split or liniar?

True. It seems to me the Links on the child side are descendants, and the ones one the adult side could possibly be reincarnations. TP Link for example, and even in AlttP didn't it say that Link was a descendant of one of the Hylian knights or something like that? Then Ganondorf said that WW Link was the Hero of Time reborn, but their personalities such seem so different that I just think it was some expression. Because I don't think Tetra is the recincarnation of OoT Zelda, the KoRL said that her mother entrusted the ToW to her so it must have been passed down through a blood line......which would make her a descendant.