Upload schedule of every eleven or so days—this is a day early cause I wanted to post this and that might happened every now and again if I have the chapter ready.
The next will be December 6th.
Giving myself a schedule on another one of the main stories helped me keep organised and writing to keep ahead and it works really well. So why not use it here?
Hope you enjoy!
[Words: 3773]
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Chapter 2:
The Calamity 100 Years Ago…
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Four things Lynk has noticed since waking:
1) Despite the loss of memories, anything that resembles a weapon, Lynk could think of a way to use. Correctly or not.
2) Lynk has some serious stamina despite spending the last how-ever-long asleep.
3) The Sheikah Slate was a blessing.
4) No matter what, Lynk was observant to her surroundings.
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The night came crawling soon enough and Lynk stood on the dilapidated and crumbling wall that shielded the Great Plateau from the outside world. She watched the castle unblinking for a long while, the woman's words echoing at the back of her head.
As Lynk stood stock still, unblinking, the sun had taken the time to sink past the horizon and make way for the moon which brought a chill with it.
A chill that Lynk didn't feel; to encompassed by the sight before her.
"Young one," the voice of the old man brought Lynk from her watchful trance. She jerked, turning to glance down at the hooded man, "Perhaps some rest would help? You have moving non-stop since you awoke, resting your body would do you some good."
Lynk raised a hand, acknowledging the way it shook, the way her knees ached.
Silently, the blonde nodded and slipped off the wall. She followed the man to his home, where he had already cooked food for her.
She did not know why he had done such a thing—he did not know her (she didn't know herself either, so), he gained nothing from helping her and yet, here he was, offering her his food.
Food which she gulped down once she realised just how hungry she was.
"Easy," the man curled a finger around the edge of the bowl and lowered it from her mouth. She blinked up at him in confusion, "You'll make yourself sick if don't take your time. You haven't eaten in a long while after all."
"…" she stared at him blankly for a moment longer before that gaze dropped to the bowl…. that was a thing?! Huh…
…now that she thought about it…
Lynk set the bowl down, turning in time to avoid spewing her vomit across herself.
The man heaved a sigh as he stood, "I shall fetch you some water."
Lynk took shaky and confused breaths…why did it burn her throat? She brought a hand up and winced at the discomfort…at least it didn't get into her hair…which she was really glad about, she'd rather not smell like vomit.
Still…she bowed her head, watching the way her hair fell across her chest. It was long, if she wasn't careful, she could get it caught on something or someone could grab it…
Could she tie it back in some way? But she didn't…wait, no, that was a lie!
Lynk reached for the red ribbon that was twisted around dishevelled hair on the right side of her face. her hair had grown even while she had been sleeping and now, what had no doubt once been a simple braid had become uneven and disjointed. It definitely needed tending to! It had been bothering her all day, getting in the way of things. Although, if she wanted to tie her hair back that meant taking off the strange piece of jewellery that it was holding on…the notion of doing so pulled at her chest. Left a feeling of discomfort, like she shouldn't remove it no matter what.
However, logically, Lynk knew she needed to if she wanted to fix her wild mane.
The jewellery must have some significance to her if she couldn't bring herself to even go along with the idea of potentially getting rid of it. doing so felt wrong, like the idea of parting with the purple necklace around her neck also felt wrong.
They must be special to her in some way right? Family jewellery? From a friend?
Lynk stored it safely inside the Slate, she didn't want anything to happen to it. Maybe once she remembered who it belonged to or why she wore it, she'd be worthy of wearing it once more…
She slept beneath the unfamiliar stars.
Lynk was long gone by the time the man awoke, already climbing the cliffside to gain access to the Shrine she had spotted the evening before.
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She stumbled across a strange rock formation and the old man was there…
Lynk's first thought when she saw it was: a grave. Or at least a monument to a deceased. She wondered how the man got up here…
"It's quite a sight, isn't it?" he smiled.
Lynk nodded but didn't linger long, she had one final Shrine to complete.
…despite the beauty, a part of Lynk was afraid to look at everything out there.
She carries on and the first step into the snow, the sound of it crunching softly beneath her shoe is—amazing. Unable to contain a giggle, Lynk knelt and scooped up a handful of the snow. It was cold to her fingers and yet she didn't care. For several minutes, Lynk just messes around in the snow before moving on.
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Lynk climbs to the roof of the temple, scampering along the broken roof until she pulls herself up into steeple where the man was stood, waiting for her. She noticed immediately that…there was a strange blue hue that surrounded the man; it flickers of flames and, well, he didn't look nearly as solid as every other time she had seen him.
…what was he?
He chuckled as soon as she brushed herself off.
"Well done there, young one. Though you may lack memory of your past, your skills and nature clearly remain."
(Was she really young considering she's spent a hundred years asleep?)
"Now then…the time has come to show you who I truly am."
The man turned to face the distant castle; hands clasped behind his back. Lynk belatedly realised he no longer had his walking stick, he looked taller, stronger…
"My name," he exhaled, "Is Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule. I was…the last ruler of Hyrule." He paused, continuing in a softer tone: "A kingdom which no longer exists."
Suddenly the old man, King Rhoam, was bathed in an ethereal light, nearly blinding Lynk. When it faded, the old man from before was gone, in his place was not a man who wore an old cloak, beard bushy and unkempt. Instead, he wore a blue waistcoat with golden trim over white doublet and trousers, a pair of black leather boots and he wore a large belt with the Hyrule Royal Crest. His beard and hair trimmed and well-kept and neat in appearance. A golden crown sat upon his head.
The light that had bathed him hadn't faded completely, now much like Lynk had seen before, he glowed softly.
King Rhoam turned to face Lynk, who stared on in shock.
"The Great Calamity was merciless… it devastated everything in its path, lo, a century ago. It was then that my life was taken away from me." He explained, "And since that time, here I have remained, in spirit form. I did not think it wise to overwhelm you while you were still so fragile from waking. So rather than that, I thought it best to assume a temporary, less alarming form. Forgive me for my deception. I see now that despite what you have encountered since waking, your mind is still quite strong."
Perhaps, Lynk agreed, just a bit hysterical. Instead, she spoke, "I…I can't 'member anything." there was a note of desperation in her raspy voice, "Anything, can…can tell me something—to, to help."
Rhoam looked down at Lynk, expression growing sombre, "I shall tell you what happened one hundred years ago, Lynk. Perhaps hearing of it shall awaken something within you." He glanced back to the castle, where the beast—Calamity Ganon—was.
"To know Calamity Ganon's true form, one must know the story from an age long past. The demon king was born into this kingdom. Legends spoke of a man once; others speak of a beast. Either way, the legends always spoke of terrible power and destruction left in its wake. The horror in which you see now is all that is left of the being, transformed by Malice and an endless cycle of death and rebirth.
"Stories of Ganon were passed from generation to generation in the form of legends. Fairy tales. But there was also a…prophecy: 'The signs of a resurrection of Calamity Ganon are clear and the power to oppose it lies dormant beneath the ground.'"
The King heaved a sigh and turned gazed out into the fields of Hyrule, expression distant, "We decided to heed the prophecy and began excavating large areas of land. It wasn't long before we discovered several ancient relics made by the hands of our distant ancestors. These relics, the Divine Beasts, were giant machines piloted by warriors. We also found the Guardians, an army of mechanical soldiers who fought autonomously.
"This coincided with ancient legends, oft-repeated throughout our land. We also learned of a princess with sacred power and her appointed knight, chosen by the sword that seals the darkness. It was they who sealed Ganon away using the power of these ancient relics.
"One hundred years ago, there was a princess set to inherit a sacred power and a skilled knight at her side," the spirit glanced at Lynk. She felt a shiver run down her spine, the hairs on her arms stood, "It was clear that we must follow our ancestors' path. We selected four skilled individuals from across Hyrule and tasked them with the duty of piloting the Divine Beasts. Daruk, the Goron; Urbosa, the Gerudo; Revali, the Rito; and Mipha, the Zora. With the princess as their commander, we dubbed these pilots Champions—a name that would solidify their unique bond."
In the far distance, the great Calamity has stirred once again, rising from the ground. It didn't last long, however, sinking back down; Lynk wondered if it was the mysterious woman's work.
The king continued, wistful: "The princess, her appointed knight, and the rest of the Champions were on the brink of sealing away Ganon…but nay, Ganon was cunning, and he responded with a plan beyond our imagining.
"He appeared from deep below Hyrule castle, seized control of the Guardians and the Divine Beasts and turned them against us," the king's face grew bitter, angry. His hands clenched into tight fists at his sides. "The Champions lost their lives. Those residing in the castle as well. The appointed knight, gravely wounded, collapsed while defending the princess."
Lynk…twitched. A strange swirl of emotions. Fear. Pain…horror, desperations…anger—resignation.
"…And thus, the kingdom of Hyrule was devastated absolutely by Calamity Ganon. However, the princess survived," Relief hit her. An incredible relief. Like a weight was lifted from her chest. She didn't know why, nothing beyond the rush of fading emotions that had risen inside her, "to face Ganon alone."
A silence fell between them for a long pregnant pause.
Lynk tried to collect her thoughts, find the words she wanted to speak. What to ask. What else she wanted to know. A part of this felt…familiar, a pang, like it was just on the tip of her tongue and yet—it evaded her.
Unfairly. Cruelly.
"That princess was my daughter. My Zelda," the King met Lynk's eyes once more. "And the courageous knight who protected her right up until the very end, was you, Lynk."
Her. Her?
"You fought valiantly when your fate took an unfortunate turn. And then, you were taken to the Shrine of Resurrection. Here you now stand revitalized, a hundred years later. The words of guidance you have been hearing since your awakening is from Princess Zelda herself." He sighed heavily once more, "Even now, as she works to restrain Ganon from within Hyrule Castle, she calls to you for your help. However, my daughter's power will soon be exhausted. Once that happens, Ganon will freely regenerate himself and nothing will stop him from consuming our land. Considering that I could not save my own kingdom, I have no right to ask this of you, Lynk…
"I am powerless here…you must save her…my daughter and do whatever it takes to annihilate Ganon. Somehow, Ganon has maintained control over all four Divine Beasts, as well as those Guardians swarming around Hyrule Castle. I believe it would be quite reckless for you to head directly to the castle as this point. So, I suggest that you make your way east, out to one of the villages in the wilderness."
Lynk approached slowly to see the direction that Rhoam had taken to pointing in, in the distances was a pair of twin mountains, split down the centre.
"Follow the road out to Kakariko Village. There you will find the elder, Impa. She will tell you more about the path that lies ahead. Make your way past the twin summits of the Duelling Peaks. From there, follow the road as it proceeds north…it is likely if you activate other Sheikah Towers, that the Slate will also be able to show you the way."
King Rhoam then held out a familiar object—the paraglider.
"As I had promised."
Lynk took it from his hands (absently wondering how he could touch anything physical if he was a spirit—ghost?) and nodded in thanks.
"Good luck, Lynk," Rhoam bowed his head and like dust, scattered to the wind before her very eyes.
Lynk breathed, curling her trembling fingers into fists. Slowly, she pulled the Slate off her hip.
…She needed to make notes, jot her thoughts and…objectives down, she knows. She doesn't want to forget; can't forget. Never again.
Thankfully, during her attempt to navigate this strange device yesterday evening, she learnt of some sort of way to write in it.
Lynk isn't going to touch the fact she remembers how to read or write—doesn't have the energy to figure out where to even begin with her memory problems.
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Rhoam told me that the strange monster at the castle is called Calamity Ganon, and keeping it trapped there is Princess Zelda, his daughter, and someone that I have once been the appointed knight too. She's fought against the Calamity for a hundred years while I lay in the Shrine of Resurrection after dying to protect her. I must gather my strength and aid Zelda in defeating Ganon. Rhoam pointed me in the direction of a woman named Impa. I hope she can tell me more of who I was and what I must do from here.
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Slate safely stored at her hip, Lynk leapt from the steeple without a second thought, raising her hands above her as the paraglider took shape in a quick flicker of blue. She dipped as she had expected, but the paraglider easily took her weight. She sailed as far as she could, feet touching the ground just shy of the great wall surrounding the plateau.
She stared out into the wilderness and slowly pulled the Slate from her hip to check she had a good collection of things that would hopefully do her over until she got to Kakariko Village in hopes that they might be able to supply her with better equipment.
Lynk yawned, an action that took her by surprise. She slapped a hand over her mouth—what…oh…she yawned!
A hysterical giggle escaped at her stupidity, but that giggle turned into shaky breaths as she dropped to her knees.
A hand crept beneath her shirt, trembling hands touching scarred skin. It was large, taking up the majority of her left side, missing her breast, creeping close to the centre of her torso, ducking beneath her trousers…
The scarred flesh was…tough, not as soft or smooth as the unscarred part of her. It wasn't the only scar. She had a slash on her left arm, just above the bend. Below the bend was small but a handful, like something had exploded and pieces caught in it had slashed her arm. Her other arm was more…discoloured rather than noticeable scarred.
She's sure her legs have some—she hasn't seen her face, but nothing feels odd by touch or any weird pulling with facial movements…
Lynk doesn't even know what her eye colour is.
Her hair is straw-blonde, her skin pale but that was likely from lack of sunlight for a hundred years. She wasn't petite or weak-looking; while yes, she was certainly small compared to Rhoam, and a part of her feels he was tall even by normal standards, she wasn't tall either.
She doesn't even know her age but clearly, she was old enough to have been a knight…while not remembering that, somewhere between sixteen and upwards feels reasonable…maybe…eighteen? Nineteen? Possible even twenty…or older.
Nineteen. She'll…go with nineteen until she found someone that could tell her more about herself. Hopefully this Impa woman.
Sucking in a breath, Lynk pushed herself to her feet and much like the first time with the paraglider, leapt off the wall, gliding towards a notable path. Clearly, it was a well-used path travellers preferred. That was good.
Lynk…walks. It's dark and she doesn't feel tired, instead, she feels jittery, antsy.
A flag pole with a tattered flag flutters in the wind.
In the far distance, Lynk can clearly see the volcano.
Lynk comes across her first problem. Monsters. She climbs the small hill for a better viewpoint and spots one of those Sheikah Towers. Then her eyes drop down and she blinks—a Shrine!
Monsters forgotten, she glides down to it immediately.
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As soon as she exits the Shrine, she's confronted—right, she knew she'd forgotten something.
Lynk drew her sword, taking down the Bokoblins that had been drawn her way by the noise of her exit. However…another monster—one she's not familiar with trudged her way, it was taller, larger and lankier than the Bokoblins.
Without hesitation, Link goes in, however—SNAP—the sword broke. Shocked, Lynk stared and so that gave the monster the opportunity to attack, swinging its club into her side and she went flying with a cry.
Lynk rasped for breath, vision filling with blackspots as she struggled to pull another breath into her lungs. She rolled onto her side when a shadow towered over her, eyes wide. The monster raised its arm back, club with it when the sound of snarls filled the air.
Before Lynk could process the sound, something launched itself at the front of the monster. She sees grey and white—a wolf?
No—no—that wasn't—Lynk knew what a wolf looked like—even with her shitty memory—and despite similarities, this creature had too many differences, odd patterning and too large size. It looked the side of a small horse! Like she could ride it—oh wasn't that a thought!—and what her brain produced was wolves weren't the type of go out of their way to attack people and things, more scavengers.
Lynk watched, mystified, as the wolf creature took the monster down. She coughed as she sat up, her ribs aching but she knew it wasn't enough to do any major damage, just some bruising.
The creature snarled at where the monster had once been, now nothing but a pile of drops after bursting into black mist—what was up with that anyway?
Finally, the beast blinked and turned to look at her with too bright blue intelligent eyes.
It didn't move—clearly, it had no malice towards her—and Lynk flopped back onto the dirt and groans, exhausted. She blinked heavily, lids suddenly too heavy for her to keep open.
…was she tired? Huh, that was strange…her stomach rumbled too, and there was an ache in her belly, was she hungry too?
That might be a problem…she hadn't actually acknowledged any of these before now, but clearly she's been hungry for a while. In fact, she hadn't eaten at all today—nothing since the soup last night that the old ma—that King Rhoam had given her, which she had puked up after drinking too fast.
Lynk sighed and threw an arm over her eyes.
A huff.
Lynk jerked, flailing slightly at the suddenly to close sound. Despite how heavy her lids were, it didn't stop the sudden rush of adrenaline to jerk into awareness. She saw the wolf—wolf? Beast?—again. It stared at her almost expectantly. But expecting what? Lynk doesn't even know how to read her bodies cues for hunger or sleep! How is she to tell what this wolf's expecting of her!
"…"
She stared, it stared.
A huff from the beast prompted Lynk to scowl and rolled over to push herself onto her knees. She groaned the entire time, stumbling when she finally got back to her feet—these shoes were really uncomfortable.
And yeah, the beast was tall enough for her to ride. She doesn't know if she should feel excited or terrified at the size of it.
Hand resting on her stomach, Lynk walked on. She really wanted to sleep but clearly the beast wasn't going to let her sleep in the middle of the road. Rude.
As she crossed the bridge, the wolf still at her side—was it going to be accompanying her for the foreseeable future, if so, yes please!—Lynk pulled the Slate from her hip to look at the map. Squinting, she made the choice to climb the Tower she'd be passing soon.
But—ignoring the man on the bridge watching the rusted Guardian, she was not ready to talk to anyone. Goddesses, the thought of even trying to comminute gave her this sense of pure panic—the further she walked, the harder it became for Lynk to move her legs.
A soft nudge made her jerk and look down at the wolf. It—she, him?—bumped her again and she followed the prompting to a small structure made of wood. It was covered and there was evidence of an old fire—perhaps a few days old?
Clearly, it wanted her to rest. Something Lynk had no problem doing, dropping down on her butt with an exhale. The wolf perched behind her and huffed. She blinked heavy lids at it and slumped back onto its fluffy side.
A sigh escaped.
The beast rumbled softly and fighting her exhaustion becomes harder and harder.
Maybe resting her eyes for a little while wouldn't do her any harm, clearly this beast wanted to help her. She'd deal with it when she was more coherent.
I thought it symbolic that Lynk would be the one with a journal this time!