Okay you've probably already figured this out and consequently most of the hardcore fans have stopped reading. The Infinity Mechanism takes place approximately a thousand years after the floodwaters that created the Great Sea Hyrule recede this is the Hyrule of Link's Awakening and other old-school titles BUT with one major twist...Hylian technology has advanced exactly as far as you would expect a civilization to advance in a thousand years. Vehicles fly, drive and crawl around the roads and skies of New Hyrule. Hyrule City has become a center of art and culture that has sprung up around North Palace. The Sheikah who were all but extinct when the floods receded have increased their numbers and finally cemented with Hylian society and still serve as the secret service of the royal family. The Gorons have returned to Death Mountain and their ancient city which is now an enormous mining complex that exports the steel, crystal, and a highly unstable element known as ettrium used in modern Hylian technology.
ALL my friends whined and whined about this particular project. Raikou, you're killing Zelda; Raikou, you can't do this; blah, blah, blah, blah, blah... The thing is, no one seemed to mind as technology in Hyrule became more and more advanced you can't tell me you can invent stemboats, cannons, trains, the 'lazers' in the beamos statues without it leading to freight ships, bullet trains, handguns and sophisticated computers. It was happening, it was inevitable and now enjoy the culmination of mellenia of advaces in Hylian technology. Enjoy The Legend of Zelda: The Infinity Mechanism.
P.S. I'm putting artwork for this story and some of my other stories on a website that's currently still under construction. When it's done i'll post the link on here.
The Legend of Zelda: The Infinity Mechanism
Hyrule city, glass towers reaching for the sun where the affluent and the artists and the politicians thrived. Link could see it from his house on the outskirts of the Faron province where he lived with his uncle.
"Link, quit your daydreaming!" His uncle grunted, tightening a bolt on the bike he'd been fixing for the son of a successful merchant who lived in the city. "That should do it, give her a nice shine and you can drive her into the city."
"What!?" Link asked. His uncle had never asked him to drive anything they had ever worked on anywhere, much less the very expensive bike of a very rich man's son.
"You heard me, kid. Just make sure you shine her up nice." He tossed the keys on the workbench.
"Yessir. I will." He promised, already rubbing the polish on the dull steel. He soon had it shining like quicksilver and he hurriedly changed out of his jumpsuit and into his day clothes.
Link grabbed the silver ignition cylinder and slid it into the starter, the engine hummed vibrantly and it glided out of the garage and shot off down the road. The bike was a much smoother ride than his own which he and his uncle built out of spare parts and much faster. He sped along whipping past land cruisers and other larger vehicles with ease relishing the feel of the wind in his hair. Though he was sorry to see the bike go he got to the man's house as quickly as possible, if he wrapped things up here quickly he'd have almost two hours to himself in the city. He was just beginning to contemplate all the things he would spend his money on when he saw an extremely luxurious Vista land yacht broken down on the side of the road. It intrigued him and he slowed to a stop. The long boat-shaped vehicle usually floated comfortably on a magnetic field but this one sat obstinately on the grass while a man in posh robes stood scratching his head as though if he dug into his brain he could find the answer too his predicament. "What's the trouble?" he asked politely once he had negotiated the bike out of the thoroughfare.
"Damned if I know!" the man fumed, "It's the work of some malicious spirit or the culmination of a particularly rotten streak of luck on my part. Say, you wouldn't have any experience in this sort of thing would you?"
Link sighed and looked at the city still faint in the distance. "I'll see what I can do." He plugged his dataport into the starter and ran a diagnostic program, which returned very little results other than that the problem was generally on the inaccessible underside of the vehicle. He had an idea and switched off all the systems that would normally start up if the vehicle powered up and refined it down to the magnetic field generator. He opened up the newly repaired bike and unplugged the power cell and plugged it directly into the land yacht's circuitry. The bike used a large powerful cell but the large Vista would run it dry in a minute so as soon as he started it he dropped the parking gear and disconnected the fuel cell.
"Is this going to take very long?" it wasn't the voice of the old man, it was a young woman about his age maybe a year younger very slender and very beautiful as far as he could tell because her face was partially obscured by a gaussian veil. She was very clearly nobility and he wasn't exactly sure how to treat her.
"Umm…" he began, wondering just how important her family was and if he could get in trouble for giving the wrong answer.
"Your highness, please wait in the cabin." The old man came bustling over. Highness!? Link thought frantically, He said highness, shit what am I supposed to do?
"What can I do to help?" she asked matter-of-factly.
Link stared blankly, looking to the old man for help. "Perhaps we should let this young man handle it, Princess, he seems to know what he's about."
Link nearly passed out there, Princess! The princess!? He should have stayed home, let his uncle take the bike in the trailer when the cruiser was repaired. He really didn't want this right now. "Tartus, I'm going to help, you can sit in the cabin if you prefer." There was a challenge in her voice, as if she dared him to tell her no.
"A-as you wish." He conceded.
She smiled and lifted her veil, he'd been right she was very beautiful, "I'm Zelda." She introduced extending her hand.
Not knowing what else to do he gripped it in his grease-smeared hand, "Link." She neither grimaced nor withdrew her hand, instead she gripped back and beamed broadly and he decided right then he liked her, no matter that she was royalty.
They lay side by side beneath the Vista and she looked slightly nervous underneath the massive steel chassis. "Umm, these things are stable right?"
"Sure, the Vista is lighter than it looks, despite all the steel…" He reassured her loosening the bolts that secured a maintenance panel to the bottom of the chassis, "The parking gear on the vista could hold up a house…well, maybe not your house." He amended. She laughed and accepted the wrench he handed her. He reached in and felt around finding the problem immediately, a gear had come loose and the bolt that had secured it had rusted through. Luckily it was the same size as the ones he had pulled off the panel, the only problem was the bolts on the outside weren't made out of strong high carbon steel and wouldn't be a permanent fix. He secured it on anyway and reconnected the wires that had come loose.
Tartus was waiting when they emerged from underneath the craft and it looked as though he'd been worrying himself to pieces about the well being of the princess. "Umm…are you driving?" he asked the old man when he'd finished wiping a smudge of grease from the princess's cheek.
"No." he replied shortly as though it had been Link's fault the princess of the realm had been toiling with a mechanic under the chassis of a Vista land yacht.
"Well, tell the driver to go south by this road until you come to Jerralt's Garage, big sign you can't miss it. Tell him Link sent you and he should fix it right up for you."
"I thought you fixed it." The man said condescendingly enough that his ears reddened.
"I did what I could but your going to need a new restraining bolt on the maglift gear."
"I suppose you'll be wanting compensation?" the man sighed.
"Don't worry about it, you can pay my uncle." He reconnected the fuel cell to the bike; there was still just enough power to make it to the man's house before nightfall.
"Thank you for your assistance, I shall remember your face." The princess said smiling coyly before disappearing into the cabin of the land yacht.
He didn't have time to dwell on princesses though he would be lucky to get to the man's house before dusk now and since he had occupied his uncle for the night he would have to catch the train back to the garage.
Link arrived home later that night tired from his walk from the station only to find the Vista still parked in front of the shop, he groaned and tried to slip around back where his uncle waited to flick him on the forehead with one of his sausage-sized fingers. "What'd you mean sending those blue bloods over hear? I'm not a baby sitter, Link." He grouched in a low voice as though the princess and the old man Tartus were listening in.
"I didn't know who they were before I pulled over." He retorted equally grumpy from the long ride back. He began to climb up onto the low roof of the garage to sneak in his window but his uncle caught the back of his shirt and tugged him down.
"If you think your going to sneak off to your room and leave me down here to butler these city-folk you've got another think coming." Link could only grumble as he was forced inside his own home.
The princess sat primly on the edge of their sofa watching the holonet feed flash across the screen and he was surprised to see she still had her veil removed. The King was in a palace in the desert speaking with the Gerudo King Khali Adurna, she wrinkled her nose in disgust, "Father is always so condescending when he speaks to Adurna; he's going to get himself in trouble one day." Link shuffled his feet uncomfortably, when he'd been working on the magnetic generator he'd been focused on his work and had nearly forgot the person working beside him was royalty but seeing her in his den surrounded by her attendants and closely watched through amber eyeshields by two sheikah bodyguards it was all too clear that they came from two separate worlds and he wished more than ever he could sneak off to his room. "Link." I was wondering if you were returning from your trip, I hope we didn't inconvenience you overmuch."
He shook his head, "No, your highness, just returning a man's bike."
She patted the seat next to her motioning for him to sit; he eyed the two sheikah warily. "Oh, don't mind them; that's Kato and this is Kuzo." she introduced the one nearest him and her respectively, the men inclined their heads respectfully and the one nearest him even extended his hand which he took. "You already know Tartus, of course and this is Farrah." she introduced a shy looking girl standing behind sat on the sofa feeling about as out of his depth as he thought any person could. Luckily it wasn't long before the princess began to yawn and he was more than happy to sacrifice his bed for a chance to get some sleep and a chance to process the day's events.