The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures takes place in the timeline that stems from the defeat of Link in Ocarina of time. The story begins in a chaotic Hyrule, in which Princess Zelda summons Link to protect the portal to the Four Sword Sanctuary (which is being held open by Shrine Maidens) from the impending arrival of Vaati. During this process, Shadow Link appears from the portal and kidnaps the maidens who opened it. Link follows Shadow Link and eventually removes the Four Sword out of its stand, thus creating three clones of himself, which all combine forces to defeat Shadow Link. During this sequence, however, the seal protecting Hyrule from Vaati is broken, allowing him to roam the world and leave chaos in his wake. While traveling the lands, Link and company realize that the Dark World is abducting citizens of Hyrule, replacing them with maclicious counterparts, which in turn cause more destruction and eventually relenquish control of Hyrule castle. It's revealed that by using the Dark Mirror that he stole, Ganon is the creator of Shadow Link, and the leader of a vast army he keeps hidden in the Dark World. Vaati unknowingly aided Ganon by creating more monsters in the Dark World, thus increasing the numbers of his army. With the help of Princess Zelda, Link and company rescue the Shrine Maidens, retrieve the Dark Mirror, and defeat Shadow Link for the last time. After a fierce bout with Vaati, the party continues through the Palace of Winds and eventually begins a battle with Ganon. With the power of the Shrine Maidens and Zelda, the four Links defeat Ganon, and seal him inside the Four Sword, restoring peace to Hyrule. The Links return the Four Sword to its stand, thus returning back into one Link. The Shrine Maidens create an even stronger barrier around the Sanctuary, and Link and Zelda leave the Sanctuary, returning to a Hyrule void of any Darkness.