Temple of Knowledge
Chapter 1: Good 'ol Pepper
From a distance, Koholint Island would not be visible to the naked eye. The island was surrounded by a perpetual storm that hid an island that, to most, seemed like it had nothing to hide. Only the most skilled, and lucky, sailors made it through this storm. Koholint lied in-between the two continents of Hyrule and Termina. Many would like to use the island as a port, so trade could take place among the two nations. But with the storm, it was near impossible to make it to the island without crashing into the jagged rocks that surrounded much of the island, or being blown to bits by a lightning strike.
Koholint lied in what was known as the eye of the storm, mostly clear and sunny days, with the occasional light drizzle of a warm rain. The older residents lived a happy and fulfilled life, but the younger inhabitants complained about living in the perpetual ennui contained within Koholint Island.
In the back allies of the main village of Koholint Island, known as Mabe Village, sat an old building. Its blue paint was chipping to reveal its grey stone. On the front of the building, a sign read, 'Windfish Bar.' Inside, the building was even more weathered. Wooden tables were scattered all around the room, each having at least twenty burn marks from cigarettes and cigars on them. At the back of the building sat a bar. It stretched across the entire back of the building and had several small bar stools in three feet intervals from each other.
During the daylight hours, the bar rarely had any costumers, but today was different. At the bar, there say a young man. He had blonde hair and bright blue eyes, and he wore a green tunic; strapped to his back, was a long sword and a heavy shield. He had his arms stretched out onto the bar as he slid a glass of dark liquor from side to side in-between his hands. A stoical expression was frozen onto his face as he sat on his bar stool in deep thought. The young man sat quietly humming a tune so that only he could hear it. He continued to hum the song at the same beat as the glass he was sliding back and forth, which was at a slow speed.
A gruff old man from behind the bar walked up to him. He was bald with a salt and pepper colored mustache. He wore a stained, white apron and a blue, sleeveless shirt that exposed huge muscular arms. The inhabitants of Koholint called him good ol' pepper, due to the color of his mustache. He was a timid man, which was surprising for someone with as much muscles as he had obtained from breaking up bar fights that had occurred over the years of bartending.
"So laddie," spoke Pepper, drying off an old drinking glass in his hands with a tattered rag. "You must be one skilled sailor to be able to make it here in one piece, no?"
"How did you know I wasn't from here?" replied the young man in a low monotone.
"Oh, Pepper knows everyone on this here island," replied Pepper with a laugh. "Where ya' from, eh laddie?"
"Hyrule," replied Link as he took a drink.
Pepper was intrigued by the young man's cryptic answer. "Oh, Hyrule, that place is far away from here."
"Yep," the young man was hoping that his short response would drive the old man off.
"So, what's a fine lookin' lad such as you doing here in the middle of the day?" questioned Pepper. "Shouldn't you be out with a fine lookin' lass and starting a family?"
The young man let out an eerie laugh, "I had a 'lass.' But I had to leave her because the new government had an arrest warrant on my head."
"What law did ya break?" asked Pepper, leaning onto the bar with interest.
"Had a relationship with her," he replied, taking the last sip out of his glass.
"Was she the queen or somethin'?" asked Pepper.
The young man sighed, "Yeah…but that doesn't matter, even though I did save the whole god damned country."
Pepper stood up straight, and a smiled, "Oh, so you're a hero?"
The young man nodded.
"Well, your drinks are on the house," said Pepper as he refilled the young man's glass. "And what is the hero's name?"
"My name's Link."
"Link?" Pepper looked up towards the ceiling. "That's a strange name. But forget about it. Drink's on the house."
"Hehehe, thanks," replied Link, not changing from his monotone.
"You say that you saved all of Hyrule?" questioned Pepper, crossing his arms.
"Yeah, snuck past an entire army, and killed Hyrule's greatest threat," described Link, reminiscing.
"All of that, and they still want to arrest you?" asked Pepper, cocking his head to one side in disbelief.
"Not everyone wanted to, just the council that seemed to have taken over the kingdom," replied Link, downing his drink in one gulp.
Pepper refilled his glass, and replied, "Wouldn't the people, along with your lass rebel against them? You did single-handedly save them."
"Actually, a militia was formed to distract an army while I snuck by," said Link, looking down to avoid eye contact. "So I'm not getting much credit. The council was also giving many speeches on even though I saved the kingdom, that doesn't give me the right to break the law. It doesn't help that I had a kid with her."
"Ah, so you've had a child with her," said Pepper, shaking his head. "And I guess the council is all about sticking to the old rules, ya?"
"It seems like it," replied Link, finishing off yet another glass of liquor. "I don't get why they are wasting time on such a petty thing like this anyways….They basically took over the country, so whatever Zelda does with her life shouldn't affect them."
"Well, I might be talkin' out my ass here, but maybe the council wanted you outta the way for something, don't you agree?" asked Pepper.
"No, what could they possibly do?" asked Link, throwing his arms into the air. This gave the impression that he's been pondering on this subject for quite a while. "I have a fraction of…of something I wouldn't let them have, and Zelda has another fraction of it. And I know she'd never surrender it to them!" Link started to shake his head. "And the last fraction is shattered and they can't go around looking for it without being questioned."
Pepper nodded in agreement, although he had no idea what Link was talking about. "Well, I'm sure that you didn't leave because you were scared of a group of rich, corrupted politicians. I doubt a hero would run because he was scared of a little prison time." Pepper paused to think before he continued. "As a matter of fact, why did you leave, if you don't mind my asking?"
Link sighed as he thought about this question. He hadn't thought of why exactly he left, because deep down he wasn't afraid of a bunch of pompous politicians. "I don't know exactly. Something told me that I needed to leave for a while. I promised Zelda that I'd return in seven years….."
"Hmmm," Pepper twisted up his face as he entered a deep thought. "There's an old legend here on Koholint. I don't know much about it, but I'm sure you can find someone who does. But there's some kind of, hidden place around here…somewhere. It's a place where one can go, and learn all the mysteries of life. There you can find out what could have been, and what will be. The only other thing I know about it is, that the only way a person who learns these things can leave the that unknown area, is by facing their evil."
Link let out a chuckle, "Facing my evil. Say I do have an evil; I'd think I'd know how to fight it."
"Who says you have to fight your evil?" asked Pepper. "Sure I don't know exactly how you face it, but what if you have to face it in a challenge you're not very skilled at?"
Link shrugged his shoulders.
"Well, I'm not one you'd need to talk about this to," remarked Pepper. "Maybe you should start at the school, and ask the professor there. He's the most educated one I know on the island, and he might be able to shed some light on this subject."
Link nodded, raised his glass, and finished it in a few swallows. "Will do, right after I lose my double-vision."
Pepper, shook his head in disapproval before he left Link to go find something else to do to pass the time.