With a final scratch of his pen, Link finished the latter of a pair of letters he had been working on, sitting in his room at the Lynna City inn. He rolled up the two notes and tied them together with a thin blue ribbon. Then he turned to the large falcon that sat upon the windowsill, watching him. The bird was Zelda's personal message carrier; she and Link had discussed how they would stay in touch and had decided the falcon was their best bet. No matter where he went, she'd said, it would find him and anyone else he wrote to.
So, as he attached the two letters to the bird's leg, he whispered to it, "Take one of these to Lon-Lon Ranch." The falcon gazed questioningly at him, before its head tilted forward, as if imitating a bow. Link finished securing the letters, and the magnificent creature took to the skies.
His letters, one addressed to Zelda and the other to his friend Malon, were nothing of importance; he was only informing them of the travel plans he had made. After a week of travel from Castle Town, he'd arrived at Labrynna's capital to search for passage to some other land. The only passenger vessel that would take Epona happened to be one going to a far-off country called Belegarth. Link had certainly never heard of the place, but after his ordeal in Termina, he was certain he could handle whatever this new locale could throw at him.
Once the falcon had left Link's sight, he stood up and left the room, gathering up his belongings on the way. Leaving his payment for the room with the inn's proprietor, he began to make his way to the docks at South Shore. He arrived to the equally alarming and amusing sight of Epona being hoisted by a crane and some straps onto the ship they'd be taking. There were a few other Hylians at the docks, a couple families that would also be seeking refuge from Ganondorf's invasion in Belegarth. They began to board after the sailors cleared the deck of the mess Epona had made in her fright at being off the ground. Link boarded as well, with a quick nod to the captain. Scarcely an hour after that, the mooring lines were undone and the ship pulled away from the docks, and Link, standing on the vessel's bow, breathed in the salty air as he set out on what he guessed would be a new adventure.
…
It was five days later that Link found himself stepping off the ship's gangway, surveying the city in which they'd made landfall. He'd been informed by the captain that this city was called Pike, and it served as somewhat of a gateway to Belegarth. It reminded him of Castle Town, with its bustling streets and concentrated two-story buildings. It was tempting to simply settle here, but he'd been informed by the ship's captain that if he was looking to put down roots as quickly as possible, he would be better off travelling to one of the smaller towns. So, as soon as Epona was free of the straps that were used to hoist her back onto land, Link checked her saddle, mounted, and urged her forward.
One thing that struck Link immediately as he made his way through the city was how many armed people there were here. Everywhere he looked, he could see people carrying swords, axes, spears, shields, and other weapons. It actually unsettled him a bit; Zelda had sent him away to protect him from a war, but was Belegarth also at war? He resolved to inquire about this in the very near future.
After he passed through the gates of Pike and onto the dirt road that led out into the countryside, Link almost immediately came to a fork with a signpost. By the look of it, there were two options for him to proceed. The left fork would take him to a place called Babylon, while the right would lead someplace called Tír na nÓg.
At random, he chose the road to the right.
Eight hours' hard riding took him within sight of what he assumed was the town from the sign. He'd had to travel through a dense evergreen forest, the likes of which he'd never seen before. He slowed Epona to a gentle walk as he emerged from the forest and caught sight of the town in the sunset. It seemed a quaint enough place, a large cluster of small thatched dwellings on either side of a river. Hopefully, he could find a home and a place that would hire a ten-year-old in this settlement.
He was broken from his thoughts by a bestial roar nearby. As Epona startled, Link turned his head towards the sound and froze. He could see a shaggy brown bear standing on its hind legs, growling in challenge, though not to him. Towards the town, there was a small figure - a young boy, by the look of it - standing petrified as the bear came back down on all fours and lumbered at him.
Cursing his bad luck, Link quickly took out his bow and urged Epona to a gallop towards the scene. As he nocked an arrow, he watched things play out like a nightmare. The boy reached into the pouch he carried, before whirling a sling around his head a few times. His shot at the bear missed wildly, and he began running towards the town. As Link continued to draw closer, the kid tripped and hit the ground hard, his hand going out in what would be a vain attempt to ward off the swiftly-approaching animal.
In one motion, Link pulled his arrow back, sighted, and snapped off a shot at the bear. It was a hard shot, even for him, but he breathed a sigh of relief as his arrow buried itself in the bear's neck. He continued his approach towards the fallen beast, dismounting and running the last twenty feet towards the bear, another arrow already on the string. Coolly, Link drew his bow again and fired point-blank into the bear's head. After taking some time to remove his arrows from the carcass, he turned to look at the boy whose life he'd just saved.
The lad probably equalled Link in age, but was a bit taller and - especially - less well-built. A mop of dirty-blond hair sat atop an oblong head with small blue eyes. The boy was dressed in a simple white tunic with airy grey trousers and leather boots, still lying on the ground and staring up in wide-eyed awe at the Hylian.
That was when Link heard heavy footfalls approaching. Both boys looked up to see a young armed man, looking about as old as Link had after drawing the Master Sword, running over to them. The first thing Link noticed about this newcomer - and what made him double-take - was his pointed ears, resembling Hylian ears. The young man's dirty-blond topknot further reinforced the comparison in Link's mind. He was wearing a prodigious amount of boiled leather armor and carrying a javelin, a short sword, and a small round shield. Upon stopping, he looked at the scene calmly. Then he turned to the boy. "Are you alright, Trino?" he asked.
The boy nodded, before his older companion looked to Link. "I'm sorry, I don't think I've met you yet," the teen stated amicably, holding out his hand. "I'm Killdeer, it's nice to meet you."
Link smiled and shook Killdeer's hand. "My name's Link. I just got here from Hyrule."
The older boy's eyes widened a bit. "That's a ways from here," he mused. "You looking for a place to stay?"
Link nodded, before turning to the boy he'd just rescued. "How are you doing?" he asked.
The lad smiled. "Better now. I'm Trino, by the way. Thanks for saving my skin."
That comment made Link a little pink in the face; he had never really been one for receiving adulation, but here, there wasn't really a way to avoid it. "Any time," Link replied.
Right then and there, Trino asked something that made Link do another double-take: "By the way, you wanna be blood brothers?"
Link could already see Killdeer gently facepalming at what he guessed must have been a very forward offer from the enthusiastic youth. "What's that mean?" he asked.
After finally taking his hand away from his head, Killdeer answered, "It means he wants to basically be your new best friend, but kinda also like his family."
Link's eyes widened now, for a brief moment. Then he smiled at Trino. "Sure," he replied. "That sounds fun."
Killdeer was holding back laughter as the two boys went in for a bear hug. "If you two are sure about that, we can worry about sealing it in the morning," he said. "But for now, you can stay with us."
Trino silently cheered as Link accepted the offer. So, with Epona and the bear in tow, the three made their way into the town of Tír na nÓg for the night.
Sorry for the late update...ideas have not been easy to come by. But, I've finally managed to belt this chapter out. I do have two things to say here. First, those of you in the LARPing/combat sport community may recognize the name of this country I've come up with. It's based on Belegarth Medieval Combat Society, which is a foam swordfighting organization that I'm part of in real life. Pretty much all of the OCs in this fic will be based off of the "fighting names" of my swordfighting buddies (used with permission, of course).
My second point is, PLEASE don't be shy about posting a review! I value your comments, and they form an important part of my writing process (my first fanfic was almost entirely plotted based on someone's reviews!). So, please, keep 'em coming! Hope y'all liked this chapter, and I'll see you soon!