Chapter Twenty-One
When the earth shattered with thunder, and lightning streaked across the sky, Zelda knew something was horribly wrong.
It wasn't until Revali came back from his patrol that she learned Calamity had finally arrived.
With all her might, she kept herself calm and collected as she commanded the Champions to head to their divine beasts. Urbosa had been reluctant to leave Zelda's side, but the princess merely ordered her to go. Not until Sidon gave his word to protect her did Urbosa leave for battle, and even then she was reluctant.
Zelda watched as her father rallied his troops for battle, her fear clamping down on her core. She could see Link's father stand beside her own, both men ready to put their all into this fight. Zelda had told her father not to take up arms in this battle, but he had told her that a King never abandoned his kingdom in times of crisis. She could only hope now that her sealing power would be enough here.
The princess looked down at her palm, a new determination coursing through her. 'What do I fight for? My people. My friends. My father. Even Link. I fight for them and the love they've shown me.'
A glow suddenly encompassed her, golden and warm, and for a moment she felt no fear over what may happen in this fight.
"Princess,"
Zelda's eyes looked up to meet with Sidon's, her back straight and proud. "Yes?"
"My people are ready to fight. Bazz and Riven will be helping to lead the charge. I will remain by your side until you meet with Ganon."
She nodded in return. "Thank you for your help, Sidon. But should you truly be in this fight? Your sister will also be there, and I would hate for your father to think he might lose both children- -"
"Princess, though I admire your concern for us, there is no need to worry. My sister is a strong Zora, as am I. We may not look it, but we've had our own battles out there. Ganon won't know what hit him."
Zelda's face relaxed when hearing this, her smile coming back to her. "I suppose this is it then."
He nodded back. "Have heart, Princess. If you believe Link will return, then he will return. I believe it."
The princess turned to face her destination now, heart full of hope.
"He will return."
"Wild, you need to calm down."
No. He was done with being calm. The world needed him now more than ever and Link would be damned if he sat back and watched it all burn. His family was out there. His mother and sister, his father! There was the Zora to worry about, and Zelda, and… EVERYONE! How could he remain calm when he was terrified for their wellbeing?!
When Ganon had arrived, and the storm about them had become nothing more than heavy rain, Link gathered all he could out of the forest – food and items he could use to heal himself – before packing it all way in his saddlebags and searched for anything he could use as a weapon. When he found nothing, he decided he would just rush to Hateno and pry the decorative swords off his father's mantle. Decorations be damned, this was war!
Twilight had slowed him down during all this, trying to talk some sense into Link.
"You know as well as I do that the mist won't let you through." He tried to reason.
"I don't care!" Link yelled back. "I have to try!"
Time had come out from the tree to try and speak with him as well, though it was much the same as Twilight's warnings.
"You don't have the Master Sword, Wild! You won't win against Ganon without it!"
"That's not true!" Link spat back. "My father always told me that even a twig could fall a beast if you used it correctly!"
"You need more than a twig for this enemy, Wild! Listen to common sense here!"
Link glared back at the man, having just finished packing his last saddle bag. "No, YOU listen to ME! I've spent my whole life training for something of this magnitude, even when I didn't want to! I lived day in and day out with the knowledge that I was meant for something better, and I threw it away for my own selfishness! I'm done with hiding! I'm done with wishing I had more! I had everything before and that still wasn't enough! Now I'm about to lose EVERYTHING, and I can't just sit here and watch it burn! I won't have the people I love die because I was too selfish to think about them! I don't want accolades, I don't want recognition, I DON'T WANT THE DAMN MASTER SWORD! I want to save my home! Now shut up and help me, or go back to wallowing in the forest!"
He turned away from the two, taking Epona by the reigns and heading out through the log that would bring him to the mists. He didn't know if he could make it through, but he had to try.
"Wild!"
Link turned to snap at Twilight, no longer able to hold back his anger at the situation…
…but found no one was there.
The forest was completely bare, not a Hylian or Korok in sight. Nothing but the darkness of night and the calm cools of the moonlight just barely shining through the clouds overhead. Only the patter of raindrops making a sound anymore. Where Twilight had vanished to, Link did not know. The quiet only grew more unnerving as moments went on.
Suddenly, as if the goddesses themselves reached out their hands to the earth, small flowers began to bloom in a path stretching from Link towards the grove where the sword's pedestal was. Link recognized the flowers from Zelda's research. The Silent Princess. But he had never seen them bloom at night however. They glowed with a ghostly blue, their petals looking soft to the touch and attracting those who eyed them closer. There were so many that Link was sure Zelda would have been all over them and trying to figure out why they were so healthy here.
He watched as flowers began to pop up around the pedestal of the sword now, a shudder running through Link's skin.
His ears perked as he thought he had heard a voice. One he had heard deep within his memories but never actually around him. It was mechanical, the voice unlike any he had ever heard in his past. He couldn't make out what it was saying, but it beckoned him towards the sword.
The voice grew louder as Link stepped forward, his mind whirling with thoughts and memories from a past he didn't have. Darkness turning to light, a great demon diminishing into dust, and a plethora of faces he felt warmth and comfort in that cheered him on through the perilous fight. A feeling of excitement and determination rushed through him, the anger he had felt before now becoming resolve. He felt strength in seeing these faces, he felt pride in knowing they were there to support him, and relief in knowing they were cheering him on despite being afraid of the dangers. Each time he stepped closer to the sword, these memories became clearer and clearer. Names began to be thrown at him, names he recognized right away but knew he had never met.
At least, not in this life.
He stopped just before the sword now, eyes carefully watching the blade as if it would jump out at him at any moment. He suddenly felt a strange comfort in looking at the blade now. As if he had carried it since birth.
The slightest chuckle had Link tearing his eyes off the sword and looking straight at Twilight's familiar face.
"Took you long enough."
His clothes were different now. A green tunic and long cap, chainmail just underneath with an assortment of leather pouches and straps that held various items. His boots were travel-worn, the leather braces and gloves old and loose-fitting, Twilight's hands resting on a sheathed blade of his own. Link immediately recognized the blade as the one that fell the Lynel just before he left Zora's Domain, the ram-head insignia shining brightly on the scabbard in the moonlight.
Link's eyes searched Twilight's, the Hylian unsure of what to say. "I-I don't understand…"
Twilight's smile did not falter. "Long ago, when the three Goddesses parted from the world they created, they entrusted the protection of their creation and the Triforce to Hylia. She did so without fail, and with her came her chosen knight who was courageous and selfless. He was the first of us. The first to aid Hylia, the first to prove himself worthy of her sight, and the first in the line of Heroes."
Twilight's eyes fell upon the Master sword now. "In the first battle with Demise, the first Hero was critically injured. When he passed, the people of Hylia sent to the heavens for safety, the Goddess – in her anguish – gave up her immortality to be reborn with her knight. And so began the cycle of heroes and princesses, souls who were reborn again and again in order to fight off against an evil entity. Among these who were reborn would come an entity that went by many names, though you know him as Ganon."
Link felt his shoulders go lax. "What do you mean by 'reborn'?"
Twilight's grin returned to him. "Wild, you carry much more to you than you think. Your blood may be from a knight and house-wife, and your life has been much different than that of others, but you carry a soul that has long found its way through time and eras that have passed by in simple blinks. You are not simply one hero. You are not alone."
From the distance of the foggy and darkened forest, Link found the other Hylians step forward confidently. All of them wore green tunics and caps, their faces stern and yet alight with pride. Some differed in style and length, but the same green still shone brightly against the cool blue of night. The small glow of the flowers only intensified their looks, though Link did not feel fear course through him.
Twilight tapped his sword to the pedestal, grabbing Link's attention once again.
The man raised his chin a little higher now. "Hero of the Skies. Hero of Light. Hero of the Minish and Tracks. Hero of Winds and Hero of Legend. Hero of Time… …and Hero of Twilight." The knight paused, grin widening. "Hero of Hyrule. You were given these names and more in lives previous to this one. You fought countless enemies before the one you will soon face. You have won and lost, you have given and taken away, and you have saved and ended lives. Each time you made a decision, it was due to one answer you had to a question posed time and again. I pose this question to you now, Wild."
Link felt his stomach sink, but a wave of pride took over this feeling.
Twilight raised his head more.
"What do you fight for?"
There was no question anymore. There never should have been to begin with. When Link thought about this question, only one thing came to mind now as he stepped forward and looked into Twilight's bright blue eyes.
Link stood taller now. "I fight to protect those who need me most. Even when fear grips me and it feels as though I am petrified, I will always protect those who need it. At the cost of my own life, I will stand in the way of any who dares to harm innocents in Hyrule. If I die, I will not fear its embrace. I am Link of Hyrule. And I will fight until I no longer breathe to protect everyone that needs me."
Twilight's grin only widened more as he took a step back.
"Hero of Hyrule," he began once more, "may the Goddesses shine their light on you. And may your blade make quick work of Ganon."
Link took this moment to gaze over the Master sword once more, shaky hand meeting the hilt.
Before he pulled, however, he looked over to Twilight again. "If I die in battle, will I come and stay here with the rest of you?"
Surprisingly, it was Time who stepped forward to answer the question. He even had a smile on his face.
"Have faith in your abilities, Wild. You've had thousands of years in practice. Ganon won't know what hit him."
"Besides," Sky jumped in, "you still have a lot of the world to see. Don't waste your time worrying about where you'll go. Enjoy the adventure."
"And know we won't be far behind you." Twilight promised, smile beaming brightly now.
Link smiled back, gripping the hilt tighter before pulling at the blade with all his might.
The sword gave in almost immediately and was back in the hands of its rightful owner. There was no fight, no drain to Link's system, and there seemed to be a glow about the sword that matched the flowers splayed about the forest floor.
When Link turned to the others, welling with pride at the thought that he had regained his rightful place, he found he was the only one left in the forest once again. The others were gone now.
Yet not entirely.
Link looked down at the blade, grinning when he saw his reflection and noted how similar he was to Twilight in some ways. Even their eyes were somewhat the same, large and bold with a shining blue.
A low chuckle caught his attention and Link turned to find the Deku Tree grinning down at him.
"Hero of Hyrule, go now and protect your loved ones."
Link nodded confidently.
"Thank you, Great Deku Tree. Please thank the others for me as well."
Another chuckle. "Of course, Hero."
Link made a run for Epona, hopping into her saddle and spurring her towards the exit. There was still the mist to worry about, but Link was confident he would get out of the woods now that he had the Master sword in his hand once more.
Just as he got to the edge of the mists, feeling a surge of worry course through him, Link found an odd-looking Hylian he had not seen with the others before, leaning against a tree. This one wore a green tunic and cap as well, giving Link the impression that he was also a hero. But there was something different about this one. He was a bit taller, had more angled eyes and pointier ears. He also wore a red cloak with golden plates on his shoulders. He wasn't taken aback by Link's abrupt stop in front of him, the man continuing to lean against the tree nonchalantly.
When all was quiet and Epona calmed down, the hero looked up at him with tired eyes. For a moment, nothing happened. This left Link a little put off, his own eyes darting about to try and find something he could say to this man.
However, before he got the chance to, the hero grinned and snapped his fingers.
The mist dispelled moments later and Link could see a clear path heading out towards the end of the forest.
The younger Hylian smiled at the man. "Thank you."
"Don't mention it." He signed, stepping by Epona and towards the deku tree.
Link looked back at him. "Wait! I don't think we've met yet!"
"We have, don't you worry. You've all met me."
"I don't understand."
The man turned to him, eyes bright and knowing. "You meet me every time you look in the mirror, and you feel that burst of courage course through you."
Link's chest began to tighten in realization, a feeling of excitement and happiness come to him. "What do they call you?"
The man shrugged. "What does it matter? You hold the blade. You are the chosen knight. Now get going. Hyrule needs you."
A nod from Link as he thanked the man once more and rode off as fast as he could through the forest. Never hearing the hero speak to him just as he had left.
"May the Goddesses bless your way, Hero of the Wild."
