This is but one of the legends of which the people speak…
Long ago, there existed a kingdom where a golden power lay hidden. It was a prosperous land blessed with green forests, tall mountains, and peace.
But one day a man of great evil found the golden power and took it for himself… With its strength at his command, he spread darkness across the kingdom. But then, when all hope had died, and the hour of doom seemed at hand…
…a young boy clothed in green appeared as if from nowhere. Wielding the blade of evil's bane, he sealed the dark one away and gave the land light.
This boy, who travelled through time to save the land, was known as the Hero of Time. The boy's tale was passed down through generations until it became legend…
But then… a day came when a fell wind began to blow across the kingdom. The great evil that all thought had been forever sealed away by the hero… …once again crept forth from the depths of the earth, eager to resume its dark designs. The people believed that the Hero of Time would again come to save them.
…But the hero did not appear.
Faced by an onslaught of evil, the people could do nothing but appeal to the gods. In their last hour, as doom drew nigh, they left their future in the hands of fate.
What became of that kingdom…?
None remain who know.
The memory of the kingdom vanished, but its legend survived on the wind's breath. On a certain island, it became customary to garb boys in green when they came of age. Clothed in the green of fields, they aspired to find heroic blades and cast down evil. The elders wished only for the youths to know courage like the hero of legend…
"And that is how our tradition started," Grandma read. Aryll was kneeling at her feet, nodding. She wore a blue dress patterned with seagulls, and her blond hair was tied in pigtails.
"Great story, Grandma. Do you think anyone will ever find that kingdom again?" Aryll asked. Grandma smiled. She wore a simple red dress with a purple apron, and her white hair was tied in a bun.
"One day, maybe. It will take the bravest of explorers, and probably the teensiest bit of luck," Grandma said. Aryll beamed, and looked out the window.
"You want to be the one to find the old kingdom, do you?" Grandma asked.
"Yes, Grandma! I want to soar over the Great Sea! I want to make you proud!" Aryll said. Grandma smiled.
"Of course you do. But for now, could you please hurry and get your brother? He's probably asleep at your lookout again."
"Link… Link…" a female voice called out. Link looked around, and once again saw the blond girl in the ornate pink dress that he often dreamed about. He smiled, and waved. The girl nodded, smiling back.
"Link… today is a special day," the girl said.
"Why?" Link asked her.
"You'll see… but it'll bring you one step closer to seeing me in person," the girl said. Link held out his hand, and the girl took it. They stood, awkwardly smiling, before the girl spoke again.
"Big Brother! Wake up! Wake up, you lazy boy!" she said in Aryll's voice. When did Aryll get in here?
"Big Brother! You have to stop falling asleep so often!" Aryll called out, shaking Link. He rolled around, before sitting up.
"Aryll!" Link cried out. He sat up, rubbing his eyes.
"Big Brother, do you know what day it is today?" Aryll asked. Link gasped. How did Aryll know what the girl in the ornate dress had said? He slowly edged back.
"Big Brother, it's your birthday!" Aryll stated. Link put his hand to his head. How could he have forgotten about his own birthday?
"Thanks for the reminder, Aryll…" Link said. Aryll giggled.
"You forgot? Silly brother… anyway, Grandma wants to see you. You'd better get going!" Aryll said. Link nodded absently, and clambered down the ladder to see his Grandma.
Link ran straight home, and up the ladder to see Grandma. She held out her arms, holding a folded pile of green clothes.
"Hello, Link. Sleep well?" Grandma asked.
"…It was all right," Link said. His dreams troubled him, but in a good way. He wasn't sure whether that was 'sleeping well'.
"Link… try these on. These are the clothes that the hero of legend wore… well, not the exact clothes, but close enough to," Grandma said. "Time certainly flies… I can't believe you're old enough to wear these clothes." Link accepted the clothes, and looked at them.
"Don't they seem a bit… warm, to you?" Link asked.
"Well… it's just for one day. Today is the day we commemorate the fact you are now the same age as the hero of legend! You have to be proud for at least one day," Grandma said.
"At twelve?" Link asked.
"Oh, you'll be surprised. In the olden days, this was the day boys were finally considered to be men. They were taught to wield a sword and do battle with all sorts of foes. In this day and age, Orca would probably be the only person on this island to still study swordplay," Grandma said. In that time, Link had thrown on the green tunic. "Make sense?"
"Sort of… I still say twelve is too young," Link said.
"Well, the Hero's Clothes are certainly a great fit! Well, tonight I'm going to invite the whole town over for your birthday party. I'm going to need to start getting ready… I'm making your favourite!" Grandma said.
"The Elixer Soup? Yum!" Link said.
"Yes. Now go get your sister, Aryll," Grandma said. Link nodded, and went back to Aryll's Lookout.
"Hi, Aryll!" Link said.
"Ahoy, Big Brother! Did Grandma give you that outfit… looks pretty hot," Aryll said.
"You're telling me. I'm already sweating in places I didn't know could sweat!" Link said.
"Yeah… but I guess those clothes are pretty neat! Link… close your eyes, for just a moment. I want to give you something special… just for today," Aryll said.
"All right," Link said, complying.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Aryll said, handing her brother the Telescope. Link put his eye into the telescope, and looked around. He spotted a massive ship firing some cannonballs into the sky… at a massive bird. One eventually landed, and the bird eventually dropped his cargo: a blonde girl. Something stirred in Link.
"That girl fell into the forest! She needs help…" Aryll said, before trailing off. Her brother was nowhere in sight.
Link ran up Outset Island, reaching the forest on the top level. There were a few beasts, but they were no match even for a Link with no sword. He reached the girl, and caught her when she finally hit the ground.
"Wow… you saved me… where am I?" the girl asked. "That giant bird came and…"
"Miss! Miss Tetra!" another voice called out. Link looked up, to see someone he had never seen run up.
"Who are you?" Link asked, hiding the girl behind him.
"Oh, he's a friend," the girl said. Link nodded, and set her down.
"Thank goodness you're safe!" the other man said. "When I saw you get dropped on a summit, I thought for sure you'd… you know…"
"A summit? So the bird dropped me atop a mountain? Well wasn't that nice of it?" the girl said. "Let's go! Time to repay our debt in full!"
"And this boy?" the man asked.
"He'll come on his own if he wants," the girl said. "Let's go already!"
Link and the two others left the forest. They saw Aryll run up towards them… before being scooped up by the giant bird from earlier. Link ran towards the mountainside, before falling. He felt the girl's hands on his own.
"Stupid kid! Who do you think you are, an Angel?" the girl asked.
"Aryll…" Link said.
The two people walked up towards their ship. Link followed them. Before the girl could board, Link blurted out something.
"I want to come with you!" he said.
"Do you understand what you're asking, boy? We're pirates! The terror of the seas!" the girl said. "What do we get bringing some kid who thinks he's so good because he fought off monsters swordless? A headache!"
"But my sister," Link said.
"I know how you must feel, but that doesn't have anything to do with us, does it?" the girl said.
"And your reasoning?" another voice asked. Link turned around. That's a lot of introductions in one day. Would he learn their names?
"Who are you, and where do you get off butting in on someone else's conversation?" the girl asked.
"Please. All I wished to say is that if you pirates hadn't come here, to this quiet island… that poor girl would never have been snatched," the bird said.
"And your meaning?" the girl asked, folding her arms crossly.
"Be quiet, and I'll tell you! My work entails delivering letters… I spend my time travelling amongst different islands. I hear many things as a result. Haven't any of you heard of the young girls who have been getting kidnapped from all regions of the Great Sea?" the bird said.
"No," Link and the girl said in unison.
"No matter. Whether you've heard it or not, that's the case. Young girls with long ears have been getting kidnapped, never to be seen again. And unless my keen eyes fail me, that young girl who got kidnapped has long ears, much like you do, Miss Fearsome Pirate!" the bird said. "That bird mistook the poor girl for you, and that's why it grabbed her!"
"…You're starting to have a point…" the girl said.
"And correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Link here saved you from the monsters in the forest, right?" the bird asked.
"Swordless," both Link and the girl added.
"And while I'm at it… the bird has made its foul nest to the north, on the Forsaken Fortress," the bird said.
"The Forsaken Fortress…" the girl said. "Isn't that…"
"What's your next move, then? Under the circumstances, I don't think it would be unreasonable to give Link a little help, would it?" the bird asked.
"I don't need you to tell me that! Anyway, boy… I've heard nothing by evil rumours about the Forsaken Fortress. You can't mean to go there with just your fists! That's suicide! Can you grab a sword and a shield from this island anywhere? If you find anything, you can come with us. And you'd better make your good-byes now! We're not coming back for a while," the girl said.
"Hey, Link!" Orca, the island's swordsman, said. "I heard about Aryll…"
"Yeah. Do you have a sword I can borrow?" Link asked.
"A sword…" Orca said. He turned about, and pulled down a sword. It was patterned with diamonds.
"That is a special blade, passed down from our ancestors. It is said that the hero once wielded it…" Orca said. "It looks ready for action… are you sure you can handle it?"
"Of course…" Link said. He gave a few practice swings, feeling its weight bow to him. This was certainly a sword he could use.
Link went back home, and went up to his Grandma.
"I've heard about Aryll… so are you looking for this?" Grandma asked, holding out the family shield.
"Take it…" Grandma said. "What kind of monster would take a child like her…"
"I don't know… and I promise. I will bring her home!" Link said. "And while I'm at it, I might also bring home turkey to last us for days!"
Link ran back to the girl, who looked at the sword and shield. She shrugged, and pulled him on board. With a massive gong sound, the pirate ship lowered its sail. With the head of the pirates at the helm, Link was setting sail.
"Good luck, Link!" the citizens of Outset called out to Link. Link waved goodbye to his family. He turned back to the girl.
"So… I never caught your name…" Link said.
"It's Tetra," the girl said. Link nodded, and found a place to lay around until they arrived. He kind of wanted to talk with Tetra some more, but he knew she wouldn't talk back.
"Link…" the girl in the ornate dress said.
"Hello, there…" Link found himself saying. As usual, he was lost for words at the sight of this girl.
"Link, the time for your journey is now… go forth, and make me proud. Our meeting is much closer than you might think…" the girl said.
"Please… tell me your name," Link said. The girl nodded, and her mouth opened.
"Link! We're there!" she said.
"Not again…" Link said, waking up from his nap. He stirred, and clambered up to the crow's nest.
"So… did you enjoy your nap?" Tetra asked.
"Yes…" Link said. "I've been dreaming about someone who says I'm going to meet her…"
"Great… whatever. Look over there. That's the Forsaken Fortress," Tetra said, pointing to the fortress. Spotlights combed inside and outside.
"It used to be the hideout of a gang of pirates that were much nastier than us. All we do is take treasure for ourselves. They took the time to murder, to burn, to do worse. Someone else took over, however, and now the place is really dangerous," Tetra said.
"Over there! By the window! That's where Aryll is," Link said. "Seagulls always flock by her side."
"But the place is under tight guard… We'll be spotted before we get anywhere near there. So what now…" Tetra asked. Her necklace shone, and Link found himself in a barrel on a catapult.
"When did this happen?" Link asked.
"This is the only way to get inside that dangerous place. Trust me…" Tetra said. "We do this all the time. It's a piece of cake!"
"But seriously, how did I get in here?" Link asked.
"Don't worry. Three. Two. One… FLY!" Tetra said. Link found himself tumbling head over foot, and landed on a high balcony. The barrel shattered, and Link looked around. He grabbed his sword, and turned around, to parry an attack from a monster. He sent the monster flying, and entered the giant door on the balcony.
Link looked around the room, and noticed Aryll in a jail, alongside two other girls. He hurried over to them, before hearing a massive whooshing sound. The giant bird that kidnapped them swooped in, and nabbed Link.
"Oi! I was busy!" Link said. The bird flew around the Forsaken Fortress, and showed Link to a man clad in an intimidating robe. That man shook his head, and Link found himself flying through the sky.
"Whoa! This is all going so fast-" he cried, landing in the water.