4 - The Wild Hunt, II


"And so I says to meself, 'if that blasted wench runs off with that sod of a man she calls her soulmate, then I'm taking' me hard-earned rupees and findin' a better life in Central!'"

"Yet here you are, in the middle of the forest, hidin' from the law and hidin' from a manslaughterin' fiend."

A group of vagrants huddled around a small campfire, a single large tent behind them. They passed around a large bottle of mead as they loudly shared stories. Night had begun to fall, the orange and purple glow of the sky fading away as it was slowly consumed by darkness.

The man telling his story laughed, puffs of condensation rising as he did so, "Aye, and still havin' more fun than I ever did in Faron."

One of the other men shook his head, smirking, "Ye count muggin' travelers on the road as fun?"

"He was probably already a twisted cunt livin' in the city then, eh?" Another one remarked, pointing at the storyteller.

The group erupted into a chorus of laughter. At this point, they were more or less inebriated off the alcohol, having pillaged it off a destroyed merchant's cart on the road.

One of the men fell backward onto the dirt in a drunken stupor, immediately snoring.

"Ye feel that?" The storyteller said, nestling closer into his cloak, "Fuckin' freezin' me balls off."

"Aye. Winter's comin'." Another agreed, putting his hands by the fire.

"Tonight's right colder than yesterday, though."

As they sat around the fire, they could feel the temperature begin to drop steadily as the daylight disappeared. Soon, beyond the glowing light of the campfire, the forest had descended into almost complete darkness. The vagrants continued to make drunken smalltalk through their chattering teeth.

They did not notice the subtle rustling of the underbrush within the forest.

Nor did they hear the deep, primal huffs that echoed between the trees.

Nor did they see the frost blossoming on the grass and on the tips of the pine needles.

Suddenly, the man holding the bottle of alcohol placed it on the grass next to the fire, squeezing himself into his cloak tighter as he began rocking back and forth on the grass. "Is it just me or is it gettin' colder than Hebra's arse right now?!"

One of his associates shook his head, "No, you ain't imaginin' it. Look at the grass."

The grass was now covered in a layer of ice. There was a sudden gust of freezing wind and the fire was whipped out.

"The hell?!"

The clearing was nearly pitch black, the moonlight hidden beneath a large cloud. The vagrants started scrambling, trying to make a new fire as they shivered intensely from the cold. Eventually, the frost began settling on their bodies - on top of their cloaks and on the tips of their hair.

Then, there was a loud, and muffled thud. The group looked over at the sound, only to be peering into a pair of gargantuan ice blue eyes.

Blood-curdling screams echoed throughout the forest. Within the pitch black, the vagrants could barely put up a struggle as they were eaten alive and torn asunder.

And when it was all said and done, and the monster had eaten its full...

The frost had disappeared, as quickly as it came.


Kneeled over a fallen soldier with a lantern in hand, Link ran his fingers across the tarnished silver armor that had been sliced cleanly in half. The aftermath of this attack site was largely similar to the previous one, except the grass was considerably less bothered. He managed to find a few more tracks, identical to the paw print that he'd found in the forest earlier. The wolf was very large - it was difficult following its trail as it seemed to take long and powerful strides judging from the distance between each paw print.

He debated whether or not he should turn around and just head back to the city - his investigation of the fallen military squads had turned up some important details, but none particularly helpful in finding the beast. The sun was going down and he was already having difficulty navigating the forest because of dark it had become.

Where was the girl now? Had she already gone back to the inn? Or was she hot on the beast's trail?

Sighing, Link reached into his satchel, which was splattered in drying blood, and fished out a small hardtack biscuit. Munching on the flavourless biscuit, he walked over to Epona who was waiting near the clearing and hung his lantern on a hook on her saddle. He spread open his map on the grass, placing a compass in the corner as he decided his next move.

The tracks of the beast had it moving further north from here, although he was too inexperienced to know how long the tracks had been sitting there for. The corpses in the clearing were a couple days old at most, and that meant the beast had plenty of time to relocate since then.

As he was in the middle of a bite, distant cries of agony echoed over the top of the trees. Link whipped his head towards its direction - he had his answer. Quickly folding up his map, he stuffed it into his bag, biscuit still hanging out of his mouth.

"Let's go, let's go!" He ordered, snapping the reins. With a passionate whinny, Epona reared back on her hind legs before blasting off into the forest.

They galloped through the darkness, the lantern bobbing from Epona's saddle only giving them enough light to see a few meters ahead. The need to at least catch a glimpse of the beast had completely taken over the fact that Link could have been charging into his death.

The strange feeling he'd experienced when he and Aldridge approached the camp of bokoblins in the forest near the border had manifested itself in this pits of his stomach again: It was the excitement of facing something he did not know - something that was much stronger than he.

The howls of wolves pierced through the relatively silently forest, accompanied with growls and barks. They were distant, but it was loud enough to put him and Epona on edge. She was brave, much like himself, but it was only natural that horses would be afraid of the sounds of predators.

"You can do this, girl." He whispered reassuringly, leaning over the reins to rub his steed's neck as she flew across the forest floor.

There were howls again, only this time they sounded closer. Epona's tremendous footfalls were, by no stretch of imagination, probably the loudest sounds in the forest at this time of the evening, and it did not help that he had a glowing lantern hanging off the side of her saddle. A bead of sweat dribbled down his temple as he braced himself for what might've been a pack of wolves descending on them in the dark.

Link unhooked his bow from its holster, gripping it tightly in his right hand as he retrieved an arrow from his quiver. He didn't have much practice with it, so he was depending on his apparent talent for archery to pick off any predators looking to make Epona their dinner.

Rabid barks began closing in on them. He'd had experience fending off wolves in Ordon and on the way up to the city, so he knew they were quick and persistent.

His instincts made him snap his head to the right side, where he saw a flash of grey fur streak between the trees. A large wolf maneuvered between the trees, sprinting to catch up with Epona. Link's bow creaked as he pulled back an arrow, steadying his aim as he attempted to lead a shot.

Letting the arrow loose, it whistled through the air for a split second before it pierced the wolf in its side, just as it was catching up to Epona's tail. The wolf gave a pained whimper as it tumbled into the grass.

That wouldn't be the end of them, Link was sure. He could hear the sounds of more wolves bounding through the grass, their haggard pants accompanying them. His eyes darted back and forth as he tried to get a visual on how many he was dealing with. He could see at least three between the trees, the glow of lantern reflecting off of their eyes.

"Come and get it!" Link goaded, preparing an arrow for another shot. It was truly difficult trying to keep his aim steady as Epona was barreling full speed through the forest floor, so he deemed it best to wait for an opening as he did the previous wolf.

As he expected, one of the rabid wolves leapt out of the trees, intent on latching onto to Epona. Time seemed to slow as he closed an eye, following the wolf through the air with his bow.

Thunk! His arrow caught the wolf at the apex of its jump, burying itself into the beast's snout! The wolf wailed as it was thrown to the side, slamming into a tree!

Link, head on a swivel, immediately drew another arrow, turning his body to the left as he sensed another wolf readying itself to attack. He had to admit, he was impressed that these wolves were able to keep chasing Epona. In the past, once he had taken out a couple of the pack, it was usually enough to dissuade the rest of the wolves from pursuing them any further. They were either really hungry... Or they were kin of the monster he was hunting.

He took a pot shot at the wolf he was aiming at, hoping to scare it off. The wolf didn't even flinch, and it took no time at all for it to gain on the pair. Once again, Link tried to steady his aim, waiting for it to get close enough for him to land a clean shot.

Just as he was about to let loose his arrow, the wolf glanced into the darkness before breaking off and retreating into the forest. It seems the wolves chasing them had all stopped their pursuit as well, the sounds of the footsteps slowing fading away.

That's not a good omen. Link thought, holstering his bow. He had no idea where in the forest they were now, and if the wolves were working for the monster, then maybe that was their plan all along. He swore, pulling out his compass as Epona continued to gallop. It still seemed like they were going in the direction of the screams from earlier, so he decided to bite his lip and continue forward. No use getting cold feet now - they were already knee deep in shit as it was.

It took a little more traveling until he could finally see the pale blue of moonlight spilling into a clearing. Pulling back on the reins, he decided to approach it slowly and give Epona some time to rest a bit.

As Link got closer, he could make out what was within. There was a small camp, with a single large tent. He carefully marched towards it, unhooking the lantern from Epona's saddle as he dismounted.

When he stepped into the moonlit clearing, there were already a pair of rangers investigating. These must have been some of the rangers stationed in the forest that Roland mentioned, Link thought, approaching them. They were crouched over a deep paw print, talking amongst themselves. The crunching of Link's footsteps on grass caught their attention, causing them to quickly stand up and turn around, drawing their swords.

"Easy," Link said, putting his hands up, "I'm chasing after the beast."

"You're in luck, cause the bastard's just run through here," One of the rangers said, pointing towards the trees, "Tracks point this way, but I wouldn't be surprised if it turned around to bag our asses next."

"I'm following after it," said Link, giving a quick whistle to get Epona by his side, "Coming with?"

The ranger pair looked at each other before nodding, "Right behind you."

The Hyrule Rangers were an elite special forces branch of the regular military - they were well-versed in a multitude of combat styles, being able to utilize almost any weapon they got their hands on. They were famous for guerrilla tactics used in the wars past, with Rhoam entrusting them for assassinations of high-profile generals and rulers. Highly mobile, most rangers carried hookshots - pneumatic grappling hooks that were either handheld or were strapped to the forearm - which ensured they could maneuver effectively regardless of the environment they were stationed in.

Link had only heard of these elite soldiers in passing, and it was certainly a treat to see them in action. The hisses and whirrs of their hookshots as they bounded through the canopy overhead was truly a sight to behold. They gracefully lept from branch to branch, and it was a testament to the strength and craftiness of this beast that the rangers were having difficulty in tracking it. They were easily keeping up with Epona's strides, and a small part of him wished he could get his hands on one of those hookshots too.

An ear-piercing, primal roar suddenly tore through the forest, followed by a deafening crash. Link looked around frantically, but couldn't see anything in the immediate vicinity.

"There's a pretty big field a kilometer or so up ahead!" One of the rangers called out from above, "That's probably where it's at right now!"

It wasn't long until the group saw light flowing in from up ahead. As they got closer to the end of the trees, Link began to feel a noticeable drop in the temperature. The wind began biting at his face, even more than before, and he could feel his eyes watering.

Within minutes, they emerged from the trees, once again bathing in the moonlight. The ranger was right, the field was enormous, almost dividing the forest in two. It was freezing cold; sticking to the tips of the blades of long grass in field were crystals of frost - twinkling under the moonlight. The clouds had begun to fade away from the sky, a breathtaking view of the stars replacing them. Underneath the stars, in the horizon above the treeline, the mountains of the Faron province were clearly visible.

Link tugged on the reins to get Epona to stop, the pair of rangers landing swiftly next to them. Finally, in the middle of the field, they finally managed to lay their eyes on the beast of the forest.

Even in the vastness of the field, Link could tell the beast was huge. It was an awe-inspiring, majestic silver wolf the size of a two story building. Its ice blue eyes seemed to glow in the night. Its fur shimmered in the moonlight, and it seemed to emanate an icy haze with every huff. Beneath its feet, the ground would freeze over, a thin sheet of ice accompanying every step it took as it walked towards the figure that was in front of it.

"Her!" said Link, recognizing the cloaked figure that was standing their ground in front of the beast.

"The other bounty hunter?" One of the rangers asked, to which Link nodded.

He decided to dismount, deeming it safer if Epona stayed out of the fight. Giving her a firm slap on the behind, she snorted, rearing back on her hind legs before dashing into the forest.

The girl was pointing her sword at the beast, saying something that they couldn't make out from this distance.

"Is she nuts?! That thing's gonna murder her!" Said one of the rangers.

Link nodded, "We need to help her."

The trio looked at each other before silently agreeing, dashing off towards the imminent fight.


Finally, she'd been stalking the wolf for hours, but Mira was finally able to see the beast she'd come all the way to Faron to kill. She'd been following its tracks for the better part of the day, almost being led on a wild goose chase, until she managed to come upon solid evidence.

Astride her trusty black stallion, the pair creeped along the wolf's trail, being able to just see slivers of its lustrous silver fur between the trees. A normal person would never be able to spot anything in this darkness, but she was far from normal.

Her ears twitched as she heard the distant sounds of rowdy laughter; it seemed the wolf had found its next meal. As she proceeded through the forest, she began to slowly make out the glow of a fire in the distance through the trees.

Fools. She thought, shaking her head. These people either did not realize the danger of being in the forest at night, or were confident enough that they thought they could take out the beast if it were to come. Regardless, they were a good distraction, allowing Mira to follow behind the wolf a little more closely. A shiver made its way up her spine as she began to feel the frost - luckily she had dressed warmly, anticipating both the weather and the beast's control of the cold.

She blinked, and the glow of the fire up ahead was snuffed out. She observed intently as the wolf pounced on the camp, tearing through the vagrants and swallowing them like slabs of raw meat. Mira couldn't help but feel a morbid sense of fascination as the wolf tore through the ruffians, their cries of terror and agony piercing the night.

It was soon over, almost as quickly as it had begun. The wolf pawed at some of the remains of the bodies on the ground before suddenly lifting its head up towards the sky. It turned its head towards the forest, peering into the darkness. After a moment, Mira could hear the sounds of barking in the distance. Suddenly, a pack wolves stampeded through the clearing, darting over the grass past the beast, before racing into the forest.

She gave a quizzical look in the direction they were running towards but immediately regretted it, as the beast had suddenly took off the opposite direction.

"Shit! After him!" Mira snapped the reins, her horse giving an impassioned whinny as it blasted off.

The beast was incredibly swift - it maneuvered between the trees with agility that belied its size. The tuffs of its silver fur had begun to get disappear in the distance as they were slowly being left behind.

"As if I'd let you get away!" She growled. Patting her horse on the neck, she begun climbing off the stirrups and onto the saddles, "Keep running boy, and don't stop!"

Mira revealed the hookshot built into her left forearm guard; it was a two pronged grappling hook underneath her wrist, with the device's chains wrapped around her forearm. Gritting her teeth, she waited for a suitably sturdy branch to pass by overhead.

As soon as she saw a large branch up ahead, she immediately pulled the trigger mechanism, a spurt of light-coloured gas hissing from her forearm guard as the hook jettisoned into the canopy. Bracing herself, she jumped off her horse and was jerked forward as she was reeled into the air.

She used the momentum of her launch to swing herself through the forest, somersaulting in the air as her hookshot retracted itself. Gracefully, she aimed at another tree branch up ahead, once again shooting her hookshot at it and repeating the motion.

Mira bounded from branch to branch, being able to outpace her horse by traveling through the trees. She was slowly gaining on the wolf, closing in on its form. At this point, the beast had taken notice of both her and her horse that was further behind, as it would glance backwards every couple of seconds.

It didn't matter - once Mira had her sights set on a target, they weren't getting away, even a beast like this.

The beast zigzagged between the trees, trying to shake its pursuers. She was persistent, never losing a step as she grappled from branch to branch. Soon, she was close enough that she could feel the frost that was dispersing from its body.

"Gotcha now, you son of a bitch!" She did another flip through the air as she shot her hookshot at the beast, the claws embedding themselves into its back. She flew towards the wolf, unsheathing the sword strapped to her own back as she did so. It was a Shiekah eightfold sword - long and curved with a single edge, its black metal gleaming as she charged towards the beast.

Grunting, she slammed into the beast, clinging onto its fur as it tried to shake her off by running erratically. Mira mercilessly impaled the back of the beast with her sword, causing the wolf to give a pained growl before slamming into a tree.

"Oof!" She was thrown off the beast's back, but was still hanging off of its side from the handle of her sword. The freezing cold of the wolf's body was gradually making it more and more difficult to keep her grip on the sword's handle as the wolf began sprinting even harder.

Suddenly, there was the barking of more wolves in the forest. She was blindsided by a predator leaping from the trees, latching onto one of her legs with its fangs. Mira cried in pain as the wolf was dangling off of her calf.

"Get off of me!" She growled, stomping on the wolf's snout with her other leg. She could feel her grip on her sword beginning to slip, along with the blood running down her leg starting freeze over. Using the some of the last of her remaining vitality, she managed to give the wolf one more brutal kick, sending it tumbling onto the forest floor with a whimper.

Admiring her handiwork for a second, she then began trying to reestablish her position on the beast's back. Her knuckles were numb now, and Mira could only do her best to fight back the pain. With a heave, she hoisted herself back on top of the beast, who was still barrelling through the forest. Gritting her teeth, she gripped the handle of her blade and ran across the beast's back, slicing open a nasty gash that sprayed blood.

The wolf definitely felt this - it gave a deafening primal roar, violently stopping in its tracks before diving into some trees. Mira was thrown off her perch like a ragdoll, skidding across the forest floor covered in branches and mud.

Having the wind knocked out of her, she barely had time to scramble to her feet to avoid getting flattened by a tree that was falling over. Clutching her side, she just managed to outrun the mass of foliage that was crashing onto the forest floor, doing one last roll to get out of the way. There was a resounding boom, along with a thin cloud of debris that filled the air.

Groaning, Mira peeled herself off the ground, using her sword as support. The beast, who was also momentarily on the ground, picked itself up rather easily. The gash that was bleeding profusely on its back had begun to freeze shut, twinkling pink crystals of ice mending it together. She knew it was not going to be easy to take this thing down.

The beast began retreating towards the opening in the trees up ahead and Mira immediately began following suit, ignoring the injuries she'd sustained from getting thrown off of a twenty foot tall beast. She began sprinting, trying to hookshot herself back into the canopy, only to find out that her hookshot had broken during the fall. It would give an unsatisfying click every time she'd pull the trigger mechanism, and she bashed it a couple times with the pommel of her blade hoping to get it to work.

Swearing, she ignored it for now, ducking her chin as she pushed herself to run faster. She was too close now to let it get away. The wolf seemed to be labouring as its wound healed itself, so she hadn't lost sight of it just yet.

She emerged out of the forest and into a huge, verdant field. The beast seemed as if it awaited her, standing in the middle and following her form with its blue eyes. The moonlight illuminated its silver fur, and if she wasn't so hellbent on trying to kill it, she might have even thought it looked dazzling.

Pointing her blade at the beast, she ignored the cold aura emitting from it's body.

"After all this time, I've finally managed to track you down. All these years, killing all these people, a blight on the name of our family and our village." She shook her head, transitioning into a fighting stance with her sword. The wolf seemed to listen, but she couldn't tell as the expression on its gigantic visage had never changed.

"Now it's your turn… Father!"

Mira blasted off from her spot in the grass, zipping across the field with her sword raised. The beast huffed, mist escaping from its nostrils, before also lunging at her with its gigantic claws. There was the sound of metal screeching as she deflected its attack, ducking underneath its gigantic paw. She managed to land a grazing slash to the wolf's chest, before having to get out of the way lest she was crushed by the other paw of the beast.

She was immediately met with the sight of its gigantic fangs, once again rolling out of the way before she was made dinner. Like a blur, she dashed towards the side of the beast, giving it a clean slice on the side. The beast attempted to swat her with its tail, but she was saavy enough to gracefully hurdle over it. Mira would need to give the wolf a relentless close range assault in order to survive the battle. The frigid air was biting at her skin, and the frost on the ground was making it difficult to find footing, but she'd been trained to fight in much more arduous environments.

Steeling herself, she once again dashed at the beast, sliding underneath another swipe from its claws. Stabbing her sword into the beast's chest, she gave a primal battle cry as she ran her sword through the wolf's abdomen, blood spilling out from the wound. She emerged from underneath the beast's hind legs, rolling out of the way to avoid another tail whip.

The wolf roared before pointing its snout to the sky. The air above the wolf began to crystallize, icicles materializing from the moisture in the environment. All at once, they shot towards her like a deadly rain of arrows. She began running, trying to zigzag to avoid getting impaled while also using her sword to try and block any that had strayed to close. She did her best, but a stray icicle sliced through her arm, a slight spray of blood accompanying it. She bit back the pain, charging towards the beast as soon as the barrage ended.

It would not let her get close again so easily. The beast howled, jumping into the air in an attempt to flatten her. For a second, the moon was covered up by the wolf's airborne form, and she barely had time to roll out of the way as it crashed into the ground, leaving a crater where she was standing before.

Making sure she gave the beast no time to recover, she was already sprinting back in, mirroring the beast by jumping into the air. If she get onto the beast's back again, she could deal some serious damage without it being able to fight back. The wolf was immediately aware of what she was trying to do, swiping at her with its claws.

She gritted her teeth as she just managed to avoid getting cleaved in half, a clang echoing through the field as she blocked the slash with her sword. Unfortunately, the force from the swipe was so massive, it swatted her out of the air and sent her rocketing into the ground.

She crashed into the ground, her impact making a small crater and kicking up a light cloud of debris. Mira had the wind knocked out of her, and she could see birds spinning around in her vision as she floated in and out of consciousness. Coughing up some blood, she tried to pull herself out of the dirt - to no avail. The beast was now sprinting towards her, intent on making her its last meal for the day.

Is this it? She thought, as the wolf began filling her vision and the cold started to settle on her skin. She spent her whole life training to become a warrior - to bring honor to her humble clan and village. And now she'd thrown that all away on her quest for vengeance.

She could feel the beast's cold breath as it loomed over it. It opened its maw to swallow her…

Bang!

There was the loud crack of a small explosion, more dirt and debris flying into the air as the beast recoiled in pain. Mira blinked the soil from her eyes, and saw the side of the beast smouldering as its fur and skin were seared off from the blast.

Through the ringing in her ears, she could hear the hiss and snaps of hookshots, two rangers flying into the beast with their swords drawn, delivering two synchronized slices as they zipped over the wolf. The wolf roared angrily, immediately turning his attention to the rangers, chasing after them.

Instead of a giant wolf looming over her now, it was replaced by the young man she'd heckled back in the city. "Can you walk?" He asked, tugging on her arm as he tried to pull her up. His blue eyes seemed worried, but she couldn't really tell through her lightheadedness.

"D-don't need… Your help..." Mira managed to make out, indignant even in injury. Her words betrayed her body, as she made no move to protest him swinging her arm around his neck.

"Save it." He grunted, helping her limp back towards the direction of the trees, "You would've died if we hadn't come when we did." She didn't immediately respond, instead deciding to hide her face underneath her cloak for the time being as she regained her energy.

With her arm slung around his shoulder, the pair limped back to the treeline while the rangers kept the wolf occupied. She could hear the sounds of fighting behind them, but only just barely as her ears were still ringing from the explosion earlier. Mira coughed, a splat of blood escaping her mouth. She guessed that one of her ribs might've cracked from crashing into the ground, but at this point her whole body was in pain.

The young man carefully propped her up against a tree, patting her on the shoulders. "Stay here," He advised, noting the blood smeared all over her face and clothes. Through her half lidded eyes she could tell that he'd had his own share of bumps and bruises, and he was almost as dirty as she was. "And don't do anything stupid."

He took one last look at her before drawing his bow to head back to the fight.

That's my line, idiot. Unable to muster up the energy to voice her cheekiness, Mira felt her eyelids become heavy, soon succumbing to slumber.


By all accounts, the girl was head and shoulders a much better fighter than Link was. He had neither the speed nor the skill, but he would have to make it up with craftiness. The rangers were equally as impressive - they gracefully coordinated an assault from all angles, zipping around it with their hookshots. What he did notice, was that attacks from conventional bladed weapons were only have a temporary effect, as the beast would close up most wounds that it got with its ice.

The blast from the grenade however… The beast was having trouble mending that, a large gnarly burn still present on its side. Gotta hand it to the Gorons - they sure know their stuff when it comes to blowing things up. He only had three left, and he'd have to make them count.

A ranger soared over the beast, his hookshot tethering him to the wolf's body. There was a hiss, and he divebombed towards the monster with his sword reared as his hookshot retracted itself. At this point, the wolf was tiring of the constant onslaught from the ranger pair, its body covered in cuts and blood. As the ranger passed above its head, the monster gave him a quick, almost invisible swipe. In the blink of an eye, the ranger smashed into the dirt like a fly, blood splattering from his body.

Link stopped his approach for a second to cringe. The ranger was not moving from that, and Link could only guess that the man was dead. It was very similar to what happened to the girl, except he had the misfortune of taking the full brunt of the attack.

The other ranger, ever a professional, seemed unphased by his partner's apparent demise, motioning for Link to begin attacking.

The young man did as instructed, immediately firing a potshot that lodged itself into the wolf's side. This got the beasts attention, and it roared, turning its attention to Link. He sheathed his bow for now, bracing for the beast's attack. It bounded across the grass with astounding speed, intent on turning him into sliced bread. The approaching form of the giant made him gulp audibly.

Can I do this? Link thought, twirling his sword a couple times. As the moon gleamed off the wolf's claws and glistened off the crystals of ice forming on its wounds, he felt that sensation welling up in his body again.

He met the claws of the beast directly with his sword, sparks lighting up the field as he redirected the massive paw of the wolf. Link gave a passionate battle cry as he delivered a slash to the chest of the beast, similar to the girl's earlier, and rolled out of the way. He quickly sheathed his sword, pulling out his bow as he fired a shot on the move, adding another arrow to the beast's body.

There was the snap and whirr of a hookshot, the ranger flinging himself over the wolf, going for its now exposed nape as it still had his attention fixated on Link. Twirling, he delivered a magnificent spinning slash, blood spraying from the back of the wolf's head as it roared in pain, dropping on a paw.

Pulling the pin of a grenade, Link sprinted up to the wolf, sliding underneath its body as he left the explosive on the grass and emerged on the opposite side, still running as he tried to clear the blast radius. Another sharp bang resounded through the clearing, more smoke and debris spreading in the air as the wolf whimpered, blood spilling from its abdomen like a bucket tipping over with water.

"Finish it off!" The ranger ordered, once again firing his hookshot into the wolf's body. Link nodded, dashing across the grass after the ranger, intent on jamming his sword through the wolf's head.

Link felt a sudden pulse of energy, and time seemed to slow as he pushed himself to run. With alarm bells going off in his head, he forced himself to stop, the wolf's body suddenly erupting with powerful energy wave, glacier spikes jettisoning around its body outward. The energy wave knocked Link off his feet, putting him on his rear on the grass as he could only watch helplessly as the ranger was impaled by a mass of icicles.

"Goddesses…" He said under his breath, blinking as he was unable to believe what he saw. The ranger was hanging lifelessly, a large spear of ice dripping with blood through his back.

Picking himself up, Link held his sword cautiously as he approached the glimmering mass of ice in the middle of the field. Suddenly, the surface of the ice cracked, causing him to halt his approach. The cracks began snaking all over the block of ice, with smaller pieces eventually falling off one by one. There was another burst of energy and the mass of ice shattered, shards of ice shooting out in all directions. Link had to hold his sword in front of his body to shield the ice particles flying his way.

When the wind died down, emerging from the pile of shattered ice was the beast - only now it look substantially different. It was half the size as before, a bit smaller than a full grown bear. Instead of fur its body consisted of blocks of ice - almost like armor - and its body looked even more sleek than before. Its footsteps thumped on the grass as it walked towards Link, its once beautiful blue eyes replaced with a menacing crimson. Its deep breaths echoed through the clearing, the ice forming underneath its feet even more severe than before.

Mentally taking inventory, Link steeled himself for what could've been his last fight. He had maybe eleven arrows and couple of grenades left. The beast had undertaken a magical transformation, and whatever aura it had generated before was twice as strong as before.

There was a burst of white mist, and the wolf exploded from its spot, zipping across the grass with blinding speed, a trail of ice and snow behind it as it galloped through the grass. Link was not able to cleanly block its pounce, the beast's teeth tearing through his tunic and slicing through his chainmail, blooding spraying as a gash split open on his chest.

He had no time to register the pain, as he just barely managed to stop his jugular from getting ripped out, his sword caught inside the wolf's maw as it deftly turned on the grass to jump him again. He came to face to face with the icy visage of the wolf, its freezing breath spraying on his face as he struggled to overpower it. With a grunt, he ducked underneath it, letting the wolf fly over him as he rolled out of the way.

Again! He thought, his instincts commanding him to bring his sword up. The sound of metal grinding on ice cut through the clearing as his sword ran across the surface of the beast's belly, dealing no damage but letting Link avoid damage of his own, as he once again ducked away from the wolf.

In a moment of respite, the two stared at each other for a second, before lunging at one another again. Link brought his sword down, stomping as he gave a fierce downward slash. To his surprise, the wolf respected his attack, maneuvering out of the way, but still getting caught as the sword grazed its armor. Chunks of ice flew off the wolf's body, and it growled as it used momentum to backhand Link in the stomach. He had the wind knocked out of him and he was thrown to the side, flecks of spit flying from his mouth as he tumbled across the grass.

Link slapped a gauntlet on the ground as he scrambled to his feet. I got a hit in! He thought to himself encouragingly.

The wolf was quick to get back on the move - it was swift, but Link was beginning to understand its tendencies. With a little less effort, he slapped the wolf's claw away with his sword; its strikes were much sturdier than before, but they lacked the considerable strength that was present when the wolf was still a giant. With some impressive footwork, he maneuvered to the side, giving the wolf an upward cleave. This hit was much cleaner, more ice crumbling off the wolf's body.

Dashing backwards, the wolf dug into the ground, pointing its snout to the sky as it seemed to gather energy again. He remembered this attack from when the girl was still fighting, and he was not going to get caught in a rain of ice shards. He stuck his sword into the frost-covered grass, immediately pulling out his bow. After focusing for a second, he took a shot at the beast's face, the wolf snapping its head back as it recoiled from the impact. The mist gathering above it dissipated in an instant, the arrow not dealing any noticeable damage but bothering the wolf enough to stun it for a second. Link was already on the move, dropping his bow as he pulled out a grenade.

Stomping again, he gave the wolf a devastating downward slash. "Hyaahh!" He cried with all his might, the ice on top of its head shattering as he brought his sword down. For a moment, the wolf opened its mouth in pain, and he immediately popped the grenade into its maw, already live as he backpedaled out of the way.

Bang!

The grenade reaped another small explosion, forcing Link to cover his face as soil and ice was sent into the air. Picking his bow back up, he immediately drew another arrow, readying a shot as the cloud of smoke was dissipating.

Incredibly, the beast was still up, albeit hunched over on its front paws. The entire front half of its face was missing, blood pouring like a fountain from what used to be its mouth, now a mangled mess of flash, ice and bone. Its maw was permanently open, its jaw no longer on its face, and the single crimson eye still in its socket looked like it was unsure of what had just happened.

Ice began forming around its face, trying to mend the gruesome damage it'd just received. Footsteps behind Link made him turn around, swinging his bow to face the newcomer.

It was the girl, limping towards him as she used her sword for support. Link's eyes widened when he saw she was no longer wearing a cloak.

"You're… A taguel?" He said in a whisper as she hobbled past him. She wore exotic clothing - form-fitting black spandex underneath a loose and robe-like eastern-style jacket. She was wearing loose pants, and along her wrists and shins were the only things resembling armor: metal guard plates, with a broken hookshot strapped to her left wrist. Atop her silky black hair were a pair of black wolf ears, splashes of white at the tips, and flowing behind her was an elegant wolf tail, a splash of white at the end of that as well.

If Link remembered correctly, the taguel were an incredibly rare race of people from Necluda, descendants of ancient Shiekah shapeshifters that could transform into powerful beasts. They almost never left their homeland in the mountains of Necluda, and in the wars of centuries past, they, along with the Shiekah, were invaluable allies to the Hyrulean throne. To cross paths with one in his lifetime was something he would've never thought possible. Barely anybody knew a thing about them, only their ancient history that was written in scrolls and textbooks.

The beast was taking deep, labored breaths as she approached it, unable to move from the damage it has sustained.

"Hey, be careful!" Link called out, his words obviously having no effect as she continued to limp towards it.

"Retribution." She whispered, a sinister grin creeping onto her face. Standing in front of the wolf, she raised her sword. She then held the side of its bloodied head, slowly running her blade through its exposed maw and into its skull. With a crank, her sword bursted out the back of the beast's head, causing it to lurch over as its legs gave way. The girl stepped to the side, the wolf slamming into the ground in a heap.

She did the same, crumbling to her knees, her sword stuck to the ground as she loosely held onto the handle.

Link let out a breath he did not realize he had been holding, returning his bow to its holster and his arrow to its quiver. He had no idea what in Hylia's name was transpiring but decided to check on the girl anyway, his good-natured instincts taking over.

"You alright?" He said, kneeling next to her.

"That was for mother..." She whispered again, barely audible.

There was a strange sizzling sound, and Link looked over to the wolf's body to see that the ice on its body began to dissipate. Steam was rising from its body, and he couldn't believe his eyes as it seemed to transform in front of him. After shrinking and shrinking, the wolf's body had been replaced with that of a nude man - missing half of his face, still - with black hair and the same black wolf appendages that the girl had.

"Mira…" came a disembodied voice. Link furrowed his brows as he frantically looked around, unsure of where it came from. "I'm… Sorry…"

There was a sniffle, and he looked down at the girl next to him. She still had that creepy smile on her face, but tears had begun rolling down her cheeks. "You bastard," She said softly, "You can never atone for what you've done."

Link sat silently, making sure not to overextend by saying any words of comfort to her. In the end, he was just here on business, and it was clearly personal for her. The body of the taguel man eventually started to sizzle away as well, shriveling up, before fading into a mist of mana and energy.

He followed the wisps of energy with his eyes as they rose to the sky, disappearing before an endless swath of stars. He sighed, shaking his head.

Well... There goes the bounty.


"Papa! Papa!" I call, running up the front steps of the house, throwing the door open. With a pile of apples in my arm, I bound through the house, my small footfalls echoing in the hallway as barge through the backdoor and into the yard, an apple or two spilling over as I do so.. As usual, father is training a couple of the young warriors in the village, instructing them on their swordsmanship with their katanas.

"Mira!" He greets, laughing, kneeling down as I approach him. "Are these for us?" He says with a smile, ruffling my hair before plucking an apple from my arms.

I give a great grin, "Mhm! I climbed the tree to pick these!"

He laughs again, motioning for the students in the yard to come and take some. "Your mother has told you countless times that it's dangerous to go climbing the apple tree."

He was a great man. He had long black hair, with matching black ears and a tail to match - just like mine. His crimson eyes were always filled with kindness, and he was known in our village as a reliable, well-knowing teacher.

Hibana village - our home. It was a small haven for the taguel people, hidden in the valleys of the Necludan mountains, not too far away from Kakariko. All around, beyond the houses dotting the hills, you could see the towering peaks of the mountains, the white and pink magnificence of the sakura trees that bloomed eight months in the year, and the beautiful Hyrulean sky.

It was peaceful and beautiful. We were a proud race of people, filled to the brim with the honor of our Shiekah blood.

And yet…

One by one, the villagers start disappearing. In the blink of an eye, the village is suddenly on fire, pillars of smoke pluming into the sky. I am older now. The apples in my hand disappear, and is instead replaced by the bloodied body of my mother. Even in death, she is beautiful, the long silky hair that I inherited spilling over her face. She reaches up a gentle hand to my face, running a finger along my cheeks that are flowing with tears. She does not cry.

"Mira…" She says, her voice hoarse, "You must live… Even if we do not…"

"Mother!" I sob, clutching onto her body.

"Go… It is no longer safe here." She whispers, her hand beginning to lose strength, "I… Love you…"

I barely have time to mourn her death, as the yard is suddenly filled with masked figures. They wear dark red clothing, their faces obscured by the white masks bearing the false Shiekah emblem… Those worn by the Yiga clan.

"You'll pay for this...! All of you!" I roar, unsheathing the katana on my back.

They charge at me with their katanas and their sickles, but I've learned from the best. I deflect their attacks with ease, cutting them down in sprays of crimson. There is a special place in hell for these bastards, who've snaked so far out of their hole to assault the village. After dealing with the last Yiga footsoldier, I walk over to mother's body, kneeling over her as I look at gentle face one last time. They will pay.

I head into the streets of the village, where fierce fighting is heard all around me. Corpses litter the roads, some taguel, some Yiga. There were so many of them. To top of their relentless assault with blades, many of the Yiga were sorcerers, controlling the elements to attack with black magic. It is utter chaos, our once beautiful village turned into a warzone, explosions and clashes heard from every corner.

How did it become like this? It was peaceful for over a century. We were so deep in the mountains that we never thought anyone would find us.

When I got to the foot of the mountain, to the gates of the village, I found my answer. Standing atop the village walls was sorceress, her figure partially obscured by a cloak. With a scepter in one hand and a tome in the other, she seemed to be ordering her soldiers around, telling them where to attack. I couldn't see her face, but I could see the tanned skin that hid under her cloak.

The unaging Yiga matriarch, the sorceress Cia. Once a divine priest serving Hyrulean royalty, she was corrupted by an ancient evil, stealing away the Triforce of Power. At least, that was how the story that my mother had told me went. For her to show up in person, to lead an assault on a humble village such as ours, she must have deemed the taguel a true threat. Standing next to her however, was what appalled me the most.

"F-father…?" I say, dropping to my knees in front of them, "But why?"

There he stood, arms crossed, next to Cia. A malevolent energy radiated from his body. The sorceress leaned back, giving a huge laugh.

"Hahahaha! This one is your father?!" She says, putting a hand on his shoulder, "He was more than willing to give up where you nasty furballs were hiding."

I draw my sword, growling, my tail whipping behind me angrily, "You're controlling him?! Let my father go!"

She shakes her head, "I'm sorry dear, but I'm afraid he came to me of his own volition."

"Mira…" Father says, drawing his own katana, "You're too naive to understand." He drops down from the wall, taking position in front of me. "This world we live in… It is nothing but false peace. When you get older, you will know."

"That's bullshit!" I cry, tears once again running down my face, "That's all it takes to destroy the village?! To kill mother?!"

"Death is a preferable alternative to what awaits this realm." He states solemnly. "Enough. Kill me if you can, Mira. But I stand by what I've done."

Fury clouds my vision, blood escaping from my lips and bite down on my lip in anger. "You… You bastard!"

I charge towards him, sprinting as fast as I can. I slash at him, only to miss completely, my sword swiping at the air. He gives me a grazing slice across the abdomen, causing me to wince in pain as blood begins dribbling down my torso. Growling, I ignore the pain, charging at him once again. There's a clang as my sword meets his - I look directly into his eyes, the warm gleam in his pupils replaced by one of cold relentlessness. He gives me a curt kick to the chest, sending me flying into the dirt road.

"Mira!" A battlecry erupts from around me, my taguel brethren pouncing onto the streets. One by one, they attack him, sparks flying as he deftly parries their attacks. This exchange goes on for a few moments, until he is completely overwhelmed by the volume of their strikes. He lets his guard down for a split second, soon being impaled through the chest by a multitude of swords.

Cia laughs from atop her perch on the walls. "And now… This is where it gets fun." Her scepter glows with magic, and she points it at father. The malevolent energy around him glows, and there is a violent shockwave of energy, throwing all of the taguel swordsmen - and myself - off our feet. With the swords still sticking out of his chest, he roars, the magic enveloping him. Then, in a bright flash of light, his body erupts into a mass of ice.

The temperature around us drops tenfold, the air standing still as the sounds of battle from the village become muffled out. There is another shockwave, the iceberg exploding, sending shards of ice flying in all directions. I take the full brunt of the force, pelted with icicles that rip through my skin.

And then, standing where the ice used to be, is a giant silver wolf. I sit, battered and bloody, partially in awe and partially in fear. The taguel had long since lost their abilities to fully shapeshift into beasts, and legend foretold that every one of us had a powerful beast form unique to each individual. It seems her dark magic had brought out his latent abilities.

I could only stand and watch as it massacred the villagers, using its tremendous strength and ice magic to tear through us.

Dropping to my knees once again, I resent my powerlessness, burning the image of the fires and the suffering of my kin into my brain. Barely clinging onto life, I heed the last words of advice my mother gave me.

I ran.


Mira gasped for air as she sat up, throwing the covers off of her. She immediately regretted this, as her entire body erupted in hot pain, her head pounding as she clutched her face. Her black hair matted to her face, her body dripping with a cold sweat. It took her a second to process that she was sitting in a bed, gauze wrapped tightly around her arms and torso.

"The inn…?" She asked herself, surveying the room she was in. It was very dim, the only light coming in from a window next to her bed. There was a single desk and chair, and a bookcase tucked away in the corner of the room. Her ears twitched as she tried to listen to her surroundings; it didn't sound like there were a lot of people in this building. Not the inn. If so, where was she?

Groaning, she flopped back into the bed, staring at the ceiling. She'd relived her past again in that vivid dream, and it was definitely timely considering that she and that bounty hunter had killed what used to be her father not too long ago. It was the last thing she remembered, but if she was wrapped up in bandages and sitting in a cozy bed, then there must have been some time that had passed since then.

Her ears twitched again as she heard footsteps coming from beyond the door. On cue, the doorknob turned, a middle aged lady entering the room. She had a lantern in one hand and a pile of rags on the other. She placed the lantern on the table, illuminating the room, allowing her to notice that Mira was awake. Following in behind her was the bounty hunter from earlier.

"Finally awake, are you?" He asked, holding a bucket filled with steaming water. The lady took the bucket from his hands, sitting at the side of the bed as she began wetting some of the rags.

"Where am I?" Mira asked, making no move to protest the woman as she began undoing her bandages.

"The doctor's building down the street," The young man replied, taking a seat, "You've been out for a few days now."

"You brought me here?" She asked, wincing as the nurse began cleaning the cuts on her arm.

"Yup. Wasn't gonna leave you out in the forest like that." He reached into his satchel, pulling out a small pouch, the tinkle of coins ringing from within. Placing it on the table he looked over at her, "Here's your half. Unfortunately, the captain could only pay us half the amount because we couldn't bring him a trophy."

Mira looked down at the bed. She'd almost forgotten that they were supposed to get paid for the job.

"Brought you something else, too." Fishing into his bag, what he pulled out next actually made her raise her brows in surprise. He placed a forearm guard with a hookshot next to the bag of rupees, "Borrowed this from one of our deceased rangers pals, and I thought that you might be needing it more than him."

When she looked closely, she could see that he too had a hookshot equipped to one of his arms, only on the right. A left-handed swordsman. Pretty rare.

"... Thanks." was her curt reply.

"Don't thank me, you still need to pay the medical bill, after all." He said, chuckling a bit.

"I'm going to need you to leave the room, sir." The nurse stated, keen on cleaning the wounds on her chest.

"Alright. Sure thing." The young man turned to exit the room, only to stop as Mira held up a hand.

"Wait," She said, causing him to turn back around and cross his arms, "What's your name?"

He raised a brow, "Now you wanna know who I am?" Mira opened her mouth to say something snarky, but thought better of it. Gratitude must be given where gratitude was due. The young man sighed, scratching his head, "Link. The name's Link."

She nodded, "I'm Mira. Thanks… For your assistance." She furrowed her brows, unsure of what to say, "That monster… I…"

"It's alright, I understand. You said a lot of things in your sleep." He smirked, turning back towards the door, "I'm in town for a couple more days. If you're feeling up to it, you can tell me back at the inn."

Without saying anything more, he left the room, the door shutting behind him. The nurse immediately began getting to work, shoving rags into the cuts across her chest.

"O-ow!"


In the bustling port of Faron City, Link held Epona's reins as he led her through the throngs of people going about their day. Massive ships lined the marina, the gongs of their bells ringing in the air as sailors marched across the gangplanks carrying crates of goods. Mira had mentioned that the most efficient way to get to the Central province this time of the year was to board a ship sailing upriver.

With his wallet newly filled with coins, he had to agree. It was already snowing a little bit, and he could only imagine what a nightmare it would be getting caught in a snowstorm in the middle of nowhere. While Central was a bit further up north than Faron, its climate was, for the most part, a bit more mild. It would for sure still be cold once he got up there, but it was nothing like the elevated forests of Faron.

The snow reminded him of the wolf they had slain a few days earlier. Her attitude towards him had become much more subdued, being able to converse a little more amicably with him. Just a little. She'd told him a bit of the backstory of where that wolf had come from, how her village had gotten slaughtered. He emphasized with her a lot - the main reason he'd set off on this journey was so that he could one day prevent something like happening to his village.

Apparently, because the wolf had been roaming on its own for so long, it had lost any semblance of human intelligence, truly devolving into a wild beast. Maintaining beast form inherently used a lot of mana and lifeforce, partly why taguels were no longer able to shapeshift. This gradually weakened the beast over time, and she explained that it was probably why they were able to take it down.

Regardless, the battle bolstered Link with a wealth of new experience, making him feel like he was slowly becoming a better swordsman. Of course, Nico and her grenades did a lot of heavy lifting, and she was happy to see that he'd made it back in one piece. He made sure to stock up on more arrows and grenades before he hit the road, and she mentioned that if he ever made it Central, she had a relative working in the city that would be happy to help him with his equipment.

Walking up to one of the large merchant ships, he approached what looked to be the captain smoking his pipe over the railing. "Headed up river?" Link asked, calling the captain from across the water.

The captain nodded, "Aye. Need a lift?"

"Yeah. Me and my horse," Link said, gesturing to Epona. His eyes wandered as he pointed to the pair behind him, "...And her and her horse."

Mira stood behind him, giving the captain a salute, her black stallion snorting in recognition.

The captain scanned the deck of his ship before scratching his scruffy beard. "Hmm. Should be enough room. You guys got money?"

The cloaked taguel held up her wallet, shaking it as the coins jingled inside, "Sure do."

"Climb aboard, then." He said, waving them over as he took a puff of his pipe. He then turned to the sailors working away on the deck, "Somebody take care of these horses! We got new passengers on board!"

The pair carefully led their horses over the gangplank, a couple of seaman taking their reins, leading the horses into the lower levels of the ship. The captain walked up to the two, putting his hands on his hips, "The name's Reiner. I'm the head of this vessel. Been sailing for thirty-two years."

"Link," said the young swordsman, shaking the captain's hand as he introduced himself, "Glad to know we're in the hands of a capable sailor."

"Mira. And likewise."

Reiner nodded, eyeing the weapons on both of their backs. "You two look like you're capable fighters. If the need arises, I'll be counting on your help to protect the ship." He ran a hand along the lacquered mahogany railing of the ship, "She's a fine vessel, she is. Can brave the toughest storm, but I don't think she'd be able to withstand an attack from a kraken or one of 'em giant octoroks."

Link nodded, "Sure thing, captain."

"Good. Sit anywhere you like - not that there's much place to hang around. We aren't leaving until the sailors are done loading her up with merchandise."

The captain returned to lounging over the railing, leaving the pair to wait on the deck.

"So why exactly are you coming with me again?" Link asked, making his way to the starboard side of the ship, intent on gazing out on the happenings of the river.

"I told you, there's a Shiekah master in Central that I wanna meet." Mira replied, following behind him, "Apparently she's one of the retainers of Princess Zelda - she might be able to get me some leads on Cia."

For time being, Link had withheld the fact that he'd seen this exact sorceress in his dreams. "Not stopping, huh? Even after getting your dad?"

She shook her head, "I've gotta get to the root of all of this." Mira leaned over the railing, staring out at the city, "For the sake of everyone back home… I've gotta find her…"

"And kill her."

"Exactly." Mira said, a smirk making its way on her face.

Link nodded, "Well, alright. The more the merrier, I suppose."

"Don't get too ahead of yourself," She replied, crossing her arms, "Once we get to Central we're going our separate ways."

"That's basically the entire trip, isn't it?" He said, snorting.

"Don't push it, asshole." Mira rolled her eyes, giving him a shove on the shoulder.

She had a bit of a potty mouth, was a bit of a pain in the rear, and she certainly could be disingenuous, but Link had to admit that she could hold her own. There was a lot that he could learn from her, should she have stuck around for the entirety of the journey. In the end, deep down he was grateful for the company, as he still had a ways to go before he could finally set his eyes on Hyrule's capital. It certainly beat talking to Epona all day, and while he truly loved his horse, it definitely got lonely trying to converse with something that couldn't speak back.

Looking out at the water and the bustling city beyond it, he could only imagine what Central looked like compared to this.


Author's Notes/Rambles: The taguel are loaned from the Fire Emblem series, for those that are familiar. I always felt that a race of that sort fit in nicely with the Zelda lore, and the weeb in me really wanted to write something like them in. As for Mira, I think it's a good tradition that Link always had some kind of companion in most of the main series games, and I wanted to combine two of my favourite characters in Midna and Holo (from Spice and Wolf - for those that haven't seen it, highly highly recommend) to create that companion for this story. The actual Midna might play a role in this fic, but I'm still unsure as to what. Also, the hookshot makes its appearance! It's probably my favourite item in the games, next to maybe the Ball and Chain. I reimagined it a little though, to make it something that's viable to use in the middle of combat.

I had a ton of fun writing this chapter. As always, if you are enjoying reading it as much as I am enjoying writing it, please let me know!

- K