This is a novelisation of the Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. The main story is the same, but I changed some smaller parts that wouldn't be very good to put on paper. Tell me what you think, and enjoy!

This is a tale that you humans have passed
down through uncounted generations...

One dark, fateful day, the earth cracked wide and
malevolent forces rushed forth from the fissure.

They did all this in their lust to take the ultimate
power protected by Her Grace, the goddess.

The power she guarded was without equal.

To prevent this great power from falling into
the hands of the evil swarming the lands...

The goddess gathered the surviving humans
on an outcropping of earth.

She sent it skyward, beyond the reach of the
demonic hordes. Beyond even the clouds.

With the humans safe, the goddess joined forces with the
land dwellers and fought the evil forces, sealing them away.

At last, peace was restored to the surface.

This is a tale that you humans have told for
many ages, generation to generation...

But there are other legends, long hidden away from
memory, that are intertwined with this tale.

Now, a new legend bound to this great story
stands ready to be revealed.

A legend that will be forged by your own hand.

THUMP.

The golden-haired boy fell to the hard floor of his room, even the plummet unable to rouse him completely. He lay there, disoriented, as he tried to remember the dream he had been having. He knew it had been a nightmare; a huge, scaly black creature roaring in his face, saliva dripping off its rows of sharp teeth, and words – You are fated to have a hand in a great destiny, and it will soon find you…

The boy, Link, got to his feet at last and rubbed his eyes wearily. It hadn't been the first time he had seen that monster, or heard that strange, mechanical voice.

A glance outside made him sigh gloomily; early sunshine poured through the window, and the land before it was barely stirring save for a few flying Loftwing. Why had he woken up so early? He began trudging around the room slowly, still waking up, pulling on his boots and grabbing a loaf of bread as he left his dormitory.

Link was a student at the Knight Academy, a school in the floating land of Skyloft, that taught and developed its students to become the Knights of Skyloft. Every year, the students partook in tasks with their bird companions, the Loftwing, in the Wing Ceremony to determine who would be honoured to graduate to their senior years, where they would carry out a ritual with the year's Goddess imitator and be given a tunic as an award. Link had heard that the tunic would be green this year.

Upon remembering this, he reeled back from the bathroom door, brushing the last of the crumbs from his hands.

"It's the Wing Ceremony today!" he said to no one in particular. After panicking for a few seconds, he relaxed. It was a good thing he woke up early, then. He should still have enough time.

As he began to open the bathroom door once more, a shout broke the sleepy silence of early morning.

"Morning, Link!"

Link turned around to see fellow student Pipit striding towards him in his yellow tunic, his dark brown hair swept out of his face.

"Fancy seeing you up this early," the senior said. "Then again, today's the Wing Ceremony. Are you ready?"

"Sure," said Link, with more bravado than he felt. To be completely honest, he was beginning to have doubts about the amount of flying practice he had put in with himself and his Loftwing.

Pipit scrutinised him closely. "Well, if you're sure. All I'm saying is everyone else is out practicing at the plaza, but you seem pretty…relaxed about the whole thing."

Link wondered if he should mention that he had been feeling extremely relaxed right up until now, but then decided against it. Instead, he said, "Everyone's already awake?"

Pipit laughed at Link's disappointed face. "What, did you think you woke up earlier than everyone else for once?" Seeming to feel sorry for the younger boy, he added quickly, "Of course, that Crimson Loftwing of yours is something special. I'd feel pretty confident riding him, too!"

Link's Loftwing was a vivid scarlet, a highly unusual colour for the species. The two had formed an inexplicably close bond ever since they became companions.

"Haha. Yeah," said Link, starting to back away. His courage was steadily dwindling. "Maybe I should – uh – I'm going to go practice a bit before the ceremony."

"You do that," said Pipit approvingly. "I'm a bit of a bird researcher around here. So, you know, if you ever find yourself in need of some bird expertise, come see ol' Pipit."

"I'll be sure to," said Link, although he was pretty sure the other boy's 'expertise' was nothing compared to Instructor Horwell's, who had, after all, taught them everything they knew today.

Abandoning the bathroom, he ran out of the academy and towards the yellow-green staircase that led to the rest of Skyloft.

Huffing a little, Link stopped at the top of the stairs to enjoy the view. He never got tired of looking at his home, especially when he was on his Loftwing and could see everything from a bird's eye view; the bazaar on the upper level of the island in the sky, a mass of colour and intricate designs, the many houses that were scattered all over the place, and the enormous Goddess statue with her arms carefully folded across her stone chest. Below at the plaza, Link could see the other students swooping about on their Loftwing or just milling about. Link sped down the staircase and through the overgrown grass, nearly tripping over the shallow steps leading to the plaza.

There were not many students at the Knight Academy. The few there were consisted of weedy Fledge, seniors Pipit and Karane, Link's personal bully Groose, his henchmen Cawlin and Strich, and Zelda. All but Fledge were present; he had been unable to take part in the Wing Ceremony, due to being incompetent.

Zelda was the only daughter of Headmaster Gaepora of the Knight Academy. She had bright yellow hair, blue eyes a shade lighter than Link's, and was wearing a pretty cherry-coloured dress. A white material was draped around her shoulders, and upon seeing Link she left Karane, whom she had been talking to.

"Link!" she cried, running towards him with her blue Loftwing following close behind, clumsy on foot but graceful in the air. She stopped in front of him, smiling widely. "I didn't know you would be up so early – for you, that is."

Link grinned back at her, forcing his nerves down. Recently, as he matured and began to get harassed by a jealous Groose because of the affection Zelda showed the former, he had begun to notice his childhood friend more. Not just the way she glared at him when he put himself or his Loftwing in any danger by pulling a particularly difficult flying stunt, or the way she laughed when he told a joke. He began to notice the way her eyes lit up, seeming to smile themselves, the way her small hands waved in the air as she expressed some strong opinion, the way she looked so nice in her dresses.

Link, realising he was staring, cleared his throat and looked away. "Yeah," he said. "But everyone's up even earlier. I guess I can't beat them!"

Zelda began to laugh, before stopping almost instantly. She narrowed her eyes at Link, suspicion lingering in her next words. "You…are ready for the ceremony, aren't you? You have been practicing?"

Link gulped. "Um…Yes. Of course."

Zelda leaned in, studying his face closely. "Really? Because every time I look, you're always gliding about vaguely – daydreaming, no doubt."

The boy tried to laugh nervously. "What? No. Of course I – I've come to practice some more."

"The ceremony's going to start soon, Link!" cried Zelda, a trace of panic entering her voice now. "And I'm going to be the Goddess imitator this year – you have to win. It would be amazing!"

Link blinked. "You're the imitator this year? That's great!"

"Yes," said Zelda, spinning so that her dress flared. "Don't you like my dress? It's specially for the ceremony and the ritual afterwards."

"It looks amazing," said Link earnestly, and Zelda smiled brightly.

"Thanks! You're not trying to change the subject, are you?"

"I – no!" spluttered Link, caught. "I mean – you really do – I –"

"Just get to practicing," said Zelda, laughing, and began to pull him to the edge of Skyloft, where the land simply fell away. As Link stood there, a small rock got dislodged and fell through the air, a tiny waterfall of dirt pouring out of the hole and falling down to the clouds below.

Link inhaled deeply, feeling excitement build inside him as the thought of leaping from the island always did. He backed up a few steps before taking a run up, throwing himself into empty space for thousands of miles around. He felt exhilaration rush through him as he began to plummet at an impossible speed, the wind tearing at his hair and clothes, the velocity of his fall increasing rapidly. He brought his fingers to his lips and blew, releasing a piercing whistle, before stretching his arms out on either side of his body like the wings of a bird and waiting as he fell.

He didn't have to wait long before he felt himself being knocked about by a strong wind, the works of the huge wings of a real bird, and reached down to grab the crimson feathers of his Loftwing as it flew beneath him. He lowered his body until his stomach was touching the enormous bird's back, pulling its neck feathers upwards to make it soar towards the sky. The wind rushed past his ears, and he buried his face into his Loftwing's neck as they made a steady ascent.

Lifting his head and peering over the side at the shrinking Skyloft, Link gauged the distance they had flown. He released his pull on the feathers once they were fairly high up and began to glide across the sky, the bird flapping its wings every once in a while to stay aloft.

"That was an amazing manoeuvre," he said, patting his Loftwing on the side of its thick, curved beak. "We're ready for the Wing Ceremony, aren't we?"

The Loftwing did a twist in the air in response, nearly knocking Link off. He barely clung on, sliding his arms forwards to wrap them around the bird's neck instead.

"Woah, only do that when I tell you to," he said, once they were righted again. "I think we're ready for the ceremony."