I'm not including any of the shrines. And I do not own The Legend of Zelda.

Chapter 1: Awakening

There was nothing. Just complete blackness. He could tell he was dreaming. Then he saw a divine golden light, clear as day but far off. As the light shined, he heard a voice that was too low to hear at first but grew.

"…Open your eyes…Open your eyes…Open your eyes. Wake up, Champions."

He opened his eyes to see an unfamiliar ceiling glowing blue. He felt that he was laying down in a pool of water that drained away. When all the water was gone, he sat up to see he was wearing nothing but his briefs. He noted that he was laying in what appeared to be a large bath tub with five stone slates in a cave. He realized that he wasn't alone in the room. There were four others there, all dressed similarly to him, and all that he recognized. He got up to run over to one of them.

"Mipha!" he called. The Zora princess stirred at the sound of his voice and opened her eyes to see him watching over her.

"Link?"

"Yeah, it's me," he said with a smile as he helped her sit up.

"Would you two care to keep it down?" came a voice.

The two turned to see a Rito along with a Goron and a Gerudo.

"Revali! Daruk! Urbosa!" cried Link in relief as he helped Mipha up. "Are you guys alright?"

"I'll live," said Daruk.

"I as well," said Revali.

"Same here," Urbosa. "But would someone care to tell me how we got here?"

"I'm afraid I don't recall," said Mipha.

"Same here," said Daruk. "I've had my fair share of nock out parties before, but nothing like this. Oh, the whole thing's a blur."

"Yeah," said Link. "I remember you were all off to your Divine Beasts when…BY THE DIVINES! CALAMITY GANON!"

Everyone gasped and would have started freaking out right then and there had Urbosa the Gerudo not spoken up.

"Ok, ok people. Let's not start losing our heads just yet. Alright, let's review; we all saw Calamity Ganon and ran off to our Divine Beasts while Link stayed with the princess. When I was at my Divine Beast, that's when everything turned into a nightmare."

"That's right," Revali picked up. "One of Ganon's creations appeared and actually came close to killing me. Just as it was about to deliver the final blow, a bright golden light appeared. I cannot remember anything after that except the feeling of falling."

"The exact same thing happened to me," said Mipha.

"And me," said Daruk.

"And me," said Urbosa.

"I recall something similar to that. I was protecting Princess Zelda when one of the Guardians showed up and blew me onto my back. I was hurt pretty bad. That Guardian seemed like it was about to finish me off when that golden light appeared right in front of me."

"Well, we won't find any answers just standing here," said Urbosa. "Let's get moving."

Slowly, the five of them made their way out of the large tub when something in the room caught Link's eye. A lone pedestal, standing near a sealed door. It had markings on it that were glowing blue like the rest of the room, and there was something sitting on top of it. He walked closer to get a better look and the contraption, as if activated by his approach, began to move, presenting a glowing stone rectangle to him. Link recognized it immediately.

"Guys, look over here."

The others looked and gasped at what they saw.

"The Sheikah Slat?" asked Mipha. "But what's it doing here?"

"Take it," came the voice Link heard in his sleep.

"Wait…I know that voice," he said upon realization.

"Princess?" asked Urbosa in worry.

"Take the Sheikah Slate," the princess repeated. "It will help guide you all after your long slumber."

"Slumber?" asked Mipha.

"So, wait, we've been sleepin'?" said Daruk.

"Guess so," said Link. "And for a long time, it sounds like. The question is, how long?"

The Champions all looked at each other in thought before Link removed the Sheikah Slate from its pedestal. After he did, the sealed door at the end of the room began to rumble, then lifted open in several pieces. The five stared warily at it before making their way forward. Upon entering the new room, they found it with five different chests, each with one of the symbols of their respective races. Link walked over to the one with the Hylian crest on it. He opened it to reveal old, well-worn shirt and trousers.

"Guess someone prepared something for us," he said as he took the ragged cloths out.

The others went to the chests with each of their respective symbols on them to find old ragged shirt and pants for each of them, with the exception of Daruk who only got some pants. Link's outfit also came with a belt that held the Sheikah Slate for him. Revali's face showed his distaste in wearing such clothing, but he didn't say anything. After they were all dressed, they walked forward to see another sealed door blocking their way with another pedestal off to the side.

"Hold the Sheikah Slate up to the pedestal," came the princesses voice. "That will show you the way." All the Champions looked up and around in surprise.

"Tiny princess?" asked Daruk.

"Princess Zelda, where are you?" asked Mipha. When they got no answer, Link followed her instructions and held the slate up to the pedestal. It shone blue in response.

"Authenticating…" is said in a mechanical and emotionless voice. "Sheikah Slate confirmed."

The Sheikah symbol on the door light up before it began to unseal and open. When it was opened, the light spilled into the dark cave and the five of them stared on at it as they ounce again heard the princesses voice.

"Champions… Daruk. Revali. Mipha. Urbosa. Link… You five are the light – our light – that must shine upon Hyrule ounce again. Now, go…" After that, she was silent ounce again.

"Well, you all heard her," said Daruk. "Let's get goin'."

They exited the cave to grass leading to a ridge. They walked towards it to see the land of Hyrule laid out before them.

"Well that's a relief," said Daruk as he stroked his beard. "Hyrule's still as breathtaking as ever."

"That it is, my friend," said Mipha with a smile. "That it is."

"Yes, which begs the question," said Revali, "what happened after we went to sleep?"

"Too much it seems!" gasped Link when something caught his sight. "Look!"

The Champions looked to their right and gasped at the sight of ruins of an once esteemed temple.

"The Temple of Time?" Urbosa managed to speak. "Just…how long have we been asleep?"

Mipha then caught site of an old man with a staff in his hand with a lamp hanging off it and a hood that hid his face with only a long white beard showing. He appeared to be staring at them only to turn around and walk towards a fire he had going.

"Perhaps we should ask that gentleman down there for answers. We really don't have anything else to go with."

"That's true," said Link, "but before that…" He searched around for a bit before picking up two branches and held them like swords. He kept the own in his left hand and handed to other one to Urbosa. "Here Urbosa. In case he turns out to be unfriendly. They may not be swords, but they'll have to do."

"Are you joking?" she asked with a smirk as she took the branches. "From what I've seen you do and what we're capable of, I'd say these sticks are all we need."

They made their way down to the old man with Link and Urbosa in the lead. When they got close enough, they could smell something delicious. They saw that the old man was cooking several apples over the fire. It was then they all began to feel like they hadn't eaten in years.

"Excuse me! You five up there!" the old man called out, snapping them out of their hunger trance. "From the way you all are staring at my apples, I gather you all have not eaten in quite some time. Well come. Please help yourselves. An apple and an open flame make for a succulent treat. And you, my Goron friend. I am sure with your strength, you can fetch yourselves some rocks to eat from this big boulder right here."

The five looked at each other before making their way down. They sat around the fire with Daruk sitting next to the boulder and began to eat.

"Mm. Thank you, kind sir," said Mipha before taking another bite out of her apple.

"My pleasure. Though if I may say, it is a bit strange to see another soul in these parts. Especially from such a variety of people together."

"We get that a lot. My name's Link. And these are my closest friends Mipha, Daruk, Urbosa, and Revali."

"If I may ask, who might you be?" asked Urbosa.

"Me? I'll spare you my life story," said the old man. "I'm just an old fool who has lived here, alone, for quite some time now. What brings a crew as unique as yours to a place like this?"

"Actually, we were kinda' hopin' you could tell us where 'this place' is," said Daruk.

"Answering a question with a question. That is fair enough. As I cannot imagine our meeting to be a simple coincidence…I shall tell you. This is the Great Plateau. According to legend, this is the birthplace of the entire kingdom of Hyrule."

"Legend?" asked Revali.

"Yes." The old man got up and pointed his staff towards the temple ruins. "That temple there… Long ago, it was the site of many sacred ceremonies. Ever since the decline of the kingdom so many years ago, it has sat abandoned, in a state of decay. Yet another forgotten entity. A mere ghost of its former self…"

The five exchanged glances before getting up.

"Thank you for the meal, but my friends and I should really be going," said Link.

"It's quite alright. Thank you all for helping relieve an old man of his loneliness."

As they walked further down the hill, Mipha spoke.

"Legend? Just how long have we slept?"

"I'm not sure, Mipha," said Link. "But I have a bad feeling we're not gonna like the answer."

Before anyone else could say anything, they once again heard the voice of Princess Zelda.

"… Champions… Champions. Head for the point marked on the map in your Sheikah Slate."

"Map?" asked Daruk.

Link took the slate off his belt and sure enough it had their position, as well as a small golden glowing marker, mapped on it.

"Well look at that," he said.

"Perfect," said Urbosa. "Now we have a destination. Let's move."

They began to move east by northeast. It wasn't long before they heard grunting from up ahead. They looked up to see a brown figure with a pig's snout, floppy ears, and a single horn on its head. It screeched upon seeing them and began to charge.

"A Bokoblin," said Link.

"Some things never change," said Urbosa as she readied her stick sword. "You ready Link?"

"Oh yeah."

They charged forward with Link in the lead. He jumped up and delivered a downward slash at the creature. He stood up and spun around before delivering a horizontal slash at the creature. He jumped to the right to make way for Urbosa, who spun in a circle like a dancer to deliver two slashes at the creature, sending it flying onto its back. It turned bitch black as it laid there before bursting into spoke and disappearing, leaving behind its wooden club and some body parts.

"Hey Daruk," called Link as he took the wooden club and through it over to his Goron friend. "Something to tie you over till we can get some proper weapons."

"Thanks, little guy," said Daruk as he caught the club, using the nickname he had for Link.

They continued to make there way forward when they ounce again came across two more Bokoblins, both armed with makeshift bows.

"Allow me," said Daruk as he took the lead.

He charged forward, letting loose a yell that alerted the to Bokoblins. They readied their bows and let loose two arrows. Daruk responded by jumping up and curling into a ball, rolling his way forward. The arrows bounced harmlessly off his armored back. He jumped up as he was right in front of them and brought the club down, creating a shockwave that blew both Bokoblins away and the bows out of their hands. Link and Urbosa took this chance to charge forward and each took out one of them.

"Ha! That's what you get for challenging us! The almighty Champions!" Daruk laughed at their victory.

"Ah, Daruk?" said Revali as he collected the arrows and one of the bows. "Your club?"

Daruk looked to see that the club he was using was broken.

"Oops."

They then heard more screeching from ahead and turned to see two more Bokoblins charging towards them.

"This would be my area of expertise," said Revali. "Watch and learn."

He took the bow and readied two arrows into it. He let them loose and they went flying, each finding their target in the monsters' foreheads, killing them.

"Your archery skills never cease to amaze me, Revali," said Mipha.

"Hm. Yes. Impressive, isn't it? Very few can achieve such a mastery over archery, even among the Rito."

"Now if only we could do something about that big head of his," Link whispered to the Zora, causing her to giggle.

They heard more squealing and saw another monster charging towards them. Mipha ran towards the staff the now dead Bokoblin was using and wielded it like a spear. She jabbed at the monster a few times before twirling the staff around waking its head with the other side. She ended it with by bringing the other end down on its head.

She heard clapping and turned to see Link applauding her work.

"Remind never to get on your bad side," he said with a smile.

"Oh, ha, thank you," she said with a blush, but Link and Daruk were the only ones who didn't notice.

They walked over to the remains of the monsters to loot the weapons. Daruk took another club, Urbosa took the shield and Link replaced his branch with its Traveler's Sword. They continued to walk only for a bit more until they found themselves at the entrance to a cave of some sort, with another one of the pedestals sitting within it.

"This is what we've bine walking towards?" asked Revali with disappointment in his voice.

"Well, seeing as how there's another on of those pedestals here," said Urbosa, "I'm gonna say yes."

Link walked into the cave towards the pedestal alone. He studied it for a moment to see that it was similar to the pedestal that held the Sheikah Slate.

I wonder… he thought before carefully laying the stone slate within it. It fell, twisted, and turned, holding the slate in place while it spoke in a mechanical voice.

"Sheikah Tower activated. Please watch for falling rocks."

"Wait, what?"

The other Champions saw the teared eye that was the Sheikah symbol glow blue before everything began to shake. Shaking that caused them all to fall to the ground.

"Earthquake?" asked Mipha.

"Don't think so," said Daruk.

They all look up to see whatever platform Link was on rise up while the stone of the 'cave' fall away. They all got behind Daruk while he put up his Protection to shield them all from the rocks. The platform with Link on it rose higher and higher. Revealing to be a tower underground. Little did they all know, the same towers where sprouting up all over Hyrule. Finally, the tower stopped growing. Link collected himself together before getting up.

"Distilling local information…"

The rock above began to glow blue till a single tear fell from the eye drawing at the bottom of the rock into the Sheikah Slate.

"Regional map extracted."

Link looked to see that a complete map of the Great Plateau had appeared on the Sheikah Slate. It turned and twisted back out, presenting itself to him again. He took it in confusion, no longer able to contain it.

"Just what is going on here?"

"Champions…" came Zelda's voice again.

Link and the other Champions on the ground all heard a source of it this time. They all turned to it and gasped at what they saw. It was the ruins of the ounce proud castle of Hyrule, home to the royal family. But now it seemed to be incased in darkness. Only a single light shone within it. A light easily seen.

"Princess?" asked Link.

"Champions… Hear me… I'm sorry… You all have bine asleep for the past 100 years."

They all gasped with their eyes wide, breathless at the news they just heard.

"...What?"

"That can't be…"

"A hundred years?"

"How?"

"What happened?"

Before anyone could say anything else, the land shook beneath them.

"The beast… When the beast regains its true power, this world will face its end."

They all stared at the castle as a black and crimson mist swirled around it. Then, a beast made of the substance swirled around the tallest tower. Tusks pointes forward, eyes yellow and glowing, its jaw unhinged as it roared in its demonic voice. Link sneered as he and the other Champions knew just what the ungodly creature was.

"Ganon," he said in righteous anger.

"Now then… Everyone, you five must hurry. Before it's too late…"

The voice was ounce again silent. Link then began to make his way down, joining the others.

"I take it you all heard the princess's message to, right?"

"Yeah, we did," said Daruk.

Mipha ran into him and buried her face into the crook of his neck.

"A hundred years…How could we have bine asleep for so long?"

"The very thought of if…" said Revali.

"Well, we know we were asleep now," said Urbosa, "and we know how long we were asleep. The only question remains is why."

"HO!" came a voice. They all turned to see the old man from before, gliding down on some kind of sail with the Rito symbol on it. He landed right in front of them.

"My, my… It would seem we have quite the enigma here."

"Excuse me, my good fellow," said Revali, "but was that not a Paraglider you were just using?"

"Why yes, it was. Made by your people for those who do not posses the power of flite." The old man looked up at the tall structure. "This tower and others just like it have erupted across the land, one after another. It is almost as though…a long – dormant power has awoken quite suddenly. My Hylian friend, if you do not mind me asking… Did anything…odd occur while you were atop that tower?"

"Well…I did hear a voice."

"Well now! A voice, you say? And did you happen to recognize this mysterious voice?"

Link hesitated for a moment before answering. "Yes. She's a friend of ours."

"I see." They noticed the smile on his face. That smile disappeared as he turned towards Hyrule castle. "I assume you all caught sight of that atrocity enshrouding the castle."

"Kinda hard to miss," said Daruk.

"Indeed. That…is Calamity Ganon. One hundred years ago, that vile entity brought the kingdom of Hyrule to ruin. It appeared suddenly and destroyed everything in its path. So many innocent lives were lost in its wake." The news of that stung the Champions painfully into their hearts. "For a century, the very symbol of our kingdom, Hyrule Castle. Has managed to contain that evil. But just barely. There it festers, building its strength for the moment it will unleash its blight upon the land once again. It would appear that moment is fast approaching…" The old man tore his eyes away from the castle to look at Link. "I must ask you, courageous Hylian… Do you intend to make your way to the castle?"

"Yeah, I do," Link answered without hesitation, catching the attention of his friends.

"Link, no. Not alone," said Mipha.

"Mipha, I don't have a choice." Urbosa walked over to him, throwing her arm over his shoulder and turning them away from the old man and spoke in whisper.

"Link, listen. I know how you feel, but going in there now is suicide. You don't have your sword and we still don't know yet just why we were asleep. Don't let your reckless courage get yourself killed."

Link gritted his teeth in frustration. "I know you're right, Urbosa, but what do we do now?"

"Don't worry, Link," said Mipha. "We'll figure something out."

Their conversation was broken when the old man began to laugh.

"I am glad to see you five haven't changed. Even after a hundred years."

"Huh? Wait, do we know ya?" asked Daruk.

The old man then changed subject. "Here, on this isolated plateau, we are surrounded on all sides by steep cliffs, with no way down. If you all who weren't Rito were to try to jump off, well…no death could be more certain. Or more foolish. Of course, if you all had paragliders lime mine, that would be quite another story. I'll be more than happy enough to give one to each of you, but first, Champions, it is finally time for me to tell you everything." They all gasped at this.

"You know who we are?" asked Revali.

"Indeed, but first… Head back towards the Temple of Time. I shall wait for you there." To their surprise, he began to glow with cyan flames and mist around him. "Do you understand? At the Temple of Time… There…I will…be waiting…" And just like that, he disappeared, literally into thin air.

The Champions stared in awe and confusion.

"Who in the name of the divines was that?" asked Link.

"Don't know," said Urbosa before turning towards the Temple of Time, "but I can't wait to find out."

The five of them began to make their way back up to the Temple of Time. By the time they made it back, the sun was beginning to set.

"Up here!" came the old man's voice. They all looked up to see the him standing on the roof of the ruins. "Here I am… Get up here – quickly!" He left their sight before they could say anything.

While Revali got up there by flying, the others had to convert to climbing up the wall of the ruined building. Ounce they were all up there, they saw the old man standing in front of the front tower, surrounded by the cyan flames.

"Well done, you five!" he laughed as they all gathered around him.

"Alright, old man," said Daruk. "No more games now. Who are ya and how do ya know who we are?"

"Of course… The time has come to show you who I truly am. I was King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule." The five of them gasped at this revelation. "I was…the last leader of Hyrule. A kingdom which no longer exists."

A light shown from his lamp so brightly, the Champions had to cover their eyes. When they could see again, they gasped in recognition of the king, dressed in his royal garment and a crown upon his head.

"King Rhoam," gasped Link before he and his friends quickly got down on one knee.

"You need not lower your heads, warriors," said the king. "As I said, I am no long the king of anything now."

The Champions slowly got up, but Link still refused to look his king in the eye.

"My king… Forgive us… We…We failed." His fists were clenched and his eyes were beginning to tear up.

"No, Link. This is not your fault alone. We all failed. The Great Calamity was merciless… It devastated everything in its path, lo, a century ago. It was then that my life was taken away from me. And since that time, here I have remained, in spirit form." The king turned from them and looked out at the setting sun. "I did not think it wise to overwhelm you all when you had only just woken up. So rather than that, I thought it best to assume a temporary form. Forgive me."

"Your majesty," said Link, "please tell us. What happened? Why were we asleep? And for so long?"

"Very well then. I shall tell you all. Tell you of what happened 100 years ago. To know Calamity Ganon's true form, one must know the story from an age long past. The demon king was born into this kingdom, but his transformation into Malice created the horror you see now. Stories of Ganon were passed from generation to generation in the form of legends and fairy tales. But there was also…a prophecy. 'The signs of a resurrection of Calamity Ganon are clear. And the power to oppose it lies dormant beneath the ground.' As you all know, we decided to heed the prophecy and began excavating large areas of land. It wasn't long before we discovered several ancient relics made by the hands of our distant ancestors. These relics, the Divine Beasts, were giant machines piloted by warriors. We also found the Guardians, an army of mechanical soldiers who fought autonomously. This coincided with ancient legends, oft repeated throughout our land. We also learned of a princess with a sacred power and her appointed knight, chosen by the sword that seals the darkness. It was they who sealed Ganon away using the power of these ancient relics. One hundred years ago, there was a princess set to inherit a sacred power and a skilled knight at her side. It was clear that we must follow our ancestors' path. We selected four skilled individuals from across Hyrule and tasked them with the duty of piloting the Divine Beasts. With the princess as their commander we dubbed these pilots and the skilled knight Champions – a name that would solidify their unique bond. The princess and the Champions were on the brink of sealing away Ganon… But nay…"

This was when the five of them truly gave their undivided attention. This was where they heard of what happened after they went to sleep.

"Ganon was cunning, and he responded with a plan beyond our imagining. He appeared from deep below Hyrule Castle, seized control of the Guardians and the Divine Beasts, and turned them against us. Those residing in the castle lost their lives. The Champions, gravely wounded, collapsed while preforming their duty. And thus, the kingdom of Hyrule was devastated absolutely by Calamity Ganon."

The Champions lowered their heads in shame at their failure to stop Ganon until the king spoke again.

"However… The princess survived…to face Ganon alone."

"What?!" Urbosa gasped on shock. "King Rhoam, you mean to tell me that Zelda, our friend, went off to face Ganon ALONE?!"

"I'm afraid so, Urbosa. As you all know, that princess was my own daughter… My dear Zelda. And the Champions who fought to defend both her and the rest of Hyrule right up to the very end was you five. You all fought valiantly when your fates took an unfortunate turn."

"That golden light that appeared before we all lost consciousness," said Mipha. "That was Princess Zelda's light, wasn't it?"

"Yes, Princess Mipha. She awakened her powers and seemed to have instantly transported you all away from your respective battles to her and Link. She saved you all. And then, you were all taken to the Shrine of Resurrection. Here you now stand revitalized, 100 years later. You have all bine hearing words of guidance from Princess Zelda herself since your awakening. Even now, as she works to restrain Ganon from within Hyrule Castle, she calls out for your help. However, my daughter's power will soon be exhausted. Once that happens, Ganon will freely regenerate himself and nothing will stop him from consuming our land. Considering that I could not save my own kingdom, I have no right to ask this of you, Champions…" The king clenched his hands in frustration. "But I am powerless here… You must save her…my daughter. And do whatever it takes to annihilate Ganon."

The Champions started at the king for a moment before a look of determination and dedication appeared on each of their faces.

"You can count on us, King Rhoam," said Link for them. "We let you down. That's a promise."

"Don't you mean you?" asked Revali. "Or have you forgotten that the four of us are stuck playing the role of support while you face Ganon head on, which we can no longer do since we no longer have the Divine Beasts."

"Do not worry, Revali," said Rhoam. "You and the other Champions have yet to play out your own roles. True, somehow, Ganon has maintained control over all four Divine Beasts, as well as those Guardians swarming around Hyrule Castle. I believe it would be quite reckless for Link to head directly to the castle at this point. I suggest…that you five make your way east, out to one of the villages in the wilderness." The king pointed out their destination towards the mountains. "Follow the road out to Kakariko Village. There you will find the elder. Your old friend, Impa."

"Impa? She's still alive?" asked Link.

"Yes. Aged, but alive. She will tell you more about the path that lies ahead. Consult the map on your Sheikah Slate for the precise location of Kakariko Village. Make your way past the twin summits of the Dueling Peaks. From there, follow the road as it proceeds north…" Rhoam then turned towards the tower on the top of the Temple. "In the tower, you will find chests with a paraglider for each of you, as well as more durable weapons. With them, you should be able to safely fly off the cliffs surrounding the area." He turned towards the Champions. "And…I think that's it. I've told you everything I can… Champions… You must save…Hyrule…" And with that, the last leader of Hyrule vanished into thin air.

The Champions walked over to the chests in the tower for their paragliders and weapons. For Urbosa, a Knight's Broadsword and a Knight's Shield. For Revali, a Knight's Bow and quiver with 20 arrows. For Daruk, an Iron Sledgehammer. For Mipha, a Knight's Halberd. And for Link, a single Knight's Broadsword, for it was all he needed.

"The night has arrived," said Urbosa as she looked up into the star light sky.

"We should spend the night in the temple," said Link.

"Little guy's right," said Daruk. "We've had a long day. We'll rest up for the night and start our journey in the morning."

They all began to make their way down the temple wall before Link paused to look towards the ruined castle.

"You're not through with us yet, Ganon. Not by a long shot."