As I open my eyes, I become aware of several things at once. First, I have once again fallen asleep upon the look-out, which always makes my back sore. Idiot. Secondly, I notice my little sister, Aryll, staring at me. She's a sweet kid, and we rarely fight. As she stared at me, I had a vague recollection of Grandma saying something about a Birthday last night. Birthday! It was Aryll's birthday, and I had nothing to give her! Her smile was so big, I didn't want to ruin it.

"I… Uh… Happy birthday, Aryll!" I said. I hoped I could scrounge enough rupees to buy that pig-shaped bag Aryll wanted so badly. She burst out laughing.

"You forgot a present, didn't you?" she said, when she caught her breath.

"Yes. I'm so sorry, Aryll. How'd you guess?" She giggled again.

"'Cause that's not ALL you forgot." What else had I forgotten? "Today's Your Birthday, Big brother! Hee, you're so silly!" I started to laugh despite myself. "And here's YOUR present!" As she said this, she held out a Telescope. Not just any old telescope, but Mom's telescope. Aryll kept it by her side at all times after Mom died. Her giving it to me was huge! Gratitude filled my eyes.

"Aryll… Don't do this. Not your telescope."

"No, big brother, keep it. If only for today." Well, that was tempting. With a Telescope, I could watch the postman… Who was right on his rounds now! He's a strange one… looks like a normal guy until Fwoosh! Out come his huge bird wings! With several Flaps he was on his way… Soon to be far away from this Island. Outset Island is debatably a large Island; 16 people live here, but a lot of the Island's uninhabited. I hear about many other Islands out there, and I want to, one day, explore it all. But how could I leave Grandma and Aryll Alone? I promised my Dad before he left to go chase the Pirates that killed mom that I'd watch over them, and take care of them.

Aryll is in love with Outset, and everything in it. Especially our Pigs. She just loves the stinky, noisy things. Grandma… Grandma has decided to live her for the rest of her life, in respect to Grandpa, who died at sea. She didn't want to be like him, alone in a strange place. So no leaving Outset, ever. Aryll will always need my help, and she'll always be here. As for me… I'd love to leave anytime. But I never will, and I'm okay with that.

"Are you okay, Big brother? You zoned out…"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Hey, I'm gonna go see Grandma, Okay?" Then, without waiting for a response, I leapt off the tower, a good 60 feet, and hurtled towards the waters. As I plunged, I kicked out with my feet forward, and burst towards shore. As I walked up on to land, I saw Aryll shaking her head and muttering something.

I walked through our front door dripping wet.

"Oh, Link! Can you come here a minute?" Grandma asked.

"I'm just going to change, Grans. I'll be back in a flash."

"Oh, Link, that's perfect! Here, change into these!" And with that, she tossed me a pile of Green clothes. They were thick and kinda scratchy. As I put them on, I felt… I dunno, alive. Like I'd Just drank a full bottle of Grandma's Famous Elixir Soup. I walked over to her, Stepping lively.

"Well, don't you look dashing. Seems like they fit you just fine. You look so much like your father…" Grandma's voice trailed off.

"He wore these clothes, too?" I asked, surprised.

"Yes. They're yours now. A tradition in the family, one shared by much of the island."

"Really, Grans? I never see Zill or Joel Wearing this." And I wouldn't want to, as this was pretty warm weather to be wearing sleeved shirts.

"It is for boys who have come of age. The same age of the Hero of Time, derie. Twelve, like you. Yes, it was looong ago…" Here Grandma just started telling another story, one about a boy who had slew an evil man with nothing but a legendary sword. I thought nothing of it, just wondered what I would do with a sword like that. When she was done with the tale, I smiled and told her it was one of the best I'd ever heard.

"Well, I'd better go, Grandma. Joel would kill me if I didn't come show him how to catch a pig today."

"Oh, you kids and your games. Back in the old days, getting these clothes meant you would no longer be a child, but a man, and would take up arms and seek enemies to defeat. But that was in the days of monarchy. Go, run along now. But don't be late for dinner!" I thought about that for a moment. Monarchy. Back in the old days, we had a government. It fell through, however, and ever since our land of Oceiana (oh-she-ah-nah) has no government. Oceiana was made up of a great many Islands, all within our great sea. No one knows when we arrived, due to our lack of histories.

But it's time to get out of my head; I can see Joel jumping up and down on the bridge in the middle of the island, waving at me. Joel is nine, the same age as my sister. He has taken a bit of an obsession for his pet pigs, which escape every night. The next day, I catch them for him. It's his goal to be able to catch them himself, and today we're going to try again. I think today he'll get it; we've been working at it for weeks. He can almost catch them…

We started by throwing out bait. I'll be glad when I don't have to buy all this bait myself anymore. Then we'd wait in some bushes as the pigs dug in to the little red bits, dried fruit and such. We snuck out on our hands and knees after the little pigs, then…

"I caught one!" Joel squealed, which I found a little ironic. "I gots a piggy!" he hoisted it above his head and began running back for the Pig-pen. I mildly thought that if we could build a new fence… But then I dropped my own pig into the pen. "I'll get the rest, Link." Joel said happily. "You enjoy your birthday. Oh, do you want a present?"

"No, I'm fine." I replied. No longer having to catch those darn pigs is present enough, I though to myself. Suddenly, Joel screamed.

"Look, in the sky! What is THAT, Link?" He yelled, peril in his voice. I whirled to where he was looking. And what did my gaze fall upon but an enormous black bird. It was majestic, yet terrifying. It had four flowing yellow tails, and within its huge talons was a person. It appeared to be a child, but with the bird's size, who could tell? But then, I heard another scream. One far worse that Joel's, not only because it was a grown woman screaming it, but for the word that was spoken. A word that filled me with contempt and paralyzed me with fear.

"Pirates!"