Small villages have the advantage of obscurity, but when a small community is brought to the attention of the higher powers, the wheels of change and corruption begin to spin. The Outset Island village had remained in relative calm, but not total isolation for hundreds of years. Outset was actually two adjacent islands connected by a small bridge that ran between the two halves of the village. Long ago, something had torn the island in two. The far side of the island was covered in the walls of a steep, narrow cliffside that was raised up on the eastern shore, ran the length of the edge of the island and was an impenetrable wall on the other side. The northern shore was open to the ocean, with a single dock and lookout post on the eastern side.
Aryll could be seen constantly peering towards the endless waters from the height of the post. She was restless on the island, and she felt her heart bounding towards something fantastic just beyond the horizon. But she had been born on Outset, and it was the way of the island to hold people back. The few families that inhabited it had done so for generations, though some of the boys would sail to find a wife to bring back to the island with them. Her mother had been raised here, and her father had come to her. But he had not been born in Outset, and he could not stay there forever like the rest of them, so he took her mother away. She had never dreamed of finding them. She preferred to dream that they were both dead.
She lived now with her older brother, Link, and Grandmother. Mother had left them all. Mother had left them for the man. Today Link watched her from the shore and felt his heart grow heavy. It was his birthday, and he had come of age into manhood to wonder not what lay ahead for him but for Aryll and Grandmother. Aryll was too young, but the day would come where she was going to do something that was going to crush Grandmother's heart. He could see it in the way she stared at the waves. Link only dreamed of a life of a fisherman for himself. It was what he had been raised to do, and he had to bring food to the village that had scarce land for growing any. But then again his sister was young; she had time to mature and start thinking of what was best for her.
He passed the bridge and headed uphill towards the house of his mentor Orca, who had been a stranger to the village when he had arrived generations before. He had largely taken the roll of Link's father in place of the man that had left so recklessly, teaching him to hunt, fish, grow, and fight. Most importantly, he had helped Link to appreciate the beauty of the world around him-even though Link's world spanned only a few hundred square meters, and the surrounding waters. This was their last lesson together. He hesitated, and though he was welcome to come inside any time, he knocked. The man opened to the door with a look of surprise on his face, as Link had often come inside casually in the past months. Today he bowed his head in respect for the elder and once-stranger of the village. Orca grimaced at the unnecessary measure, but understood and took the young man inside.
Orca's hut was essentially a round two-story archive of his travels during his youth. The walls were covered in souvenirs and memories of distant- and not so distant- places that made up the various kingdoms of the Hylian continent. Orca took his spear from the wall and turned to face his pupil. "I have always held back on you, Link, to some extent. Even when I did not hold back any skill of mine, I always sparred with you with the intention of you learning from the experience. Today," he said, his voice growing deep as the fires of his youth began to spark, "I will duel with the intention of winning. And I do not doubt my ability to do so." He raised his spear in battle stance. Link unsheathed his wooden practice sword. "Damn, we didn't get you a sword yet? Ah, I screwed up. Come upstairs with me, let's get you using a grown man's weapon." Link followed him obediently. Orca looked at two swords hanging on the wall, reaching for one before hesitating and grabbing the second. "Caution," he said as he handed it to Link, "It's not only sharp, but it's a bit-" The blade nearly hit the floor before Link pulled it up, "-heavier than what you're used to." He finished with a slight groan, but a smile came to him as he saw the little boy grown up now.
Orca never shared his criteria for winning or losing a match. If Link could put himself in a position to defeat Orca as if he were a real opponent, then he would concede defeat. Link was the oldest of his generation, and it was necessary for him to be able to defend the peaceful island. They walked back down the stairs to fight in the main room downstairs. Link swung his new blade to get a feel for the extra weight. He hesitated with it somewhat, afraid that he might cut himself. Orca let him get comfortable with it for a while, then rose up and told him to stop. "Now you swing that thing at me, got it?" Link grit his teeth, and then took the first strike. Orca deflected it easily, and nearly put Link in a fatal position before Link could dash away. "What are you doing? Have I taught you nothing at all?"
Link felt his face grow hot, and again he swung at Orca recklessly. "Apparently not," his mentor sighed. Link stepped back, and took a moment to regain his composure. Orca swung and he blocked the spear. Orca swung again, and Link quickly defended himself again. He was beginning to react quicker with the steel sword. Link took a forward stab and Orca was able to dodge out of the way, but Link took another two quick swings at his body and he nearly lost. The old man took his spear in two hands and pushed Link back. The boy fumbled for a moment, then stood back to wait for Orca to make the next move. Orca held his spear patiently, knowing that Link would win if he took the offensive like he wanted him to. Then a smile came to raise his long beard and he jumped towards Link, who cried out in surprise. He barely rolled away, but in an instant he raised his blade to Orca.
They had each other both locked in place. It had been a tie. Link breathed in heavily, his mind racing with the battle, while the old mentor only laughed calmly and motioned for him to put down his weapon. He slowly lowered it, and Orca put his spear back on the wall then walked back up the stairs. Link waited, fumbling with his sword between his hands so it wouldn't grow too heavy for him. Orca came back stairs and gave him a sheath for the sword. Link slid it inside and swung it over his back, feeling it was a sort of extension of himself, like the sword was an extension of his arm. "Well…you're a man. Happy birthday." He held out his hand to Link. "Go on, I'm not your superior anymore." Link shook his hand with what he felt was the authority of an adult. He left not bowing his head down, but waving to Orca.
A real sword! With it he headed towards the Cliffside, determined to find an excuse to use it. The ability to cut things was new and demanded attention. The path up was relatively smooth, and definitely manmade to some extent. Any little kid worth his legs could make it up the path, and yet it was still left alone for the most part. The invisible apprehension about playing in a desolate place like the Cliffside made it seem dangerous and the appeal of such a place to a young swordsman is intoxicating. The Cliffside, like the island, was connected by a wooden bridge where the island split in two, though the bridge here was flimsier. He fumbled across to the other side, where the cliffside was topped with a small forested area that beckoned his curiosity. He felt like a little boy for running off by himself like this, and worse, sparring against imaginary foes that hid in the forms of small trees and bushes. Then again, wouldn't Orca want him to continue his training? He went on with his game he called practicing.
He destroyed a lot of the plants. He pulled his sword out of one opponent to look upon his remains. He was dead, but his body remained full of color. He hadn't done anything, really, except get in the swordsman's path. Link rose and turned his head to his path behind him. Stems lay in twisted, unnatural forms, crying out for mercy from the hand that denied them the chance. The sword was not satisfied. He watched a rodent halt in front of him to sniff the air for one of those smells that pertain only to the affairs of animals. Link raised the blade and brought it down on its body, splitting the creature's body in two. And again he smashed it, hacking at it's body. He looked at his handiwork and a sense of horror filled him. He felt vomit come to his throat and emptied his stomach onto the ground. He had violated something sacred, and the mystery of the cliffside left him.
He walked forward to leave the trees. He'd have to come back through them but right now he did not want to go back down to the village. The remaining cliff was a narrow segment looking over the island, seeing all but unseen by all. Small figures circled around the houses, and small figures circled around the clouds. A tiny body could be seen gazing out towards the sea, and Link sighed for her.