Prologue

The legends of the land of Hyrule say that the world began when three goddesses came upon it, new and chaotic. Through their combined efforts, they were able to mold the fledgling land into the world of today. Din, Goddess of Power, stabilized the chaotic planet and laid down the foundation of the earth itself. Nayru, Goddess of Wisdom, brought further order to the world, setting law and logic into place. And Farore, Goddess of Courage, then created life, giving shape and form to all things that live upon Hyrule.

The three Goddesses looked upon their work then, and were satisfied, and so they departed. And yet, some small portion of them remained. Something that was less than a fraction of the Goddesses' power, and yet infinitely more than any mortal could ever hope to possess. This remnant took an equal part of its existence from all three Goddesses, and even moreso from their attributes-Power, Wisdom and Courage. This artifact was thus named the Triforce, and as the people of Hyrule grew in knowledge, they became aware of its existence.

Though the Triforce was merely an object without a soul, it nonetheless yearned for an owner, one who would use it for the benefit of mankind. Each aspect of the Triforce had at its core a concept of the perfect being; the Forger of Power, the Keeper of Wisdom and the Juror of Courage. The Triforce sought a mortal who embodied all three, but it was not easy to find, nor to claim. It had been hidden away in an echo of Hyrule known as the Golden Land, or the Sacred Realm. A world like, and yet unlike Hyrule, a reflection that possessed no separate existence. The gateway to the Golden Land was sealed away, and for centuries it remained so, but such things never last forever.

Ganondorf Dragmire, King of the Gerudo Thieves, coveted the Triforce. By manipulating all in the land of Hyrule around him, he was able to enter the Golden Land, and to take the Triforce. Yet the Triforce was displeased, for there was imbalance in Ganondorf's heart. The King of the Gerudo valued power far more than he did courage or wisdom, and thus he could not claim all of the Triforce, but only one of the three aspects. The other two rejected him and fled, now forced to actively seek out appropriate holders of their own volition.

Princess Zelda, daughter of the former King of Hyrule who had been killed by Ganondorf, became the Keeper of Wisdom. A young boy named Link, who had been manipulated by Ganon into opening the way to the Sacred Realm, was chosen as the Juror of Courage. Together, they stood against Ganondorf and all his power. The people of Hyrule fought with them, and six Sages joined the heroes in their struggle; Rauru of Light, Saria of Forest, Darunia of Fire, Ruto of Water, Impa of Shadow, and Nabooru of Spirit. Led by the Seventh Sage, Zelda of Time, they gave Link all of their power, and he confronted the man who would rule all of Hyrule.

Though he was now the Forger of Power, Ganondorf was struck down, slain in single combat. Yet such was the awesome power in even a third of the Triforce that Ganondorf could not die. His mortal form was shed, and he was revived, transformed into a monstrosity. From that day, Ganondorf Dragimire was no more, and there was only Ganon. But even at the full height of his power, Ganon was defeated once more. Since his death seemed impossible, after Link had brought him down, the Seven Sages cast Ganon back into the Golden Land and then sealed it once more, stronger than before.

For the rest of their lives, the Seven Sages strengthened the barrier more and more, piling enchantment upon enchantment upon it in the hopes that Ganon would be forever banished. Link, the Hero of Time, did his part as well to protect Hyrule once he had gone. Since he was no sorcerer, the mighty warrior instead founded the Knights of Hyrule, an order of men dedicated to upholding order in the land and preparing in case their worst fears came true someday, and Ganon returned.

Years passed, and the heroes of Hyrule grew old. Link and Zelda were not as foolish as Ganon; they knew their own mortality was only right and proper. And so when their times came, they died in peace instead of using their Triforces to extend their lives as Ganon had. The Triforces of Wisdom and Courage were passed along to their descendants, willingly relinquished by Zelda and Link. The other Sages left children as well, passing on in time. The seasons turned, and Hyrule grew older, and memory of the atrocities of Ganon's rule faded from the minds of men.

Hyrule flourished, the people of the Hylian race most of all, and the Triforce was forgotten save in misty legend. But though they had left the memory of all but the most studious, the Triforce, and the Golden Land, and Ganon still remained, waiting. And in time, darkness threatened Hyrule once more. Ganon's spirit possessed the descendant of Saria, a wizard named Agahnim, and discovered the secret to shattering the barrier. By sending Agahnim's daughter, and the descendants of the other Sages, into the Sacred Realm, Ganon hoped to open a hole in the barrier, permitting his escape.

By seeming coincidence, the current princess of Hyrule was named Zelda, after her ancestor. Her efforts to stop Agahnim brought her into contact with a young swordsman named Link, and though they were unable to stop Ganon from damaging the barrier, they continued into the Golden Realm itself to rescue the other descendants. In the process, they discovered that they were the reincarnations of their original namesakes, regaining the memories of their past lives, and the knowledge that they still bore the Triforce with them.

Through great effort and many adventures, Link and Zelda were able to do what they had been unable to before, and slay the Forger of Power. Even then, they knew it was not over. Ganon's soul was still bound to the Triforce of Power, and he had those who served him in Hyrule, who would plot his resurrection. Worse, the Golden Land no longer contained him, and so when he returned, the full force of the Forger of Power would be unleashed upon the world.

And so, Link's adventures continued...


Half of the patrons in the tavern turned their heads as the door slammed open, three men and a woman all strolling in, smiling cockily. All but the lead man wore heavy glasses; a certain similarity about the faces of the three suggested that they were family, though they were widely different. One man was short and stout, the other tall and then, and the woman between them the median. Both men were pale; the short one had close-cut black hair, while the tall man's was spiked up and bright blue, the woman was tan with long red braids.

"Hey, Bill! Round for everyone here, on us!" the lead man announced, spreading his arms as the tavern roared their appreciation. "Thank you, thank you! We love you when you love us!" He was tall as well, but brawny and muscular, with wild red hair and a beard that suited his constant grin under burning yellow eyes. "We are officially on easy street again! Knocked over the Hylian Embassy! Whoooeee, what a haul!"

"I'm surprised he's bragging about it so openly," one of three hooded and robed travelers sitting at the counter said to the bartender. "As I understand it, in places like this, that's generally an open invitation to company on the way home."

"Everyone in this place knows better than to mess with Blind and the Eyes," Bloody Bill replied easily as the serving girls began passing out mugs. "The watch found the last guys who tried that all over town."

"Literally, I imagine," another of them, female judging by her voice, turned as Blind and the Eyes sat down next to them. "Thanks for the beer, friend."

"No problem, pal!" Blind replied, he and his gang turning to regard them. "I'm a generous man, when I'm on a winning streak. New here, aren't you? Just passing through? Voice sounds kind... of... familiar..." He trailed off as the three of them opened their robes and dropped them on the floor, eyes widening. The other three seemed to be staring just as widely, though it was hard to tell, due to how thick their glasses were.

"I should certainly hope so," the brown-haired young man in the green tunic and hat said cheerfully. "Been a while, Blind. Heard you saying something about the Hylian Embassy?" His companions were, aside from different genders, mirror-images of each other. White-haired with skin almost as pale, dressed in black and wearing sunglasses indoors, they were smirking cockily. "You remember Handy and Neosquid, right?"

"Link?" Blind roared, he and his gang turning and bolting for the door. "Goddammit!"

"What's the matter, Blind?" the pale male called, dashing after him, while the other two remained seated. "Don't want to catch up with your old friends?"

"They paid, right?" Link asked Bill calmly.

"Uh, yeah." Bill was staring now. "Link? As in... the Link?"

"Blind's been telling stories, I see." Link shrugged, drinking the beer Blind had bought him. "Yup, that's me. Agent of the Crown of Hyrule. I've got other titles, of course, but I prefer not to use them. Don't worry, I'm not here for any trouble. Just checking up on Blind. We like to keep tabs on him."

"Right," the bartender said, nodding, before he quickly moved away.

"Looks like you were right, boss," Handy told Link once he was out of earshot. She and Neosquid had acquired their nicknames during an extended stay in Ganon's Dark World, one so long that they had forgotten her original names by the time they escaped, as had the five "Eyes Of Ganon" who had served the Forger of Power. "No sign of Mothula. Neosquid'll follow them in case she's just sick or something, but I doubt it."

"I was afraid of this," Link muttered. "Mothula was there longer than any of them or you, and she was the most loyal to Ganon. I should have known something was up when his ghost agreed to let us use his part of the Triforce along with our own to bring back everybody who'd died during that mess as long as those five were in on the deal. Unexpected camaraderie with them, my ass. He knew Mothula would try to find a way to resurrect him."

"That's why you've been doing the world traveler bit for the last couple years, remember?" she pointed out, finishing her beer. "When Big G does come back, and we all know he will, he won't be stuck in the Dark World any more, and he'll still have his Triforce. If it takes long enough, you two might even have died and reincarnated again. Hyrule's gonna have to have the rest of the world backing it up if anybody's gonna stand a chance against that. Which reminds me, the Princess wants to know how that's going here in Holodrum."

"That's what ambassadors are for, aren't they?" He rolled his eyes. "Nice try, Handy. She sent you two here to make sure I'm still alive, unmaimed and unscarred. You can go back and tell her I'm fine, so she can stop wasting your time. She's got you two maniacs running her secret service for her. She should let you earn your pay."

"I'm not telling her that last part, but I'll let her know you're fine." She smirked. "And if you honestly expect her not to worry, I'm surprised you ever got a date in your life before you met her. Even if you didn't live that sort of life, which you do, she'd still be wanting regular checkups on you. Get used to it."

"I used to live that sort of life," he clarified. "Nothing in this world even holds a candle to what Ganon had. Not that I want it to, but I'm afraid I might start getting out of practice at this rate, you know?"

"Perish the thought," she said dryly. "You might only be able to take out a giant demon hydra turtle half the size of this bar if you do."

"That was with the Master Sword," he reminded her. "Which is back in the altar in the Lost Woods, where it belongs. That thing's around for Ganon, and Ganon only. All I've got is Uncle Al's old blade."

"My comment stands." Handy shook her head. "Not to mention you still have all your other gear. Give me a break, boss." She paused for a moment before changing the subject. "So how long are you going to keep doing this, anyways? She never mentions it, you know, but it's really hurting her, having you away."

"I know." Link sighed. More than anything, he wished that Zelda could have come with him; as the Sage of Time, her magical powers made her at least as dangerous as he was, so her safety wouldn't have been an issue. Despite that, being Princess of Hyrule came first, and so she had remained at home. "Tell her I miss her too, that I'm going from kingdom to kingdom as fast as I can..." He closed his eyes. "And that I haven't forgotten what she asked me."

"You got it, boss." She nodded gravely. "I'll let her know."

"Do that." He stood up, stretching his arms. "I've got to be off, then. I wasn't kidding when I said I was moving fast. My ship to Labrynna leaves tonight."

"You really do want to get home, don't you," she murmured. "I'll explain that to Zelda."

"Thanks, Handy." He shook her hand. "That's another one I owe you."

"Kid, you nixed Big G and busted us all out. " She smiled, a rare one that contained no mockery whatsoever. "Far as I'm concerned, that's infinity plus one to you. Now get going. Sooner you finish your world tour, sooner you're back to Zelda."

"Now that's a goal I can get behind." Link waved as he walked out, whistling a little tune as he walked. It was a beautiful night out, and the weather was unusually cool for the middle of summer in Holodrum. He had his sword on his back, and the rest of his possessions were already onboard the ship, a stout Hylian vessel with an experienced captain and crew, who'd done the Holodum-Labrynna route a million times. He'd had a nice evening with old friends, and confirmed some suspicions he'd been fairly sure of already.

Despite the cynicism and wariness he'd learned so quickly in the few short weeks that had been the most exciting time of his life, he couldn't help but feel that tonight, nothing could go wrong.

As it turned out, he was right. It was on the next night that everything went to hell.


Slowly, Link regained consciousness, and realized that he was going to die.

How he had survived the shipwreck was a mystery to him. It looked like he was the only one; the ship was nothing more than scraps of wood and rope bobbing on the ocean's surface now. He was tied to one of them; after a moment, he remembered that he'd been on deck helping when the lightning struck the mainmast. The storm had come down on them like a hunting Dodongo, slow but unstoppable. Their attempts to save themselves had been fruitless, and now Link bobbed on the ocean's surface, with no land in sight, and no strength left to him. It was only a matter of time before he slipped beneath the waves as well.

As more of Link's thoughts returned to him, he began to notice things. Things that were very wrong. It couldn't have been that long since the storm, and yet the sky was clear, without a cloud in sight. Worse, the ocean around him was absolutely still. Not simply placid and calm, but actually flat and motionless, like a lake, as far as he could see in every direction. The moonlight reflected off of it as he floated along, helpless and disbelieving, until he saw something else approaching from the distance. Several somethings, growing steadily closer.

It was too dark to see what they were until they were nearly upon him, at which point he realized things were worse than he had thought. They were human, or at least human-shaped; he still couldn't make out any physical features. What he could see was that they were walking on the ocean's surface, casually strolling on the water as if it were frozen, despite how he was submerged up to his chest. There were seven of them, a wide variety of forms and figures, stopping around him in a semicircle to peer down.

"What..." Link struggled to say, but couldn't force any more words out. His head swam, which wasn't surprising; he had to have hit it at some time during the shipwreck. He would almost have thought this for a hallucination, had things even stranger than this not happened in his life before on a regular basis.

"Oh, good," one of them said, his voice an old man's, high-pitched and cranky. "He is still alive, after all. That's one, at least. That storm was really located rather inconveniently. If it had been just a little closer, we would have had many more to pick from."

"Shit happens, Greeper," another growled, a younger male, his voice filled with suppressed anger. "We deal with it. Where the hell is Fade? He didn't show again? That lazy shit."

"Fade hasn't joined in for decades." The third voice was a young girl's, bright and cheerful. "He's got all he wants, I guess. I just can't identify with that sort of thinking, you know? Although I don't really think this one's my type. He looks far too serious. Anybody else want him?"

"Suit yourself, Gie." Another woman spoke, this voice slow and sultry. "Mmm... I think I'll take this one. I always did like handsome men."

"Gimme a break, Sleel," the angry man grumbled. "Is that all you and Morm think about? Well, you can have him. He looks like a wimp."

"As if you're one to talk about one-track minds, Hoad," a calm, cold young man said. "As has just been demonstrated readily."

"You want a piece of me, Morm?" Hoad shot back. "Any time, sleazebag."

"All of you, stop bickering!" Greeper snapped. "Just take him and be done with it, then, Sleel. We don't have all day."

"No, don't..." Link managed to mutter as Sleel stepped forward and grabbed his right hand, pulling it up. Her hand was feminine and delicate, but ice-cold, freezing even more than the waters pulling on him. "Don't touch me..."

"Just calm down," she said smugly. "It'll only take a moment-ah!" Link's wrist suddenly blazed with golden light, and she dropped it, drawing back with a shocked hiss. The other six reacted similarly, recoiling visibly.

"That was the mark of the Triforce!" a young boy shrieked. "It's him! The one who killed Ganon! Link!"

"We all know what that means, Sliyes," Morm drawled. "Even Angish knows that. Well, sweet sister? Do you still want him?"

"Hardly, dear brother." Sleel rejoined them. "It's a shame to waste a man like that, but I'm no fool. Bringing a bearer of the Triforce in will just be inviting trouble."

"A wise decision, Sleel," Greeper agreed. "Let us leave him to drown, then. He'd cause far more problems than he could be worth."

"Good," the seventh one, the one who'd remained silent thus far, said, voice low and guttural. "That's good. He's bad. Bringing him here would be bad, for all of us. Throw him away."

"Now hold on a moment here," Hoad spoke again, this time sounding interested. "Link, huh? Beat old man Ganon into the grave. Doesn't look like much, but you can't argue with that Triforce. Now we're talking."

"Oooh, Hoad likes him now instead!" Gie chimed in. "That's always fun!"

"Damn your eyes, Hoad," Sliyes cursed. "Can't you see this is no time for your little obsession? We have to draw the line somewhere."

"Oh yeah?" Hoad growled, turning to him. "Sure, I'll do that, brat. Soon as you make me. You want to try? Any of you?"

"Leave him be, Sliyes," Greeper said after a moment of silence. "If Hoad wishes to do something foolish, let him. Should he get in over his head, we shall be glad to grant him our assistance, after all."

"You're too kind, Greeper," Hoad commented, advancing. "Well, since that arm's occupied, I'll use your other one instead."

"Leave me alone..." Link managed to say as Hoad pulled his left arm up. "Go away..."

"Scrapper, huh?" Hoad laughed. "Even beat to hell and back. Oh yeah, I like you, kid." His hand was blazing hot, the total opposite of Sleel's. "Let's have some fun!"

Link screamed as the index finger of Hoad's free hand touched his wrist; it was literally burning, scorching deep into his skin as it traced something on. When he was done, he dropped the arm, but the water failed to cool it even slightly.

"Cool." Hoad returned to his siblings, reforming the semicircle. "Let's get on with it, huh? Time's wasting!"

"That's the most sensible thing you've said in decades." Greeper snorted, as around them, the water began to change.

Despite everything he had been through, and the strangeness of his current situation, Link was still shocked by the concept of a hole in the ocean. Such a thing was ludicrous, he knew, and yet it was happening; behind the seven shades, the water was draining into a slowly opening gap, growing wider and wider. As it passed them, they simply remained standing on air, but Link had the feeling the same would not go for him.

As the edge neared him, he stared down into it. It wasn't a hole after all; there, inside, he could see an island, revealed by the receding waters. Bleak cliffs ringed most of it, especially in the north, where a mountain range loomed; only in the southwest corner were there beaches. He saw a pair of villages, one in the west and one in the east. Most of the rest of it was covered with pleasant-looking fields. Looking closely, he saw a lake, a swamp, a desert, a forest. It was like something out of a storybook, a children's tale come to life.

"Welcome to Koholint Island." All seven spoke in unison, their voices as one. "Welcome to our world."

The waters fell away from Link, and he tumbled into the abyss as the seven all began to laugh, mocking and discordant. He fell, down towards the island, and as he descended, his eyes were drawn to the tallest of the northern mountains. There, ludicrously, a monumental, spotted egg rested atop the peak. For some reason even he didn't know, he kept staring as he passed by it, continuing down towards the southern beaches. The sand and waves rose up to meet him, and he braced himself for what should have been a fatal impact, but which his instincts told him would not be.

As he hit, everything went dark once more, and he faded into unconsciousness, the laughter of the seven still ringing in his ears, and the burning of his left wrist still screaming at him.

No matter how he looked at it, it was one of those days.