As Hylian people settled throughout the world, they passed on their knowledge and magical lore to all people. However, with its passing the lore was often distorted or lost altogether. Soon nobody, not even the Hylian sages, knew where the Triforce was hidden; the knowledge had been lost over time.

The Triforce was desirable in itself as a symbol of the goddesses, but the following quote from the Hylian Book of Mudora made it even more so:

In a realm beyond sight,
The sky shines gold, not blue.
There, the Triforce's might
Makes mortal dreams come true.

Many were inspired to find the wish-granting Triforce, and searched for it ceaselessly. Some said the Triforce lay under the desert, others said it was hidden in the cemetary in the shadow of Death Mountain, but no one ever found it. The yearning for the Triforce turned to lust for power, and armies marched against each other. Soon, the only motive left in the search for the Triforce was pure greed.

One day, to escape from the fires of this war, a Hylian mother and her baby boy entered the forbidden Kokiri Forest. The mother was gravely injured, and she had no choice but to entrust her son to the Great Deku Tree, guardian spirit of the forest. The Deku Tree could sense that this was a child of destiny, whose fate would affect the entire world, so he took him into the forest. After the mother passed away, the baby was given the name of Link and was raised as a Kokiri.