The Legend of Zelda, its characters and locations are all property of Nintendo. Any and all OCs and original locations belong to me unless specifically stated to belong to someone else.
The Voice
2 - Creepy Old Man
"Wh-where are we?"
"That's the fifth time you've asked that question in the past five minutes—why do you keep expecting my answer to change? I don't know, all right?"
Link clenched his jaw, deciding not to answer. He couldn't help it, the question just slipped out. He should have known better than to expect Sheik to know, but he found that the silences between them were even more awkward than the few tense conversations they'd shared so far. It almost made him wish he'd been a little colder, that he'd been able to leave the slate behind in the chamber they'd met...heh, he couldn't even think about it without feeling a little guilty.
At least the view from here was beautiful. The cave had opened up to a cliff overlooking a breath-taking vista of a massive field below a plateau. In the distance, mountains rose from the horizon, some jagged and serrated, others smooth like teeth. One appeared to be belching smoke, a persistent ring surrounding the summit. A volcano.
Down in the field, there was a castle. It looked old, crumbling from disrepair. Even from this distance, though, Link could tell it was absolutely massive, built on a rising hill overlooking a large town built up against it. That lay in ruins as well, from what he could see. It was a sad sight, and he felt like he should know what place this was, but...nothing came to him. And then he'd made the mistake of asking Sheik...and had done so more than once, every time he'd noticed a new detail to the landscape below.
"How long are you going to stand there and stare?" Sheik asked impatiently. "We're not going to find any answers while admiring the view, you know."
"J-Just trying t-to g-get my b-bearings," Link said. He didn't want to admit that the view was getting to him. Or, rather, the lack of activity or other people. No one had been waiting outside the cave, and apart from a few ruins on the plateau there didn't appear to be any signs of civilisation whatsoever. The world felt...empty. He didn't like it.
"Look, there's only one road to take for now, so why don't we just follow it and see where it goes?" Sheik said.
Realising that Sheik was right, that no progress would be made while just standing there and feeling despair creeping up on him, Link nodded and turned to his right, where a small path was snaking its way through the trees and down to the plateau.
"S-Smoke," Link said, pausing.
"What?" Sheik said. "Speak up!"
"Th-There's s-smoke," Link said, raising his voice. If only he could lose the damnable stutter! He had a feeling it annoyed Sheik just as much as it annoyed himself.
"Lift me up!" the slate demanded. "I can't see!"
Link did as he was told, unclipping the slate from his belt and holding it at eye-level. The symbol on the glass surface seemed to blink before it dimmed.
"The other way, you oaf! All I can see now is your face!"
Wondering how Sheik could see anything at all when the slate didn't appear to have eyes (unless the symbol itself was one), Link dutifully turned the slate around. "N-Now?" he asked, a little nastier than he intended.
"This is good," Sheik said, paying no heed to the effect his words had on Link. "Hm, you're right. Let's take a closer look—but be careful!"
Slate back on his belt, Link crept forward on the path, towards the spot where smoke was rising above the trees. Going slightly off the path, he found a sturdy branch, just in case whoever was there turned out to be hostile. Honestly, even that would be preferable to being the only person on the plateau. Sheik, he thought, doesn't count. Having something solid in his hand felt better than he expected—like something had been missing. The tree branch didn't completely fill the void, but it was definitely better than nothing.
The trees parted, revealing that the path led all the way down to the plateau proper, going past an old temple-like building—long since collapsed. The smoke was coming from a fire burning brightly under a small shelter of overhanging rock beside the path.
"Th-there's a man," Link said quietly, standing still among the trees, watching the bearded figure tending to the fire. He appeared to be roasting apples, a sweet tinge dancing in the air that blew past. His stomach was suddenly tying itself into knots, desperate to be filled.
"Is he armed?" Sheik asked.
"He's g-got a st-staff. It's got a l-lantern on."
"But nothing else?"
"C-Can't see," Link said, furrowing his brow. How the hell did Sheik expect him to see every tiny detail from this distance?
"Does he look hostile?" Sheik asked.
Link sighed and held up the slate again, deciding Sheik was better off seeing it for himself rather than listen to Link struggling his way through the simplest of sentences.
"A little warning would be nice," Sheik harrumphed. "This hardware is fragile, you know."
"Hardware?"
"Never mind...right, looks harmless enough, I suppose. I'd keep an eye on that staff, though. Looks like it'll hurt pretty bad. He's solidly built, too. Could all be fat, of course, but still something to keep in mind if you're going to pick a fight—"
"I'm n-not g-going t-to p-p-pick a fight," Link hissed. "And don't c-call him f-fat!"
"Why not? He doesn't look like a stranger to buffets—"
"B-Because it's rude!"
"He should grow thicker skin, then—oh, wait!"
Link contemplated hurling the slate into the woods, leaving its rude occupant to rage to the trees and woodland critters. That'd be cruel to the poor animals, though, and the trees would certainly suffer, so he decided to bear the brunt of Sheik's attitude himself.
He's just upset, Link told himself, just like I am. If we can get some answers from this man, his attitude will definitely improve.
"L-Let's s-say hi," Link said, clipping the slate back on his belt and slowly emerging from the trees, making sure that he didn't look threatening. "And d-don't s-say anything."
"Why not?"
"B-Because he might f-find your t-tone unp-pleasant," Link snapped.
"At least I can speak coherently," Sheik muttered in low tones, and Link was reminded of a pouting child, arms crossed and all. He let the jab slide off him like water. "But I suppose you're right," Sheik added after a second or so. "We don't know who he is—could be an enemy. Best keep your trump card a secret."
In what way Sheik imagined himself to be any sort of a trump card, Link didn't know, but if that belief kept him quiet until Link could make contact with the stranger, he was all for maintaining the delusion.
The man looked old, his bushy beard a pure white colour. It took up most of his face, what little was visible wrinkled and dark. His hood hid the top of his head, but a few locks of hair equally as white as his beard could be seen under it.
He did not appear surprised by Link appearing from the woods at all, nor did he seem nervous when he came closer and closer, Granted, Link probably didn't seem like much of a threat, wearing tattered clothing and boots, and wielding a simply tree branch, but still...a stranger approaching ought to raise some suspicion, right?
Link raised his hand in greeting, not trusting his voice just yet, and was pleased when the man raised his in return, beckoning him closer.
"Ho there!" the old man said, his voice big and booming, matching his imposing physique. A treacherous train of thought made Link wonder if it really was just fat or actual muscle, but he immediately ignored it in favour of smiling at the man. "It is a bit of a surprise to see a fellow traveller these days," the man continued as Link came close enough to feel the heat of the fire. That was an immediate comfort.
"H-Hello," Link said.
"May I ask your name, young one?"
"L-Link."
"A pleasure to meet you, Link."
"Wh-who are y-you?" Link asked in return, when the man made no sign of introducing himself.
"Oh, I need not be a concern of yours," the man said, chuckling. "I'm just a strange old man, that's all. One who has lived here, alone, for quite some time now." His smile fell a little, his eyes distant for but a moment before he shook his head. "Enough about that. What about you, young one? What are you doing here?"
Now that was a toughie. What other answer did Link have other than "I don't know"? And that was just not acceptable in this situation. That fact that the man refused to reveal his name was suspicious on its own. He had a feeling Sheik was listening intently, too, judging everything he said and did, and none-too-kindly, either.
"E-exploring," Link said. In his mind, he imagined Sheik rolling his...eye? Eyes? He wondered what the owner of the abrasive voice looked like. The old man didn't seem particularly convinced by the answer, either, but before he could speak again Link forged ahead. "Wh-where are w-we?"
"A strange question, given where we are," the old man said, chuckling a little. "As I cannot imagine our meeting to be a simple coincidence...I shall tell you. This is the Great Plateau," he said, spreading his arms wide. "According to legend, this is the birthplace of the entire kingdom of Hyrule."
The name rang a bell, but Link couldn't for the life of him remember why. The old man must have expected something more, too, as he looked disappointed by Link's reaction.
"There is not much left of it now, I grant you," he said, settling down on the log, gesturing to the other. "Please, have a seat. Are you hungry?"
Link's stomach did the talking for him at that point, grumbling loudly. The old man chuckled, passing him one of the apples. It was gone in moments, Link devouring it immediately. Two more appeared before him, and those, too, joined the first.
"Exploring is hard work," the old man said, smiling. It was a gentler smile, less tense than the first one. "May I make a suggestion?"
Link nodded, letting the ease of having sated his hunger come over him.
The man gestured towards the ruined church, its steeple visible just over the roof of the shelter.
"That temple there...long ago, that was the site of many sacred ceremonies. Since the decline of the kingdom, it now sits abandoned, in a state of decay. Yet another forgotten entity. A mere ghost of its former self...I would say it is worth a closer look, if you still wish to explore this place."
Link wasn't sure if it was a dismissal or not, but he decided to get going anyway. He had a million questions for the old man, but there was something...off about him. He got a wistful look about when he spoke of the kingdom, or the temple—a sad look. If Link asked any more questions...he didn't want to cause even more pain or sadness.
"One more thing, young one," the man said as Link made to walk on. "There is a rather nasty infestation of bokoblins on the Plateau. Take my axe. More use for cutting wood, admittedly, but I think you will find it more useful than that fearsome branch."
The large, two-handed wood axe was a lot heavier than Link expected, and he wobbled a little under its weight when he picked it up. His muscles were still aching a little, but he managed to rest it on his shoulder. That left him feeling a little better—though he had no idea what a bokoblin was; just that he needed an axe to handle one, apparently.
To his credit, Sheik had remained silent through the entire exchange...which must have taken a monumental effort given the abruptness with which he chose to break the tranquillity of the woods.
"What a creepy old man!"
Link nearly stumbled over his own feet, not expecting the sudden shriek, so loud he feared the old man would hear it.
"D-don't shout!" he hissed, not overly keen on Sheik's voice attracting bokoblins...if they were the forest-dwelling sort of creature.
"I'm sorry, but I was listening the entire time, and what sort of mystic crap was he trying to spew? 'Need not be a concern of yours', my arse! He's the only other person up here, of course he's a bloody concern!"
"He s-seems n-nice," Link tried. "G-gave me food, an axe—"
"Three apples are hardly a feast, much less a meal," Sheik said. "And that axe barely looks sharp enough to break skin—not sure how much good it'll do against a bokoblin."
"Wh-what is a b-bokoblin?" Link asked, wanting some more information than just a name.
"Just how hard did you hit your head?" Sheik asked. "Right, listen very carefully, I shall say this only once."
To say the least, Sheik's description of the pig-like creatures known as bokoblins was thorough. By the time he finished, Link had a pretty accurate picture of them in his head, along with their combat skills (or lack thereof).
"...and they're really stinky, too."
"D-duly noted," Link said, trying not to smile at the last descriptor. It made Sheik seem a little more...real? Whatever he was, the voice in the slate had Link constantly adjusting his opinion on him.
"Don't patronise me," Sheik said sourly. "Just wait until you're in the thick of them, and tell me your nose isn't dearly wishing it was somewhere else."
"W-We'll see."
Truth be told, Link would gladly have ripped his nose off and thrown it into the river after his first melee with the ugly things.
"H-How d-did you kn-know about th-them?"
"Pardon?"
Link huffed. The stutter was still there. He'd thought it'd go away once he calmed down some, but...there were limits to how calm he could feel given the mess he found himself in.
"Th-The b-bokoblins. You d-don't remember m-much either, b-but them..."
He'd just climbed the temple steps and found the place mostly gutted. Just about the only thing intact was the altar with the statue of the Goddess. Link had offered it a silent prayer before sitting down on the step up to the altar, wondering why the old man had told him to go here. The strange, crab-like statues that littered the grounds were interesting, certainly, but that was all there was to them.
"Well, everyone knows about them," Sheik said matter-of-factly. Link had propped the slate up against the step, giving Sheik something to look at other than the wall.
"I d-didn't," Link pointed out.
"Yes, well, clearly you're a special case."
His tone suggested that the moniker 'special' was anything but.
"And I just did, all right? When the old creep said the word, I just remembered it all. Like a whole book's worth of information on them was suddenly in my head. I must have studied them a lot before I ended up in this thing."
Link nodded, mostly to himself. He couldn't imagine what it was like, being stuck in that thing and not really knowing anything about what was happening. He took a bite out of one of the raw apples he'd picked from a tree on the way—he'd needed something to settle his stomach after the fight with the two bokoblins.
"How's it taste?" Sheik asked in an unusually soft tone.
"G-Good," Link said. "Sweet."
"That's good..."
Link really wished Sheik wouldn't be so mercurial—his mood swung up and down at the drop of a hat, and it kept Link on his toes the whole time. It was exhausting.
"Have to keep your strength up, and all that."
You're terrible at saving face, Link thought, but simply hummed in response.
"Mhm."
It was a peaceful moment, up until the moment a high-pitched, whistle-like noise reverberated through the temple hall. Link rubbed at his ear; the sound had come from the slate, right next to him.
"Oh!" Sheik exclaimed.
"What? I-Is s-something wrong?!"
"No! I mean, yes, maybe...probably not?"
"Th-Those are th-the options," Link said, wondering when the persistent whine in his ear would go away.
"There's something out there! I can hear it...feel it? It's hard to explain."
"T-Try."
"Look, I can't, okay? It's just something innate, ineffable. There's something out there calling out—north-east of here." There was a pause. "Well? What are you waiting for?"
"F-For an explanation."
"That's all I've got!" Sheik exclaimed, almost growling. "I can't explain it, all right? I don't know what it is! All I know is that it's more direction than we've had so far save for the ramblings of a crazy old coot! I thought we agreed to explore together!"
"I-'I'm the one d-doing the exploring, th-though," Link said, annoyed with being ordered around. "Y-You're just a p-passenger. I c-could leave you h-here."
That certainly shut the slate up. "You wouldn't," Sheik said. He sounded anything but sure of that statement. "You'd be alone."
"I'd live."
Huh...no stutter.
He never would, of course. His chest started twisting at the very thought of leaving the loud-mouthed slate behind. Sure, it'd be good for his hearing, but...well, they were together in this mess. He just...he couldn't do it with Sheik's nagging and bossing him around.
The glass surface of the slate dimmed, almost going out completely. Link had slowly come to realise that meant Sheik was thinking.
"...I'm sorry. I just...got excited. I thoroughly believe that we will make progress if we go and investigate what I've picked up on. I don't know what it is, but what have we got to lose?"
"N-Nothing," Link said. "B-But we d-do it as p-partners, yeah?"
"Partners, yes," Sheik said, sounding more than a little relieved.
"So," Link said, clapping his hands. "Wh-Where to?"
It didn't look like much. From a distance, it was just a pile of rocks, though further investigation (and after fighting a few bokoblins off) revealed a small opening, inside which Link could spy what appeared to be a pedestal identical to the one Sheik had been in, half buried in a dirt wall. The face of it glowed faintly, and there was an indentation that seemed to fit the slate perfectly.
"Sh-Should I put you in?" Link asked.
"Please do, let's see what we're dealing with," Sheik replied, almost sounding eager. He was definitely excited about this 'ping' he'd gotten, whatever a ping was.
The effect was immediately. The moment Link placed the slate in the indentation, what appeared to be mechanical arms locked around it, spinning it halfway round and pulling it so it perfectly fit the indentation, face down. Then Sheik spoke again:
"Sheikah tower activated, please watch for falling rocks."
Link blinked. "F-Falling ro—"
It was all he managed to get out before the platform he was standing on shot up into the sky, breaking through the rocks above it and showering the area with boulders and pebbles. The force and speed of the movement pressed Link to the floor, and all he could do was helplessly stare at the blue sky as the tower rose, leaving his stomach somewhere on ground level.
Then the tower stopped rising, and the sound of rushing air and grinding rock came to an end, giving way to the gentle breeze and (somewhat distant) birdsong.
Sitting up, Link took a moment to calm down and let his stomach settle again, staring at the pedestal. "Sheik?" he asked.
"Tower network activated," Sheik's voice spoke, but it sounded a little mechanical. "Pinging tower two...connection could not be established. Pinging tower three...connection could not be established. Pinging tower four..."
This continued until tower number fourteen, which, like the others, did not ping back...or so Link assumed.
"Network nodes unavailable, distilling information from local cache. Cloning drive."
Link had no idea what was going on, and chose to remain silent as he rose to his feet, watching the lights blinking on the pedestal. Above it, three arms had come together around what looked like a rock inscribed with the same symbols that were on the slate. His mouth fell open as the runes began to glow brightly and move, flowing down like water to the bottom of the rock, where a large, blue drop of liquid similar to the one he'd woken up in, gathered, hanging over the slate. Before he could react, it dropped onto the slate and exploded in a million tiny droplets that all disappeared into thin air within seconds.
The pedestal moved, the slate rising and spinning so the glass surface was facing Link again.
"Wow!" Sheik exclaimed, his voice back to normal. "What a rush!"
"A-Are you okay?" Link asked. "Wh-What happened?"
"Hang on...let's see...heh, perfect!"
Link waited, but when nothing else seemed forthcoming, he cleared his throat. "Sheik?"
"What? Oh, right. Sorry. Lots of information to sift through. Could've had even more if the network weren't down. Talking like this is awkward, isn't it? Hang on..."
The pedestal clicked, and the rock above it began glowing again, a beam of light slowly emerging from the tip and pointing at the floor in front of Link. Slowly, a shape came into view. It was blurry and missing bits and pieces, like a painting that had flaked away, but it was unmistakably human in form. It spread its arms.
"Hm...cruder than I thought," Sheik said, his voice suddenly coming from the shape instead of the slate. "That's disappointing. If I had access to the network, I might have been able to piece together something better, but..."
"Sheik?" Link asked. "I-Is that y-you?"
"In the flesh! Or, light, I suppose. Very sophisticated stuff, this. Holographic projection. Too bad I don't have much data to work with in terms of appearance."
"H-How?"
"It'd take too long to explain, but I can assure you it makes perfect sense. Link, you have no idea the treasure trove of information I've found in this tower. I even managed to piece together a map of the plateau!"
As if to illustrate his point, the surface of the slate lit up, displaying what appeared to be a very accurate representation of the area around them. It only seemed to encompass the plateau itself, though, and not the areas around it.
"I'm sure if you can get me to the other towers, I'll be able to add their map data to the slate as well, making it more complete!" Sheik said, arms gesturing excitedly as he walked back and forth. It was...cute, in a way, even if the form he'd chosen to appear in was a little horrifying in its incompleteness.
Wait, other towers? He voiced the question, and Sheik gestured around them.
"There are thirteen more towers like this, all over Hyrule," he said, pointing northwards, where another tower appeared to have sprung from the ground, a tendril of glowing orange stark against the blackness of the ruined castle. "I had no idea this was here, or what it was, but it's amazing!"
At least Sheik wasn't angry anymore. That was a plus.
Link walked to the edge of the tower platform, looking over the side. They were really high up, and he didn't much look forward to going down. He was about to voice this concern when something changed in the air. His ears suddenly felt like they were blocked, or full of water. All other noises were gone, save for a thin, reedy voice that slowly became clearer.
Try...Try to remember...
It was a girl's voice, and it was familiar. Almost painfully so. But he didn't know from where. He tried to answer, but his body had frozen, refusing to obey. All he could do was listen.
You have been asleep for the past hundred years...
"...and that could mean we...hey, are you listening to me? Hey!"
Sheik's indignant voice brought Link out of his trance, the weight of what the voice had just told him hitting him like a sledgehammer, forcing him to lean against the tower railing for support, where he quickly sank to his knees. Sheik's figure stepped in front of him, crouching down until he could see Link's face.
"What's wrong? Are you feeling weak? In pain?" he paused, the image dimming just like the light on the slate. "It's the apples, isn't it? The old man poisoned you, didn't he? I bloody knew it! Hang on, I'm sure I can find something about an antidote in here..."
"N-No, I'm not p-poisoned," Link said quickly, hoping to avert another tirade. "I h-heard the v-voice again."
"The voice? You mean the one in the chamber?"
Link explained the words that had echoed inside his skull as best he could, which was easier said than done when his tongue absolutely did not move the way he wanted it to. To his credit, Sheik actually listened without interrupting (maybe the discovery of the tower made less impatient?), his projection's arms crossed as Link spoke.
"A hundred years?" he asked once Link finished, to which the Hylian nodded. "That is...quite a revelation. Though it does make sense when compared to the records in the tower...or lack thereof, at least. There's a lot of information missing here—geographic readings have continued up until this point, but everything else? It's like the recording of everything else just stopped at some point long ago. You said you saw some sort of creature above the castle? Calamity Ganon?"
"A m-monster," Link confirmed.
"I didn't see anything...nor can I detect anything unusual...though my sensors here are rather limited," Sheik said. "But if the owner of this voice can project their thoughts directly into your head, who's to say they can't do it with images as well? All hypothetical, of course."
"A hundred y-years," Link muttered under his breath. "And I've b-been asleep..."
"Yes...that is rather shocking, isn't it?" The projection stood up straight, its immaterial hands lacing their non-existent fingers together. "It could account for the loss of your memories...the tower informs me that the chamber you woke up in is called the Shrine of Resurrection. Essentially, it's a pod that puts the subject into suspended animation in order to heal grievous and possibly deadly wounds...though it does not seem to be particularly stable...nor efficient. Whoever put you in there clearly did not expect the healing process to take so long."
"C-Can you see who d-did it?" Link asked. In his shock, anything, even just a sliver of a lead on who he was, was a rope he could cling to.
"I'm afraid not," Sheik said sadly. "The records only indicate three subjects entering the Shrine, and two leaving after placing the third into the pod. That'd be you."
"N-No kidding," Link said. "And th-the other t-two?"
"They left the plateau shortly after. Records end there."
"Oh..."
"It's progress, though," Sheik said, as if attempting to cheer him up. "We know more now than we did before."
That was true, Link supposed, though he had a feeling Sheik got a lot more out of this particular expedition than he did. Still, now he knew that he'd been asleep for a hundred years, a voice begged him to destroy the evil creature that had apparently brought an end to Hyrule in his absence, an army of its evil servants standing between them...all of this, armed with a rusty sword taken from a dead bokoblin.
Yes, that was definitely a surmountable challenge. Could do it with one hand tied behind his back, even. Bare-handed!
His vision blurred, and Sheik's projection was suddenly crouched in front of him again, its hands waving in front of his face, trying to grab his attention.
"...with me! Hey, listen to me! You have to breathe properly, or you'll pass out. Come on, breathe with me—just follow my lead, okay? Breathe..."
When had he started to hyperventilate? Link had no idea. His fingers were tingling, vision tunnelling. Sheik's hands passed through him, little more than air and light, and the voice growled with frustration.
"Look at me, Link," Sheik insisted. "Follow my lead."
Slowly, Sheik's projection began to pulse, its light brightening and dimming in an imitation of normal breathing. Link did his best to follow it, his lungs screaming for more air. It made him feel better, and soon his vision was returning to normal, the tingling in his fingers fading away.
"Are you feeling better now?" Sheik asked, his voice concerned.
"Y-Yeah," Link said. "Wh-what—"
"You were suffering from a panic attack, I believe," Sheik stated. "I'm not sure what you were thinking about, but it probably wasn't pleasant. Calamity Ganon?"
"I th-think s-so," Link stuttered, to his annoyance. It was worse than ever. "I-I c-c-can't do th-this, Sh-Sheik..."
"Then don't," Sheik said simply. "Who says it's your job to clean up the mess of someone who fucked up a century ago? A voice in your head? Let me tell you, if fewer people did the things the voices in their heads tell them to, a lot of problems would be solved."
Link snorted at that. "S-Still..."
"No but stills," Sheik insisted. "How do we know this voice isn't just trying to get you killed? Could even be Calamity Ganon itself trying to influence you. I say we seek out and activate the rest of the towers, instead. Once we gain a complete picture of Hyrule and the things in it, then we can see about following the strange voices in your head. What do you say?"
Link did like the sound of that plan better than the idea of rushing blindly into Ganon's lair. He'd need more information, better equipment, allies...perhaps all those could be gained by activating the remaining towers?
"And y-you?" he asked. "Wh-what do you g-get out of it?"
Sheik snorted. Actually snorted. "For one thing, I'm hoping to find out how I ended up in this slate," he said. "I'm almost done sifting through the data in this tower, but there doesn't appear to be anything about me in it. Lots of other holes as well. The other towers might have something. Or maybe the entire network needs to be active. I have discovered one thing, however: I am a Sheikah."
That didn't tell Link much, but he nodded politely all the same. Maybe Sheik would be more pleasant to deal with overall now that he was more secure in his identity.
"Oh, spoke too soon. Here's a section on the slate...oh no."
"Wh-What is it?"
"It's corrupted. I can only read bits and pieces. Something about a prototype...testing...artificial in...ah..."
"Hm?"
"Nothing, I can't read it, and it doesn't make sense without any context," Sheik said in a clipped tone. "Well, doesn't matter. I can look through it some more later. Perhaps we should get going?"
Wondering why Sheik was suddenly so eager to leave, but not arguing because he wasn't all too keen on sticking around himself, he got up. He felt better now, much better. He made a note to thank Sheik later, once they'd both calmed down. He grabbed the slate, which came loose with a loud click, and placed it back on his belt.
Sheik's projection disappeared the moment the slate was removed. He supposed whatever connection there'd been was severed. He had no idea how any of this worked, but as long as Sheik could work these strange devices he was happy.
Now, to climb down.
Link's eyes kept straying to the clothed wooden frame on the old man's back, probably missing half the things he was saying. It fascinated him, the way the old codger had come gliding through the air, landing surprisingly gracefully in front of Link and greeting him casually, like what just happened wasn't something out of the ordinary. Granted, compared to massive towers just rising out of the ground it was hardly worth raising an eyebrow about, but still...
"I must ask you, courageous one," he said, bringing Link out of his thoughts, "Do you intend to make your way to the castle?"
Link nodded, deciding not to voice the 'eventually' he'd mentally tacked on to the answer.
The old man smiled. "I had a feeling you would say that."
I didn't say anything, though? Link thought.
"That is quite a challenge, however," the old man continued. "Here, on this isolated plateau, we are surrounded on all sides by steep cliffs, with no way down. If you were to try to jump off, well...no death could be more certain. Or more foolish.
Sheik snorted, forcing to Link to cover it up with one of his own. The old man didn't seem to notice.
"Of course, if you had a paraglider like mine, that would be quite another story," the old man finished, gesturing to the wooden frame. So that was what it was called. Perhaps he could borrow it—
"Hand it over!"
The old man clearly didn't expect another voice to enter the conversation, nor for its owner to be nowhere in sight. He blinked and looked around them slowly, trying to spot the rude interrupter. Link could sympathise with the annoyed frustration in the man's face at not finding the interloper.
"Who...said that?" he asked.
"I did!"
"And where, exactly, are you, friend?"
"Right here—Goddess, are you just as blind and deaf as him?!"
Link groaned. Clearly, Sheik had not mellowed out at all, despite the discovery of the tower, and now he'd just insulted the only other person around.
"The slate?" the man said, staring apprehensively at the device on Link's belt.
"Give the man a prize!"
"Sh-Shut up," Link hissed, holding a hand over the slate, trying to shush his rude companion.
"You do realise that doesn't do anything, right?" Sheik asked. "Anyway, yes, I'm right here, old man. Ta-da."
"I did not realise the slate could speak..." the old man said, clearly thrown by this unexpected development.
"But you knew what the slate was, right? I knew you couldn't be trusted!"
"This is...I did not know..."
"P-Please ignore h-him," Link said quickly. "He's c-confused, doesn't kn-know what he's s-saying!"
"I am perfectly aware of what I am saying, thank you very much."
"And...what is your name, friend in the slate?" the old man said. He seemed to be regaining his wits somewhat.
"Sheik, of the Sheikah," Sheik replied.
"The Sheikah? That is...somehow not surprising," the man said, chuckling a little. "Your people always was an inventive one. They built the towers, after all." He cleared his throat. "Well, Sheik, it is a pleasure to meet you as well."
"Paraglider, please."
It was definitely too late to throw the slate into the nearest pool of water, Link knew, but that didn't stop the desire from surfacing.
"Right to the point, aren't you?"
At least Sheik's attitude seemed to amuse the man more than it insulted him.
"I have to be, seeing as this one prefers to run circles around the subject. We need the paraglider to get off the plateau, so give it."
"I'm s-sorry—"Link began, but the old man shook his head.
"No need to apologise, young one," he said. "I would say it is a bit of a relief, not facing your quest alone. A companion can do wonders on such a journey...even if he is a bit abrasive."
"Who are you calling abrasive, you old f—"
"S-So can we have th-the p-paraglider, p-please?!" Link said loudly, drowning out the last word.
"Certainly, though not for nothing. I have a favour to ask of you first. A trade, of sorts. What do you say?"
"I'll d-do it!"
"Oh, for..."
"Do you see the structure there, the one shining with a strange light?"
The man pointed at a strangely shaped building that looked more like a hunk of melted metal than anything deliberately shaped, covered in the same carvings and glowing lights as the Shrine of Resurrection and the Sheikah tower. Link nodded.
"It began glowing the exact moment those towers rose from the ground. I would think such a place might house some sort of treasure, wouldn't you? Treasure for the paraglider. A fair exchange, I believe."
"Preying on the goodwill of an amnesiac, more like," Sheik growled. Honest to Goddess growled. "There's a word for people like you, you know."
"A kindly guide?" the man suggested with a smile, letting the insult bounce off him. "A benevolent mentor?"
"Not even close!"
"I'll return w-with the t-treasure!" Link said hurriedly, disengaging from the conversation before anyone (Sheik) said something they'd all regret.
"I was winning, you know," Sheik said as they approached weirdly-shaped structure. "Had him on his last legs."
"N-Not even close," Link shot back.
Sheik was not amused when the paraglider was not immediately thrust into Link's hands when they returned to the surface. It took Link a good five minutes to calm him down when the old man said he'd changed his mind, and wanted them to visit the other shrines on the plateau.
The only thing that mollified the slate-bound Sheikah was the possibility of regaining more functions like magnesis, which had been restored by a Sheikah pedestal inside the shrine.
Truthfully, Link wasn't overly fond of the old man for changing his mind either, especially not after the fight with the eerily insect- or crab-like machine known as a Guardian had left him bleeding and shaking from the exertion.
But what good would arguing do? If visiting the other shrines would make him stronger, as the old man claimed, and result in the paraglider becoming his, then surely it was worth the trouble. He only hoped the other shrines weren't full of guardians as well.
"You're a predator, is what you are," Sheik told the man in a loathing tone as they began making their way towards the next shrine.
"A wise teacher," the man corrected with a chuckle.
"And of course he couldn't just give you the doublet—of course not! Have to earn that too, and how? By cooking him a meal?! Link, you are being taken advantage of!"
"Paraglider, please!"
"Almost polite this time, I am impressed," the old man said, looking oddly serious. "You have gathered all four of the spirit orbs? Then it is finally time for me to tell you everything, Link." He turned and looked to the plateau centre. "Imagine an X on your map, with the four shrines as the end points. Find the spot where those lines intersect. I shall wait for you there."
Link stepped back when the old man suddenly began to glow green, his form disappearing from view in a cloud of green flames and smoke. "Do you understand? Where two lines connecting the shrines would cross. There...I will...be waiting..."
His voice faded, carried away by the wind. And he was gone.
Link picked up the slate. "Sh-Show me the m-map," he asked Sheik.
"No need to check, I already know where he is," Sheik said. "He's waiting at the ruined temple, where the Goddess statue is."
Link frowned, and checked the map anyway. Sheik was right, the imaginary lines did cross on the grounds of the Temple of Time, as it was called on the map.
"Don't trust me?" Sheik asked.
"J-Just wanted t-to see for myself," he said. "Let's go."
His knees gave out as the heart-shaped container exploded in his face, beams of light penetrating his chest and turning it into a furnace. His fingers clawed at his doublet, trying to tear it open, but the heat faded almost immediately after, leaving him panting on the ground and...feeling stronger?
"Link?" Sheik asked carefully.
"I'm g-good," Link said, dusting himself off. He felt better. Much better, actually. Stronger. He tested it by drawing the rusty blade he'd (guiltily) stolen from a fallen soldier's grave. It felt lighter than before, and it was easier to swing through the air.
"Good...but where's that old lecher? This is where he said he'd be."
Link was curious about that himself. The old temple was empty save for them and the statue, which had just (somehow) exchanged the four orbs for an increase in his strength.
He purposefully ignored the ruined husks of the larger guardians that had been in the process of breaking inside the temple when they'd been destroyed. He'd accidentally reactivated one by the old abbey, and been forced to scramble over a wall to avoid its deadly attacks. Never again, he promised himself.
"Unless..."
The realisation dawned on Link at the same time, and he looked up at the steeple. There were no stairs, no ropes, just a brick wall with deep grooves, perfect for climbing.
"You've got to be joking!"
The old man—King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule, the last king of Hyrule—faded from existence once more with finality, leaving them alone in the steeple of the temple, overlooking the edge of the plateau.
The sun had set during while the king had spoken, and night covered Hyrule in a blanket of darkness, save for Hyrule Castle, where a shroud of malignant, purple smoke had fallen, occasionally flashing with lightning.
Link sat on the window ledge, trying to process the information the old king had more or less dumped on him. A knight? Him? Protector of the princess? He couldn't imagine how. What sort of bodyguard had panic attacks in the face of his duties, stuttered his way through every conversation like he'd never spoken before? What sort of knight felt the urge to run the other way when a pack of bokoblin attacked, rather than meet them head-on with glee?
Whoever he—Link, the Hyrulian Knight—had been before, he'd clearly become someone else while recovering from his injuries in the Shrine of Resurrection. Maybe the knight had died on the battlefield, leaving only the cowardly fool behind to be healed...
"I'll admit," Sheik said quietly, "I didn't expect the old perv to be a king. At least he finally gave us the damn paraglider so we can get off this plateau. I've marked the approximate location of Kakariko Village on the map, though I don't know the terrain around it. If we can find and activate the nearby tower, it'll be easier to...to..." he trailed off when Link didn't respond. "Link?"
"I c-can't d-do this."
His breath was hitching and hurried, and he felt warm wetness in his eyes. Crying too, now. Some knight he was.
"What do you mean?"
"This!" Link exclaimed. "All of th-this! B-Be a kn-knight! A h-hero! S-Save the p-princess!"
He expected Sheik to agree, to confirm Link's words, but instead Sheik said something else entirely.
"And why not? You clearly did such things in the past. Just do it again."
"How?!" Link demanded. "I-I'm not s-strong! N-Not like the kn-knight!"
"The knight failed in his task, in the end," Sheik pointed out. "I can't imagine what ridiculous thoughts and doubts are flying around in that blockhead of yours right now, but I can assure you they are all utterly stupid. Yes, it seems an impossible task, but apparently it was one before you were hurt to begin with—who's to say it's not the new you, rather than the old one, that will finally succeed?"
"Y-You don't even w-want to help!"
Sheik was silent for a short moment. "I'll gladly admit I wouldn't be the first to rush into that castle and rid the world of evil, but...if the king wasn't as full of shit as I assumed him to be, then it needs to be done. But not right away—we still have time to get you stronger, to gather more information and allies, to reactivate the tower network. We follow the original plan for now, stop by Kakariko—perhaps my people can help us even more."
Link didn't say anything. He almost wanted Sheik to berate and criticise him. To convince him to turn tail and flee, but...what would happen then?
"Link," Sheik said. "Do you know what the Sheikah consider to be bravery?"
"Wh-What?"
"Bravery isn't the absence of fear or doubt—it's feeling them, and then pushing through to do the right thing anyway. Easier said than done, I know, and utter rubbish when it comes to survival, but it's also true. I can't really offer anything except advice and, like King Perv said, abrasive companionship, but...for what it's worth, I'm with you. Mostly because you're the only one who can carry me off this damn plateau and to the other towers, but, you know..."
Link couldn't help but laugh at that, his tears no longer falling. "S-Some friend y-you are" he said.
"Friend?" Sheik asked, sounding surprised.
"Aren't w-we?" Link said.
"I...suppose we are. Yes, friends."
Link waited when he saw Sheik's light dimming once more.
"I've...never had a friend before," the Sheikah admitted.
"It's a wh-whole n-new world," Link said, smiling a little.
"So it is," Sheik agreed. "It's late—too late to start travelling. You should get some rest for now—I can wake you at dawn. Get an early start on getting off the plateau."
"Wh-What about y—"
"I don't need sleep, don't worry. I'll be sifting through the data from the tower to pass the time anyway. Lets me concentrate more than when I'm being jostled about on your dumb belt."
"I-If y-you say so," Link said, setting into the least exposed corner of the steeple, curling up in his warm doublet. "G-Good night, Sh-Sheik," he said as he closed his eyes, only now realising how exhausted he really was, drifting off before Sheik could even reply.
In the dark, Sheik listened to Link's steady breathing, carefully monitoring the young Hylian's vital signs and analysing the notes he'd made about him in the past few days.
Stress, fatigue, possible trauma. Anxiety. Stress-induced speech impediment. A severe lack of confidence in his own abilities.
It was a laundry list of things that, combined, resulted in an individual whose abilities few would rest all their hopes and dreams on.
Just Link's luck, it seemed, to be saddled with that responsibility.
I can work with this, Sheik thought.
There were probably plenty of others who would be able to care for and protect the slate, to keep Sheik out of harm's way, but Link...Link needed him. And Sheik owed him for taking him out of the Shrine of Resurrection in the first place, and taking him to the tower.
I'll whip you into shape, brave knight, he thought. Fear not.
Decision made, he turned his attention to the data he'd copied from the tower. Particularly, the block of corrupted data regarding the slate and its abilities. Some of it was perfectly legible, but he dared not make assumptions based on points of interest without context. Still, perhaps he could restore some of it. He knew exactly where he wanted to start.
Artificial intelligence, huh?
Did I say short vignettes? Hah, we all saw how that went!