A/N: Two new stories in a span of a month? I must of lost it. Or in way over my head. One of the two.
Anywho! My justification for this story exists solely because Ad Infinitum is so mentally taxing that sometimes I forget how to write. I recently have been playing through Ocarina of Time (AGAIN) as I managed to get a hold of a 3DS version (which is GORGEOUS by the way, definitely recommended) and I have all these crazy one shots flitting through my head as I play. So naturally I write them down and I've accumulated so many that I finally decided to publish the darn things as a theme challenge. You may have noticed I specified 50 drabbles and not the typical 100 mainly because 1.) I rarely ever see them completed 2.) I know myself and I know that I won't be able to achieve 100. 50 is pushing it.
Basically, Ad Infinitum is top priority even though I've put in a heck of a lot more work for this story so far, and really, I just wanted to share it with all of you. Many of these snippits will be reminiscent of scenes from the game while others are taken from a very crazy part of my brain. These chapters can be read out of order as the installments themselves aren't exactly structured. You'll see what I mean.
PS. The point of view fluctuates between first and third person. First for the journal entry and third for the actual memory. Again, you'll see what I mean.
Memoirs of a Forgotten War
In the great land of Hyrule, there echoes a legend. A legend that few know and even fewer believe. It tells of a boy from a forest who took up arms against darkness, a princess who became a vagabond in her own kingdom, and a great evil that wrought chaos upon the country.
One thousand years have passed since the time the legend claims to have originated from. Castles have been torn and rebuilt, monarchies risen and fallen, queens had died and others were born. People lived and people died in the name of peace. Yet none of them knew why they were given such a privilege. None cared to find out.
Until one fateful day, two antediluvian relics were discovered in the dungeons of the fifth Hyrule Castle. Dungeons which had been untouched each and every time the walls were built anew. These relics were locked away under a multitude of magical enchantments, only broken by those skillfully trained in powerful sorcery. Once opened they were revealed to be periodicals, one written in almost illegible scrawl and the other in elegantly ancient handwriting, each illustrating an era that was never recorded. Never remembered.
Together, they were comprised of thousands of written words detailing inconceivable journeys, gruesome battles, and a forlorn bond of deep affection.
They were memoirs of a forgotten war.
Seven years after the destruction of Hyrule, ninth of February, day of his awakening, Temple of Time
Running. That is all I had ever known for the past eighty-four months of my life. Run or die. I was weary. I was tired. But most of all, I was hopeless. I had trained every day in seditious secret, preparing myself physically as well as mentally for the great battle that was to come. Only a year had passed when I had foolishly deemed myself as fortified, much to Impa's admonition, and was ready to set off to find him; the boy from the forest. It had been Impa's words that awoke me from my juvenile drivel and my unrealistic dreams of saving my kingdom as a mere child.
"I'm afraid we would not find him, even if we searched now, Princess. Even if you were ready. He was too young to be the Hero of Time. They're keeping him in the Sacred Realm— a deep sleep that he will not wake from until the sword deems him worthy."
And so began the running. The waiting. The hope for an absolution that wouldn't come. I realize now, in retrospect that if Impa had indulged me, allowing me to roam Hyrule as the child that I was then I most certainly would have been killed. I spent another six years honing the lost art of the Shiekah tribe, learning their hidden skills and perfecting my disguise.
All the while, I never stopped checking in on him. Each time he seemed to grow larger, older, and stronger. A man fit to wield the legendary blade. Navi always said that she hoped seven years in a coma would be enough to quell that obstinate recklessness of his. I had always longed to understand what she meant by that. It was then, as I stared down at his closed eyes and matured visage, that I realized I wished I had known him. I wished to know the boy that he was and the man that he would become.
I promised myself that day that I would do everything in my power to aid the boy from the forest— the boy who had transformed into a Hero.
Hero
A bright cerulean light filled the shaded chamber like a beacon in a world of darkness. She shielded her eyes with bandaged fingers and shied away, seeking refuge in the shadows. When she opened them again, what she saw momentarily left her without thought, without the ability to do anything but stare in wonder. This was the moment she had waited seven long years for. The moment that kept her fighting even when she felt like letting her knees sink to the earth in defeat. This was the moment that kept her standing.
Before her was the man that had once been the small wide-eyed boy in her courtyard so long ago. They had both been so young, so naïve. Now they were fulfilling roles of a destiny that couldn't lead them further away from infantile indulgences and child-like innocence. They lived in a war-torn kingdom that was made up of nightmare fuel and ghosts of what had been. Soon, he too would bear witness to this.
His transformation had been forthcoming for so long, yet she was no less stupefied as if she couldn't believe what she was really seeing. She watched from the rafters above as he murmured something to his fairy-companion and awkwardly made his way down the small flight of stairs in his unfamiliar body. He struggled to secure the strap of his sheath and the shield on his back, fumbling as it hung askew off of his shoulder. Once he righted himself, he continued forward and she took the moment as her cue.
Landing on her feet without a sound behind him, she had been unprepared for his keen sense of awareness. In one swift motion that spoke nothing of practice and everything of pure intuition, he had drawn that legendary blade and whirled around to face her, blue eyes flashing with a cynical heat.
"Who are you?"
His voice was deep, raspy, and unused. It held an inflection of something that she associated with her last memory of him when he called out to her as she escaped on horseback. The recognition was comforting.
She stood rooted to her spot in front of the pedestal and hardened her gaze. Yes, it was comforting but she had to remember her place. Everything that Impa had taught her in preparation for this moment came flooding back to her. She was no longer Zelda, thus she did not harbor Zelda's feelings. She would act as his guide, nothing more.
And that would have to be enough.
"Be at ease, Hero. I stand before you in the name of peace."
Something passed through his eyes, a flicker of yearning— an inclination to trust. But he held back and it was gone as quickly as it came.
"How do you know who I am?"
How do I not?
"I am Sheik, of the Sheikah tribe and I have been waiting for you."
Extending her name seemed to ease a bit of the tension and he allowed his sword hand to falter slightly. His eyebrows knitted together in a sudden realization. "Sheikah? But didn't they die out—"
"Seventeen years ago."
Sheik could tell by the expression on his face that it hadn't been what he was about to say. He blinked as if processing the information and once understanding its verity he nodded. "Then how are you here? A few wee— seven years ago —Impa told me she was the last of her kind."
"Yes, well, many things have changed since you were last awake, Hero. You'll find that this world is not the same as you remember it."
Once the words escaped her lips she realized the crushing weight that they held and instantly regretted the way in which she said them. The hero's demeanor visibly deflated as if he had already known this fact— Rauru had told him no doubt —but her blunt words were just more salt in an already tender wound. She watched as he quickly regrouped himself, hardening in a way she hadn't seen before. It made something inside her stir, something that she herself had undergone time and time again and it made her pity him.
"There is a legend that has been passed down amongst my people for generations. A legend that has just become history," she began, wanting to erase the perilous feelings that she felt and fulfill the role that she had promised Impa she would uphold. "When evil usurps the land, an awakening call from the Sacred Realm will beckon those destined to become Sages. Six in total, one of which you have already met in the Temple of Light. Together with the Hero of Time, the Sages will subdue the evil and bring forth a halcyon era of peace.
"Do you understand the fate that befalls you?"
A part of her, a very small part, had been afraid of his response. Perhaps he wasn't the chosen hero after all. Perhaps even the Master Sword mistook him for someone else. But as she stood there watching him in a faint stream of haloed light, the same light that caught the gleam of the legendary blade and the firmness in which he held it, she knew that part of her had been mistaken. This was the man that would, and could, live up to the great prophecy of old. If anyone could save her kingdom from the brink of utter annihilation— it would be him.
She had waited seven years.
"Yes, I do."
And with a concealed smile, she knew that she had gambled on the victor.
"Then you know what must be done. Due to Ganondorf's evil influence, the Sages have not heeded their call. The first awaits you in a deep forest— a girl I'm sure that you remember."
He nodded once and finally without trepidation sheathed his sword.
"Now go, Hero. Time is of the essence."
He looked past her obliquely as if in silent contemplation then thought better of it before meeting her gaze again. His fairy flitted around his head, remaining silent just as she had promised. With an air of resolution, he turned on his heel and continued on his way through the archway of the Door of Time as if nothing had transpired at all.
Unbeknownst to him, the fairy lingered momentarily to which Sheik gave an understanding nod. Then she sped off to catch up with her partner who had stopped as if he remembered what he wanted to say. He turned his head slightly over his shoulder, not quite facing Sheik but grinning faintly all the same.
"My name is Link by the way, not hero. Just Link."
His unexpected words unhinged her. She stood there trying to formulate a coherent and appropriate response but before any syllables were uttered through her veil he had already turned away and disappeared into the temple. She smiled despite herself, the odd feeling of warmth creeping back into her skin even through all the bindings covering her body. This time she didn't bother to quell it.
"Good luck, Link."
Then she too, disappeared into the night.
