritual Stones, it takes Ganondorf many years to obtain them on his own. After he finds them, he and his army attack Hyrule Castle, but the king has known for years that Ganondorf was a threat, therefore, he has had years to prepare for Ganondorf's attack. Ganondorf is arrested. He is sentenced to death, but he mysteriously obtains the Triforce of Power (probably because of the time travel laws of the Ocarina and MAJORA'S MASK and their similarities to OCARINA OF TIME's ending). He is sent to the Twilight Realm. (My interpretation of Aonuma's quote, TP)
-Link II dies. His spirit remains in Hyrule as the Hero's Spirit.
-Link IIIb and Zelda IIIb are born, possibly descended from Link II and Zelda II. II possibly passes down the Triforce of Courage/Wisdom through his/her family to IIIb.
-Ganondorf meets Zant, poses as a god, grants Zant power, frees Zant, and escapes from the Twilight Realm his self. (TP)
-TWILIGHT PRINCESS
SPLIT TIMELINE (ADULT)
-When Link II travels back in time to his childhood, the timeline splits. The Triforce of Courage stays behind and splits into 8 pieces and hides itself throughout Hyrule. (TWW)
-Zelda passes the Triforce of Wisdom down through her family.
-Ganondorf escapes the Sacred Realm, terrorizing Hyrule. The Hylia pray to the goddesses to help them, so they flood Hyrule. Many of the Hylia survive by climbing to the tops of mountains. (TWW)
-Link IIIc is born. He is not descended from Link II. Tetra, also known as Zelda IIIc, is born. She may be descended from Zelda II.
-THE WIND WAKER
-Link IIIc, Tetra (Zelda IIIc), and the pirates sail the seas. (PH)
-PHANTOM HOURGLASS
EDIT: I fixed some of the Roman numerals that I mistakenly screwed up in the first typing. Also, in order to avoid confusion on which Link is which in each timeline, I placed a, b, or c after most Roman numberals. (Example: So one doesn't confuse Link III of the Miyamoto Timeline with Link III of the Split Timeline Child and Link III of the Split Timeline Adult, the first is Link IIIa, the second is Link IIIb, and the third is Link IIIc.)
Edited by Vertiboy, 14 June 2008 - 04:39 PM.