Chapter 1: Quiet Days

"No... no... Link! Get up! You're going to be just fine..."

The vision was murky... and dark. Embers glowed within the air.

But two figures could be made out. A young woman on the ground, and a young man in her arms...

As if he was dying.

"Princess!" a voice called out in the distance. Several figures appeared in the distance, but the vision remained too dark to make them out.

"Princess! Are you all right!?"

"Yes, but... Link..."

"Princess, we have some bad news..."

Linkle's eyes shot open, and she stumbled out of bed.

That dream... It felt so... real. What... what could've...

Linkle shook her head. It probably meant nothing.

Wearing her white pajamas and nightcap on her blond hair, she picked herself up from the floor.

Her blue eyes fell onto of photo by her bedside. It was of her and her great-grandmother, Aryll. Her great-grandma used to tell her all of these incredible stories about the warriors who fought to protect Hyrule, and the Champions who dared to face the Calamity.

To think Aryll was only a child then. She passed away when Linkle was a child herself, and had lived for a good century, longer than most Hylians. Linkle always felt that she was holding out for something. But she never knew what...

Linkle started to get dressed for the day. There wasn't anything in particular she had to do today, but she could always see if anyone needed help today.

"Linkle, honey, you up!?" a voice spoke outside. Linkle recognized this voice, he came by every day to make sure she was up, and often hung outside her place.

"I'm getting ready!" Linkle replied.

"Oh, good. Come out soon. Karson is preparing us breakfast."

The girl smiled. Seemed like it was going to good day.

Several minutes later, out of the quaint little house of white stone walls and red brick roof, Linkle strode on out, wearing her green hood over a white shirt, a pair of light brown shorts underneath, and tall brown boots. Her medium-length blonde hair was styled into twin braids, framing her face and blue eyes, and a small ponytail. And a pair of hand crossbows were attached to her boots.

"Hey, Bolson!" Linkle called out.

Turning to see her, the carpenter saw his favorite person. "Linkle!"

Bolson, boss man of Bolson Consturction. He was an older man, with a pink braided headband wrapped around his balding head, and he was wearing a blue coat with a tiger-patterned collar and a hammer symbol on the back, opened up to reveal his partially bare chest, and white stripped-cloth wrapped around his waist, and a toolbelt, pink pants, and black shoes.

Behind him, sitting by a cooking pot, were his two employees, Karson and Hudson. Both wore the same blue coat Bolson had, minus the tiger collar, tool belts, and construction pants. Karson was a new hire, tall and lean, with buzzcut brown hair. Hudson was an old employee, a bit more heavyset, with helmet-like brown hair.

"How are you doing this morning?" Linkle asked.

"Excellent! Which is the best way to start every morning!" Bolson cheered.

"Boss! Omelets are almost ready!" Karson called out, as he was cooking their breakfast.

"Care to join us?" Bolson asked.

"Yeah," Linkle replied, and she sat down with Bolson.

As everyone dug in, Bolson asked, "so, Linkle darling, any plans today?"

"Nothing really. Check on my birds, my practice with my crossbows a bit," Linkle replied. She owned her own little Cucco farm by her house, and even travels to Kakariko from time to time to trade with her fellow Cucco farmers. In her spare time, she practices fighting with her dual crossbows, so she can defend herself on the road. And she's become quite good at it.

Bolson chuckled a bit. "Oh, I'm sure there is something more you can do today. I think I recall Dantz might've needed help with something."

Dantz, he lived up at the Hateno Ranch, near the top of the village. "Yeah, I'll give him a visit," Linkle agreed.

Hudson grinned. "Always so helpful, for our little pup."

"Why do you always call me a pup?"

"Because you are. One day though... I'm sure you'll grow out of our little village. Move on to greater things."

Move on? Linkle and her family had lived here in Hateno Village for generations, even before the great Calamity. Sure, it was just her now, but she couldn't imagine leaving.

...Could she?

"Oh, that reminds me," Bolson spoke up, "Hudson, we need to discuss your next job."

"Hm? Next job?" Linkle asked.

"Just a new business venture," Hudson responded. As straightforward as always.

"Yeah! Big changes are coming!" Karson excitedly said.

"Okay..." As Linkle finished her breakfast, she thought about that. Change. Is she really ready for something like that?

Once she was done, she got up. "Well, perhaps I should go see what Dantz wants."

"Have fun!" Bolson cheered as Linkle waved back. Though the lead carpenter could see a despondent look on her face. He hoped that they hadn't pushed Linkle too far with their thoughts and hopes of moving on to bigger and better things.

...Still, someday, she should think about that. After all, he already was.

Bolson smiled softly. He just wanted the best for Linkle. Her parents died when she was very young, having been slain by monsters on a trip outside the village, and their parents before them fell to illness before that.

The little girl was left with her great-grandmother, Aryll, an amazing woman who managed to live for almost a whole century, even surviving the Calamity. She was the woman Linkle grew up with, and had many stories to tell her about the Great Calamity, and the heroes who fought to save them all. But as time marches on, even great-grandma Aryll would pass on.

Feeling sorry for the young girl, Bolson took Linkle in, sort of like his daughter. And he really grew to care for the girl, as she continued to grow up. Hudson, of course, was there to help, and they became a little family of sorts. They even helped Linkle build her Cucco coup.

And he was so impressed with the young lady she's become. Even after the passing of her only living relative, she continued to smile, and now, at age 17, Linkle was a confident, headstrong girl who cared deeply about her home and the people who lived there.

But she was also content with her life, and on the one hand, there wasn't much wrong with that, it also meant that she wasn't willing to grow, to go out and experience something new.

A happy little family they might seem, Bolson and Hudson were men of business, and they already had plans to move on to something bigger. They loved Linkle as if she was their own daughter, but they wanted her to be ready for things to change, and find her own path in life.

Bolson only wanted the best for her...

"She'll figure it out," Bolson heard Hudson say. "She's capable of more than she thinks she is. When the time comes, she'll be ready."

"I sure hope so," Bolson said. "I worried about my little girl..."

"Linkle!" the green-hooded girl heard someone call out to her.

Turning around, Linkle found her best friend, Lana, rushing up to see her.

Lana was the same age as Linkle, with her hair dyed light blue with help of her father, and held up in a side ponytail by white cloth strips and decorated with red-orange feathers. She wore a blue Hetano top over a light-green shirt, which still revealed her midriff, a blue skirt over an underskirt with a triangular-jagged hem, over white pants and brown boots. Her purple eyes shined with excitement.

"Hey, Lana!" Linkle called back. The two girls convened, and began to walk up through the village.

"So, what'cha planning to do today? Any plans to head out to Kakariko?" Lana asked.

"No, not today, but Bolson said that Dantz might need some help with something."

"Ah, I see. I heard he needs some hunting help."

"That makes sense. Good thing I'm the best shooter around!"

The girls laughed, but it wasn't a complete joke. Linkle was no slouch with her crossbows.

"What about you?" Linkle asked.

Lana sighed. "No, I don't have anything to do today. Though I wish I could talk to Purah already."

"Right... I don't know how you can stand hanging around her, honestly."

Purah was known among the whole village as the eccentric old Sheikah lady, who lived in the strange house at the top of the hill behind the village. She, along with her assistant, Symin, performed many experiments with the ancient Sheikah technology, all so they could "fight the Calamity", whatever that meant.

Lana, however, from a young age, showed a great interest in Purah's work, and began to visit often to try to learn as much as she could. Despite not being much of a kid person, Purah returned that interest in Lana, and once she was old enough, took her on as an apprentice (or intern, she never made it clear what she meant). Since then, Lana spent lots of time learning with the Sheikah researchers, and even joining in on their occasional experiment.

But around a few weeks ago, Purah suddenly stopped excepting visitors. Linkle saw Symin come down once... pathetically stumbling around the rain for whatever reason, holding a torch. But nothing since.

"Hey, it's not so bad," Lana countered. "I've learned so much. Much more than most people. And I'm even working on something with her. A new, custom Sheikah Slate!"

"A Sheikah what now?" Linkle asked.

"You know what, I'll take you up to see Purah, and show you! If I can get her to see me again, that is." Lana sighed. "I wish I knew why she suddenly went quiet. It's not like her."

"Yeah, I get it. She's strange, but I know you like working with her."

"Yeah, it's frustrating, but get this! For some reason, my cousin swears that there is a little girl living up there."

"That's... weird," Linkle agreed. "Purah never had kids, right?"

"Nope. But doesn't she have a grand-niece from Kakariko Village? You've met her, right?"

"Yeah, but I don't think it's her..." Linkle has indeed met the grand-niece in question, Paya, the granddaughter of Kakariko's elder. But Paya wasn't a little girl, so it couldn't be her... "But you know, your brother is still young, so it's probably just his imagination."

"Well, Sefaro been known to cause trouble, so who knows. It not going to help us to think about it," Lana replied. "Why don't we go see what Dantz needs help with?"

Linkle nodded, and the two friends left for the Hateno Ranch.

So, apparently, Dantz wanted help hunting some deer. He explained that Retsam Forest has become overpopulated by deer, which could be destructive to the environment.

An easy task for Linkle. As Dantz and Lana stood by the forest to watch, Linkle went in, pulled up her crossbows, and took out almost a good dozen deer in about half a minute!

And when she was done, Dantz was impressed, and a little bit concerned.

"You got ten deer!?" he exclaimed. And he gave a quick laugh. "Easy there, Linkle! I didn't think I'd have to tell you this, but there's such thing as being TOO good a hunter."

"Oh, uh, sorry..." Linkle said. "But hey, I got lots of good meat from it! It looks good quality, too!" And the arbalist archer, pulled over her haul.

"Well, I suppose that's a good thing. I'll let you two keep some of that as payment. Anyways, the thing with these deer, though... We really have to get their numbers under control. So this might just be enough."

"That's great! And thank you!"

"Thank you, too, Dantz," Lana added in.

As Linkle and Lana picked up some of the prime meat to take home, Dantz said, "give my regards to Bolson and Sayge!"

As started to walk back down, Linkle was lost in thought. On the mention of Bolson, she again started thinking about what he said earlier.

"Hey, Linkle, are you okay?" Lana asked.

"Um, just think about something," Linkle replied.

"You seemed bothered by whatever it is."

Linkle took a moment to think about what to say. "Lana, would you want things to change? Like, would you ever leave?"

Lana was silent for a moment. "I'm... not sure. I've never left Hateno. I mean, my uncle is supportive of me working with Purah, though I'm not sure if would want me to leave. You know my mom wanted me to grow up in a more... stable environment, not just travel from place to place like she does."

"Yeah, while growing up," Linkle stated. "But both of us are almost adults. So, if you had the chance...?"

"Well, I am kind of curious about what is beyond our little village. But I'm also scared to find out. Do you get what I mean?"

"I mean... yeah. I've only been to Kakariko, but... I feel happy here. I don't know if I want to leave, or things to change, o-or..."

"Linkle, what spurred this thought on?" Lana inquired.

"Bolson and the guys were talking about big changes, and moving on to greater things. And I just... I don't know if I'm ready for that," Linkle replied.

"Well, I suppose we can't stay in one place forever. We should always search for the next new discovery. That's what Purah says. But... are you more worried about maybe losing someone close to you?"

Linkle didn't have a response to that.

"I know you loved your great grandma, and you miss her. And you never really got to know your parents," Lana told her friend. "I don't need to ask, I just know. You put on a brave face, but it's hard to move on. And maybe one day, the people you know will have to go away. I get it. I think about it all the time. I mean, I'm always worried that, 'this time, when my mom visits, it might be the last', but... it's what she wants to do. And she's out there, seeing the world. So, maybe think about going out there yourself, and making new friends. New experiences."

"I... haven't thought of that."

"Well, think about it. I know you are a courageous person, so maybe... you just need to take that first step. And Linkle... just so you know, I'll always be there for you. You're my best friend, after all."

Linkle started to tear up at that. "Thanks. You're the best friend a gal could ever ask for."

"Of course." And the two girls began to talk about the village happenings and laugh together, spending the rest of the day cheering each other up, until it was time to call it night. Besides, it seemed like a storm was coming.

Later that night, far away from Hateno, in the Ash Swamp...

Unbeknownst to the denizens of any Hyrule settlement, Hateno or otherwise, a fierce battle was taking place against the forces of nature.

A wolf pack had strayed far from their natural habit, having followed their great lupine leader, escaping from one group of monsters to another, being forced further and further from their home, losing out to the forces of the Calamity.

And unfortunately for them, this was their last stand.

Rain pounded the ground, lightning flashed in the skies, as red humanoid creatures with pig-like faces swarmed in droves against the pack, striking them down with simple clubs and sharpened sticks as spears. The creatures were not very intelligent, but they were more capable than the beasts before them. The wolves were no slouches in combat, but for every one creature the feral beasts took down, two of their own were felled.

The pack dwindled further and further, until only the leader remained. This beast stood tall, with a strange dark coat, mixed with lighter grays around his muzzle, belly, tail, and paws. His eyes were a dark red, which bore angrily into the monsters before him.

This beast had an unnatural power. The power of shadows. It was unknown how this creature had obtained this power, as wolves are simple creatures, and never had this pack interacted with human society. But this power is the reason he had become the strongest of his pack, and its unchallenged leader.

Every time one of the creatures made a swing at the beast, he would become the shadows themselves, quickly shift around it, reform into his physical body, and drive his teeth or claws into them.

But even this power had its limits, and the wolf was slowly tiring, slowly losing the battle. And the count of his wounds began to swell.

Until only the dark wolf and one of these monsters remained. Two feral creatures of different races, facing off in one final clash.

The beast took no time in charging the creature. He turned into shadow, and near instantly closed the distance between them, appearing in front of it. In a panic, the creature swung its stolen sword.

But the wolf made contact first, jumping up, driving his teeth into the creature's throat, and tearing it out.

There the dark wolf stood, having achieved its vengeance for his fallen kin.

But it was no triumph...

The sword had hit its mark in the creature's last moments. It now stuck out of the wolf's body. On top of the beast's other wounds, he was now critically injured, and soon, death would take him.

With nowhere else to go, the wolf slowly walked away, his power drained, unable to pull the sword from its bloodied body.

Until finally, the wolf fell to the ground, taking its last dying breaths.

...Then a strange light appeared. A bluish-green glow formed into an ethereal hand, which grabbed the handle of the sword, pulled it out, and stabbed it into the ground beside the beast.

A body formed further from this hand, taking the form of the spirit of a human being. A Hylian.

The spirit began to comfort the dying wolf, stoking its dark fur.

"You have been through quite a lot, haven't you," the spirit said softly. "I am sorry. It is because of my failure that this has happened to you. The forces of the Calamity show no mercy to either human or animal."

The wolf had no idea what the spirit was talking about, but he could sense the sadness he bore.

As the spirit stroked his fingers through the wolf's fur, taking full advantage of his temporary physicality, he found something. A strange black crystal embedded in his fur, bound to the beast's body.

This crystal... the spirit could sense a dark power within. But it was strange. This power didn't feel... evil. It was not like the Malice of Calamity. This dark power, strangely, had a somber calm to it. Like the end of a day, as the sun sets, and the shadows grow. It even felt familiar, in a strange way, as if encountering an old, even ancient memory, which he could no longer recall.

But he could sense also the danger of this power. The darkness was pure, but powerful. If one wasn't careful, or corrupt...

An idea formed in the spirit's head. With the crystal's dark power, the risks were high. But perhaps...

"Perhaps, I could make things right. I could fix the mistakes of the past," the spirit said. "But I would need your help..."

No more words were needed. The wolf gave the spirit a look of understanding and mutual agreement. His life was fading anyway, so he was willing to give everything to the one who gave him comfort in his last moments.

The spirit nodded. And he set his hand on the shadow crystal, and began to infuse his very spiritual essence into it.

Within moments, the two energies fused together, and the spirit disappeared in a bright flash.

And then the wolf stood once more. His wounds had completely disappeared, new life coursing through his veins, and his power restored. A strange white mark had appeared on his head. When his eyes opened, they were now a brilliant blue.

The newly reborn wolf turned to the sword that had previously and very nearly taken its life. He now had the combined essences of the spirit and the dark wolf, and bore the experiences and memories of both. As such, he now knew the value of such a blade.

It clearly did not belong to monsters from before. It was likely stolen from some poor soul who fell to them. And yet, while it was bloodied and unclean, he could tell that it was still a good-quality blade.

The wolf could not use such a weapon in his new form, but he could still find a use for it. For what, or rather, who he needed to find...

With the knowledge of how the wolf previously used his dark power, an idea formed. The wolf grabbed the blade's handle in his mouth, and channeled his newfound power into it.

The sword turned into shadow, and merged with the wolf. A useful skill for later.

He then heard sounds approaching, the sounds of footsteps and voices. Unbeknownst to the wolf before, there was a human settlement nearby. A stable, to be more precise.

Despite being relatively close to the conflict between the monsters and wolves, they had not been alerted to it, likely due to the sounds of the rain, and the darkness of night. However, between the stable and the battleground was a pasture where horses roamed. And said horses had been spooked by the nearby fighting, and this eventually encouraged the stablemen to investigate what was happening.

The wolf knew that in his new form, the humans would not take to him kindly. So now was the time to take his leave.

As the Hylians approached, they bore witness to a horrific sight. The bloodied corpses of wolves, along with the torn-apart remains of bokoblins, barely starting to degrade into Malice, lay about the marsh. All the stablemen could do was wonder what had happened to cause this.

Though what they didn't see, in the distance, was the one last wolf of the pack, staring back at them. A new fire in its eyes and a mission to accomplish, it then disappeared into the darkness.

Author's Note: So here we are, the first actual chapter. This is just here to show the life of our protagonists, and then to start setting up the events to come.

So, while I haven't straight up said so, I hope that the situation of this what-if story is made clear. Our hero of the original story didn't make it in this timeline, but his sister, seen in the prologue, survived, and had a family, leading to Linkle being in the story. I think we can all guess what her role in the story is.

This idea came from two things. First is the mod for BotW that lets you play as Linkle. I play the mod myself. Despite having a Switch, I own the Wii U version of Breath of the Wild, and I soft-modded my console to play some simple mods on the game, and I really enjoy running around as Linkle.

The second is also related to Linkle and BotW, this time a story on Fanfic where Linkle is a part of the BotW story. The idea was that after Link was placed in the Shrine of Resurrection, his sister was told about it, and decided to raise her future family to prepare them for his return, so that they can assist him when he returns.

It was an interesting idea, but there was only ever that one introductory chapter. Also, I can no longer find this story, much less recall who wrote it, so I can't give the credit I would want to. Found a couple of other stories with Linkle in BotW, though.

The point is, I decided to make my own take on this idea. Obviously, I didn't just want to flat-out steal the idea, so I took things in a different direction, effectively making Linkle more than just an add-on.

As for her intro in the story, I'd want to bring up that it is theorized that the abandoned house in Hateno used to belong to Link. If this is true, then it would more accurately be the home of his family. So with Link's sister surviving, this is where she would go.

Now, I really felt that Bolson's role here couldn't be removed. In the game, he and his workers are the ones tearing down the house before you offer to buy it, and he is the one in charge of the home improvements. So I feel that his character, and business, are tied to this house.

But since Aryll's family lives here, then it is no longer abandoned. No reason to keep Bolson around in that regard, right? Well, I decided instead to give him another role to keep him involved.

So, I made him Linkle's adoptive father of sorts. Obviously, Linkle isn't a member of his construction company, as her name doesn't end in "son". But it keeps Bolson connected to her home, indirectly, and involved in the story. In fact, this makes his role more important, so down the line, when Tarrey Town is introduced, it can play a more central part in the story, rather than be just a simple distraction.

And of course, Linkle is still a Cucco farmer. See, I knew that I could connect Linkle to Link's sister having a pet Cucco. Now, this won't be a big part of the story, but it is a part of Linkle's background that I felt was important. Plus, I decided to add in that Linkle has been to Karariko of Cucco-related business, and I'm sure you know who with.

So, Lana, you are wondering why I decided to put her in the story? Well, I figured, why the heck not! Linkle and Lana are some of my favorite characters in Hyrule Warriors, and in retrospect, it's kind of disappointing to me that, when Linkle's story is all about girl power (e.i. helping out the other female cast), these two never met over the course of the story. But that's just me. And it feels like Lana doesn't get as much attention as Linkle does.

So, I want to address, Lana's role in Hyrule Warriors is that she was half of Cia, who was the watcher of the Triforce. That is not Lana's role in this story, she's just a normal Hylian. Though I was planning on just leaving Cia out as well, literally as I was writing this author's note, I decided to make some last-minute changes. After all, I kind of felt that someone was going to want Cia, if I was going to use Lana. So, here's what I came up with.

Remember how Lana mentioned having a mother who traveled? Yeah, that's Cia. Hey, it made sense to me. Since this is such a last-minute change, I don't what I'm going to do with her. But my working idea is that Cia traveled around Hyrule, possibly as a merchant, but then she had Lana. She didn't want Lana to live a life as a traveler, not growing up in one stable location. But she also didn't want to, or couldn't give up her own life. So, she left Lana in the care of Hateno, and comes to visit from time to time. That's what I got. Also, don't be surprised if I tone down her... more sensual nature.

Now, back to Lana. What of her relation to Sayge, who, in case you don't remember, is the guy who owns the dye shop in Hateno Village. Well... it's because of Lana's hair. She has blue hair, and as a Hylain, I felt it wouldn't be a natural color. Well, since Sayge works with dye, it made sense that it could be used for hair as well as clothing. In fact, pretty sure Sayge's hair is dyed itself.

And yes, this did lead me to make Lana family with Sayge. It would make sense to me that she'd be more likely to dye her hair, living in that kind of environment. Besides, Sayge is a bit eccentric, so it might explain why Lana is okay hanging out with Purah, who is also eccentric. (Though I have noticed the Purah, in Age of Calamity, has a strip of purple hair, which she doesn't have in BotW, so it is also probably dye.)

(And in case you are wondering why Linkle doesn't get along with Purah for the same reason, since she hangs out with Bolson, I don't see him as quite so eccentric. Just a strong, charismatic leader who is also probably gay. And Lana herself is normal enough, too, as her friend.)

I also want to address Lana's connection with Purah. It's because Lana, in Hyrule Warriors, is a sorceress. But in BotW, magic is more sparse. Yes, there are characters who have magical abilities, such as the Champions and Zelda. Plus, the Sheikah technology is probably powered by magical means (I've heard a theory that it could be the Time Stones from Skyward Sword). But mages aren't a thing in BotW.

So, the next best thing: the Sheikah tech! I made Lana to be a scholar, and work with the Sheikah researcher, Purah, so she has knowledge on these relics. You'll also notice that Lana mentioned she was working on a custom Sheikah Slate. Yeah, she'll fight like Zelda does in Age of Calamity. Though, she might have some custom Runes (wink, wink).

Lana will also use a spear, as you'll get to see next chapter. She does use one as a weapon choice in Hyrule Warriors, though the ones she uses in this story, of course, won't be magical.

Now, let's talk about that wolf. I'm sure you all know who he, or rather the spirit, is, but I'll talk more about that next chapter. You'll see why.

But for now, I want to bring up his power, since there will not a reason to explain it in the story itself.

If you haven't guessed, this power the wolf has is the power of Twilight, from, of course, Twilight Princess. The crystal embedded in the animal's back is the same kind of crystal from Twilight Princess, which was used to turn Link into a wolf.

In this story, it was left behind during the events of Twilight Princess, likely chipped off a while Link fought the Twili beasts, and forgotten for the vast amount of ages since, until it got entangled in this random wolf's fur, certainly by accident, and then bonded to him.

I'll get more into my reasons for this later, but it gave the wolf the powers of Twilight, including the shadowy teleportation, and the ability to store things magically (like Midna does when you get the sword and shield from Ordon Village).

I also left some nods to Twilight Princess, including how the spirit almost recognized it. I also noted that this power could corrupt, but loosely. The power of Twilight seems safe enough, when Midna uses it, and it is only evil when used by evil (e.i. Zant). But the Interlopers, who became the Twili, were sealed away for a reason: the dark power they used. And the Fused Shadow, the great accomplishment of the Interloper's power, is incredibly dangerous.

Finally, I want to bring up how I had the monsters die. So, in the game, when you kill a monster, they burst into Malice. Basic video game death animation, relatively non-violent, but you could also assume that this is actually how they die, and during a Blood Moon, the reverse happens, as the monsters are reformed from Malice in their rebirth.

But this contradicts one of the recovered memories, where Zelda is bandaging up Link after a fierce battle, where you can see the corpses of many bokoblins and lynels behind them. All of them NOT turning into malice.

So, I decided to compromise by hitting a middle ground. Monster will slowly degrade into a malicious smog, but how fast will vary. Doesn't matter that much the exact time, if you ask me.

Anyways, that was a lot. I hope you like this new story, and enjoy it as we go along. One more chapter for my initial three (including the prologue).