He woke up. He cooked the remaining keaton saved from last night's hunt, loaded up his horse, and then left. The same, constant routine that Link carried out every day.

Around the evening time he would stop, and go hunting, which was no longer a thrill anymore. Just and endless chore that he had to carry out every night. He rode on blindly. He patted his horse's head. No doubt she was tired. She was an old one, but she was probably the greatest horse around. If there were any horses out here.

She might have had a few more years to live. She was a powerful, majestic beast with a lush mane of white hair, and her hair was dark red. She was Link's friend in this empty wasteland. She was his only company. The barrier between insanity and his current state of mind. He talked to her often, as if she were a person. He had been getting a feeling for the past two years that she might have even begun to understand him. They had been through a lot, after all.

"Well, Epona, do you see anything yet?" he asked her for the third time that morning. That was probably his most common question.

Epona snorted, and Link handed her a roasted Deku Nut, which she devoured while walking.

"I'll have to find you some more treats when I go hunting, I'm getting low," Link said, glancing around.

Just more trees.

How he hated trees.

A week later, Link was out on his nightly hunt, bow in hand and a quiver full of homemade arrows strung over his back with his sword and shield.

This section of the woods was yielding little to no results. Link hadn't even seen a bird fly by the entire ride that day. There were no Deku Scrub burrows, and not a single keaton scurried by. Link didn't like to kill keatons if he could help it, but at this point he would take just about anything. His water supply was diminishing.

He crouched silently, scanning the overhead canopy for a sign of anything. Nothing stirred. He headed towards some bushes, and looked in them for berries. There were only a few unripe blackberries. He ate a few of them to curb his hunger, although they were extremely bitter. He moved on, searching for something to kill.

A loud, screeching whinny pierced the air. Link realized with a horrible jolt that it was Epona. With adrenaline pumping in his veins, he stood quickly and sprinted through the woods in the direction of his horse. His bow got caught in some briars, but he didn't even try to pull it out. He just kept running.

With his keen sense of sight kicking in as the sun set, Link maneuvered over roots and fallen limbs, never faltering.

When he shot out into the clearing, he searched frantically for his horse.

"Epona!" he cried desperately, praying to the Goddesses he'd find her.

He heard a far off whinny in the direction he was planning to travel the next day, and he tore off like a fired arrow, hoping to reach her before something happened.

In no time, he heard her hooves pounding. She was running from something. Link kicked his speed into a higher gear, his body working like a well oiled machine as he ran; arms pumping and his breath controlled.

Finally, in the light of the gloaming, he could see her ahead. And he couldn't believe what else he saw.

A person was on top of her, trying to control her as she rode.

Link smirked, getting over his shock. Little did this person know, Epona was probably the most well trained horse you could find.

He stopped calmly, "Epona! Whoa, girl!" he cried.

Epona halted immediately, nearly sending the person atop her flying off. They drove their heels into her side, but Epona held fast.

Link jumped on the opportunity and sprinted over to them. He grabbed the person before they even knew he was upon them, and yanked them off of her. He slammed the mystery person down, and began to beat them mercilessly with his fist.

The person held up their arms feebly in defense, grunting as Link pounded them all over with rock hard punches.

Link finally gained control of his emotions, and backed away from the person, catching his breath. They stood slowly, coughing up a little blood. Link glared furiously, as Epona trotted over to his side, nuzzling him with her wet nose.

Link patted her on the head, and redirected his attention back to the recovering person. He took a breath.

"Who are you? What do you want?" he asked sternly.

The person took a second to regain their breath, and spoke - surprisingly - in Hylian, albeit a little broken, "I needed horse. She's good farm worker," he said.

Link raised an eyebrow, "Farm? There's a farm near here?"

The man nodded, "Right down the road, a few mile. Is mine. My mule died, and need something to plow field. Thought she was wild."

"Of course she isn't wild, she's mine! Now, what is your name?" Link asked again.

"Hale... Batticus Hale. Sorry about horse," he said uncertainly.

"You're forgiven. Now, is your farm apart of a... nation?" Link asked hopefully.

"Yes," Link's heart leaped with joy, "it is. Holodrum, it is called. Used to be peaceful but... things changed lately. I will offer you food for forgiveness?" the man offered.

Link gulped. Food? A home cooked meal in a house? He couldn't say no. His stomach grumbled at the thought of a true meal.

Link nodded, and the man motioned for him to follow. Link grabbed Epona's reigns and guided her through the thick of the woods. After a few silent minutes of walking, they arrived at a dirt road.

They walked down it a little ways, before coming to a closed gate. Batticus opened it, and allowed Link through. After the gate was shut, they walked along the fence for a ways. And when they rounded the corner, Link laid eyes on a spectacle that was truly grand. A cottage, with lit windows that pierced the darkness of night. Smoke could barely be seen rising from it's chimney's.

The man showed Link the empty, out of repair stables, where he put Epona. She seemed to sense Link would leave her for awhile, so Link patted her on the head to reassure her.

"Don't worry girl, I'll be back for you," he said calmly, before following the man up to the house.

The man led them to the cottage, and pushed open the door, holding it for Link. He felt slightly guilty, as the man was starting to develop knots and bruises all over his visible skin on his upper body.

"Listen, Batticus, I'm sorry about... my actions," Link said carefully.

Batticus shook his head, "It is fine, I understand," he said, patting Link's shoulder tentatively after shutting the door.

He offered Link a chair at a small round table, and moved a pot full of some kind of stew over to a still burning fire in an oven. The room was crowded, and full of shelves and cabinets and cooking utensils. A door led off into the other part of the cottage.

A young girl emerged from said door. She began to open her mouth as if to say something to Batticus, and then cut herself short as she noticed Link sitting at the table.

"Who are you?" she asked.

It took Link a second to register what he had been asked after years without interaction with other people.

"Er, um... Link. Nice... nice to meet you?" he said stupidly.

She nodded, and then turned to Batticus. She gasped, and nearly fell backwards into a shelf behind her.

"Daddy! What happened to your head?" she cried.

"Is fine, is fine... I... ran into some trouble. Link here is a guest, we will feed him," he said, trying to reassure her.

The girl didn't seem convinced, "Did he do this?" she asked. She turned to Link, and stepped forward, "You! Did you do this to my dad?" she demanded.

Link hesitated, "Erm... yes. I'm sorry," he mumbled.

She growled in anger, "What? Why are you sitting here? You should be far off of our property by now!" she snapped.

Her dad stepped in front of her, "Look, sweet... he was only protecting his horse. It is only polite to give him something to eat... he appears to have been traveling for some time..." he said calmly.

The girl clenched her fists, boiling up in anger, "What? You're too quick to forgive him! He can't be trusted! Look what he did to you, daddy!" she yelled, touching her dad's tender black eye softly with an unclenched hand.

He shook his head, "No, no... it is fine. We have forgiven each other," he insisted.

Link stood up, "I'm sorry to cause trouble, and I'm sorry for attacking you. It was only for my horse. I... I will leave now. Do you perhaps know of a place I can stay for now?" he asked.

Batticus turned swiftly towards him, "No, no, I must insist! Stay, it is dangerous in Holodrum at night! There are many monsters that patrol the fields. You'll never reach town in time without them killing you! Please, stay here, at least for tonight!"

The daughter huffed and stormed out of the kitchen, slamming the door unceremoniously behind her, causing several things in the kitchen to shudder and shake for a brief second. Link flinched slightly, not used to all of this noise. The woods were so quiet almost all of the time.

Batticus sighed, "Sorry for my daughter, she must be upset. The taxes are bad and take tolls on us all. She has been working very hard to help maintain the crop. I am sorry. Now, can I get you food?" he asked.

Link nodded, once more taking a seat, "I'd like that, very much," he said.

The man withdrew the pot of stew from the fire, and began to empty some of it into a bowl for Link. He set it down in front on him, and handed him a wooden spoon. He then went about preparing some for himself.

Link ate slowly at first. After twenty years of wild game, nuts, berries, and anything else he could get from the forest, this soup was like nothing he had ever eaten. Eventually he lost all manners, and in less than a minute the entire bowl was empty. Link leaned back, a sighed in relief. Maybe he could continue his search here. There must have been a Great Fairy taking up residence here somewhere.

"So," began Batticus, "What brings you to Holodrum?"

Link shrugged, "I... I'm looking for a friend. She ran away a long time ago and I've been searching for her ever since."

Batticus took a sip from his spoon, "Who is this friend?"

"Navi. She - she's a fairy. Perhaps a Great Fairy has taken up residence somewhere near here?" he asked.

The man's eyes grew wide, "Do not use the name! It's cursed! Oh no, they'll be coming here!" said Batticus, standing up abruptly from his chair.

Link looked alarmed, "What? Why? Who's coming? Can you tell me where a Great Fai- I meant... uh... a Great F-word is? Oh - that doesn't sound right. But nonetheless, what is wrong?"

"CMC has been outlawed. All of them have been rounded up and brought to Moblin's Keep, Tarm Ruins, and Northern Peak! No one knows why! Look, you must leave this place, they can track right to my house! They will burn it down!" he cried.

"CMC?" Link asked briefly.

"Certain Magical Creatures! Never utter their names! Now go!" he answered him.

Link nodded, "Thank you for the food, and I'm sorry about... hitting you. Perhaps we will-"

"Yes, nice to meet and all! Now go now, before they get here!" he said.

His daughter opened the door, "What's going on?"

"Dear, please lock the back door, just do it. CMC was said," he told her quickly.

She gasped and ran into the back room.

Link nodded, and with that, bolted out of the front door. He sprinted across the dark covered ground, and into the musty old stables.

Epona whinnied, knowing by her master's behavior that something was most certainly amiss. Link opened her gate and untied her. He climbed up on her back, and grabbed the reins.

"Come on girl, let's get out of here!" he cried, a little bit happy to be doing something exciting, and a little bit worried for the family he was leaving behind.

He spurred Epona onwards with his heels, and she took off like a bolt of lightening. Link was surprised by how fast she was, still. She jumped clear over the fence and onto the road, and began to run down it towards Holodrum.

Link wanted to cry out in joy as his face was blasted by wind, unused to going so fast on his horse.

Link slowed, as he passed a hooded figure along the road. The person was just standing there, paying no regard to Link. A strange figure, indeed. As Link looked back for a second glance, the person was gone.

"Oh no..."

The man knew from years of experience that disappearing figures in the middle of the night were nothing to celebrate. That was magic. Whatever that was had been expecting him, he was sure of it.

Link looked to his left, and gasped. Another hooded figure stood along the road, identical to the last. Like the last - or was it the last one? - it paid him no heed, and merely stared straight ahead.

Link cursed under his breath. This was just his luck.

He and his horse came out from the woods, and dashed across open grassland, that stretched for miles. Link grinned, having only stared at woods and the occasional small clearing for years.

Link cried out and yanked on the reigns, trying to slow Epona to an abrupt halt. A hooded figure was standing in their path, and Link was about to hit them. He heard a sickening thump as the person made impact with Epona, being trampled instantly. When Epona finally stopped, Link hopped off and ran over to the person.

That was no longer there.

Oh shit, this cannot be good. Link thought to himself, looking around, placing a hand softly on the hilt of his Gilded Sword. He didn't know how or when they'd appeared, but Link momentarily became aware that he was surrounded, multiple hooded figures encircled him in the shadows.

"What do you want?" Link said in a low voice, trying to keep calm.

There was no response, only a howl of wind far off in the distance. Link gripped his sword more tightly now. He had kept his combat skills sharpened in the woods by battling the creatures there if they attacked him, but would his meager practice be enough?

One of the creatures raised it's hand, and a glowing ball began to form in front of it. Link recognized the magic instantly.

"How... how can you do that?" Link muttered mostly to himself in awe. No one had done that since...

The creature raised it's hand and threw the golden ball at Link, which raced towards him, threatening to blow him apart.

Before it had a chance to reach him, Link had his sword drawn and was deflecting the attack with his blade. The blast shot wildly away into the darkness, exploding in the night sky like a firework.

"Do not resist. You must come with us," they said in unison in dry, cracked, and winded voices.

"Just let me be, I'm just a traveler!"

"All are accountable for hiding CMC, this is the law," they answered.

At once, they all began to form balls of magic in their palms. Link pulled off his shield and slipped it on his arm, and raised it defensively, trying to formulate a plan.

And then, all at once, they shot their blasts of magic at him. Link braced himself, putting one foot in front of the other, getting down into a lunge stance, or something similar to it, anyways. He thrust his sword out behind him, and raised his shield, and waited as the blasts came hurtling at him.

And then he swung. At the same time, he kicked off with his back foot, and balanced on the other, using the momentum of the initial strike to spin.

He spun rapidly, around and around possibly four times in less that a second before he planted his other foot down. Every blast had been knocked away, exploding in a massive ball of fire in the sky. Link smirked, surprised he could still do that particular move.

One hooded creature, without warning, shot another blast at Link. He had just enough time to raise his shield as he was knocked over.

Instantly, the rest of the hooded creatures began to move in, seemingly gliding right above the ground as they moved. Link stood, regaining his composure.

"I wouldn't recommend coming closer that you have to," Link said, noticing them reaching out for him with their gray fingers.

Just as they came within sword's reach, Link sprung into action. He let out a war cry, and jumped high into the air, bringing his sword crashing down on one of the figures. With a muffled grunt, they fell back and blew apart in a mixture of thick smoke and green flame.

Link swung to his side, cutting one in the rib-area. They stumbled back, giving Link time enough to turn around and block an attack from on of the creatures. Their fingernails had suddenly grown into razor sharp talons. Link blocked the assault with his shield, and parried another attack at roughly the same time with his sword.

One began to prepare a magical blast. Link grimaced, and lunged forward, driving his blade through it's stomach. It began to cough and shudder, before lightly exploding. Nothing, not even blood, was left on Link's sword or the ground to show that that creature had even been alive.

Another hooded figure lashed out at Link, causing him to back flip away to avoid getting cut open. He let out another cry as he lashed out, cutting one of the figures down. They exploded just as his blade left their body.

"This is surprising; you all are no match for me," Link said, just happy to be in a real fight again.

So technically he had only been in the woods eight years since his last encounter with a nation. But it was small, and the problem was minor compared to what Link had faced in the past. After clearing out the monster infestation, Link had left, and had fought nothing but forest creatures since.

A hiss interrupted Link from his thoughts. He turned to see a creature with it's arm extended. There was a long black snake slithering down it's arm towards Link. It was tensed, as if ready to strike. Link recognized the snake to be venomous by it's diamond shaped head.

Before it had a chance to strike with it's fangs, Link had cut it and it's owner's arm in hallf. The snake writhed on the ground in pain before exploding in a similar fashion as the rest of the creatures.

The now one armed hooded figure came at Link again, preparing another spell. Link slashed horizontally, and cut off the figure's head. It exploded in smoke and flame almost instantly, it's unfinished spell simply disappearing.

There were about four of the monsters left. They were beginning to encircle him again, deciding to change tactics.

"Ah, let's see what you have in store for me, shall we?" Link said, doubting they were listening to his words anyways.

Just as they came to face his front, sides, and back, they all charged, their talon-like claws raised in the air, gleaming in the faint moonlight that showed through the clouds.

Link got down in a familiar stance.

"None of you learned your previous lesson, it seems!" he said, letting out a cry shortly afterward.

Every single one of the creatures were cut in half by yet another powerful spin move. Link recovered, panting. All four creatures exploded simultaneously, and the night was still once more.

Epona trotted over to him now that the battle was done.

"Hey girl, why didn't you help me?" Link said jokingly to her.

Epona snorted, nuzzling Link softly, licking his cheek.

"Aw, I can't stay mad at you. Come on, let's go find a place to stay for the night. I feel... unsafe on these plains," he said, climbing on her back.

And then, they were heading out. Link grinned, spurring on Epona slightly faster as they rode in what he guessed was the direction of the town.

A new adventure had begun.

A/N: Long time no update!

Well, I hope you all like where it's going so far, and all reviews and constructive criticism are welcome (if you read this far)! I'll try and keep this story up-to-date as well as the others, so keep looking out for new chapters.