These days it was becoming harder to travel, but Selmie tried to visit her friend Pondo at least once a month. There were very few permanent residents in the northern reaches of Hebra, so it was important for the Hylians who made the snowy hills their home to support one another. A stray tree collapsing or a tumbling avalanche could instantly level a home in the Hebra Mountains. Increasingly so, the trails were littered with camouflaged lizalfos and deceptively cute chuchus that could freeze you with the slightest touch. The daily snowfall and foggy air obscured your vision and sense of direction, making it all too easy to get lost on the ice. But the Hebra Mountains, if somewhat scary, were beautiful. She witnessed that fact everyday.
Selmie was a shield surfer. It was Hyrule's latest and greatest extreme sport, and while dangerous, gave you a thrill like nothing else. Selmie had known it was her calling from her first trip to the mountains as a little girl, mountains which she now surfed every day. She lived in a cabin in the perfect spot just below the east summit. It shielded her from the worst of the winds, and although the high altitude still made for freezing temperatures, Selmie never lacked firewood thanks to the dense forests around her. Perhaps most importantly, she could walk out her front door and pick from the many dives and valleys that opened up before her, natural ramps and half pipes that begged for a master surfer to show off their skills. And a master she was; Selmie was a mini-celebrity in the shield surfing world, and her cabin marked the capital of the sport.
Today, Selmie was taking the path down Coldsnap Hollow toward Kopeeki Drifts. The recently risen tower made for a great landmark—Pondo's lodge sat close by, and the glowing light was a beacon for Selmie to ride toward. Strangely enough, there seemed to be a figure gliding down from the top of the structure. It was rare to see a Rito around the tundra, and Pondo was far too old to be pulling a stunt like that. That begged the question: who was the person jumping off of the tower? Selmie supposed she would find out soon enough, as the figure was descending toward Pondo's home.
…
"Incredible!"
Pondo was having an amazing afternoon. Hebra was as cold as ever, but his cheeks were flushed and warm from excitement. While many came to Hebra to hike or shield surf, Pondo's passions lay in snowball bowling, a game he himself invented. Today, Pondo had found the greatest snow bowler yet. His name was Link.
"One more strike for a blizzard rod!" Pondo cried.
As Selmie surfed down the course and reset the stone pins, Pondo prepared another snowball for Link to roll—no—that word didn't do it justice. Link flung each snowball down the hill with the strength of a Goron. While other, weaker competitors struggled to control the weight of the ball, Link used the magical device on his hip to stockpile the raw power he needed to send the snow flying down the slope. It was a strategy Pondo had never seen or thought possible; it was a thing of beauty.
Link bowled another perfect strike, and Pondo's face lit up once more.
"You did it!" Pondo shouted and nearly leapt off the ground.
Link laughed and scratched the back of his head sheepishly as both Pondo and Selmie whooped and hollered in celebration. When the excitement inevitably died down, Pondo saw it fit to invite the boy to join the Hebrans for dinner. He was exceedingly glad that he asked Link to give snow bowling a shot, and figured that more time with the youngster would be just as fun. Selmie must have shared Pondo's sentiments, as she encouraged the boy to follow them into the cabin.
It was unfair, Pondo thought, that someone so skilled in bowling could also be a master in the kitchen. In exchange for the games and hospitality, Link insisted on preparing dinner—Pondo just didn't expect it to be so good. Hot on their plates lay gourmet meat seasoned and grilled to perfection combined with a sauce Pondo could only describe as divine. If Selmie's groans were anything to go by, she was a big fan of the home cooked meal.
After dinner came fireside stories. Selmie cackled loudly trying to describe a lizalfos she had seen with its tongue tied in a knot, and Link told mysteriously of a secret hot spring nested in a valley by the West Summit. Pondo couldn't remember the last time this much warmth and laughter filled his normally lonely lodge; he was, admittedly, growing old, and did not want to take for granted moments like these. That was when Link showed off another feature of his slate, one that he called a camera. And, after a bit of shuffling into position, he captured a lovely image of the three Hylians huddled around the fireplace.
"I know someone in Hateno Village who could make some physical copies," Link said fondly.
"And how many of these pictures do you have?" Selmie tilted her head and asked.
Link frowned and Pondo noticed his eyes become unfocused and cloudy. The boy gently swiped his finger on the tablet to reveal twelve landscapes. Even from the limited travelling Pondo had experienced, he could tell that these pictures were taken across Hyrule. More importantly, they seemed important to Link. Pondo and Selmie shared a worried look.
"Do you recognize any of these places?" the boy asked, finally.
Pondo wished he could be of more help, but he had hardly left Hebra in his lifetime. Luckily, Selmie chimed in, a tad more travelled due to her sport.
"This one looks like it was taken on Death Mountain. But a lot of these… a lot of these must be older than the Calamity."
This revelation surprised Pondo, but had no effect on Link.
"Who gave you the slate?"
Link secured the device back to his hip and collapsed onto his chair by the fireplace. He glanced at Selmie and Pondo, and then turned his head toward the ceiling.
"It was there when I woke up."
…
Selmie stayed the night at Pondo's. It was quite dark by the time the three finished exchanging stories and the fire burned out. She thus decided to wait for the morning to walk back to her cabin, a walk that Link graciously offered to accompany her on. She explained that she could handle herself in Hebra, but the boy simply said he wanted to explore more of the mountains anyways.
Although the trek back was mostly uphill, Selmie still found downward slopes to surf on along the way. Link was a total noob, but Selmie thought herself a good teacher, and after a few falls, the boy seemed to be getting the hang of things. It also helped that he had that nifty paraglider to bail him out. Selmie had surfers up by her cabin decently often, but most were there to either pay respects (she was their champ, after all) or ask to ride her slopes (not a euphemism). It was nice to have company that actually trudged with her through the snow. It also helped that Link's presence felt oddly safe. She figured out where that feeling of security came from when he walloped a wizzrobe in all of five seconds.
Link's evident combat abilities only added to his mystique. His bow and clothing clearly were put together by a Rito, and the ingredients he used for dinner the previous night must have been sourced from across Hyrule. At the center of it all was the glowing tablet that never left his waist, which Selmie suspected was Sheikah in origin. And yet, despite all of these weapons and foodstuffs and artifacts on Link's person, the boy still knew jack about Hyrule. It was downright baffling and it constantly piqued Selmie's curiosity. But, she tried her best to be polite (not very easy for a shield surfer). She saw how her question about the origins of the slate made Link shut down, and she didn't intend to repeat her mistake. Selmie resolved herself to be friendly; if Link eventually wanted to open up, then she would let him. Be respectful, she reminded herself. Well, with one exception.
"I challenge you to a race!" Selmie shouted once the two reached her cabin.
Link's face was skeptical, but Selmie saw excitement in his eyes that urged her to go on.
"From here to the flags at the bottom of the hill," Selmie elaborated. "If you win, I'll let you have one of the shields in my vast collection. But…"
As Selmie trailed off, Link's ears perked and his mouth shifted into a slight smirk.
"...If I win, I get to ask you a question. And you have to answer truthfully," she finished.
Link debated internally for a moment, and then bolted suddenly toward the hill, shield in hand.
"Wait a second!" Selmie yelped.
"You're a pro—I needed a head start!"
Oh, it was on.
Link must have started with five seconds on her, but his lack of experience was starting to show. Selmie was confident she would catch up when a blue pillar of ice shot up from the snow.
"What the—"
She turned toward Link, who was grinning and holding up the slate. His face all but said, what are you going to do about it?
"You cheater!" She could not believe this kid!
The race now resembled a slalom, as Selmie weaved in and out between the ice Link summoned with his tablet. She hated to admit it, but the rapidly appearing obstacles made cruising down the slopes awesome. On her entire trip down the hill Selmie's heart raced and her face beamed. Even with the ice blocking her path, she still took the lead over Link in the final stretch before the flags and crossed the finish line first with time to spare.
"Jerk," Selmie spat and tried to look annoyed, but her wild eyes betrayed her excitement.
"You liked it."
"Yeah. Yeah, I did."
The two sat in silence for a moment until Selmie noticed that Link was looking at her expectantly. She was so thrilled by the victory that she forgot about the question! And before she could stop herself, Selmie blurted something out.
"Who are you?"
It was a dumb question, and Selmie flushed red. Link chuckled—she thought his laugh sounded genuine, if a little rueful. He looked around a little, as if he was confirming that they were alone in the snowy valley, raised his eyebrows, and confessed.
"I don't even know."