Who are the 7 sages in Zelda lore and why do they matter?

polygon.com:

Link may be the chosen hero of the gods in the Legend of Zelda games, but the swordsman often relies on the help of others. Whether it’s teaming up with Princess Zelda to beat Ganon or drawing upon the power of his Granny’s special soup, much of Link’s power derives from those who support him in his never-ending quest to defeat the evil that threatens Hyrule.

Enter the sages: a mysterious group of characters who have supported Link in several games in different forms. As recurring characters, the sages have appeared in games like The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. Now, they return in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Their reintroduction into a mainline Zelda game represents a return to a classic Zelda trope, but their seemingly sudden appearance brings up questions over their role in Tears of the Kingdom and beyond. Here, we broke down the history of the sages in the larger world of The Legend of Zelda and the most recent game.

As mentioned above, the sages are a recurring group of characters seen in several Zelda games. Similar to other regular characters like Link or Zelda, the sages function like a character archetype that the developers can adapt and slot into entirely separate stories in different timelines. As a result, the sages in one game aren’t necessarily the same exact characters in another, but they might fulfill similar roles or purposes.

In the larger Zelda lore, the sages’ roles generally entail the protection of the Triforce and supporting Hyrule’s royal family. The sages can trace their lineage back to the earliest days of Hyrule. As the origin story goes, goddesses descended upon Hyrule and gave life to the land. When they did this, they also left