Shiro would often sit among the hoards of townspeople and listen as travelers and knights would regale them with fantastical stories of skeletal creatures that awoke in the night or ghostly figures that sent small wispy blue flames from their blazing lanterns to attack those unfortunate enough to cross their path. There were plantlike creatures with rows of needle sharp teeth waiting on the ground to take a bite of any who came in range of their snakelike stems.
Exciting as he found these stories, Shiro had never known anything outside the walls of Hyrule Castle Town. He would sit by the window next to his small feather-bed and dream of the day that he would be able to leave these walls and explore the land of Hyrule and beyond.
The fountain in the middle of town and the courtyard of the Temple of Time were often imagined into grand adventures.
One fateful day, Shiro found himself in front of the Temple of Time. His short wooden sword dangling from its makeshift sheath at his side. He started to imagine a glorious battle unlike any seen by any of those old travelers in the marketplace when suddenly he spotted a young boy who looked to be around his age.
The other boy was clad in green like the children of the forest he had heard so much about. On his back was a wooden shield and a sword but his sword was made of metal. A small light floated around the boy's head.
"A faerie?" Shiro questioned. He knew that he wanted to know more about this other boy.
"Hello there," he called excitedly.
The boy in green turned, his sharp blue eyes scanned his surroundings trying to find the source of the voice.
Shiro approached him quickly grinning widely at him.
"Hi! I'm Shiro!" he exclaimed when he reached the other boy.
The other boy was silent but nodded shyly in acknowledgment.
"Are you an adventurer?!"
The boy again nodded.
"Link! Come on!" came a shrill whine from the faerie buzzing around the boy. "We have to enter the Temple of Time!"
"Okay Navi," the boy stated quietly and with that they entered the temple without another word.
Shiro's eyes followed them curiously as they entered the temple. His feet stayed firmly rooted to the ground, not sure whether to follow them or not.
"What could they possibly need in that old empty place?" he asked himself.
Suddenly a bright unearthly light emanated from the temple and Shiro could hear a soft melody being played on some kind of flute. His feet started moving, seemingly on their own. He moved closer to the door, peeking inside. There, at the altar was the boy that the faerie had dubbed Link with a blue ocarina in hand. Three glittering stones circled him a few times before nestling into position on the altar. The stone carving of the legendary Triforce lit up the entire room and transformed into a bright glimmering gold.
Suddenly there was a loud thump followed by the sound of stone grinding against stone. Shiro's eyes widened as the door to the inner temple opened, revealing another large chamber. The other chamber seemed darker than the entryway with rays of sunlight piercing through the few windows. Dust motes wafted throughout the seemingly empty room, showing just how long it had been since the door was last opened.
Shiro's eyes followed the sunlight to the middle of the room where a large stone slab, a pedestal situated perfectly in the center of it. His eyes widened even more with the realization that embedded in the pedestal was a sword. This was not any ordinary sword however. It was the legendary blade of evil's bane, the Master Sword.
Link stepped into the middle of the slab, placing both feet on either side of the Master Sword. It was rather comical seeing him pull out the sword which was much too big for him. Link was suddenly enveloped in a blinding blue light and then he and the Master Sword were gone.
Deep, sinister laughter filled the now empty temple. Shiro's eyes darted around the room before landing on a tall man wearing dark armor with hair the color of flames.
"I knew you held the door to the Sacred Realm," his booming voice reverberating off the stone walls.
Shiro tried to leave as quietly as he could but he was not quiet enough for the sharp ears of the Gerudo king. Ganondorf turned to see the boy's retreating figure.
"Koume! Kotake!" he bellowed.
Two elderly women sitting atop of a couple of brooms suddenly appeared behind Ganondorf.
"Find that boy. Make sure that he's on our side. He might prove...useful."
"As you wish master," Koume responded. "Come Kotake."
The two women spun around a couple of times on their brooms before vanishing. Ganondorf's evil laughter resonated throughout the temple before exiting the building to proceed with his plans.
Shiro stopped running after his feet hit the cobblestone plaza of the marketplace. He stood with his hands resting on his knees. His breaths coming out as labored pants.
Whispered hatred suddenly filled his ears, "He is the hero you will never be," one sinister whisper taunted.
"Who's there?" Shiro questioned, looking around frantically.
"You are not strong enough," hissed another voice.
"Not powerful enough," they both speak in unison.
"STOP!" he screamed clamping his hands over his ears. "Please stop..."
Everyone in the plaza stopped what they were doing to see what had upset the boy. Even the couple near the fountain who always seemed oblivious to everyone and everything around them stopped their eternal dance to see what was going on.
Tears streamed down his face as his eyes moved from face to face, wondering why no one else had heard the voices. His body trembled uncontrollably. He slowly removed his hands from his ears, tentatively listening but hearing nothing but the murmurs of the crowd.
He stood up straight and ran as fast as he could to his small house in the residential district. His house was not the grandest in town but it was cozy and he loved it so. He bolted through the door, past his mother who was in the kitchen and up the wooden steps to his tiny loft.
Sitting on his bed, he pulled his knees up to his chest, rocking back and forth. Frightened tears streamed down his cheeks as he buried his face into his knees.
"Not powerful enough...Not strong enough..." the voices repeated in his head.
Shiro curled his body into a small ball and pulled the covers over himself. He honestly didn't know why he was crying but he was terrified. Slowly, he lulled himself into a fitful slumber.