It was a peaceful day. The sun was high in the sky and its heat was radiating through the treetops to the quiet village below. The leaves finally returned, regaining the favored shade of green to signal the beginning of a warm summer. The peace however was soon interrupted by the clash of steel. Two men were fighting in the middle of the village. The smaller and younger of the two quickly parried the strike from the larger and more muscular one. He quickly recovered however, raising his left arm to punch the former in the side. He saw this coming however and quickly rolled under his rising arm, unbalancing the other and touched the tip of the sword to his neck. The more muscular man laughed.
"You never fail to amaze me, Rusl" the man said. The one named Rusl smiled and lowered his sword into the scabbard.
"You weren't too bad yourself Bo" Rusl replied, clapping him on the shoulder. Rusl sat on the river's edge and Bo followed soon after.
"You know," Bo says after a moment of silence. "If we were sumo wrestling, you would have had no chance of winning."
Rusl chuckled at the thought of him wrestling a man that was nearly three times his size. "If a Goron can't beat you, I don't even want to try. You'd probably break every bone in my body."
Bo laughed. "Fine point."
Across the town, Rusl watched his wife Uli babysitting Bo's only daughter, Ilia, while him and the mayor trained. He watched how she cradled the baby in her arm and frowned as he was reminded of the horrible memory that struck the town six months ago. Bo's wife Iliana had complications during labor and died giving birth to her daughter. They were able to save the poor baby's life, but Bo was heart broken. When his wife had passed he named his daughter after her memory. Since that day he hardly let young Ilia out of his sight, that is until a couple weeks ago when Rusl finally convinced him to continue practicing with the sword.
"So," Bo said, breaking Rusl out of his memories. "When are you and Uli going to have a kid of your own?"
"For Din's sake, Bo, we just got married last month! We won't even think about having a child for another couple of years!" Rusl replied.
"Well, you shouldn't wait too long," the mayor replied. "The poor child might not have any kids their age to play with like Ilia and Fado here."
"Hey you never know, maybe Sera and Hanch will finally have a child as well at the same time as me and Uli."
"Hm...Maybe. Well at least have a child before you get too old," Bo said to him with a smirk.
"Says the one that didn't have a kid until he was what? 40?" Rusl chucked.
"30," Bo corrected.
"Close enough, old man," said Rusl with a smile.
"Well then I suppose that you only have nine years until you're an old man as well."
"I suppose so," Rusl responded looking back to Uli. Yes, he was content with the thought of getting old, as long as she was beside him. They could get through any problems. Get through any hardships. All he needed was her and just thinking about starting a family got him excited and thrilled. Teaching the kid how to walk, talk, and even when they are older, how to hunt and fish.
"So have you two at least come up with names?" Bo asked, interrupting his daydream.
"It has come up," Rusl replied after a moment of silence.
"Ah! So you two are thinking about it!" Bo said. Rusl chuckled embarrassed. "And?," Bo nudged the young swordsman.
Rusl smiled softly "Well if it's a girl we were thinking of the name Calli."
"Ah," Bo interrupted. "After Uli's mother Calista, I assume?"
"Yes," Rusl responded, nodding his head. "And if it's a boy we were thinking Link."
"Link," Bo tested the name on his tongue. "An old Hylian name. That is not a name you hear often anymore."
Rusl chuckled. "Yeah, but hey you never know, maybe he will do some great act for Hyrule and end up famous and the name will come back around."
Bo laughed and slapped Rusl on the back. "You can only hope, my friend. You can only hope"
Rusl walked into his house to the smell of stew. Uli was stirring a pot that was heating over a fire. Rusl walked over to her and hugged her from behind. "Hello, love," he said, kissing the side of her head.
Uli chuckled, "Hello, Rusl." She turned her head around and kissed her husband on the lips.
"So…What's for dinner?," Rusl asked childlike.
Uli rolled her eyes. "We are having beef stew with carrots and potatoes," she replied.
"Goddesses, I could marry your cooking," Rusl said.
"Hey!," Uli teased. "No cheating on me! Especially with my cooking!"
"Why can't I marry your cooking? It has everything I love in a woman: beauty, wonderful scent, and doesn't talk back," Rusl said with a smile.
"Oh, you will pay for that," she said, waving her wooden spoon menacingly in front of her. "For your first punishment, I order you to fill that bucket with water."
Rusl chuckled. "Of course, O'mighty Queen," he mocked.
He grabbed the empty bucket of water and headed out the door. He filled the bucket with the water from the river when a golden light appeared in the corner of his eye. He looked over and saw a golden wolf staring at him in front of the bushes to the forest. The wolf had a powerful aura to it, and the scar on its face and missing right eye gave Rusl shivers down his spine. Rusl slowly stood up, taking his sword out of its scabbard. The wolf stood up to Rusl's movement and took a few steps toward him. Rusl went into a fighting stance, but did not have time to react when the wolf suddenly launched itself toward him and everything faded to white.
Rusl opened his eyes to find himself in an empty plain. He could see Hyrule Castle and the mountains in northern Hyrule in the distance, however, it and everything else was covered in a thick white mist. Where am I? He thought. Did I die? Am I in the Sacred Realm? After admiring the strange realm, he heard soft panting behind him and turned around quickly. The golden wolf was staring up at him with its one red eye. Rusl unsheathed his sword, expecting the wolf to attack again. This time he would be ready. The wolf just sat there motionless for a few moments. Its glowing eye was looking him up and down as if it was inspecting him.
"Find him"
Rusl jumped at the voice. He looked around, searching for the owner of the voice. After finding no one, he looked back to the wolf.
"Find him," it repeated. And his vision turned white.
Rusl opened his eyes and he quickly sat up, finding himself on the couch in his house.
"How- What-" he stuttered. He looked across the room to find Bo and Uli walking over to him. "Rusl, are you okay? What happened?" Uli asked. "You were taking a long time to get the water and I grew worried so I went outside and found you unconscious by the stream. I had to get Bo to carry you in here."
It took Rusl a couple moments to remember what happened. He remembered filling up the bucket with water when he looked up and... the wolf! He frantically looked over himself to see if he suffered any injuries from when the wolf attacked.
"Rusl, what happened?" Uli insisted.
Rusl, perplexed, stopped his search and looked back to his wife "I-I was getting the water when I noticed a strange golden wolf watching me from the woods and it attacked me," Rusl replied. "But...I don't have any injuries. I don't understand."
"A golden wolf you say?" Bo said. "That's not a color you typically see on a wolf...Are you sure that's what you saw? If a wolf attacked you I'm sure you would have some sort of injury."
"Look, I wasn't imagining it. I know what I saw!" Rusl snapped.
Bo put his hands up in defense. "Whoa, relax, I believe you. I just find it really odd that it only knocked you out."
Rusl sighed and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "Sorry, Bo."
"It's quite all right, Rusl," Bo said with his hand on Rusl's shoulder. "We're gonna have to be more careful when going outside. It sounds like the wolf is capable of attacking and threatening the village. I say no more leaving the village alone until the wolf meets its end."
Rusl nodded solemnly. Rusl thought back to when he was in the wolf's presence. He could feel the power radiating from its body, but did it really make him feel threatened? Yes, it did attack him and knock him out, but how? He had no scratches, or bruises, or bumps. It's like the wolf just caused him to collapse. How? He wasn't sure. Then that dream...Or was it a dream? Maybe the wolf was actually trying to tell him something. Find him.
The next morning Bo informed the town what had happened the night prior. He warned them of the wolf and to call either himself or Rusl if spotted. Days turned to weeks and weeks turned to months. The wolf has never been spotted again, finally letting the town relax. It was at this point that Rusl really started to question himself. Maybe he did imagine that wolf. He hasn't been able to find any trace of it since that early summer night. The small village of Ordon was falling to the cold of winter once again and they expected it to be a harsh one. A couple inches of snow already covered the ground. It was for this reason that Rusl and Bo were currently hunting in the woods. They were hoping to seek out more pelts and furs for warmth during the long season. They have been on this quest for about a week now and were able to track down a few deer and even a couple wolves. Today however, they were having no luck. The sun was already starting to set and they were going to have to leave soon if they wanted to make it back before dark. Rusl was about to voice his concern to Bo when he saw them. Paw prints.
"Bo, look" Rusl whispered and pointed to the fresh prints in the snow of what seemed like a large wolf. The two hunters quietly followed the trail. They followed it for about a half hour when the tracks suddenly stopped. "What? Where did it go?"
The pair looked around the area frantically for the continuation of the prints, but it was like the wolf just vanished.
"This is so strange," Rusl muttered to himself. "Bo, did you find anything?"
No response.
"Bo?" Rusl asked turning around. Bo was staring out into the trees with his eyes wide. "What is it?" Rusl walked over to where Bo was standing and followed his line of sight and there, sitting many meters away, was the golden wolf.
"The wolf…" Rusl whispered while he quietly slid his bow into his hands. He nocked an arrow and took aim at the wolf. The wolf was sitting patiently, observing his every move with his single red eye. When he released the arrow however, the wolf ran out of the way just in time, letting the arrow strike into the tree the wolf was sitting in front of just a second ago. The gold wolf ran off into the trees. "Follow it!" Rusl yelled while racing after it. Him and Bo sprinted after the wolf...until its tracks disappeared once again.
"Damn it! How is it doing this?!" Rusl yelled, frustrated, looking around them to see if there were any other indicators of the wolf's passing. He and Bo were searching under every bush, behind every tree. After a few minutes of searching, light snow started falling from the sky. Bo sighed. "Rusl, I think we should give up the search for today."
"But Bo," Rusl argued. "We finally found the wolf! It took us months to find any trace of if and the snow is going to clear it! What if we never find a trace of it again?"
"Rusl, the snow is starting to get heavier. We should head back to Ordon before it really starts coming down. I'm not eager to having to spend the night in a snowstorm. Spending our time tracking one wolf we may or may not find is not worth our lives."
Rusl sighed in defeat. "I hate how you're always right, Bo," he said.
"We can come back here tomorrow when the storm passes," the mayor decided. "Maybe it will come back to the area."
Nodding in agreement, Rusl and Bo started retracing their footprints left in the snow when Bo suddenly paused.
"Rusl," Bo whispered. "Do you hear that?" Rusl strained his ears to listen. He could hear some sort of continual distant creaking in the trees. After a few seconds he realized that it was actually a whimper of what sounded like an injured animal. Another wolf possibly or a cat or...wait a minute…"Is that...a baby?"
Bo suddenly rushed toward the sound, with Rusl close behind him. They came across a highly dense area in the woods and had to carefully maneuver their way over and around the snowy bushes and thorns. They eventually found themselves in front of a narrow cave, hidden in a vine covered rock structure. They followed the sound into the dark cave. Rusl took out his lantern. He had just enough time to light it when they were bombarded with a flock of keese. Not having time to take out his sword, he swung his lantern at the keese, hitting their frail bodies into the walls killing them instantly. He quickly made his way through the pesky bats, with Bo following behind smacking the remaining keese with his sword. Once through the keese, they found themselves out of the narrow passageway. The cave opened up to at least three times the size of Rusl's house. He held the lantern high so he could find the source of the crying. Suddenly, Rusl caught sight of slight movement in the rocks up ahead. Holding out his lantern, what he found startled him.
Lying there, hidden in the cave rocks was a naked infant boy. He was laying on his back behind a couple boulders as if someone was trying to hide him. The poor child was crying and shivering in the cold. Rusl immediately rushed forward. Dropping his lantern, he picked the child up into his warm arms. Bo walked over slowly, inspecting the boy in Rusl's embrace. "Goddesses," Bo exclaimed. "He doesn't even look a few days old! Who would leave a newborn alone in the middle of the woods in winter?!" With that, he picked up Rusl's lantern to investigate the rest of the cave. Rusl followed behind Bo, checking every corner and curve and crevice of the cave walls, looking for any sign of the parents. Rusl's foot suddenly splashed in a puddle. Bo jumped at the sound and with the lantern, they realized that it was actually a puddle of blood that he stepped in. Crawling out of the puddle was a trail, looking as if the victim was dragged away. Faces pale, they followed the dragged trail back to the narrow passage. Seeing that it was going to lead them outside, Rusl took off his jacket, maneuvering as to not shake the baby too much, and wrapped it around the shivering child. The trio walked through the narrow passage and right when the outside opened up to them, they were unable to go farther. The snow was covering the tracks. Assuming the worst, Bo sighed shaking his head. "This poor child," he said looking at the infant who was still crying his little lungs out.
Rusl rocked the baby in his arms. "Shh it's okay. You're warm now. Nothing hurt you. You're safe," he said comfortingly to the crying child. "We should probably head back to Ordon.
Bo turned to the sky to see the sun quickly setting behind the trees and the snow that was quickly becoming thick and heavy. "No, it's too dangerous to travel through a snowstorm in the dark."
"Bo, listen," Rusl argued. "I'm not sure how long this child will last out here."
"But Rusl, being out in the snow won't help him either!"
"We don't know how long his family has been dead. We don't know the last time he ate. By staying here the night he could die from starvation and the cold won't even matter!" The infant started crying louder because of the adults raised voices. "Shhh," Rusl comforted, rubbing the baby's back.
Bo watched Rusl caress the child and sighed in defeat. "Okay," he said finally. "But we have to be quick." With that, the trio made their way back to Ordon.
Once escaping the dense area, Rusl was finally able to ease the baby. Now that he wasn't crying and screaming, Rusl was able to really look at the baby in the fading sunlight. He had dirty blonde hair and deep blue eyes. But what really caught his attention were his ears.
"A Hylian," Rusl suddenly announced. The baby's ears were longer and more pointed than those of the Ordonians. Unlike Hylians, the Ordonian's and even the Faronian's ears were smaller and more rounded. "What was a Hylian doing in the middle of Faron? They must have travelled for days, maybe even weeks if on foot." In all of Hyrule, the only place where you could find a Hylian is in Castle Town. It was very rare to cross paths with one in Ordon. The only time you would see them is if they were a traveling merchant, whether just passing through or seeking to trade with the small village.
Bo seemed to be on the same thought process. "They could have been passing through the woods when they were jumped or attacked by an animal. They probably put the kid in the cave to hide him, but the parents got attacked anyways."
They travelled in silence after that. The snow was quickly piling up to their shins, making it harder and harder to tread through and the sun disappeared into the horizon a couple hours ago. Rusl pulled the delicate child into him and turned him so that his face was against his chest to keep the snow from landing on it, yet being careful not to suffocate him. Even with the lantern, it was becoming harder and harder to see due to the blizzard disrupting its light path. Luckily however, they had made it into the Ordon Province, so they were very familiar with the land and wouldn't become lost easily. After another hour of cold and harsh travel, Rusl was frozen. Since the baby now had his jacket, the only thing he was wearing on his upper body were a couple long sleeve shirts, but not even those were enough to keep the cold out. He was sure to have frostbite as well and he was sure that Bo felt the same. The baby in his arms had stopped shivering and he didn't know whether to take that as a good or a bad sign. He hoped that it was because the child was warm enough, but he was scared that the baby was too weak to even shiver. He ignored the cold as best he could; determined to give the child a life he deserves. By the time they stumbled into Ordon Village, the snow was at their knees. They walked to the closest house, which happened to be Rusl's. Bo opened the door and the trio entered the warm shelter and was welcomed by the woman he loved.
"Rusl! I was so worried!" Uli exclaimed happily. She started running towards him when she noticed that he was carrying his jacket. "Why aren't you wearing your jacket! There's practically a blizzard outside! It's like I'm yelling at a child!," she scolded.
Rusl laughed at the irony. "You kind of are," he said turning the bundle so that his wife could see the infant's face.
Uli slowly made her way over to get a better look at the bundle. "W-Where did the baby come from?"
Rusl smiled. "I think you know where babies come from, Uli," he chuckled.
Uli slapped him in the arm. "You know what I meant! Why do you have a baby?"
Rusl made his way over to the table and sat down in a chair to ease his numb and exhausted legs. Bo and Uli followed after. "Well," Rusl began. "Bo and I were hunting when we saw the golden wolf again."
Uli paled at this. "You saw the wolf again? Did it hurt you?"
Rusl shook his head. "No, but we did follow it...But then we lost its tracks. We were about to head back for the day when we heard a baby crying. We followed the sound into a cave and found him alone."
"What about his parents?," she interrupted.
Rusl swallowed and hesitated at the awful memory. "They're dead."
Uli's face paled and her eyes started to water. "Goddesses…" she said looking sadly to the baby. "Can I see him?" She asked, holding out her arms. Rusl passed the child to his wife and she pulled him close to her. She gently stroked his hair and then moved down to his cheek. "He's so young…No child should have to go through that." At the sound of her voice, the child opened his big blue eyes and stared up at her. Uli laughed, "Hello, there." The baby suddenly started crying. "Hey. Hey. It's okay." She stood up and held the child so that his head was resting against her shoulder so she could rub his back. She started pacing the room to try to ease his crying.
"I think that he might be hungry," Bo said. "He is only a few days old at most and we don't know how long he has been in that cave alone. Let me fill a bottle for you." Bo stood up and walked over to the cabinet. He pulled out a bottle of milk and poured it into a spare bottle of Ilia's for when Uli babysits her. He gave the bottle to Uli, who put it into the child's mouth. The baby immediately stopped crying and graciously drank his meal. Bo sighed in relief. "So what are we going to do with him? We can't throw him out in the snow, especially when he's so helpless...Someone is going to have to take him in."
Uli and Rusl turned to look at each other and they both smiled. A silent agreement was made. Rusl stood up and walked over to Uli. "Actually, Bo," Rusl said. "I think Uli and I are willing to raise him."
"Are you sure?," Bo asked him with concerned eyes. "I know you two aren't ready to have a kid yet. Are you sure you can handle it?"
"Yes, Bo," Uli replied. "We're sure."
"Well, if you're sure, then congratulations! It's a boy!" Bo exclaimed. The new parents laughed, looking down at their adopted son. "Well…?," Bo asked. Rusl and Uli both looked up at him puzzled. Bo chuckled at their confusion. "What are you going to name him!"
Rusl and Uli laughed. They looked into each other's eyes, both radiating happiness and joy for the newest addition to their family. Even if the child was not really theirs, they sure were going to treat him like he was.
"Link," Rusl finally said.
Uli smiled and looked down at her child. "Link," she echoed. "It's perfect."
Rusl pulled Uli and Link into his arms. "Welcome to the family, Link."