Hey, guys! I expected to have this done sooner, but guess what? I was in the hospital last week with a collapsed lung! Can you believe it? If you don't, I understand. It's not something you see every day, but it's common for tall, skinny guys like me. Anyway, I'm fine now, and I'm home from college, which is fun. I don't know what to think about this chapter. It delves a bit more into How to Train Your Dragon and Race to the Edge than it does Breath of the Wild, but we'll get a lot of lore from the game in the next chapter. You can trust me on that one. Thanks, and enjoy!


Chapter 2
The Decaying Castle

As Hiccup awoke, he felt a hand on his face. He recognized it as Astrid's hand and slowly opened his eyes. Astrid was grinning so broadly that her ears must have been red, though he couldn't see them because of her hood. Hiccup smiled back.

"Good morning," he whispered.

"Good morning," said Astrid.

"How long have you been there?" asked Hiccup.

"Just a couple of minutes," said Astrid. "I was going to wake you, but I couldn't help doting on you for a little while."

Hiccup reached up and pulled Astrid down to him by the neck to kiss her cheek. After he had done so, she took his hand away and stood up. "Come on, sleepyhead. Get up."

"Alright," said Hiccup. Careful to keep his hood over his head, he stood up, made the bed, and followed Astrid outside, thanking the innkeeper on the way out. Once they were outside, Hiccup looked around, wondering, "Where can we get breakfast? Link said we could buy it somewhere."

"Why don't we ask him?" asked Astrid, gesturing to a campfire on the shoreline. Next to the campfire, Link was speaking to a man with a large backpack and hairdo in the shape of a paintbrush.

"He's still here?" Hiccup was slightly surprised. He approached the knight, Astrid in tow. As they got closer, Hiccup could hear them discussing something.

"What?" Link was saying. "Are you sure it's Hyrule Castle?"

"The castle is the only place with this architecture," said the artist. His voice was scratchy with age.

Link let out something that sounded like a mix of a sigh and a groan. "I was afraid of that," he said. "I've only been in there once, and I barely made it inside. I didn't think I'd be going back so soon."

"Don't do it, kid," said the artist. "You told me what happened last time you went to the Sacred Grounds ruins."

"I have to, Pikango," said Link. "You don't know this, but I'm under directions from Lady Impa herself. I'm on a mission to annihilate Ganon and get Zelda back. Who knows? We might even be able to restore Hyrule to what it was one hundred years ago."

Pikango sighed. "Well, I can't stop you. Just be careful."

"When am I not careful?" asked Link.

"I remember the state you were in when you came back to Kakariko Village from the Lanayru East Gate," said Pikango.

"I've gotten much better at defending myself since then," said Link. "You don't have to worry about me. I'll meet you back in Kakariko Village when I'm done. How quickly can you get there?"

"Probably two days by horse," said Pikango. "Is that fast enough?"

"That's more than enough," said Link. "It'll take at least a day for me to get to the castle, let alone figure out how to get in. Once I'm out, I'll head to Kakariko Village."

"Alright," said Pikango. He walked over to an easel nearby and picked up a paintbrush.

Link turned around and noticed the two Berkians watching him. "Oh," he said, speaking Norse. "Good morning, Hiccup. How long have you been standing there?"

"Just long enough to know you're going to Hyrule Castle," said Hiccup. "Why is that dangerous?"

"Remember what I said about the Guardians being controlled by Ganon?" asked Link. "There are at least 20 of them in Hyrule Field and Castle Town combined. There are even flying Guardians at the castle. If they see you, they shoot beams of bright blue light at you. I've nearly been hit several times. You have to be fast to avoid them."

"We might have a solution to that," said Astrid. "We'll talk about it over breakfast, if that's okay."

"You don't have to do that," said Link. "You got what you wanted. Go home while you can. Hyrule isn't safe anymore."

"Which is why we have to stay," said Hiccup. "I also heard you're going to kill Ganon and save the princess. I came here thinking Hyrule was gone. Now I know you plan to bring it back."

"You don't have to be involved," said Link.

"I don't want to look back on this day and wish I could have helped you," said Hiccup. "I can't have that on my conscience, Link."

The knight sighed. After a moment of thought, he said, "Alright, Hiccup. You and Astrid can help me as much as you want. You can leave any time, but I have a feeling you won't until I see Ganon's defeat through. To be honest, I don't know how long that will take. It could take weeks."

"We'll figure it out as we go along," said Hiccup.

"Oh, and one other thing," said Link. "Take off your hoods. You don't need them."

"Why do you think we have them on?" asked Astrid.

"To cover your ears," said Link. "Don't worry; it won't make you any less welcome."

Hesitantly, Hiccup and Astrid lowered their hoods. Once they were down, Link nodded. "Good. Now, let's go get some breakfast. I'll pay."


After breakfast, Link followed Hiccup and Astrid to the alcove where the dragons were hiding. As they approached, Hiccup realized Link had a sword, but no shield. "Why don't you have a shield?" he asked.

"I had one, but it broke last night," said Link. "The Yiga assassin broke it with his demon carver. It was already badly damaged. I've met people who say there are a lot of great weapons and shields in Hyrule Castle. One guy even said I could sneak in through the docks in the back of the castle moat, but I couldn't find said docks."

"That's unfortunate," said Astrid.

"What made you think about shields?" asked Link.

"A good friend of mine once told me that in combat, a shield is the most important thing you can have," said Hiccup. "He told me that if I must make a choice between a sword and a shield, I should take the shield."

"That's good advice," said Link. "I've found myself relying on shields more than I first thought I would. Turns out, I can use them to create an opening to attack monsters. I even know of a shield that can be used as a weapon."

"What does it look like?" asked Astrid.

"The Lynel shield – at least the lowest tier one I can find – is essentially a large plated axe head," said Link. "The second tier looks like a three-bladed axe, and the third one looks kind of like the second tier, except tougher."

"That sounds like the kind of shield I would use," said Astrid.

"There's one shield I do want to look for when I'm in the castle, though," said Link. "The Hylian Shield is supposed to be designed to outlast all other shields. It's rumored to be the same shield used by the Hero of Twilight, but I'm pretty sure it's a replica."

"Hiccup has a really strong shield that turns into a grappling hook and a crossbow," said Astrid. "It's made out of a special metal our friend discovered a while back."

"You must have been through some battles to have warranted such a feat," said Link.

"We have," said Hiccup. "We've just won the biggest war our island has seen in over a century."

"How big, exactly?" asked Link.

"Berk and its closest allies against an army of dragon hunters," said Hiccup.

"Why were you fighting dragon hunters? Don't you also kill dragons?"

"For three hundred years, we have," said Hiccup. "We don't do it anymore. Five years ago, we discovered that dragons can be trained."

"Incredible!" said Link. "When I was in the royal guard, I knew the entire Barbaric Archipelago was at war with the dragons. To think that your tribe put an end to it… I must say I'm impressed."

"Well, there are some who disagree," said Astrid. "There are still Vikings out there who kill dragons."

"I don't doubt that, but it sounds to me like you got several other tribes to be at peace with dragons," said Link. "It's a start."

A growl silenced the knight and he reached for his sword. "What was that?"

"It's okay," said Hiccup. He cupped his hands around his mouth. "Toothless!" he called. "Stormfly! Come on out!"

The dragons came into view and approached the Vikings. Link kept his hand on his sword, but held it in its sheath as Hiccup reached out with his hand to pat Toothless on the nose. The Night Fury eyed Link and growled, baring his teeth. In response, the young knight tightened his grip on the Master Sword and glared threateningly.

"Hey, calm down," said Hiccup. "It's okay, Toothless. He's a friend." He turned towards Link and said, "Drop the sword."

Instead, Link released his grip on the weapon and put his hand down. He reached into his bag and pulled out a Hyrule bass, holding it out to the dragon. Toothless sniffed the fish and ate it straight from Link's hand.

Hiccup gasped. "How did you know to do that?"

"I befriend dogs by feeding them meat," said Link. "Horses like apples. I always see the green dragon Farosh in the waters of the Faron region. I figure he eats fish, so why not other dragons?"

"Good thinking," said Astrid.

Link's gaze shifted down the side of the dragon. "Is that a saddle?" he asked.

"Yep," said Hiccup. "We ride dragons."

"Let me get this straight," said Link. "Your plan is to fly me into Hyrule Castle on a flying, fire breathing lizard?"

Astrid and Hiccup nodded in unison.

Link stared at the two for a moment and chuckled. "I love it, but you guys are as crazy as I am."

"Not likely," said Astrid. "Hiccup is probably crazier."

"Trust me, Astrid," said Link. "Just half of the things I've done since waking up in that shrine is enough to drive other travelers mad."

Hiccup mounted Toothless and reached toward Link with his hand. "Trust me; you'll love this." Link grabbed Hiccup's hand and swung himself onto Toothless's back as Astrid mounted Stormfly. "Let's go," said Hiccup.


As they approached the castle, Hiccup noticed a strange purple and black aurora shrouding it. It looked beautiful, but Hiccup could tell it wasn't good just by looking at it. "What is that?" he asked.

"That's the Malice of Calamity Ganon," said Link. "Be careful. If you touch the bogs, they will drain the life out of you. If the beast breaks free, it will destroy what's left of Hyrule and wreak havoc on the rest of the world." Suddenly, he gasped. "Stop, dragon!" he shouted.

Toothless and Stormfly came to an abrupt halt.

"What is it?" asked Hiccup. "What's going on?"

"Look!" Link pointed above the castle.

Above the towers, an enormous beast head covered in Malice flew around the castle. It resembled a boar, but its movements seemed like that of a dragon. It let out a massive roar, staring down the dragons and their riders.

"He's onto us!" said Astrid.

Just then, bright golden light began shining in what Hiccup guessed was the castle throne room. In response, the beast head roared again, dissipating without warning.

"Oh, thank Hylia," said Link, letting out a sigh of relief. "Zelda's still got him. Let's keep going."

As they approached, Hiccup noticed a beam of red light pointing at Stormfly. "Um, Link?"

Link noticed it, too. "ASTRID, WATCH OUT!" he shouted, jumping off Toothless. He quickly took his bow off his back and nocked an arrow. The source of the red light appeared to be a turret of some kind. Link released the arrow, hitting the turret directly in the eye. Before Hiccup could fly down to catch him, the knight deployed a glider and began descending towards a tower on the west side. "Quick! Inside!"

The dragons followed Link to a bridge and landed inside the room across from the tower. Once inside, they were faced by a large black monster holding a large two-handed sword.

"Black Moblin! Are you kidding me?" Link unsheathed the Master Sword and rushed towards the monster. It swung at him, but Link flipped backwards and unleashed a flurry of attacks on the Moblin, killing it instantly. The monster exploded into purple dust. Fangs and a horn from the monster remained on the floor, which Link picked up and placed in his pouch. "This'll come in handy," he muttered.

Hiccup was impressed with how quickly Link had taken down the Moblin, but didn't say anything. Instead, he took in his surroundings. "Where are we?" he asked. There was an overturned queen-sized bed, a fireplace, a desk, a fancy chair, a footrest and a changing screen.

"It seems familiar," said Link.

"What's this book?" asked Astrid, holding the book cover up so Link could see.

Link sheathed the Master Sword and read the front cover. "Diary of–." He stopped short of saying the name.

"Who?"

"Guys, we're in Princess Zelda's room," said Link.

"Are you sure?" asked Astrid.

"Yeah," said Hiccup. "That diary has her name on it."

"Wait, then that means…" Link looked up at the doorway to the bridge above them and muttered, "No, wait a minute. This layout doesn't make any sense! If this is her bedroom, that means her study is across that bridge, so why is the door up there?"

"Well, look at this," said Hiccup, pointing to the rubble underneath the doorway. "Doesn't it look like there used to be a stairwell over here? It must have broken down."

Link studied the area and nodded. "Good point. Well, if this was Zelda's bedroom, and the Sheikah Slate belonged to her, that must mean she took the picture on that bridge out there. I'll have to stand on that bridge for a minute or two to recall whatever happened here that's so important."

"But there's a flying Guardian outside," said Astrid. "It'll spot you if you go out there."

"I know what I'm doing," said Link. "You guys stay here and look around if you want. I'll go kill that Skywatcher and recall the last memory." Before either Viking could reply, he jumped up the side of the wall to where the door was and walked out onto the bridge.

Astrid shook her head. "Does he seem … cocky?" she asked.

"I don't think so," said Hiccup. "We've only been in Hyrule for a couple of days, Astrid. Link's been here all his life. Maybe he knows more about the Guardians than we give him credit for."

"He didn't want us to come with him, I can tell," said Astrid. "He accepted our help, but I can't shake the feeling that he didn't want to."

"Astrid, for all we know, Link has probably been traveling alone for months," said Hiccup. "He's used to it."

"But he doesn't deserve to be alone," said Astrid. "Doesn't he realize that?"

"Maybe he doesn't think about it," said Hiccup. "I used to be like that. When I was training Toothless, I did it all alone. I didn't think about letting anyone help me."

"Only because nobody would have helped you," said Astrid. "Most of us – no; all of us – would have killed Toothless instantly."

"Right," said Hiccup. "Bad example."

"But you would have tried to take the Red Death down by yourself if I hadn't convinced the others to trust you," said Astrid.

"Right," Hiccup repeated. "Hey, speaking of which, how did you do that? I don't think I ever asked."

Astrid chuckled. "It has been five years, so I hardly remember, but I think it had something to do with threatening Snotlout…"

"Obviously," said Hiccup.

"…finding Fishlegs in his house, and breaking up a fight between the twins. But the strange thing is, I don't think it took much convincing. They saw what you did with Hookfang in the arena and saw something none of the adults did. They saw potential. Even Snotlout, somehow. When I explained to them that we could never train more dragons unless they helped you take down the Red Death, they were in. I don't think any of them really wanted to kill dragons after all. Especially after what you did."

"You did," said Hiccup. "I'm pretty sure you were hoping to have Hookfang's head."

"Hiccup, I only wanted to kill dragons to live up to the reputation of my family," said Astrid. "Something changed the night I found out what was going on with you and Toothless. I realized the dragons were slaves, and killing them didn't appeal anymore. The day you killed the Red Death was one of the best … and worst days of my life."

"I couldn't have done it without you guys," said Hiccup.

"That's why I don't want Link to do this alone," asked Astrid. "You see what I mean, don't you?"

Hiccup nodded. "Absolutely. I don't want him to, either." He paused. "What did you mean when you said the Red Death's defeat was one of the worst days of your life?"

"When we found you, we thought you'd died," said Astrid. "I thought I'd never see you again, and when I found out you were alive, I was so overjoyed, I couldn't hide it. Every day for the next two weeks, I waited for you to wake up. I knew you would, but I was terrified."

Hiccup smiled playfully. "So you admit you even loved me back then, huh?"

Astrid smirked back at him. "Now, you get it?"

Hiccup laughed. "I mean, I had my hopes. You did kiss me at least three times within the year after I woke up."

"We were kids back then," said Astrid. "When my parents saw me kiss you at Thawfest, they got mad at me. They told me I could still be friends with you, but they said not to be sweet with you until I was at least an adult. By the time we built Dragon's Edge, I had almost completely given up on a relationship with you."

"And look at us now," said Hiccup, reaching out to hold her betrothal pendant. Before he could grasp it, he heard the sound of shoes hitting the floor behind him. He turned around and saw Link rising up from his landing. "Oh, Link! There you are! Did you remember what you needed to?"

Link didn't answer. He stood up straight, but his gaze was fixed to the floor in front of him. His eyebrows were creased downwards in what Hiccup could only identify as unparalleled anger. He looked even more angry than the night prior, when he had been separated from the Master Sword.

"What is it?" asked Astrid. "Are you okay?"

"Let's go," said Link, his voice cold. "I just need two more things and we can leave."


Link led the dragons and their riders to a large library filled with lizard-like creatures, which he immediately destroyed with explosive arrows. When the monsters had been taken care of, he found a panel in the wall he could move. Using the Magnesis rune on his Sheikah Slate, he pulled the panel out and led the Vikings into it. Hiccup instructed the dragons to guard the entrance and followed the knight down to an area that looked like docks.

"Well, looks like we found those docks you were talking about before," he said. When Link didn't respond, Hiccup grew concerned. "Link, are you sure you're okay?"

Astrid grabbed Hiccup's wrist and shook her head, as if to say, "Leave him alone for now."

Link was staring at an unlit fire pit in the middle of the balcony. Without warning, he fired an explosive arrow at it. As the fire burned in the pit, the ground began to shake. Behind them, a rounded structure emerged from the ground. On it was a door and a pedestal. Link held the Sheikah Slate to the pedestal and opened the door. Instead of entering, however, he turned and started walking back up to the library. Hiccup and Astrid followed suit.

As he led them through the castle, Link slayed monsters left and right until he came to a large room with a large pile of bones in the middle. He motioned for the Vikings to stop and entered the room by himself. A gate shut behind him and the bones assembled into a large one-eyed skeletal monster. Wanting to get rid of the creature quickly, he hit it in the eye with a shock arrow and began hitting it with the Master Sword, just as he had with the Stalnox he had encountered in Akkala a few nights ago. Once the monster was dead, he opened the chest in the room. Inside was the shield he had been looking for. He strapped it to his back and turned to leave, only to find the Vikings staring at him in disbelief. Even their dragons seemed to be surprised at him. As he exited the room, he uttered his first words since Zelda's bedroom.

"I got what I came for. Let's get the blue blazes out of here."

With that, they walked outside, mounted the dragons, and left. Link was silent the entire way. Hiccup wanted to ask the young knight what was bothering him, but he decided it was best to leave him be until spoken to. Link eventually pointed to what looked like a large arena and they touched down near it. Pools of Malice covered the side of the arena, but that didn't stop Link from walking inside. When Hiccup and Astrid followed him, they stopped in their tracks at the sight of what was inside.

Hiccup had read about this creature, but had never known it really existed. The part man, part lion, part horse monster stood in the center of the arena with a large sword, a shield, and a bow strapped to its back. Upon hearing Link's footsteps, the creature turned towards him and stared him down for a few seconds. Link stopped and drew the Master Sword and his new shield. After letting out a scream of what sounded like pain mixed with anger, he charged at the beast.

In response, the Lynel roared its own war cry and drove its sword into the ground, sending shockwaves through the whole coliseum.

"TOOTHLESS!"


Sorry for the cliffhanger. I had a completely different ending in mind for this chapter, but it would have taken way too many words that I consider ideal. Thank you so much for reading. Don't be shy to leave a review to let me know how you think I'm doing. Don't worry; Link's anger will be explained in the next chapter, but I'm sure you already know what's going on if you've played the game already. Thanks again!