Text Key
"Audible speech."
'Directed thought, telepathic speech.'
Chapter 1 – Lief's Awakening
Your dreams were dark and muddled, filled with rushing to and from in places you couldn't quite manage to name, always with some sort of trouble hanging over your head. An endless desert to an island full of strange plants and on into a land of ice and an endless forest. Strange creatures abounded and you weren't even sure you were yourself in most of the dreams, because neither your body or your name seemed to fit quite right – the body more so than the name, because you could swear you spent half of the dreams running around on all fours wearing nothing but a fur coat –, but there was usually some stranger there that you still knew to call 'friend'.
'I know it's nice to get away from your troubles for a bit, but it's time to wake up,' someone said with a voice like gravel. It wasn't scary, but it wasn't soft or light like Zelda's either. It was rough and wild, like a half-feral barn cat; not necessarily an enemy, but not something that'd be properly friendly without good cause. 'You've already slept for too long.'
'Yeah,' another person said. This voice sounded like it was passing through a permanent grin, a sneaking snicker teasing the words into something playful by default. How real that joviality was though, you couldn't say. 'You can't save the princess by hanging around in bed. We can catch you up on the necessaries later.'
When you opened your eyes, it was to the sight of a stone ceiling and, once you managed to turn the bruised millstone that was your head to the side, to that of a moderately well-decorated room currently being tidied by a maid.
They'd brought you into the castle then. The furniture hadn't changed much since you'd lived here five years ago beyond the general arrangement, but why –
Right. Because Zelda had pushed you out of the way. Because you'd hit your head on the way down to the ground. Because you failed.
Some part of you coiled with resentment and dissatisfaction at that last thought in a way that would have made more sense if it was you listening to someone else get dressed down for something they couldn't help. It almost felt like the person in your dream, the first one with the rough voice.
But that didn't make sense. People didn't live inside of other people's heads.
'Well, they say there's always an exception to a rule,' the foxy voice said around its grin.
"And so the sleeper awakens."
Shoving the question of what was wrong with your head, you turned slightly to the side to look up at Impa. There was a disarray in her hair and a tension in her shoulders that didn't suit her – even the fact that you could see her shoulders was unusual, because that meant her ever present cloak wasn't there. When she arrived, you couldn't say. Perhaps she'd been waiting in the room the whole time, biding her time until you were in a position to fully appreciate her disapproval.
With that expectation in mind, the fact that the next words out of her mouth were "I am sorry," kind of threw you off for a moment.
"I should have stayed closer, rather than presume that the princess was safe because we were within the castle walls," Impa continued, her eyes closed. "If I had, you would have not have had to risk your life to protect Zelda."
Ignoring the stiffness in your body, you pulled yourself up into a sitting position. From this angle, you could see where they had leaned your shield up against an end table and how the design in the center had been burned almost past recognition by Vaati's spell. Zelda's gift, ruined within an hour of receiving it. "I still failed."
"A child with a shield and nothing else against a mage of unknown power who was not only able to defeat Swiftblade but a good third of the castle guard without taking a scratch is no fair contest, child," King Daltus said as he walked into the room, leaning down slightly to avoid catching his crown on the doorframe. A nod dismissed the maid, who gave a quick bow before scurrying away. "The fact that you managed to hold the first spell back for as long as you did already went against every precedent I've heard of."
That didn't make you feel all that better – the words 'never stood a chance' never did –, but hearing both the Shiekah and the king validate your weakness did take a bit of salt out of the wound.
"So what happens next?" you asked.
"I've put the guards on alert for any news of Vaati, though most of them are busy with the monsters he unleashed, and Impa will be travelling back to the Shiekah village to see if they have any resources that might tell us how to break the spell laid on the princess," King Daltus said as he carefully arranged himself in a nearby chair.
Unlike the throne, which had been made especially for him, the simple wooden piece was almost cartoonishly small for the king's massive frame, like if Uncle Alfon had decided to perch himself on one of the chairs from the Funday School. It was odd to think that the King's unusual size – easily twice that of the average Hylian in almost every respect, save for perhaps his shoulders, where it would have been an easy three – had once been such an asset to him as a warrior, because everything you'd ever seen indicated that being too big for the world around him was the source of many annoyances.
It also meant that, whenever the king dropped his stately demeanor, any emotions he wore seemed broadcasted that much more loudly. Right now, the slump of his shoulders and the look on his face spoke of tiredness and shame.
"Lief. The request I am about to make of you is not one that I have come to easily," he said quietly. "Not only because it is a great thing to ask, but because there are many factors in it that make it all the more complicated than it would be than if I had asked someone else. Perhaps if I had not been friends with your grandfather or if your father had not died in service to this kingdom or if… if you were older, I would not be so hesitant, but the circumstances do not allow me more time to think than what I have already taken."
He laced his fingers together and leaned forward further, the shadows falling over his somber expression. "We do not have access to the Light Force. It has been locked away, I'll say not where for fear the winds may carry that whisper to an unfriendly ear, but it is in no position to help us against Vaati. But we have what remains of the Picori Blade."
You almost asked if he wanted you to take it to your grandfather for repair, but if the solution had been that simple, the king would have done that already and without the preface of a long apology to you.
"Now, many regard the Picori as a myth. A story, told between children and jokingly used by adults as a means to encourage good behavior. But the Royal Family knows the truth of the matter; they are a very real people. Small and with a preference to being hidden, so their talents may not be abused, as the gifts they give others are meant to be exactly that; gifts. I know of one place the Picori dwell and that is within the depths of Minish Wood. I would send one of my knights on this quest, save for one fact; the Picori…"
"…can't be seen by adults. Only by children and the pure of heart," you finished. You'd heard the story enough times from the organ grinder that you suspected it was one of his favorites. The tales of the tiny race of people who delighted in the happiness of others only to hide away from all but the youngest eyes were old and well-known enough that they seemed more teasing jokes than anything rooted in history.
King Daltus smiled, but it was a weak, colorless version of the one you were used to. "Yes. I had a small worry that you might be too old, but my conscience would not permit me consider anyone younger."
"And as someone who's job relies on divining what lies within the hearts of men, let me say that I have no doubts that you have one of the finest hearts I have ever see," Impa added. "You are earnest and hardworking, loyal and kind. Zelda would not have become your friend if she had not seen those same things in you."
Your heart twinged a little at that, but any opportunity of figuring out if that sensation was pride or pain was cut short by the king's next question.
"Are you fit to stand, child?"
Instead of answering the king, you grabbed the edge of the bed and, with a little effort, pulled yourself to your feet. Your muscle were stiff and your head was still sore – maybe from having those voices and all of their baggage shoved into it –, but nothing felt like it was going to give away immediately. Given a little time for stretching, you'd be ready for anything.
The king nodded as he stood up. You could have kneeled, but considering you weren't that much higher than his hip to begin with, it would have been a pointless gesture. "I ask you, Lief, daughter of knights and friend of my daughter, if you will carry the broken blade to the Picori in the Minish Woods and see it forged anew, so that it may be used to chase away the darkness Vaati has brought upon Hyrule."
"Of course." There was never a question.
"Then I grant you the sword your grandfather forged for this task. It is dangerous to go alone and I know it will serve you well." He pulled a blue fabric bag along with the sword your grandfather had forged for him out from the inside of his cloak. As you accepted the burden, the king's formal demeanor fell away again to reveal the tired man. "And take care. While I would be happy to see the sword restored and Vaati defeated as soon as possible, it would grieve me as a father to see you injured because you felt rushed by my expectations."
They wouldn't let you leave right away, much as you wanted to get right to your quest. A doctor was summoned to look you over for injuries, a small satchel of supplies prepared, and your family called in so King Daltus could explain the situation to your uncle and grandfather.
On one level, you – more specifically, the voices in your head – could appreciate that. The adults were doing their 'due diligence' towards a child and, much as you might have disliked being treated as such, there was no denying that you simply didn't have the same range of ability and skills most adults had.
On another level, the fact that you were being held back from your quest was aggravating. Zelda wasn't getting any closer to release with you sitting here and having to deal with Kyrin while you waited…
"Why do you get to go on a quest, Lief?" your brother asked, kicking his heels back and forth off the bed while you went over your supplies. For all your world had changed over the last few days, Kyrin had remained exactly the same – not that you were sure that was a good thing. "You're not that much older than me."
Well, you would much rather he be bothering anyone else. At least then you could deal with your own collection of questions without having his added to the pile. For all your brother was only a few years younger than you, nobody would ever guess it from the way he acted.
"You know how the stories about the Picori go," you replied as you looked away from him. The fact that, of all the things to be upset over, he'd picked on how 'lucky' you were to be able to go on a quest. Never mind that the quest was one to save your best friend or that it was so important, the King himself had apologized for giving it to you. "Only children and the pure of heart can see them."
"But I don't see why you have to do it. I could go."
And there it was – what Kyrin really thought of the situation. To him, it was an opportunity to be the hero in some legend, someone unmistakably 'special'. Maybe that was why he was always so noisy; it was an easy way to get attention without having to put any work into actually being good at something. He'd make noise about wanting to be a hero – not a knight, but a hero – and then drop out of Uncle Alfon's sword practice the moment he wasn't allowed to swing around wildly anymore.
You bit your tongue before the unkind thought could escape. "You don't know anything about fighting," you said instead.
"Yes, I do."
You hefted the Smith's sword in your hands, weighing it as you tried to figure out how to carry it. There was a fair chance that you'd have to do a lot of climbing, which would make having it at your side awkward. "Real fighting. Not throwing rotten apples and cuccos at people you don't like."
Maybe it was something he'd grow out of someday, either to settle into a trade or to start putting in the work required to become a knight. You hoped it would turn out that way, not only for his own sake but for the sake of your ability to tolerate his antics. There was only so much slack you could cut him before someone had enough rope to hang themselves with, and you weren't quite certain which of you would be coming out the worse in such a situation.
"The king asked me to go on this quest and he explained why he wouldn't ask anyone else," you said and, after a moment of thought, you added, "And there's a good chance that it's going to be a long one, if the Picori need me to do something before they can repair the Picori Blade."
Why that thought would occur to you, you didn't quite understand, but agreeing with it did seem to appease the voices in your head …which didn't seem like the greatest motive for doing anything, now that you thought of it.
"I could handle fetch quests," Kyrin muttered.
"With all the monsters that are wandering around now?" Not hardly. You shook your head. "Besides, you'd get bored after the second errand that didn't involve something 'cool'." Or flake out the moment the task started looking remotely thankless, like he did with everything else.
You shoved the unkind thought away as Kyrin went back to pouting, switching your attention back to the business of getting ready for the road. He was just a kid; annoying, certainly, but he didn't have any sense of the scale of things yet.
'What makes you any different?' one of the voices asked. 'You know enough math to know that thirteen isn't that much more than ten.'
You ignored the question as you pulled the baldric tight around your sword. Slinging it over your shoulder, you tested the angle it was sitting at. It was possible to draw the sword without too much difficulty, but you'd want to rearrange the setup if you were expecting a fight ahead of time. Still, your hands were free this way and, once you put the shield on your back, you'd be half-way protected from sneak attacks.
"Why you though?"
You turned to look at Kyrin. His expression had finally made the change from mulish to morose, which was different enough to get the sympathy his whining had lost back.
Maybe there was a good answer for that question. Maybe there was something you could say that would be deep and profound and explain everything to your brother in a way that would make him understand exactly what you were feeling.
Because you'd already lost the sort of ignorance that Kyrin carried around with him? Because you had a pretty good idea of what you were doing? Or maybe it was because you wanted to be special?
"Because it's Zelda," you decided as you picked up the half-empty satchel they gave you. Not because she was the princess – that wasn't even part of the equation –, but because she was your friend and, ultimately, the most precious person you had in the world. "And I would have gone anyway, regardless of if I'd gotten the king's blessing or his curse."
Your brother didn't have a response for that, so you went back to packing. A compass… right, that was useless without a map. And there was a map up on the shelf. You went for it, only for your hand stopped short of the map, because there was something sitting in front of it.
"Lief?" Kyrin asked. "What's wrong?"
It was a little… well, it wasn't a mouse. It was the right size and had the right general shape, but the feathered tail, general lack of fur, and – oh yeah – the clothes were pretty clear indications that it definitely wasn't a rodent. The fact that it was writing something in a little book with a quill as long as it was tall didn't hurt that assessment either.
Whatever it was, it was well kitted out, with both a scarf and a shawl covering its upper body and a small satchel at its side with, upon slightly closer inspection, a sheathed sword tucked into a loop on the bag behind a large, ink-stained brush. Its hair – which was the same red color as the tip of its tail feather – was cut in a neat little bob, the fringe cutting a straight line across the top of its round glasses.
The last feature, combined with the clothes, struck a familiar chord. "Who are you?"
It jumped and then, once it had looked at you, reached up to its face and adjusted its glasses in what seemed to be an effort to cover up a hurt expression. "I know I look a little different, but I'm still Utari. Don't you remember?"
You didn't. But someone else did.
'Yes! Utari!' one of the voices yelled, their entire presence vibrating inside your skull like an overexcited bumblebee. 'That's Utari of the Poncle! She's my biographer!'
"Poncle?" Was that like the Picori? If it was, it might have just saved you a quest, even if the question of why one of the voices in your head – who you thought were part of a dream until they came rushing back in with this helpful information – needed a biographer was a bit overwhelming.
"Lief?" Kyrin asked. "Who are you talking too? What's a Poncle?"
The mouse-thing – Poncle? – jumped to her feet, the earlier dismay disappearing as she bouncing in excitement. "So you do remember! Shumari explained to me how the whole process works, but I didn't know for sure. He liked to fluff the facts whenever it made for a better story."
'Shumari's' presence grinned as you frowned.
"Process?" you repeat before realizing that you'd make for a decent parrot if you had feathers.
"It's… oooh… the way I understood it, it's a little like reincarnation, but not? Like you don't forget things but you're not always the same person either. And sometimes you end up in different worlds?" Utari shook her head, her bobbed hair fluffing outwards. "I'm still a little confused by it all myself, even though this is the third time it's happened to me."
She was in good company then because you had maybe ten percent of an understanding of what the hell was happening with your life right now.
Kyrin bumped into your side. "I asked you, Lief, what's a Ponc– is that a mouse?"
"I'm a Minish!" Utari replied.
"Then what's a Poncle? It sounds like a weird card game."
"I think you're thinking of Pinochle, Kyrin."
"I thought that was the stuff old ladies had in their houses."
"That's patchouli. Or potpourri. Depends on the old lady, I guess." It didn't hurt that you couldn't keep the two things straight in the first place.
The Poncle-slash-Minish gave a peeved little hop, feathered tail ruffling. "Focus! Oooh, you're going to be almost as bad as Shumari, I can just tell!"
'Almost?' the still unnamed voice asked with a snort as Shumari fell into helpless laughter. 'Utari's got a fucking short memory if she thinks you're going to match up to ol' Foxface's antics based off one boke and tsukkomi routine.'
You'll pretend that you know what those words mean. "So what do you want?" you asked.
Utari huffed. "I'm here to help you out with your quest."
The little thing was a biographer, right? That accounted for the quill, but the sword? "By writing it down?"
The Minish sniffed. "Among other things. Like magic. Can you do magic?"
No, you couldn't.
"Didn't think so," Utari said as if reading your mind. She looked awfully smug for someone on the fit of a hiss fit a minute ago. "Now will you accept my help?"
You sighed and stretched out your arm so the Minish could climb up to your shoulder. It's clear that anything resembling 'normal' in your life is long gone. It's just better to get in the habit of rolling with whatever other swerves destiny feels like throwing your way.
Nobody commented on the presence of Utari on your shoulder. Children would give away their interest by the movement of their eyes and the beginning of questions on their lips, but the adults completely failed to react. No half-second glance, no questions of 'who's your friend?'. It was if the Minish, taking a page from the book of the Picori, was completely invisible to their eyes.
Confusion aside, you weren't complaining. Anything that kept you from being crowded helped because even though Hyrule Castle Town was now a lot less busy than it had been during the festival, there still were enough people and stuff going on to make you uncomfortable.
The bakery, thankfully, wasn't one of those busy places, despite its relative importance in the community. A few customers were present, yes, but between them and the family that ran the place – the baker, his wife who ran the counter, and the children who organized the different breads as they were pulled from the ovens – there weren't nearly enough bodies present to drive you to the edge of panic.
As soon as it was your turn, you walked up to the counter. "I need..."
'My god, the croissant. Get the croissant.'
You would have settled for the day old breads, but the croissant was fresh for almost the same price. "The… croissant, please?"
"For home?" the baker's wife asked.
You shook your head. "Travel." The last time that you'd had to forage for food had showed you exactly how little there was to scrounge for those uninitiated to the forest. Better to bring some food with you and stretch out the supplies for a few days before taking any desperate measures.
"Ah." She placed a second croissant in with the first, tying them up neatly in a kerchief before handing them over. When you tried to pay for the extra, she waved the extra rupees away. "If you're traveling any distance along the roads, you'll need that money for the inns. I've been told that more than a few of them are driving up their prices now that there are monsters prowling around at night. A horrible way to do business, taking advantage of people's fear of what dwells in the dark, but I guess safety has a price these days."
While you more than likely weren't going to be traveling along any routes where inns were an option, the fact that people were playing the part of vulture in this crisis was galling. And it was all because of Vaati.
'You'll get to stab him. Eventually. If you can get the Four Sw–er, the Picori Blade reassembled without dying in the process,' one of the voices said as you left the shop, quickly covering up a slip that didn't entirely make sense unless they knew something that you didn't. The offhand mention of casual death wasn't too inspiring either.
Still, stabbing that stupid mage sounded pretty good.
You shuffled through the back streets, trying to avoid the main thoroughfares. Even though your knowledge of Hyrule Castle Town was incomplete and a few years out of date, it still didn't take long for you to clear the outer gates with nothing but a vague warning to 'be careful' hanging over your shoulder courtesy of a guard who's face you half-remembered from your childhood.
The question of if he remembered you is discarded as you make your way south towards the Minish Woods.
The countryside doesn't crowd you in the same way that the city does, but the presence of monsters means that you remain on guard. None of the ones that you've encountered seem to be all that strong, going down with no more than a couple of solid strikes before falling apart to dust, but there are enough of them – some with very unpleasant tricks up their slimy sleeves – to make you understand why people would be so eager to avoid the roads, especially at night.
Still, there's enough peace for both the voices in your head and the Minish on your shoulder to fill the air with stories.
'…so the best advice I can give is to try and avoid attracting the attention of godlike beings,' one of the voices finished as you came to a crossroad, the sign worn from the elements but still readable. She'd been introduced as 'Delaine' and while you didn't know much else about her, you appreciated her straight forward nature.
Shumari was not straight forward.
'But that's half the fun,' he immediately responded. 'How do you expect to meet interesting people and go on adventures with such a cautious approach to life?'
'By doing interesting things that don't involve being stepped on by time dragons,' Delaine replied. 'Not that going out of your way to avoid trouble means that it won't be going out of its way to find you.'
'Hah. My Weedwhacker is a snake slasher. Dialga wouldn't have been a problem for me.'
"Weedwhacker?" you asked incredulously. That was a terrible name for a sword, the sort of thing that Kyrin would dub one of his practice sticks after a few swipes at the tall grass outside the farm.
"Oh, Shumari told you about that?" Utari said with a slightly pained sigh. It was easy to forget that she was with you sometimes, between her almost non-existent weight and general unobtrusiveness. That was probably a good trait for a writer, being able to fade into the background so easily. "I tried to talk him out of calling the sword that – forget it being an objectively terrible name, it's highly disrespectful to do that to a divine blade, but he insisted it was the best way to keep people from realizing the sword's true identity without really lying about it…"
Shumari blew a half-hearted raspberry that the Minish had no way of hearing. 'Well, it's not like you can carry a piece of a country's Imperial Regalia openly. Besides, it's a legitimate alternate reading…'
You decided you didn't want to know the exact details of Shumari's probably criminal past, if only for the sake of your continued sanity. Hopefully whatever gods presided over his country of origin wouldn't be coming after you for his hijinks, because your life was going bad as it was already. For now, you'd settle for something you could understand. "A swordsman?"
The trickster grinned. 'Yep. Two-handed blade, almost twice your size. You, not your sword. Completely different sort of beast than your stinger there. Lot less control once you get going, for one, but it hits like a hurricane if you can get a solid strike… and I'm very good at getting in the hits.'
You could see it in your mind's eye clearly, almost clear enough to feel the weight of the sword in your hand, the effort that every swing took to even begin, and the dance that wove all that into a viable style. It would be something to learn something in the future, however, because you didn't have time for that now.
Seeing something moving in the road ahead, you ducked behind a tree. Some sort of mole creature was popping in and out of the ground, peering around every time it came up with another claw full of dirt. It looked harmless, but what something looked like and what it actually was could prove to be two very different things.
Well, it wasn't like you're going to be getting anywhere hiding behind the local shrubbery.
You leap out, sword already in hand as you twist around for the first strike, intent on finishing the fight before it could properly begin.
Unfortunately, that isn't how it looks to be playing out, because the mole leaps upward, revealing a tower of identical creatures below it, swaying as they support the weight of the ones above them. It was a practice in futility, as one of the moles fell down on you, scratching you with its long claws on its way down. That you managed to slice it hard enough that it fell apart into smoke was secondary to the pain, but the others didn't get close enough to land a hit, instead opting to scramble away from you and your sword.
'I've played Whack-A-Mole, but this is ridiculous,' Delaine muttered as the last of the monsters decided to make a break for subterranean safety rather than attempt to avenge their fallen brethren. 'Want to try mounting a pursuit?'
No. As much as you disliked leaving a chore unfinished, it simply wasn't possible to go after them. If you were a Goron or something else naturally adapted for that sort of work, it wouldn't be an issue, but as a Hylian, the best you could do was wait around for them to resurface. And without any time to waste…
You sheathed your sword as you turned back towards the road, making a note to watch the dirt for any ridges that might tease at the presence of a burrowing creature at work.
There were a few other encounters along the way. Crawling creatures – 'Octorok,' Delaine explained – mostly, but a few others were present that she couldn't name.
'I'm not exactly an expert on the subject,' she said when you asked about it. 'It's not like I've got some mental bestiary on order.'
'Unless you count Pokémon. How many species can you list?'
'That's a totally different subject.'
'Is it really?'
You tuned out the burgeoning argument and turned your attention to Utari. "You said earlier that you were a Minish. Does that have anything to do with Minish Woods?"
Her nose twitched as she reached up to adjust her glasses. "Yes, actually. The Minish live there. Well, some of them. There's a few different population centers that I've heard of. There's a community spread out through Hyrule Castle Town – I'm a Library Minish myself – and a few that live on their own in other areas. Usually they live around where people are, but there are exceptions to the rule."
"Because you can be invisible to adults?" you guessed.
She shrugged. "Well, that's just the easiest way to survive when you're as small as us. It's not like we're in a position to physically fight back against anything bigger than a bug. Culturally, we find humans interesting and like to help out where we can. It's also relatively easy for us to use the stuff you guys lose and forget about."
'Like the Borrowers.'
You'll pretend that you understood the reference.
"So I'm guessing that you don't know anything about navigating the Minish Woods then," you said, eyes watching the approaching tree line. It was impossible to miss it; the green there was different, darker and more mysterious than the green of the fields behind you. Instead of glittering with sunlight and potential light, the Woods were dark and mysterious – traits that were alluring, in their own way, but also unrepentantly dangerous in the same fashion, like a crooked finger beckoning you into a dark alleyway.
"Nope."
Figures.
You looked up at the trees, listening for a moment to the faint groan of swaying wood and whispering leaves. The sound took you back in time for a moment – long enough to feel a cold phantom rain splattering against your skin as hunger gnawed at your insides – before you shook yourself back to the now.
"Right. Let's go."
Ignoring every bit of common sense that told you to turn around and leave, you entered the woods where your father died.
Author's Notes
Guest –
Oh yeah, I know that you weren't flaming the story. I've had hate mail and spam in the past, so I know the difference between active malevolence and asking questions because you have them. You didn't accuse of me being a fake fan/attention seeker that needs to die, for starters.
Anyway, onwards to answering your questions.
For all intents and purposes, Lief is a female Link. No, not for any particularly special reason. I think. Maybe the motive was a having a chivalric romance with lesbian subtext… Regardless, the problems of 1) Lief is currently 13 and Zelda 15, 2) Zelda is a statue rn, and 3) the politics of Zelda being a princess mean it'll probably get no further than courtly love (a.k.a. suffering with style, pining without promise of payoff, or doing the creep in a semi-socially acceptable way).
The name was just because 1) I thought it would be a more reliable way of reinforcing that fact since most of this story will be in second person and in a 'style' that doesn't really focus on details like that, 2) it's got some good meanings behind it – 'ready/willing', 'beloved/dear/agreeable', 'nice/sweet', and the obvious 'life', while Leif (similar sound, different spelling) means 'heir/inheritor' or 'relic' – along with being less clunky than 'Linkle' to my ear, and 3) there are a lot of room for Lief/leaf puns (originally her introduction was her falling out of a tree and into a barrel of apples, but then I was like '…but consider the death chicken.').
Her appearance is kind of a blend of typical young Link, Breath of the Wild Link (pony tail emphasis), and A Link To The Past Link, because I like the pink/brown hair (technically the shade I'm using is 'puce' but… puce) and it was one of the first Zelda games I played (and failed at, but I guess I had enough fun that I stayed with the series, rarely ever completing a game). The plan is for her to grow up to look pretty much like every other Adult Link (the full design I managed was very Twilight Princess inspired) but with… longer, puce-colored hair (that word is painful to type) and slightly more traditionally feminine features.
The 'thing' that I'm doing with my series is that I change protagonists every few stories while maintaining series continuity. In-story, it's because some backgrounds just won't 'meld' with another protagonist's (I call them Alters) personality, so the history just becomes its own person. From a writer's point of view, it makes tracking character development easier, allows for a variety of different 'moods' and/or styles, and helps me keep on track by allowing me to switch protagonists and stories whenever a muse hits or I get bored with whoever I'm working with currently.
More specifics are available on the AO3 version of the series in the Bonus Content section... whenever I update that next.
I added Impa to the story just because it didn't make sense that Zelda would be allowed to just… go anywhere she wanted, though the fact that Ganon/Ganondorf isn't a thing yet combined with the era of peace thing might explain it. Still, a bodyguard seemed like a good idea.
Context clues might tell you exactly what the real name of Shumari's sword is. Also on that subject, Shumari is an Alter who I haven't written anything for yet but his stuff is in the works. The Jumps I have planned for him include Okami and Princess Mononoke.
Lief was fighting Acrobandits in this chapter. As the name is somewhat clunky and not one that a person might guess off the top of their head during an encounter, Lief and co. just think of them as mole monsters (coming from underground and all that).
Anyway, here's the calculations on this Jump.
The Legend of Zelda Minish Cap
1000 cp + 300 cp (The Princess's Friend, A Reincarnation)
Instead of starting the Jump in a random location, you awake in your grandfather's house. You begin as an incarnation of the legendary hero Link at the beginning of the game. The +0 point version of this Drawback grants you Links memories and you now must play through the game's storyline to completion and ten years beyond. The +300 point version of this Drawback grants you the Hero Origin in addition to your own, if you are a Hero already you gain a discount on the Drop-In Perks, but this because you'll have all out of Jump Perks, Powers, & Items barred from you.
And there's the answer to one question – no, no Pokémon. Sorry (this is partially because I'm not far enough into the Pokémon Jump to know all the Pokémon Delaine gets and keeps past that Jump and don't want to write myself into a corner, though I have a few ideas).
I bent the rules a little bit on the Power + Perk + Items ban by letting Lief have access to the Warehouse (which is almost entirely empty except for the items bought here but still a resource) and the previous Jumpers (just Delaine and Shumari – who hasn't had any stories written yet but has enough planning where I have a grasp on his character – at this point in the series).
Hylian
Age: 13
Hero (100 cp) – yada yada blood of heroes, natural swordsman, pick up a weapon and go kick someone's ass.
A Complete Collection Of Zelda Game Guides (Free) – Not only is this the best series of very comprehensible guides for Zelda games ever, it's also a decent read.
A Smith's Sword (Free) – A fine sword forged in honor of the Picori Blade. Whilst it's seemingly normal origins would turn aside more than just the courtesy of investigations you know better. This blade is impossible to break and will serve faithfully as long as you will have it do so. Not otherwise magical unless enchanted at a later time.
Borne of Steel (Free) – Basic blacksmithing and sword and shield skills. Includes practically unlimited potential for improvement. At some point your skills might get to the point where it'll take centuries to improve, but there will always be room for it.
Figurines (Free) – Small carved objects depicting people, scenes, and enemies from this world. Hereafter you'll have a shelf that stores them away and grants you another set of ten per Jump to commemorate your journey.
Game Matters (Free) – increases durability and health and mana pool, instinctual use of magic items, and leaves you able to evaluate your condition rather accurately. Also good at ferreting items around on your person in such a way people wouldn't guess that you have them, though you are aware of the weight.
I've made a deliberate choice in this series to avoid overt Video Game tropes like 'health bars' and 'save functions', but what few are 'freebies' I'll be interpreting in a way that makes sense from an in-universe position.
Speaking From A Pure Heart (Free) – You have the ability to have conversations with people at length in spite of the fact that you could be mute or only able to communicate through grunts and growls. This comes stems from you communicating from your Heart. This also allows you to count as 'Pure of Heart' for items and abilities that check for such things.
A Complete Collection of Zelda Games (50 cp) – From the very first to the newest addition to the franchise they're all here, in your Warehouse and associated gaming systems so you can play them.
A Place To Put Things (50 cp) – it's a bigger on the inside bag! Wait, didn't you have one of these things already? Removes weight from items when placed inside.
A Minish At Hand (100 cp) – Say hello to your little friend! This is a companion option, allowing you to either create an original Minish character or an import a previous companion. Regardless of their origin within the Jump or outside of it, they are a member of a species known for their skilled craftsmanship and love of helping, and have one origin (barring Drop-In) granted to them for free along with 300 cp to spend on other skills and items. Companions who take this option get their Minish form as an alternate form after this Jump.
The details on this character have their own section below this one.
The Next Swiftblade (100 cp) – Just as Swiftblade the Second inherited the ability from Swiftblade the First, you have a supernatural ability to develop moves and maneuvers that infuse your physical actions with supernatural energies. These move only act as a channel to those energies; you don't really use any up just have to have them in the first place from what has been shown, to enhance a very specific series of actions. This ability has developed things like the Super Spin Attack and the Attack of Desperation, which allows you shoot sword beams when critically injured, and with some practice and polish you too could create move that equal those legendary techniques. In addition, if you don't have a generic mana bar you do now, though you're only aware of how much you have in a very vague sense, like understanding how much blood is left in your body.
Roc's Cape (100 cp) – A feathery cape! Not only will it allow you to jump greater distances than you'd manage on your own and grant you the mystical power of the double jump, timing that second jump at just the right time can save you from taking damage from a long fall.
Hero Of Men (150 cp) – There are perks to being a Hylian Hero. Like that spark of the Light Force burning inside you. The same Light Force that the legendary Hero of Men bore a century ago, this powerful element bolsters your will, makes your mind quiet and precise during combat, and – perhaps most importantly of all – adds strength to your blows, making them particularly dangerous to beings who are Evil. As a bonus, this perk allows you to tap into the latent telepathy of the Hylians, once used to communicate with the Goddesses before they forgot that they lived in a fantasy setting. Admittedly, it's just one-way, but your range is already capable of reaching the kingdom's borders and will only grow from there (though cross-dimensional telepathy will always be out of your reach).
Mirror Shield (150 cp) – A shining shield! Bearing a mirrored face, the design of this shield makes it easy for a left- or right-handed to use without any difficulties, but more importantly is its ability to reflect attacks. When a ranged attack is blocked with this shield, it immediately reverses and is sent back with equal force (effect only works on anti-personnel attacks, you cannot block a nuclear explosion or poisonous gas). Much more durable than a wooden shield.
Shield Up! (200 cp) – Funnily enough you, like the legendary Hero Link, have an uncanny talent for blocking attacks with a shield. Everything from the swords of your foes to the blast waves of bombs can be stopped as long as you manage to get your shield up. Damage blocked this way wears at the shield and if it shatters, either from accumulated wear and tear or from an attack that's simply too much for it to block, you take all the damage as if you had not blocked that final attack at all. You can't block things that would count as environmental hazards, such as a long fall into lava, but most things can be blocked as long as you have the skill to get that shield up and in the way, the shield must be hit by the attack before it hits you and your shield can only block one attack. A quick note this doesn't work on 'shields' as in psychic shields or magical barriers, just things that can be considered shields by a medieval standard.
Tiger Scrolls (300 cp) – Congrats on becoming a master level swordsman. You can channel your vitality or desperation into blade beams, shatter stone with a single strike, and use a spinning slash to cover a great distance beyond the range of your sword that hits everyone nearby. Along with that, you have a greater overall fitness and are a great learner (like Link!), often only needing one demonstration before being able to figure it out yourself. In addition to the practical master, you have learned how to create Tiger Scrolls which allow you to pass on any of your physical arts to a willing student. They must dedicate around six hours to practice what is written upon the Tiger Scroll every day, but the instructions are concise and effective enough that they're already able to use a weak version of the art within a week and the full version in a span of a year. You can only make one of these Tiger Scrolls per year and it'll only contain one 'move' of an entire art, so it'll take some time on both your part and the part of a student to get a full martial arts style down. The Tiger Scrolls can't teach magic or non-physical 'moves' but physical moves that feature a magical or mystical component can be taught (like the Spin Attack). Warning: the Tiger Scrolls don't discriminate in who they 'teach', so don't leave them laying around where someone you don't like might stumble upon them, because they'll be able to learn from them as easily as anyone else.
The Minish At Hand
Utari
Utari, while appearing in this fic before any others, is planned to enter the series chronology in the Okami Jump (currently planned as the third Jump and Shumari's planned introduction story). Her background from there and the following Jump are planned out (at least from a number crunching standpoint) and I'll mention her pre-existing abilities in story (I'm debating on how much or if Lief's No Items, No Powers, No Perks Drawback applies to Utari because there's no explicit rule against it and Utari's skillset is only a little bit above Lief's with that taken into equation, since most of what I have for her is knowledge based).
Minish – Instinctive invisibility to all but the pure of heart and children. Size of a tween's tumb.
Hero background (Free)
A Smith's Sword (Free) – an unbreakable blade.
Borne Of Steel (Free) – basic smithing, shield, and sword skills. Plenty of room for improvement.
Delighting In Happiness (Free) – high levels of empathy that allow the Minish to understand the actions and motivations of others, along with bringing them so much happiness from helping others that they'll never grow bored of it. In addition this makes the bearer skilled in a variety of mundane crafts and grants them incredible ability to work in a team with those crafts, to the point where anything produced via teamwork is superior to anything they could do on their own.
Jabber Nut Seeds (Free) – if consumed, immediately gives the eater an understanding of one language the person who planted it knows. If the planter knows more than one language, the language must be selected at time of planting.
A Place To Put Things (50 cp) – Infinite rucksack. Good for ink, paper, snacks, and anything else you might need.
Magic (100 cp) – Adept in Fire, Water, and Wind elements. Fire spells are flamethrower effects, walls of flame, and small explosions, Water spells conjure the element and grant it motion (pulling and pushing foes as you please), and Wind spells can be used to scatter enemies, blow items towards you, and grant range to attacks (like, say, extending the range of a sword's slice, providing a pale imitation of a sword beam).
Restoring Legends (150 cp) – The Picori bear the blood of the legendary smiths and craftsmen who forged legends like the Picori Blade. Your skill with craftsmanship is innately high and your growth is much faster than it usually would be, but where you truly shine is in the creation and restoration of magical arms and armor. If you were given the shards of the Picori Blade and a place to forge the legend you could restore it with a little time, though it would need to undergo the rites that magically empowered it once more, and this talent for magical craftsmanship extends to all of your abilities. If you have this ability as well as a way to tap into an element, such as a Mage's Magic, you could craft items that use that in element or combination of elements in unique ways, such as the Gust Jar, and if you somehow had access to the Light Force you may even be able to produce the fabled Light Arrows, which scorch away all evils in their passing and can be invested with energy from the Light Force readily.
Anyway, that's everything for now. It might be a while before the next chapter is posted but rest assured, I'm working on it. I hope you enjoy my writing.
