When my eyes first fluttered open, on my second day camped out with the focus of my studies, which I'd just discovered was inhabited by a sword spirit named Fi, I fully expected to see a horde of monsters outside my barrier. But upon exiting my tent, I was still alone. After gathering up some firewood, I made myself a simple breakfast and went back over to the Master Sword. Carefully, I set sensors on the blade of the sword again after powering up my laptop, and sure enough the media file player opened on its own once again. "Good morning, Fi," I said with a smile.

"This morning is much like every morning, Shel. The only difference is your presence, which is pleasant." Unsure how to take that, I got out some more of my tools and started taking other measurements of the sword, starting with its exact dimensions. It was a little hard with one arm injured, but if I was remembering my magical healing knowledge correctly, I knew I only had one more day before I could finally take off the cast and go back to being a regular two-handed person. "May I inquire into the cause your injury?"

Without turning away from my work, I started to explain. "It was on my third day in the forest. I hadn't encountered many monsters or anything at that point, which is why I hadn't been expecting a Wolfos to ambush me. After it ambushed me and bit my arm hard enough to crush the bone, I was able to take it out with a quick stab to the eye." It wasn't my first time being injured during research. After all, I was a field anthropologist, and it was well known that most of Hyrule's oldest ruins were breeding grounds of the scariest types of monsters.

Fi didn't respond immediately, leaving me time to finish getting the exterior dimensions, at least up to the point where the sword entered the pedestal. Of course, that just meant I needed to take measurements of the pedestal, and unlike the sword, I could hopefully take samples of the exact type of stone used in the construction. "What type of weapon do you specialize in?"

The question made me laugh. Here was a weapon, or at least some kind of magical being that lived inside of one, asking me about my own. Was it just casual interest, or did the question have more significance to a sword spirit? I paused my pedestal analysis to reach into a hidden pocket of the arm of my jacket and pull out a small, fine blade. "It's a bit of a stereotype, but what can I say? I'm Sheikah, I've got daggers. I've always wanted to try a sword, though." I didn't say it was out of my childhood dream that I'd be the next Hero, because considering who I was talking to, that would be pretty embarrassing.

For the second time since meeting the sword spirit, a flash of emotion appeared in Fi's voice, this time the touch of mirth. "I am quite fond of swords myself, though I may be biased in that opinion." It made me laugh, and from there Fi and I fell into a companionable silence as I continued my work. I spent a good chunk of that day just taking measurements and photos. Once I'd finished with the sword and pedestal I'd gone to work on the ruins of the building, breaking the task up into focusing on each individual piece of masonry still left intact.

My the time i was reaching the middle of the afternoon, I was sweaty, tired, and ready for lunch. Though by then, it might as well have been dinner. Once I'd properly fed myself, I sat near the sword again. "So, Fi, are you okay with telling me about another one of your Master's incarnations?" Thinking about it, I remembered something they'd said from the day before that I had found interesting. "You mentioned that a lot of the heroes who have used you had a big heart, right? That's one of those things that kind of gets left out of the legends. I'd love to hear more about it."

"There is one," Fi began, their singsong voice once again dispassionate without feeling necessarily rude or stern. "One incarnation who exemplified that care and love for others that...it may not be my favorite aspect of my Master's soul, but it is one I do cherish. That man has been known in the time since as the Hero of Time." That definitely caught my attention, and my note-taking while listening became even more intense. "Tell me, what do you know, in this time, about the Hero of Time?"

Asking me about any of Hyrule's legendary heroes isn't safe for the ear drums in the best of circumstances, but that particular one? I hoped Fi was ready. "The Hero of Time is, by far, the hero we have the most information on! He's also the most popular in our culture, and those who don't pay too much attention to mythology, he's the face of all the heroes, the one who stands out the most." I chided myself silently, that hadn't been what they'd been asking about, then focused on actual things we knew. "One of the mythical Kokiri children, over his journey to defeat the evil Ganondorf the Gerudo King, who was ruling Hyrule in his time, the Hero of Time made allies, fought impossible odds, and even gained the power of time travel, which is where his title comes from. But in the end, his tragedy was that, despite everything, he didn't win. Ganondorf became Ganon and ruled Hyrule until the Sealing War banished him into the Dark World."

Fi listened patiently to my rambling, and waited for me to finish before replying. "That is very interesting. Much of what you have said is incorrect. The Hero of Time was not a Kokiri, but a Hylian child raised by the Deku Tree's eternal children. The tale you've told entirely leaves out Navi, his faithful fairy companion, and Ganondorf only took over Hyrule after Link revealed the Triforce by pulling my sword from the Temple of Time." I was scribbling so fast at hearing that I was afraid I'd snap my pen in half. I was going to have a lot of follow-up questions. "But that was not the purpose of our discussing the Hero of Time.

"As I implied before, the Hero of Time was the most caring incarnation to wield my sword. Over the course of his adventure, he befriended so many, from royalty to ranch hands. He collected the scattered cuccos of an absent minded girl, helped on old man with his research, rescued foolish carpenters from a mess of their own making." A brief glint of nostalgia shown through their words as they continued telling me about the heroes exploits. "He did it all with a smile on his face, an open heart, and without asking anything in return. He loved others, and they loved him."

I have no clue if it's what Fi was implying, but it made me think of the question of romance. Is that the kind of love they meant? While genuine historical and mythological scholarship wasn't incredibly interested in that question, pop culture definitely was. The oldest versions of the legends never mentioned any romantic relationships between the heroes and anyone else, but that hasn't stopped retellins over the years from adding some. Usually between the Hero and his Zelda, Even the storybook my mom read to me as a kid included something about the Hero of Time and a Zora princess, which as an adult looking back was...kind of weird? Getting my mind back on track, I remembered what Fi had said about the other Hero, about his casual cruelty. "Was there anything else that made the Hero of Time unique, aside from his kindness?"

Hoping Fi wouldn't notice, I crossed my fingers, wishing dearly that I wasn't about to learn that another of the subjects I'd been researching my entire scholarly career was actually far less heroic than expected. But the truth was a lot...weirder than that. "He wasn't funny," was all Fi said at first. But after my stunned silence, it became clear they had to clarify. "I suppose it isn't something that subsequent generations preserved, but 92% of my Master's incarnations believed themselves to be quite humorous. This was in spite of all evidence to the contrary."

At that point, I really couldn't help myself, I just burst out laughing. Fi didn't make any similar sounds, but as weird as it sounds, I felt some kind of happy aura coming off of the sword. "You're telling me," I said, once I was able to properly breathe again, "That most of the Heroes, the ones who saved all of Hyrule, were comedians?"

"I would not phase it as such," Fi corrected. "Rather, they enjoyed making comments over the course of their adventures that some would find laughter in, and that the Heroes themselves seemed to think were quite clever. The only exception was the Hero of Time, who did not attempt a single joke in my time with him. It was the most peaceful journey I have ever had." That just set me off laughing again, but Fi burst my bubble there a little. "Shel, night is falling once again. Sleep is important for proper health."

Unable to help myself, I told them, "Thanks for that, mom," before taking off the sensors before they could make a comeback, putting away all my stuff for the night, and heading back to the tent to sleep. I never, in a million years, had expected this expedition to be so mind-blowingly fruitful. And even after everything else I learned, the fact that most of the heroes had a robust sense of humor was the thing I was happiest to have learned.