Chapter 4

Beginning of the End

Link opened the paraglider and soared through the air, feeling as free as could be. The cool air pressing against him as the windy chill flowed through his clothes- it was a feeling that could never be explained in mere words, to stay airborne without the need for wings or other such natural devices.

In a word, he would describe it as divine.

But the feeling was lost when his feet made contact with the ground once again, and now he stood within the greatest power in the world- Hyrule Kingdom. He stood within the flattest of all areas within the kingdom, Hyrule Field, which was overlooked by the castle imprisoning the great Calamity. And he merely stood on the edge of the great plane, which spread for miles from his view.

But he pushed this view aside for a while as he evaluated his surroundings. He was no longer limited to the Great Plateau. He could travel to every corner of Hyrule if he so desired. But a difficulty he quickly discovered was that Hyrule was very big. And simply walking from place to place would take undoubtedly hours. And with monsters being almost everywhere, it made traveling exceedingly dangerous.

But then Link found a group of horses just next to the Plateau. He then realized how efficient travel would be with a horse companion. Especially across Hyrule Field. So it was decided: he would take a horse with him on his travels.

But after trying to approach the horses, he realized a small flaw in his plan. The horses did not much approve of his company, and scattered when he came close. So Link hid in the grass, and approached slowly to the horse he liked the most. It was a very fast horse, with a full brown coat along with a darker shade of brown for its mane. It was a very casual and ordinary horse, but it was far faster than the other horses.

As Link approached carefully, it noticed his presence, and tried to run, but Link quickly took hold of the horse, as the horse bucked to get Link off. He did his best to soothe the horse, but his fatigue got the best of him as he flew off the horse's back.

By the time he recovered, the horse was long gone. He sighed in frustration as he got up, dusting himself off as he took a bite from an apple. The sweet juices eased some of his pain, though he was still upset at how he still couldn't tame a horse.

But he didn't give up. He kept trying to at least get a horse to the point where he could ride it, but it was dangerous work, as their will often bested his endurance. Link was near ready to give up trying when he spotted a light blue horse with a spotted rear and a white mane. He sighed to himself.

One more shot, he told himself. But to his surprise, when he mounted the horse, it took little time to calm it. At long last, he found himself a steed. Though, a quick problem he encountered was that the horse had not grown used to him just yet. It fought against Link as he went down the road, causing Link to have to soothe the blue horse.

Another thing Link realized, was that the horse was not very fast, nor was it high on stamina. It took a while for Link to get used to, but that turned out to be a quick adjustment, as the roads were rather linear. They soon passed under Dueling Peaks and came to a large field, scattered with withered Guardians. Once again, Link felt the sudden urge to run. But he knew why, and resisted the urge. He then saw a stable.

'Perfect', he told himself. 'I can get a saddle and bridle for my horse.'

He slowed his horse down and came to the front counter. There, he met a man.

"Hello! Welcome to The Dueling Peaks Stable. Here, you can give both yourself and your horse a rest! There's a cooking pot just over yonder if you need to cook anything up, and there's some supplies and weapons near it if you need them. We're on no shortage of food, I assure you." The man said. Link nodded, then patted his horse. "Ah, of course. We can register your horse here, Yes. As well, we can outfit it with a quality saddle and bridle. Not top of the line, I'll admit, but it'll serve you better than nothing. However, there is a fee for registration- for a good cause, I assure you. A simple 20 rupees."

Link nodded and reached into his pockets… only to find he had not a single rupee on him.

"No money, eh? Well you can return once you get enough. There's a merchant just nearby who'd be happy to take anything you don't need off your hands for a reasonable price." The stable manager said. Link looked around and saw a man with a rather large backpack that, upon closer inspection, was in the shape of a beatle. They talked, and the man, whose name coincidentally was Beatle, was willing to take some amber Link had for 30 rupees. He returned to the stable manager and handed the money.

"Alright then. We'll get your horse outfitted. And would you like to give her a name?" The stable manager asked.

Link had thought of what name he should give his horse, but never thought of a perfect one. So he began brainstorming. It was a blue white spotted horse, with a rather neutral balance of speed and stamina and strength. Then a name hit him.

"Indigo, is that Right?" The stable manager asked. Link nodded. "Alright then, Indigo is now registered. We'll outfit her with the necessary equipment. In the meantime, feel free to relax. The stress of adventuring can be exhausting at times, so it's good to take a load off once in a while."

Link nodded, realizing he had a lot to take in today. At that moment, a rest seemed like a good pastime. So he sat under a tree and ate an apple, looking out to the field. 'This field… it looks familiar. Did I… accompany the Princess here at some point?' Link wondered. He then recognized a good number of Guardians scattered across the field, withered and decayed over a century. To see this large of a number of Guardians, he felt his hand twitch as if reaching for his sword. His other hand grabbed it as he breathed slowly, but it also caused him to drop his Apple.

'Get it together, Link. If you freeze up against a fully functioning Guardian, it'll be the end.' Link sighed as his body relaxed. He folded his hands behind his head as he closed his eyes under the tree, rays of sunlight passing through the leaves to meet his face and warm him up.

Then suddenly, his eyes snapped open again as he quickly rolled away from his spot. As he did so, a sickle slammed into the tree where he was. He drew his bow and readied the shot, but there was no target anywhere in sight. As he stood, a red card landed next to his foot as he slowly released the tension on his bow. He picked up the card, where there was a symbol like the Sheikah Slate's. Except it seemed as if it were meant to be upside down.

He looked at the sickle, and it shared the same symbol.

'What… who just tried to kill me?' Link wondered as he stared at the weapon.

He shoved the thought out for now as his horse was now ready. Now he could travel to Kakariko village faster than ever. And somehow, he managed to gain the horse's full trust, and it no longer struggled against him.

Once he made it to the peaceful village, he continued down the main road until a sign caught his eye. A clothing shop.

He looked at his tattered shirt. 'Perhaps a nicer shirt would be appropriate for this meeting with the village elder.' Link thought. Immediately, it was settled. He left Indigo just next to a hollowed tree stump and went inside the shop. His eyes immediately darted to a sturdy looking turtleneck wrapped under a tunic with leather bracing on the breast and shoulder, along with leather gloves. After a trade for a few gemstones, he got the tunic. It fit him perfectly, as if it were meant to be worn by him. As well, it proved to be much warmer than the ragged shirt. Which he threw out, along with the old pants and shoes.

Not exactly useful to him now that he had a better change of clothes. He went up to a house on a hill, but was stopped by two guards.

"Halt! This is Lady Impa's abode! Outsiders are forbidden!" The first guard exclaimed. Then the second one put his hand on the other's shoulder.

"But wait! Look at his hip. Look at the device he has." The second guard said. The first guard's eyes widened.

"A Sheikah Slate. Well I'll be." The first guard gasped. They then stood upright. "Very well then, you may enter."

Link nodded as he walked up the stairs and entered the house. And there, before him, sat the small elder named Impa.

"So, you finally woke up." Impa said as she looked up. "It has been quite some time, hasn't it Link?"

Link was somewhat shook by this. How did she know he had been sleeping? How did she know his name? Was she a spy, or an ally from his previous life? Either way, Link approached slowly.

"Link, do you not remember me? Though I have changed throughout the hundred years, surely you at least remember my name?" Impa asked. Link's face didn't change, but his suspicions were confirmed. This woman was an old ally. "I see. The Shrine of Resurrection must have taken your memories as a price for new life. Or, perhaps we were not fast enough to save your memories."

Impa mulled over this for a bit. "Hmm… perhaps for now, it is a blessing in disguise." Impa looked back up to Link. "How much do you remember?" Link went on to explain what the king had told him, and what he was instructed to do. "I see, so you know you were Zelda's appointed knight. So then it is appropriate for me to relay this message she told me to pass to you. But first, I must be sure you are ready to risk your life for this cause. If I were to ask this of one without conviction, it may put more than yourself at risk. So tell me: are you willing?"

Link, without hesitation, nodded. And at this, Impa let out a small laugh. "With no memory of your name, and yet you're as willing to charge into battle as ever. As they say, once a hero, always a hero." After that remark, Impa sighed. "I assume the king has already told you of the story of the Calamity, so I'll save my breath. The message Zelda wishes to relay, it is this: 'free the four Divine Beasts!'"

'Divine Beasts? Didn't the king mention something like that?' Link thought as he asked what they were.

"Giant mechanical marvels, made to weaken the Calamity for the hero chosen by the sword that seals the darkness. However, since the Calamity returned, the Divine Beasts have terrorized the four kingdoms of Hyrule. You must free them. There are four Divine Beasts in total: Divine Beast Vah Medoh of the Rito, Divine Beast Vah Ruto of the Zora, Divine Beast Vah Rudania of the Gorons, and Divine Beast Vah Naboris of the Gerudo. You must travel to their domains and find their leaders." Impa explained. Link looked to his Sheikah Slate, and there, on four corners of the map, was marked four points.

'Oh boy. This is gonna be a lot of walking.' Link sighed as he put away his Slate.

"As well, it has been a hundred years since it's been in use. You should have your Sheikah Slate examined by Purah in Hateno Village." Impa said. She put another mark on Link's map, which seemed to be a ways east of Kakariko Village. "As well, there are many other useful resources there that might aid you on your quest. Now go Link, for much awaits you on this journey."

Link nodded as he went back outside, got back on Indigo, and rode off to his next objective.

A/N

So hey, it's been a hot minute. It took a bit of time to get this chapter up, but I think now I know where I want to take this story. However: I still need some time to figure out a few things, so there'll be a bit of a gap between updates. But enough about me, I hope you guys liked the new chapter! If you have any complaints, leave a review about it. Don't worry, I take my time to read each review equally. And if you have any suggestions on which domains I should go over first, please do tell me in the reviews as well.