The world was big, bigger than it should be.
The feeling didn't really make sense, but the 10 year old Hylian boy was a whirlwind of confusion at the moment. He fidgeted with the strap of his meager backpack, containing all of his worldly possessions. The man escorting him was a fellow soldier of his father, and Link appreciated that the man was kind enough to keep talking to him. He suspected it was to take his mind off his father's death. The soldier's chatter helped him think about other things, and not dwell on the hurt inside.
Being all alone in the world made him feel very cold and small.
It was strange too, that he remembered his father, but felt like there was more. Something more.
There was a cry from the trail ahead.
Link gasped as the wagon crested the lip of the mountain trail, the view ahead a breathtaking panorama of the mountain valley. Tremendous waterfalls crashed down among peaks of sparkling indigo and shale. The crisp air carried the mist of the falls, and the pines swung softly with the wind that ruffled his hair. Up ahead, he could see a lattice-work of luminous stone sculpture forming an elegant roadway, winding towards a shining blue city that nestled in the heart of the river valley.
Drawing closer, Link stared in childlike wonder as he saw his reflection distorted in the beautiful stonecraft of the azure bridge. The Hylian soldier chuckled, and rose from his seat at the back of the wagon to speak to the two large guards that made Link do a double take.
They were almost twice the size of the adult soldier before them, and they no clothing on but armor of some sort, with peaked helms jutting from long flaps that looked like...fins.
These are Zora, Link thought to himself. The thought came unbidden.
One was a deep blue with a cream underbelly, and the other a purple shade. Link caught himself staring as one of them glanced over at him with yellow eyes that had slit pupils.
The Hylian soldier spoke a guard, showing the wagon's manifest as he declared their intent and cargo. Link fidgeted with the strap of his pack, looking down the sloping cliffs into the sparkling river. The soldier must have been a comrade of his father, though the Hylian boy couldn't help but feel a strange deja vu when looking at the burnished helm and pauldrons of the uniform. He could faintly recall riding on his father's shoulders, a similar set of arming wear for a captain about his father's wide shoulders and comforting smile on the long haired blond man's weathered face. Another reminder of something that had been taken away from him forever, just like mother...
"Hoi there, tadpole!"
Link snapped his head up in surprise, finding the blue-hued guard leaning down to address him. He almost blocked out the sun over the little Hylian.
"You look like a strong little guy. You've swung a sword before, haven't you?"
The blond boy flexed one of his biceps with pride, unable to resist the childish impulse to live up to his swordsman dreams. The guard's yellow eyes crinkled with mirth, and he made a show of sounding impressed.
"Ahh, definitely the calluses and muscles of a sword arm, I could tell. You must have worked hard for those."
He ruffled the child's golden locks, eyes softening.
"I heard about why you've come, little swordsman. I'm sorry you've lost your father. That's a difficult parting for such a young age, even among you Hylians."
Link nodded, a bit more glum now.
"I know you are in pain now, but in time this too will wash away. Here among the domain, the waters ebb and flow with the passing of our lives. There is always beauty to be found, even after the rain."
The blonde boy thought on the saying for a moment, and nodded solemnly. A bit of a silly sight on a child, as the guard chuckled and ruffled his hair again.
"My name is Trello. Come find me if you're feeling glum again little swordsman, and I'll introduce you to the others in the Zora Guard. We could always use a good sword arm!"
Link smiled toothily, and waved at the kind guard as the Hylian soldier he was with had concluded his business.
They strode across the blue bridge of the domain, the luminescent stone that made up the masonry was captivating to look at. Link heard the soldier talking about how his wife was one of the artisans enamored with the Zora aesthetic, but found most of his attention focused on the new surroundings.
The reached a central platform among the series of lattices that occupied the river valley. Here there were bustling crowds of Zora civilians going about their daily business. Link could see fishmongers drawing up their catch from below with a winch, and several stalls where Hyrule Bass and Sizzlefin Trout could be bought. A green-hued mother with her child in a sling about her shoulders was browsing fruit at another stall, a hydromelon the size of her head held up to the sun. Sparkling jewelry in an array of precious stones were lined on blue felt at another stall, and smaller, teenage Zora females were cooing over the bracelets there. Link drew closer to his soldier escort to avoid being trampled underfoot. These fish people sure were tall...
It was an elegant and exotic place, and Link couldn't help but feel some sort of contentment at being there, even with such sad circumstances. He looked up at the crest of the western peak, where the veiled falls were and a perfect little glade above where you could...
...wait, what?
The boy frowned staring up at the place that he'd never been to. He could picture a sheltered dip in the peak with ancient cedars sprouting forth, where the squirrels played and the long grass made for some great naps to take away from the breeze of the hillsides. It was a curious thought, so crystal clear to him he'd mistake it for a memory.
...but he'd never been here before in his life, right?
The boy shook his head as he and the soldier escort came to another set of guards, and were admitted further into the inner sanctum of the Zora kingdom. They began to climb a stairway, which brought into view the arcing stairwells and outer ring of the domain. Pillars of elegant luminous stone in all the hues of starlight indigo and sky blue shone across the valley, and Link wondered briefly if the residents ever tired of the sight. He didn't think he could ever not be amazed by the beautiful curves and arches of the domain.
There were more guards now, these in particularly shining armor with backs ramrod straight. A black-scaled Zora prowled among them, sharp rebuke and critical eye roaming their posture. An inspection by the Sergeant, Link thought to himself, somehow natural in the assumption.
There was a wide pavilion, just below the crown of the domain, which made Link crane his neck back to view a breathtaking sculpture of a fish at the peak. Passing through the awning, the Hylian boy found his head still craned back at the sight of a positively gigantic Zora who occupied a grand throne amid white marble and blue stonework. The Hylian soldier he was with joined a few others who were waiting ahead, and Link stood politely at the rear with his hands folded at the small of his back, like he'd seen many of the trainees do.
"...the final matter of the day, your highness," a green-scaled Zora with a flattish head was shuffling parchment next to the foot of the throne at a side table hewn from the rock, "the contingent of Hylian soldiers with their king's permission have arrived, for the matter of their captain's son."
"Ah yes," The Zora king's voice was booming, much like his frame would suggest, "Step forward, my boy!"
One of the soldiers patted him on the back comfortingly, and Link took a deep breath and walked up a small platform. He felt very small and alone there, with all the eyes of the room on him, but stood tall as his childish frame would allow and gazed up at the massive fish king.
"Heh ha ha!" The Zora king laughed abruptly, a jolly sound for such a dangerous looking giant, "You've got your father's look about you my boy, no doubt about it. It reminds me of our days fighting together on the frontier, a reckless swordsman with that same wild look you have in your eyes!"
The great Zora's eyes creased sadly, "I very much regret his passing, I wish I could have seen my good friend one last time."
Link swallowed the lump he felt in his throat, willing himself not to dwell on that absence.
"Still, I made a promise to my old friend, and I intend to keep it." The blue-scaled king smiled wide and clasped a fist to his heart in an old warrior's salute, "I, King Dorephan, welcome you to the Zora Domain, as one of us. Our home is your home, and ever should you seek shelter from the rains of the world, you will be embraced as family."
Link felt a prickle of warmth at his eyes, and fiercely willed it away with a boy's pride. He raised his own childish fist to his chest, eliciting a laugh from the king opposite him.
"Well met, my boy. It's unheard of for us to welcome an outsider in such a way, but my old friend and I made a promise to look after each other's children should something happen, on a battlefield long, long ago." The king looked off into the distance, reminiscing, and then shook his great head, "Regardless, I'll have you introduced during our next banquet. Muzu here will show you to your quarters, and I'll see about finding one of the guard to continue your swordsmanship..."
King Dorephan continued to speak, as the green Zora with a slight frown eyed the Hylian boy, however Link found his eyes drawn across the court and its unfamiliar faces.
Then his blue eyes met soft amber.
She was a slight girl, at the King's elbow with a splash of azure silk over her shoulder and warm red scales above milky under-scales. Silver jewelry adorned her body, but her eyes were what really sparkled. A demure gaze of honey-gold that met his own, and the blonde boy felt his chest tighten and a lightheaded rush that was screaming something in his foggy mind.
He realized he was staring, and looked away with some color in his cheeks.
"...should you decide to follow your father's footsteps, the choice to return to Hyrule Castle will be open to you." One of the soldiers was talking now, and Link looked up to nod to his father's comrades. He hadn't planned much for the future, beyond the boyhood dreams of being a knight who saves the day. The one who had accompanied him unlimbered a plain, unadorned steel sword of a small time village, and with a start Link recognized it as his father's. He accepted the worn brown scabbard, the blade much too long for his small body, and looked over the scuffed and worn grey hilt and red wrapped grip. A bittersweet inheritance.
With a clatter of spears and swords, the Hylian soldiers offered a parting salute, and in formation they turned smartly, and began the march back out of the Domain to where the Merchant wagons were. The court likewise began to disperse, and Link said a heartfelt thanks and goodbye to his new patron King Dorephan. Politely following the green attendant Muzu, he chanced a look back over his shoulder, and found the red-scaled Zora girl looking at him once more. She smiled gracefully, and Link found himself responding with a warm smile as naturally as breathing. He didn't quite understand it, but something inside him that hurt very much felt soothed, and the Hylian boy felt lighter. A pain that had been deep in his bones melted away.
And something in the threads of destiny changed.
Link set to work unpacking his meager rucksack.
The room he'd been given was one of the platforms amid winding stalks of carven luminous rock. There were many that were arrayed throughout the domain, and some curving further back into the cliffs. The blue-white lighting of the Zora architecture bathed everything, giving the impression of being underwater to some degree, although as the night approached this lighting dimmed. Link could see many of the platforms were draped with elegant tapestries and silk hangings that each family collected, and it seemed like some were handed down. A sort of heirloom or sigil, he supposed. Hylian households sometimes had similar.
The room he was in was cozy, with a wading pool that had a small wooden bed frame set next to it, to accommodate his non-aquatic status no doubt. A cabinet carven from the stone was there, with cubby holes where he placed his clothes. A battered chest sat at the foot of his bed, and Link placed his father's sword inside along with his ruck and the flint and tinderbox he'd carried. Better not to get those wet.
As he packed them away, he felt something in one of the pockets of his ruck. Reaching inside, he found a cloth wrapped bundle the side of about an apple. Link unwrapped the little thing, and found himself staring at a blue ceramic instrument with a gold symbol on the mouthpiece.
Where did this come from?
He held it up with childish wonder, feeling the fingering as he palmed it. An Ocarina, he thought to himself, the word drawing up strange feelings of an almost remembered dream. The blonde boy held it up to his lips and blew a clear note.
The world around him dissolved into white.
Link hunched over, eyes wide. He didn't expect that to happen! It must have been some sort of magic!
He looked about frantically, seeing only roiling fog. He turned about, and cried out at the sight of a skeleton knight towering over him in moss-strewn armor.
He braced, unable to see the chest he'd put his father's sword into, and being unarmed against this apparition. Still, bedtime monster or no, he refused to show fear and stood ready to punch it right in its bony shins.
The empty sockets stared at him for a time, and then the Hylian boy was surprised as he heard a voice speak clearly from the unmoving skull.
"I was not any older than thou when I began my quest, little one."
Link found himself oddly reassured by the voice, and watched as it kneeled next to him on that foggy ethereal place.
"A childish mind will turn to noble ambition... Young love will become deep affection... The clear water's surface reflects growth..."
The ghostly knight looked up into the distance, as if ruminating on some memory long gone.
"Your mind still needs healing, if you are to grow into the mantle of the hero of legend."
Link frowned, trying to recall something that the words evoked. Like the memory of the veiled falls from earlier, he felt as if there were a patchwork of things he should know but just weren't...there.
"As I have sworn, I will guide you in this journey. Let the wisdom from the past sooth your troubled mind, and like clear water over a calm lake, reflect on yourself."
The skeleton drew up once more, and pulled out a small ceramic grey ocarina with a green mark on the mouthpiece. It held the instrument up to its face, and Link felt compelled to do the same with his own blue one.
The apparition blew a melody of gentle notes rising like the teardrops of a spring rain, and Link followed in turn. It was almost as if his fingers moved of their own accord, falling into a rhythm along with the ghost. The boy closed his eyes, and visions of a shining lake in the morning sun, cold winter's grasp in a hidden grotto, the light show reflections of a pool dancing on ancient stone. He let the melody flow, and something greater than himself settled in his soul.
The child-who-had-been-a-man came full circle, and the rift of a hundred year sleep healed inside him. What had been torn was stilled, and the turmoil settled with the ebb and flow of water on stone.
The music ended with a pleasant due of notes, and the skeleton knight spoke again.
"Thus, remember the Serenade of Water."
Link gasped as he saw motes of light dance about his ocarina, responding to the tune he had played. Ghosts and memories of burning fields and a hundred years of darkness teased his consciousness, and he stared up at the ghost for answers.
"You may not remember the fall, little one, though now you live out a second chance dearly paid for. You have a great destiny before you, and the fate of Hyrule, nay, the world depends upon thee."
A skeletal hand clasped the hilt of a fearsome sword sheathed on its hip.
"Now then, little warrior, do you possess the courage to fight evil?"
Link swallowed, feeling his palms sweat. It was surreal, like a dream he'd had before. Were this apparition a figment of his boyhood dreams to save the day or not, something inside him could not refuse the call.
He stood tall, and nodded his assent.
"Well met," the ghost knight seemed to approve, "First, a lesson in swordplay, for the long road ahead."
Link looked to his feet, and saw out of the fog a short sword had appeared. The scabbard was a scuffed blue, and the hilt was made of wood with a small red jewel inset. He picked up the weapon and drew it, feeling somehow familiar with its aged grip.
Despite their size difference, Link steeled himself in a serious look, and met the ghost's sword in his own salute. The clang rang out, and they drew apart in ready fighting stances.
"Come then, child of destiny!"
Link braced himself, and charged with a battle cry.
He woke up what felt like hours later.
Link was lying back on his bed, the ocarina held in his hands. His arms ached, as if he'd been swinging them all day, but it was a good pain that promised a fiercer it a dream or not, something in the boy did not dismiss the apparition or its words.
He held the ocarina aloft, remembering the melody he had played before. Trying a few careful notes, the blonde boy closed his eyes and began to play once more.
The delicate notes of the serenade rang clear in his room. The azure walls of the domain seemed brighter, and the sound of distant waterfalls and flowing river magnified. The heart of the river valley was wrapped all around him, and Link lost himself in the recital of the ancient song.
As his last note trailed off, he jumped at the unexpected sound of clapping.
Link turned to the door of his room, and saw the girl from the throne room standing in the doorway. Up close, he could see she was taller than him by a bit, yet she didn't seem to be a grown up yet. The light of the chamber made her amber eyes sparkle with curiosity.
"That was beautiful," her voice was soft, the dulcet tones made his ears warm.
Still, he felt pleased at the audience, rather than embarrassed. A wide smile graced his childish face, "Thanks I haven't played all that much before."
"Really? You're quite good for an amateur. Not that I've seen anyone play an ocarina before."
The red-scaled girl startled, remembering herself.
"Oh, my apologies, I haven't introduced myself yet, have I?"
She drew herself up with a clawed hand over her heart.
"My name is Mipha, daughter of the King."
Link's eyes went wide, and he hopped off the bed to copy her gesture clumsily.
"Oh! Then you must be the princess! My name's Link."
The Zora girl giggled in spite of herself, finding his earnest attempt at protocol amusing.
"Please, just Mipha will do. You're welcome here as one of us now."
Link nodded, feeling a bit warm. It felt like he had been alone for such a long time that the concept of having others, a family, was almost foreign to him.
"Thank you, it means a lot to me."
"Oh my!" Mipha's eyes went wide, and she stepped forward to gently lift his forearm, "You're hurt..."
There was a bruise there that Link didn't remember having. A memory of the skeleton knight riposte brought a twinge of pain, but that hadn't been real...had it?
"Hold still please, this should only take a moment."
The Zora girl held her clawed delicate hands over his arm, and a turquoise glow began to shine. Link stared in childlike wonder as the marred skin cleared away, and he felt the lingering stiffness disappear. His mouth cracked a toothy grin and he couldn't help the joyful cry at the miracle he'd just seen.
"Wow! That was real magic! You must be like a fairy or something!"
Mipha laughed, gentle bells ringing in the small chamber, "Well I'm not quite a Great Fairy, but thank you for the compliment." Her eyes shone, finding the little Hylian's reaction adorable.
Link looked up at her, suitably impressed.
"I've heard fairy tales about magic princesses, but I never thought I'd find one in real life!"
Mipha laughed again, waving him off, "Oh please, I'm just an ordinary Zora I'm afraid. It's a gift that I was born with, I'm doing my best to practice so I can protect those dear to me."
If anything, Link's opinion of the princess only soared. This was the storybook princess he had grown up hearing tales of from his father, who lived the very same ideals he'd been raised to uphold.
"That's why I want to be a swordsman," he said proudly, "so I can keep people safe too."
The Zora princess smiled, and patted his cheek with her delicate hand.
"Then I feel much safer knowing we'll have such a great swordsman to protect us."
The older girl stayed to chat briefly before heading out for the night. They had said their polite goodbyes, and it was as she was turning to leave that something ticked inside of Link, and though there was a warm feeling at the tips of his ears, he clasped her hand and knelt there on the floor.
The Zora girl looked down, and found the solemn look on his face of a man many times older.
"Princess Mipha," he said, and were his eyes ever so blue, she noticed.
"If ever you are in harm's way, I will protect you. No matter where, or how fierce the enemy. I will always protect you."
The Zora heir found herself at a loss for words. Lacking any words to respond to such an oath, she merely held the earnest child's hand and smiled warmly, and as he grinned back she knew it was the right reply.
Thus, the red string of fate was woven.
