Edited 5/9/19

Chapter 1: The Pedestal of Time

It was a mere few years ago that the king decreed all knights, squires, and other men of the kingdom's army were to attempt to pull a sword from a pedestal in the Temple of Time.

But it wasn't exactly your everyday sword. This was the Blade of Evil's Bane. The Sword that Seals the Darkness. The Sacred, the Legendary. But this sword was more commonly known as the Master Sword, wielded only by those worthy of the title "Hero of Legend," something they needed as soon as possible. That was the reasoning behind it, of course.

And, of course, Princess Zelda had to watch them do it. Perhaps it was her father's way of torturing her into unlocking her sacred Sealing Power. Perhaps he thought it was envy or guilt that would awaken her power.

Or boredom, She thought as she watched yet another knight fail to pull the sword. He had barely touched it before he yanked his hands away, hissing under his breath. What was more interesting about this one, you may ask? The sword did burn anyone after a while (...or kill them)… but this one was immediate rather than after a few seconds. Zelda could see the blisters forming on his fingertips already. Ouch.

"Sir Gruse Hawkin!" The name caller… well, called.

A tall, sturdy man with reddish brown hair (And a hairstyle that reminded Zelda of a rooster) stepped forward from the line. He went up the steps, towards the sword…

He wasn't burned immediately, like the previous. He lasted about fifteen seconds, longer than most, before the sword seemed to get annoyed and burned him.

"Sir Link Equitem!"

The name was a bit unusual, but when this "Sir Link" was called, a mere boy walked forward. Zelda thought there was some mistake. But there he was, on the list and dressed in the armor of a soldier, with the same stoic stare as many of the other knights. Not only that, but he carried the insignia of the Royal Guard.

Maybe he's just… really short?

Zelda would have slouched and groaned as he approached the sword, just like everyone else, but managed to remain sitting firmly and formally in her seat. Just like the perfect princess she was supposed to be! Even if she hadn't unlocked her powers, she was still expected to be prim and proper - not that anyone would care.

The boy laid his hands on the sword. It did not burn him like the previous soldiers.

No. Instead, it started to glow.

A shimmering cerulean came over the blade, engulfing it like flames licking wood.

Then the sword slid out like a knife through butter.

There was a long silence. Then...

No! Zelda gasped audibly, and she could hear it around the room, as well.

The Divine Beasts had been discovered. The Guardians were being studied. The champions were roughly decided. The sword had chosen its master, who, by the looks of it, must've been some sort of prodigy swordsman.

All of this - and Zelda had yet to awaken her powers.

Just a few minutes earlier…

"I'm going to pull it out!" A tall, sturdy knight claimed with a grin.

"Nah, you ain't." The knight beside him huffed. "You won' last ten seconds."

Their conversation really wasn't helping Link's nerves. However, Link was an observer. He listened and watched. That was all he did, other than the occasional "skilled sword fighting," as his mentor stated. Other than that, he was quite useless.

However, his habit of observing… it made it very difficult to block anything out.

"I bet you won't last four!" The first shot back.

"How much?"

"...Let's say ten rupees?"

The second scoffed. "That's child's play. I bet twenty that you'll start crying when it burns ya!"

"I bet you sixty that you won't pull it!"

"I bet you sixty that ya won' pull it!"

"Deal!"

"Deal!"

...Okay?

"Hey," The first said suddenly. Link jerked his head towards the direction of the voice. The first voice belonged to a tall man with a rusty colored hair color. "What's a little kiddo like you doing here?" The knight prodded Link's shoulder.

"He's too young to be 'round here." The other laughed.

"I'm here for the same reason as you," Link said as calmly and blankly as he could, though he very much agreed with the senior knights. However, here he was. "To try pulling out a sword that doesn't want to be pulled."

"And what makes you say that?" The tall one huffed.

Link thought it was quite obvious. "It's literally burning the hands of all who touch it." Link's point was proven as, up at the pedestal, a dark haired knight immediately tugged his hand away from the handle of the sword with a hiss.

"No!" Both of the knights exclaimed, faking surprise, sarcasm dripping from their voices.

"Keep it down!" Another knight hissed, leaning out of the line, before his eyes landed on Link. "What's this runt doing here?"

"He's a knight! Can you believe it? He even carries the symbol of the Royal Guard!" The tall knight gushed.

It's not like I get what they see in me, either. But I have to do what I'm told. That's all I'm meant to do, after all. A lowly soldier, trained for combat.

"The cap'ain must be getting awfully desperate," The newcomer mumbled before standing back up straight and facing forward once again. Ouch. As much as Link agreed, that still hurt.

"Sir Gruse Hawkin!"

"That's my cue," The tall one grunted, sending a smirk to the knight beside him. "I'll be expectin' some rupees."

And he went off. He lasted a bit longer than the others, but either his enduring towards the burning gave in, or the sword liked him a bit more than the others, before suddenly deciding that he was incompetent.

"Sir Link Equitem!"

Link forced himself not to wince. Instead of running away, like every normal instinct of his told him to do, he made sure his face was wiped clean of all emotion and forced himself to move towards the sword. Some people who the sword saw as especially unworthy were... killed on the spot. When their bodies were examined afterwards, there wasn't a sign of any damage. It was as if the sword had… sapped the life out of them.

He reached the sword, hesitating momentarily before its presence. He was all too aware of the eyes burning into him.

Please… He pleaded as he reached for the purple hilt. I know I'm useless to you. Burn my hands, cripple me… just please, please don't kill me. I have unfinished business here.

He blinked away flashbacks, wrapped his hands around the hilt, and tugged.

The sword's blade was engulfed in a brilliantly sky colored hue. A comforting warmth spread from his hands to the rest of him. The grass green grip was smooth yet firm in hand. A strange sense of rightness bubbled up from inside him. This is mine.

The sword slid out. Link raised it to his eyes. His brain wasn't working properly. He had forgotten all about the crowd that surrounded him, the eyes that had burned into his back.

It was when the silence seemed to linger far too long, a tension filled air building up in the room, that it finally hit Link.

I drew the sword?! Wha- why- how?!

Then a voice cut off any further thoughts... though it wasn't much of a voice. Rather, like gentle chimes in a flowing breeze.

"Welcome, Master Link. I have been waiting for you."

I'm sorry that this took so long to get out. I had it done several days ago, but I've been trying to write a chapter ahead, and I've also gone through this one chapter about fifty thousand times to make sure that I got it right. After all, this is an important scene! And even on my most recent check through it, I found, like, five grammatical errors! So, if you think I could fix any of this, maybe add some more details somewhere, do not hesitate to tell me! If you spot any grammar errors, please, please tell me, because I hate making small mistakes like that! The whole point of this rewrite is to make it great! Not like the stuff I rushed to get out in the old one. There were daily uploads at one point! Daily!

Did anyone notice any easter eggs in this chapter? There's only one, and I tried to keep it vague, but if you noticed, do tell me in a review!

I will get to the replies sooner or later. However, I will first explain the "Secret Review Phrase." Stupid name, as it isn't exactly secret. Long story short, I will choose a completely random word, and you reviewers can place it within your review to tell me that you actually care about this Author's Note! XD You don't have to, it's just a fun little thing I made up at some point in the previous draft of this story.

Now, onto the replies! Wow, there's seven reviews already! Strap yourselves in, because there are going to be a LOT of replies!

bladeofthebookworms: Aw, thanks! I want to get more into the characters of the champions, as well as Impa, in this rewrite, because I kind of tossed them aside for later on in the rough draft of this story. I guess the prologue was symbolizing that. I'm DEFINITELY keeping Fi, now, because there are a surprising amount of people that will set my lawn on fire (I swear I'm not a pyromaniac) if I don't include her. I'll definitely do my best to keep up the great work (I'm glad you consider it great)! :D

MeaninglessMayhem: Thanks for the motivation juice! Awesome already?! REALLY?!

Ancientarrow1256: Thank you for the feedback! I'm definitely including her now! I even included her in this chapter, though it isn't much. :D

RoseyMirror: I'll go fix that. I decided to call her Rala in the end, but at first I was thinking Ralra might be a good name. Then I decided it didn't quite roll off the tongue. I thought I fixed it, but it looks liked I didn't! Thank you for pointing it out! I definitely agree! I think that my bluntness ruined the old one, so I'm trying to be a bit more detailed. I want to include the champions and Impa more often, as well, because I kind of tossed them aside in the old one. I'm so glad you like it so far!

Theticsquash57: I don't know if I should be excited that you enjoy it, or terrified because of your sinister laugh at the end XD

AddyBOTWfan13: Wow, thank you! I like it quite a lot more than the previous one. Yes, I am picking favorites. No, you are not allowed to tell the original Before. I'm glad it's a nice vacation from your traitorous shipping mind (XD). I would write romance, but I really, really can't. XD

WrittenInBold: Aw, thanks! Yeah, I'm definitely keeping Fi, now. I'm planning on giving her a more important role other than irritating poor Link! Doesn't mean I won't make her irritate him at some point, though. XD

Phew! That's a lot of replies! I'm sorry this chapter wasn't longer, but I'm not entirely sure what to (your secret review phrase is the words "easter eggs") add. If you have any good ideas for more details in this chapter, or any ideas, really, do tell me! Even if I do not end up using them, your idea could end up inspiring a part in a later chapter!

Oh, and that includes a different last name for Link. I wasn't very creative. DON'T PUT IT IN GOOGLE TRANSLATE, OR ELSE YOU'LL END UP LAUGHING AT ME! D:

Thank you, everybody! I hope you enjoyed reading!

Sincerely (Maybe),

Ari~