Child Timeline
Link is sent back to his childhood and warns Zelda in time — Ganondorf's rise is averted before it begins.
Fork point: Ocarina of Time
Diverges from Shared Trunk (Before the Split)
The Story Arc
In this branch, the Hero of Time is returned to his childhood after defeating Ganon — and this time, the warning lands. Zelda is told what is coming; Ganondorf's coup never happens. But averting one catastrophe doesn't buy peace: Majora's Mask finds the young hero lost in Termina, racing a falling moon through a three-day loop.
Generations later, Twilight Princess shows this timeline's Hyrule invaded from the Twilight Realm, with Ganondorf — executed by the sages, sealed, and escaped — as the shadow behind it. The branch closes with Four Swords Adventures, generations later still, when Vaati and a resurrected Ganon rise together. Officially, that game — not Twilight Princess — is this timeline's final chapter.
Games, in chronological order
Majora's Mask
Young Link, having just returned from Ocarina of Time and warned Hyrule of Ganondorf, travels to the parallel land of Termina, where he must repeatedly relive a three-day cycle to stop the moon from crashing into the earth.
Twilight Princess
Generations after Majora's Mask, a new Link transforms into a wolf to fight back the Twilight realm's invasion of Hyrule, guided by the mysterious imp Midna, while Ganondorf reemerges as the true threat behind it all.
Four Swords Adventures
Set generations after Twilight Princess, this cooperative multiplayer sequel to Four Swords has Link split into four again to battle Vaati and a resurrected Ganon, closing out the Child Timeline.