The Sage's dont have much background or anything, just that they had to seal up Ganon. Whilst the Guru's are people who basiaclly shaped Zeal and the future.
Oh yes they do. I also visit a Zelda forum than anally analyzes Zelda like we do Chrono. pre-OOT era, we surmised that the temples and stuff were built by previous Sages to seal the Sacred Realm and whatnot. Then, like the whole Slayer thing, the power passes onto a new individual when a Sage dies, so that there's always seven at any one time, then, when they're needed by fate, they awaken and realize their destinies. This happens in OOT when they seal Ganon, etc. The tradition continues in TWW and LTTP, but this is a Chrono forum, and I might get distracted and start bringing up the Christian parrallels we found.