Prologue (A Nightmare)
There it was, approximately 500 feet from the hill where Link now stood. A gigantic castle looming magnificantly in the cold darkness.
"Finally," Link thought.
Finally...a place to rest and warm up, and maybe even get some answers as to where he was! Link was excited for the first time that he could remember, especially seeing as there wasn't much at all he did remember. As he continued toward the castle, he tried to search his head for his past memories, but was left with nothing but confusion, and after many minutes of pondering, he decided to give up, the towering castle being the only important thing on his mind...when suddenly, his high hopes were shot down, for as he finally reached the castle, the wall-mounted torches revealed two things that hindered his progress: a closed drawbridge and a well-distanced moat. Immediately panicking, he frantically looked from side to side, praying to find a crack or small door to sneak in through...and was relived to notice a small bridge over a river that the moat leaked into, and on the other side, a small opening in a pack of trees near the base of a very tall moutain, obviously the entrance to some sort of mountain village. The bridge was about 100 feet away, but Link didn't care, there was a village on the other side! People, food, fire, it would be well worth the extra walking! The only problem was that because of the darkness outside, the the bridge was very hard to see, and if the torches on the castle happened to burn out, he wouldn't be able to keep his eye on it and would most likely end up in the river. He thought about it for a moment, then made his decision.
"I'll go for it, what are the chances that-"
Link was interupted by a very light pecking feeling on the back of his neck. Then another, and another, then one on his head, and his shoulder, until he was suddenly being pecked all over his body, each peck accompanied by a loud, rythmic, but repetetive sound. Then the torches went out, the bridge faded from sight, and Link stood in the pouring rain, soaking wet and hopeless...until the sound of metallic gears behind him caught his attention. He quickly turned to the drawbridge and noticed that it was lowering. However, by experience thus far, Link knew to be skeptical of the situation and refrained from getting too optimistic. Then he heard the quick pattering of frantic footsteps, and as the drawbridge touched down, a white horse faded into view, and in the split second it took to speed by him, Link noticed that there was more than one person on the horse. The rider was a very tall and muscular-looking woman, while the passenger seemed to be a frightened young girl, who held a strange familiarity in her appearence that Link couldn't confirm. Then, interupting his thoughts, came more fast-paced footsteps, but this time, a black horse made it's way into Link's line of sight from the castle, and this horse stopped as it approached, allowing Link a to get a terrifyingly detailed look at the rider. Long red hair, green skin, dementedly ornamented black armor, a small dagger dangling from a shin holester, and an evil grin that left Link speechless. Suddnely fearing the worst, he tried to turn and run, but his fear of the parked rider in black armor left him parylized and stupified. Then, as he closed his eyes and prepared his mind for death, he felt a quick, sharp pain in his back and suddenly he was dry. Not only that, but he was alive, back in his house in the Kokiri Forest, laying on the floor belly-up next to his bed.
"A nightmare, just a nightmare."
But as Link climbed back into bed, he knew it wasn't "just a nightmare," because it was the same nightmare he'd had the night before, and the night before that. Something strange was happening, and Link didn't like it.
There it was, approximately 500 feet from the hill where Link now stood. A gigantic castle looming magnificantly in the cold darkness.
"Finally," Link thought.
Finally...a place to rest and warm up, and maybe even get some answers as to where he was! Link was excited for the first time that he could remember, especially seeing as there wasn't much at all he did remember. As he continued toward the castle, he tried to search his head for his past memories, but was left with nothing but confusion, and after many minutes of pondering, he decided to give up, the towering castle being the only important thing on his mind...when suddenly, his high hopes were shot down, for as he finally reached the castle, the wall-mounted torches revealed two things that hindered his progress: a closed drawbridge and a well-distanced moat. Immediately panicking, he frantically looked from side to side, praying to find a crack or small door to sneak in through...and was relived to notice a small bridge over a river that the moat leaked into, and on the other side, a small opening in a pack of trees near the base of a very tall moutain, obviously the entrance to some sort of mountain village. The bridge was about 100 feet away, but Link didn't care, there was a village on the other side! People, food, fire, it would be well worth the extra walking! The only problem was that because of the darkness outside, the the bridge was very hard to see, and if the torches on the castle happened to burn out, he wouldn't be able to keep his eye on it and would most likely end up in the river. He thought about it for a moment, then made his decision.
"I'll go for it, what are the chances that-"
Link was interupted by a very light pecking feeling on the back of his neck. Then another, and another, then one on his head, and his shoulder, until he was suddenly being pecked all over his body, each peck accompanied by a loud, rythmic, but repetetive sound. Then the torches went out, the bridge faded from sight, and Link stood in the pouring rain, soaking wet and hopeless...until the sound of metallic gears behind him caught his attention. He quickly turned to the drawbridge and noticed that it was lowering. However, by experience thus far, Link knew to be skeptical of the situation and refrained from getting too optimistic. Then he heard the quick pattering of frantic footsteps, and as the drawbridge touched down, a white horse faded into view, and in the split second it took to speed by him, Link noticed that there was more than one person on the horse. The rider was a very tall and muscular-looking woman, while the passenger seemed to be a frightened young girl, who held a strange familiarity in her appearence that Link couldn't confirm. Then, interupting his thoughts, came more fast-paced footsteps, but this time, a black horse made it's way into Link's line of sight from the castle, and this horse stopped as it approached, allowing Link a to get a terrifyingly detailed look at the rider. Long red hair, green skin, dementedly ornamented black armor, a small dagger dangling from a shin holester, and an evil grin that left Link speechless. Suddnely fearing the worst, he tried to turn and run, but his fear of the parked rider in black armor left him parylized and stupified. Then, as he closed his eyes and prepared his mind for death, he felt a quick, sharp pain in his back and suddenly he was dry. Not only that, but he was alive, back in his house in the Kokiri Forest, laying on the floor belly-up next to his bed.
"A nightmare, just a nightmare."
But as Link climbed back into bed, he knew it wasn't "just a nightmare," because it was the same nightmare he'd had the night before, and the night before that. Something strange was happening, and Link didn't like it.