Bond
Prologue
They always forget what makes a hero. They forget the trials and tribulations by the number. They avert their eyes from mistakes made, blood shed. They champion a valiant ideal, the representation of a dream. Rarely do they see the truth, whole and battered. A winning fell is countered with more destruction devised by the enemy. The blade of the hero is chipped and blunted, stained with the blood of those fighting for a cause just as familiar to them as to the hero. A hero is made by the shedding of tears, the deep well of anguish at the loss of a loved one. A hero is made by the fire within their hearts, their willingness to sacrifice themselves for the cause of their motivation. Their ambition is wrought by hardship, tested by battle. A hero is made. They forget that a hero is but a human, built of flesh and bone.
Chapter One
The people of Ordana are often busy with the chores of subsistence living. A casual observer would find that many of the daily activities in the central village near the foothills to the south consist of gathering food and herding animals. The villagers organize themselves around a mayor, a single authority figure whom decides when and where public activities are to take place, and whom mediates disputes of many kinds between the people of the small province. For the last thirty years, a large man named Bo has filled this role as a dutiful servant and proud father. His leadership is often supported by another influential man of the village, a retired warrior named Rusl. The two men spent their childhoods together, encouraging each other to develop their natural talents—traits later shared generously with their community, to the benefit of many. Bo mated at a warm spring matrimonial festival to a large and jovial woman named Elsi, to no one's surprise. They had been sharing beds since they were young teenagers, when Bo could barely grow a beard. The villagers expected their mating for many seasons before Rusl convinced Elsi to tie the knot with Bo before they had a third child.
Rusl married his young lover, Uli, later that summer, at the harvest festival in a ceremony celebrated with many skins of Bo's elderberry wine. Uli was newly arrived to the village, and newly a woman. She came to the central village alone after spending her life living to the south, in the small settlement of the limestone canyons near the border between Ordana and the arid plateau that stretched beyond the mountains' rain shadow. Uli was soon declared pregnant by the next cycle of the moon, shortly followed by Elsi's third announcement.
Tragedy struck late the following spring. Bo and Elsi's two children, Bolsi and Elon, were struck by lightning while herding their Ordanian goats to shelter on the hill above the village during a sudden thunderstorm. The village mourned their loss, Bo most of all, for he believed that he would never have sons again. A cycle of the moon passed and Uli birthed a small daughter with half a head whom lived only a harrowing day of agony before passing during the next night. Only three days passed before Elsi finally had her first daughter, loved so fiercely they named her Ilia, meaning "beloved" in Ordanian.
Two winters passed before a strange woman appeared one frosty, dark morning at the door of Rusl and Uli. She was cloaked in plain black, her face shadowed by a large hood. She had a large bulge beneath her bust, as though very heavily pregnant. Rusl claims she was talking very fast and in a strong foreign accent, urging him to take her children. He refused once, for not knowing the woman who would not give her name. She begged him, claiming she knew him for the warrior he used to be. She asked him to keep her children safe, for she could no longer. Rusl could see how distressed and desperate the woman was; her strangely teal eyes were wide in fear, her breathing labored, interjected with painful coughs and tainted with the scent of blood. Her cloak was covered in dust, her horse exhausted with its head to the ground, sides heaving. He saw no packs on the animal. She seemed to be running from someone, and in a hurry. Rusl knew the trouble would follow her and decided that he wanted her to leave as soon as possible. He asked to see the children. He wondered if they were healthy. The woman smiled as she heard his question. Uli came quietly to the door in time to see the woman open her cloak to reveal a small basket with two sleeping newborns swaddled inside. Uli cried out, Rusl put a fist to his mouth. She had only just given birth that night! Uli reached for the babies before Rusl could stop her. The woman gave her the basket and began to weep as she limped back to her lathered horse. Rusl called out to her, again asking for her name. The woman was mounted before she answered. She turned and lowered her hood, the dawn's light shining brilliantly off her golden hair and the dazzling lights of frost. "I am called Linse. I died when they were born," she spoke, in a proud voice unbroken by coughs. Her face set in a peaceful affection as she urged her mount to a pounding gallop toward the Ordanian Mountain Range.
Back inside the humble home of Rusl and Uli, the newborns began to cry. Uli cried with them, holding the basket tightly against her chest as she sat on the wooden floor. She had just lost another newborn only a day before, another daughter, with a deformity in her lungs. Rusl knew that she desperately wanted healthy children, and was afraid that these strangers would only break her heart even more if they died within another day. Rusl took Uli to her rocking chair near the hearth. She continued to hold the crying babies to her chest, tears streaming down her cheeks. Rusl hurriedly added more wood to the fire, thoughts racing through his mind as fast of the flames burned. He looked down at the strangers. They were swaddled so well that he could only see their small, angry faces. Their eyes were screwed shut as they howled.
"Uli, darling, what do you want to do?" he asked his mate, his voice soft, as he kneeled beside her, looking into her wide eyes. "Rusl, I want them. I want these babies. These are my babies now. Can you hear how strongly they cry? My milk is flowing for them, I need them. Rusl, I need to take care of them," she choked, as she started crying again. Rusl lifted the baby nearest him out of the basket. He felt it struggling against the swaddling, still quite upset. "I want to see my children," he finally said as he began to pull apart the soft cloth. Uli cried harder, doing the same with the other infant. As they unwrapped the babies, they started to quiet, their hands bursting out of the loose fabric, searching for a warm breast to suckle. Rusl carefully gave his boy to Uli, who he saw was holding a girl. They were indeed twins, he thought to himself. The unnamed babies fed fiercely as Uli smiled through her tears, holding the twins to her breasts. She locked eyes with Rusl. "What shall we name them?" she asked, her voice calming as her sobs lessened. Rusl ran a hand through his hair. He pulled up the other living chair and sat next to Uli, watching the strangers. "I don't know. That woman said she was called Linse. Perhaps we should name them after her someway." Uli nodded, lips turned up in a soft smile at her lusty charges. "I wonder where she was from." He used a finger to stroke the cheek of the tiny girl. "They have the same golden hair as their mother. I wonder what color their eyes are?" he murmured, teasing the soft downy hair on the girl's head. "I've never seen such a color. They were teal, like the needles of the mountain pine in autumn. Did you see her ears? She was Hylian, but I don't understand why she rode off towards the southern mountains. That accent wasn't normal Hylian, either." Uli raised her eyes to his. "It sounded vaguely familiar to me, but I am not sure either. I think I heard it once when some northern warriors were passing through our canyon." She dropped her gaze to the newborns again, who were slowing their efforts. "Let us wait until we speak with Bo and Elsi. I think they should be the first to know about them. I'm sure the sound of that horse aroused everyone on this side of river."
Rusl left the cabin when the sun reached five fingers in the sky over Orda, the tallest peak of the worn mountains on the horizon. He passed a couple of people who asked him if he knew about the stranger who rode through on a tall horse, telling them that he was going to talk to Bo about it. He met Bo at his hearth, drinking tea after breakfast. Rusl sat on the cushion next to the large man, accepting a steaming cup from Elsi. Ilia was clinging to her mother's pants, smiling at Rusl. Bo took another sip before greeting Rusl. "There was quite a commotion near dawn this morning. I heard it myself, as it ran over the bridge by my house." Bo asked, always straight to the point. Rusl grinned. "Good morning to you too, you old goat rider," he cajoled, elbowing Bo in the side. Bo's eyes twinkled. Rusl took another sip of his tea. His features fell in a concerned mood. His brow wrinkled. "It was a woman. She came directly to my cabin and claimed she knew of me. She looked like she was running from someone in a hurry; her horse didn't even have packs on it. She begged me to take her children. I found out she had birthed them sometime in the last night, and somehow made a hard ride to our village to give them away to be safe. She was in bad shape. I could smell blood on her breath, and she was coughing so much it was hard to understand her, on top of her strong accent. As she left, she limped. Before she took off, she pulled back her hood and I could see her golden hair and Hylian ears. I've never seen such eyes. She said she was called Linse and that she died in childbirth. Then she rode off." Rusl ran a hand through his hair as Bo watched him. Elsi had stopped cleaning the morning dishes to listen, and Ilia was obliviously playing with a doll near her. Rusl took another sip before continuing. "As you imagine, Uli could not leave the babies offered to us and is caring for them now as her own. They seemed healthy and strong. The cried so loudly that I am sure of it." Elsi was now sitting on another large cushion at the hearth, the dishes forgotten. Ilia was lying on a blanket by the fire next to her, still playing with her doll.
"What will you name them? I imagine they are twins. What are their sexes?" she asked Rusl, leaning forward eagerly. Bo grunted. "They are a male and female. I haven't seen their eyes yet, but I can see they are twins. They have the same golden hair as their mother, as well. I came here to ask for guidance," said Rusl. He swirled the cool tea in his cup. Bo thought he looked quite at a loss. Elsi steepled her fingers and looked at her mate. Bo downed the rest of his tea and set it aside. "You said the mother's name was Linse? And what do you mean by strange accent?" Bo inquired. Rusl nodded. "Uli seemed to think it sounded like some northern warriors who had come through her valley years ago, but she wasn't sure." Elsi leaned back. "I hope they weren't Gerudo! I know this Linse was Hylian, but she could have lived with them." Rusl shook his head. "I have heard Gerud in Castle Town a couple of times. It was not that. It sounded similar to Hylian, but not like any I've heard in my life." Bo stared at the fire for a few moments. Rusl downed his cold tea, feeling a couple pieces of leaves on his tongue. "We must not tell anyone about the children. I am certain that woman has trouble trailing her. If it was after her babies born in the night, then it would be best to make it seem she never stopped here, only ran through. I do not want any trouble having reason to linger in my village, if it comes calling," Bo said, his deep voice reverberating off the stone hearth. Rusl sighed. "I suppose you are right. The people I met on the way here only mentioned that a woman galloped through, not that they saw her leave my cabin or even stop there. We can ask around what the villagers saw and see if we can keep this quiet." Elsi nodded. "I will do that as soon as possible then," she said. Bo heaved himself to his feet and pulled Rusl up with a strong grasp and pull. Ilia giggled, Elsi lifting her into her arms as she got on her feet.
By the time the sun was overhead in the sky and the river ice on the banks was gone, the three had gathered that the villagers all had the same accounts of what they saw. None of them mentioned anything about the stranger near Rusl's house, or where she came from, only where she was headed as she left. Rusl left for his cabin after discussing everything with Bo and Elsi, and found Uli still in her rocker, sleeping, the babies in the basket on the floor next to her, swaddled again and sleeping as well. Rusl made a meal for him and his wife, gently waking her to eat when it was finished. He had made dried vegetable soup with pieces of goat, and a mash of grains. They talked quietly about what had happened that morning over their meal. By the time they sat on the floor next to the babies in the basket and softly stroked their faces, they had decided on names for the gifts of fortune. Uli, with one hand on the edge of the basket, used her other to hold Rusl's hand over the infants. "I will name the boy Link, after his mother and the green mountain oak tree, for his strength," she said to Rusl. Rusl squeezed her hand. "I will name the girl Lina, after her mother and the blue valley river, for her beauty," he said. The mates gazed upon the waking babes, smiling as they yawned and slowly opened their eyes. Uli and Rusl gasped, for while their mother's eyes had been striking, Lina and Link's were at least as impressive. With Lina on Link's left, they looked like they each had one part of each other. Lina's left eye was as blue as the winter sky, clear and pale. Link's right eye was as green as the richest pastures, dark and bright. But their other eyes, they were the same color—the same teal as their mother, a definitive contrast between the other. Uli looked up at Rusl. "These twins look as though they share a soul. Their eyes!" Rusl was in disbelief as he shook his head. "I've never seen anything like this. What do you think this means?" He stared into Uli's eyes.