Twilight Incursion

The Forces of Twilight are a playable faction in Hyrule: Total War. They won't be initially available and must be unlocked, but the method of unlocking is unknown.

History
During the time of Ganon, many flocked under his lordship. Gerudo, Hylians, and even the Sheikah would break their creeds in favor of promised power under a dominion ruled by Ganon. After his defeat, these Hylians, Gerudo and Sheikah were all sentenced to eternal imprisonment in the Mirror of Twilight, an ancient device of unknown origin that was believed to be the entrance to an endless void. Unknown to the Kingdom of Hyrule though, rather than sending these war criminals to a bottomless pit of no return, the Mirror of Twilight was in fact a portal to a new world. For thousands of years the Interlopers and their descendants evolved and changed in this new alien world. Milennia later they hardly resemble their ancestors, and are now a tall and slender race characterised by glowing white skin. Dubbed the Twili, they thirst to once again return to Hyrule and take revenge on the ones whom banished their ancestors. Eventually they discovered how to open the portals, and the Twili have begun to pour into Hyrule. Despite the fact that thousands of years have passed in their world, it has only been a lifetime in Hyrule since the Interlopers were banished. The Twili army is a terrifying one. With exotic armour, wicked looking weapons, and horrific beasts of burden, the alien force that is the Twili can easily scare off the unprepared. Despite their psychological edge over Hyrule's races, their evolution in the Realm of Twilight has changed them to the point where walking in Hyrule is uncomfortable in the extreme. Sunlight slowly burns the Twili unless properly protected by clothing or armour, and the air is thick for them to breath. As such they tire very quickly when forced to fight for extended periods of time. They may suffer in this alien environment, but even so one cannot help but cower in fear at the sight of a Twili army marching from the portals of another world.

Strengths, Weaknesses and Abilities

 * Alien Invaders: The monstrous and exotic soldiers employed by the Twili exploit primal fears in the races of Hyrule. Enemies are more likely to flee from a fight with the Forces of Twilight.
 * Unfamiliar Environment: The land of Hyrule is as alien to the Twili as they are to the races that inhabit the land. Troops are generally uncomfortable and tire very quickly when fighting during the daytime.
 * Airborne Assault: The Forces of Twilight have a large roster of flying units, giving them excellent line of sight and initial speed in battle.
 * Slow Logistics: Because their supplies must come from the Realm of Twilight, armies under their command move much slower on the campaign map.

Freeform Campaign

 * Faction Leaders:
 * Zant
 * Midna
 * Settlements: 4
 * Palace of Twilight (city, capital)
 * Valran (town)
 * Elmenzhia (town)
 * Uzu (town)
 * Goals:
 * Short Campaign: hold 30 regions
 * Long Campaign: hold 40 regions

Gameplay
The Twili begin play in the Realm of Twilight and not in Hyrule, and must get to Hyrule by constructing a Mirror of Twilight, which will appear near the settlement where it was constructed. Two of these structures are required to operate: One in the Realm of Twilight and one in Hyrule. One already exists at the Arbiter's Grounds, so when you have an army ready you'll need to build one on your end. When the gate is up and operational you'll need to move your armies into it.

At the end of the turn, they'll be instantly teleported to the other gate in Hyrule or vice versa. Unless you control both settlements that have the gates however, the trip is only one way. So you'll need to take control of the Arbiter Grounds as soon possible to create a highway between the two worlds for your armies.

This gives the Twili a very nice defendable "home base" area which is really important since they cannot train or build anything in Hyrule other than resource generating structures like mines. You'll only be able to get new troops in your homeland. This also makes defending Mirror Gates very important as the inhabitants of Hyrule could decide to destroy all the gates and permanently seal you off from the world... or worse invade your homeland by storm and exterminate you.

Twili Civil War
At the start of a Freeform Campaign, a Twili civil war will break out, allowing players to choose to side with either Queen Midna or Prince Zant.

Midna

 * Units and territory retain Teal colour.
 * Begins the campaign with all cities in the Realm of Twilight.
 * Queen Midna and the Great Fairy Una serve as starting generals.
 * Can recruit new generals at the Palace of Twilight.
 * Cities captured have higher unrest and may try to rebel against you as long as Prince Zant lives.
 * Has line of sight to all of Zant's armies as long as every city in the Realm of Twilight is under your control.
 * Has access to the following units:
 * Twili Infantry
 * Shadow Kargaroks
 * Twili Sorceresses (must control Elmenzhia)
 * Bonemold Monks (must control Valran)
 * Spider Swarm (must control Elmenzhia)
 * Repentants (must kill Prince Zant or have his forces surrender)
 * Sol Nurses
 * Sol Cannons

To win the civil war as Queen Midna you must successfully kill Prince Zant and take over any cities that his forces control. At that point you can offer Zant's armies the chance to surrender. Doing so will let you gain access to his unique units, however you will have to deal with some harsh unrest in your cities and the possibility to future rebellions. Rejecting the surrender will deny you access to Zant's unique units and let you pick off whatever armies are left without any unrest penalty.

If you are playing as Queen Midna and lose, King Zant will give you the option to die or surrender. If you refuse to surrender, Midna will be killed but you will still retain control of her forces and have a chance to retake the Realm of Twilight from King Zant. If you succeed in retaking the throne you will not have access to Zant's unique units once he is defeated. If you choose to surrender, you will lose all of your forces as Midna is banished and begins the long quest of searching Hyrule for allies to strike back at Zant.

As Imp Midna, you will have to hire mercenaries and find a safe place to start rebuilding her forces. It's a very difficult task and a long process, but if you survive you will be able to strike back at King Zant and take over the Realm of Twilight. Killing King Zant and taking over all the cities in the Realm of Twilight will restore Midna to her true form, as well as immediately cause all of his forces to surrender and grant you access to all of Zant's unique units.

Zant

 * Units and territory become Red in colour.
 * Begins the freeform campaign with no cities, but a large army.
 * Prince Zant is the only general that his rebellion begins with, with Lady Middee and General Onox joining upon capturing Valran and Uzu, respectively.
 * Cannot recruit new generals until the Palace of Twilight has been taken.
 * Suffers no unrest penalty when taking over cities from Queen Midna.
 * Can "hire" Twili units as if they were mercenaries if no city is under your control, though they are much more expensive then they would be to train them.
 * Has access to the following units:
 * Twili Infantry
 * Shadow Kargaroks
 * Twili Sorceresses (must control Elmenzhia)
 * Bonemold Monks (must control Valran)
 * Shadow Messengers (must control Uzu)
 * Fused Shadows (must kill Queen Midna or have her forces surrender)
 * Shadow Insects
 * Shadow Bloat

To win the civil war as Prince Zant, you must successfully kill Queen Midna and take over any cities that her forces control. At that point you will be given a prompt to either kill Midna or spare her. Killing Midna will cause whatever forces she has left to fight to the death and you will not have their surrender or access to Midna's unique units. Sparing Midna will cause all of her remaining forces to surrender to you, you will gain access to her unique units, and Midna will be banished from the royal palace. There is a risk in allowing Midna to live however...

Upon constructing a Mirror of Twilight as King Zant, Midna will escape into Hyrule and begin to rebuild her forces in secret and possibly turn the races of Hyrule against you. Unless you find her in time, she'll lead an all out invasion against King Zant in the years to come.

If you are playing as Prince Zant and lose, Queen Midna will offer you a chance to surrender to her rule. At this point you can either join her and try to repair all the damage you did and serve her, or you can reject and continue your mission to dethrone her. If you succeed in retaking the throne you will not have access to Midna's unique units once she is defeated.

Infantry

 * Twili Infantry
 * Twili Sorceresses
 * Bonemold Monks
 * Sol Nurses
 * Repentants
 * Shadow Kargaroks
 * Shadow Messengers
 * Twili Spider Swarm
 * Shadow Bloat
 * Shadow Insects
 * Fused Shadows
 * Avatar of Majora

Siege Weaponry

 * Sol Cannon

Agents

 * Twili Ambassador
 * Disciple of Majora

Command

 * Master Sorceress
 * Arch Sorceress

Heroes

 * Zant
 * Midna
 * General Onox
 * Una
 * Lady Middee
 * Argorok

Not in-game

 * Veran
 * Morsheen
 * Yorinu

Special

 * Shadow Assassins