Author's Note: This is inspired by a piece I saw on ZeldaUniverse, titled Link and Love.
Please review, your comments are most welcome.
I do not own Zelda. Pity.
Link's Memoirs
Link sat down in his small house in Ordon, a quill in his hand.
What do I write? There's so much that has happened...
This was putting it mildly.
Link had saved his country, Hyrule, from unnatural twilight that had covered it, and had then defeated its perpetrators, named Zant and Ganondorf. Link's courage, swordsmanship and good nature made him a true hero.
But the fighting and saving the land was not what Link missed most of his adventure. It was how he was able to help out people, of different races, and find out more about them through his quest.
The Gorons who lived on the volcano, the Zoras who dwelt at the source of the great river, the Yeti couple who lived on the far side of Hyrule's highest mountain, the people who lived beside the castle, Link had helped them all, and all had become great friends to him.
He was now a sworn brother of the Goron tribe, a respected aide of the Zora King Ralis. The Yetis often invited him to their home to have snowboarding races down the mountain. Castle Town regarded him as the hero he was. One of the nobles there, a man named Jovani, continually supplied Link with money, although he did not really need it.
That's what I miss most. That's what made it so different. It's not the things you do, or the monsters you kill, or the spoils you take from each temple. It's the smiles on people's faces, the hushed whisper of that's the man who helped me, the knowledge that you've saved not only your land, but each of the people who live within it.
But everyone here is human. It's also their emotions, the things they do, that make a difference.
And then Link realised what brought everything and everyone he had seen on his quest together. It was love.
Not just romantic love or family love. Love for your country, love for money, the list went on. And Link began to write.
***
He wrote of the love the villagers of Ordon had always borne him, that had made him himself. He wrote of the love the then-Princess, now Queen, Zelda, had for her subjects, that she allowed the Twilight King Zant to take over the land provided the people were not harmed.
Link's quill spun stories of the love the man Jovani had for money. Jovani had sold his soul to ghosts called Poes, who had in turn given him incredible wealth. At Jovani's request, Link had found all sixty of the Poes across Hyrule and had restored Jovani's soul. It was worth it not for the rewards he received, but for the joy on the man's face (and his cat's).
He went on to describe the Gorons' and Zoras' affinity for their lands and people. And for sports. The Gorons loved wrestling – he had proved his worth to them by defeating one of their leaders in the ring – and the Zoras aquatic sports.
Link wrote of the love he saw in the people of Castle Town – in their families – and of the dedication of the Group, the five individuals who helped him out when even the army was unwilling to fight Ganondorf. He remembered the Yeti couple. He remembered the last residents of Kakariko Village, the shaman Renado and his daughter Luda.
Yes. It all comes down to love. Perhaps love for power made Ganondorf what he was. Love for wisdom and her people make Zelda a good queen. And love for this world and its people - that gave me courage and hope.
That's what makes a quest most important.