The nightmares started when Zelda was nine. She did not need to understand the specifics to know that dark times were coming. But because it would be three years yet before their meaning would manifest in the real world, she could not find the words to tell Impa or her father of her fears when they were so formless.

One night when the nightmares had driven her from her bed and Impa found her wandering the cold stone hallways barefoot and trembling, the woman gave her a rare hug and counseled her to pray for wisdom and guidance. "Worry will not stop what must come, but care and thought may prepare us to meet it." Zelda did not know how to accept such affection, and though she knew the advice was sound it gave her even less comfort.