The next morning, and the many that followed, Link fell into a pattern. One that kept the boy incredibly busy, pushing him to his limits physically and mentally. Impa had yet to return, so Link spent every morning training hand to hand combat with Sheik. They worked a combination of striking, take-downs, and grappling most every day. Link was learning very quickly, but had yet to best his female opponent in an all-out sparring match.
After their morning training Link would leave to go read his five chapters of A History of Hyrule and Its People. Sheik would go train with Saria, whatever that entailed, and Malon would work with Bart and Mayfair, the horse they had bought from Lon Lon Ranch for Zelda to ride. When his chapters were complete Link would grab a quick dinner then go meet Malon and Epona in the field. After her third night in the village Malon had offered to teach Link how to ride better. So for a couple hours before the sun set Link would get a chance to bond with Epona and work on his equestrian skills. Epona had much more energy than Bart and always felt the desire to show off her speed when Link hopped on. This "horse" play usually resulted in Link being thrown off or flopping off her hind quarters, at which point Malon and Navi would giggle together.
Most nights Link found time to spend just an hour with Saria. The two would do different things every night. Some nights they would go to their favorite spot in the meadow and play their ocarinas, Link using the Royal Family's and Saria using the one he had returned. Other nights the two would tend to the villagers who had been injured in their scouting duties. Link always felt guilty at these times. True the injuries so far hadn't been much worse than scrapes and bruises from deku scrubs, keese, skulltula, and deku babas, but Link felt he should be out in the woods on patrol with his kin. Sheik had explained to him that he NEEDED to train for the greater battles that lie ahead. Still, Link did not like seeing the children of the forest in such a state.
While Saria used her new found powers to heal children, Link practiced mundane medical aid. He learned how to splint and secure sprained ankles and wrists, which herbs help numb pain, how to disinfect cuts, and how to aid a patient dealing with fatigue. His work was much slower than Saria's but it made Link feel just a little bit helpful.
Mido would see only Saria when he sustained an injury, which was more often now that he felt brave enough to hunt down wolfos and even stalchildren, if the self-declared boss of the Kokiri was to be believed. Mido would allow neither Link, nor any of the other villagers to see him wounded. Link did not blame him. According to Saria, the kokiri boy had limped back to the village gushing blood out of his leg, and from slashes on his back. Many villagers would have likely paled and died of fright after seeing their new hero so battered. Saria healed him, good-as-new, then scolded him for more than an hour. Even after his lashings Mido returned into the woods the next night.
When Link and Saria weren't playing music or treating the wounded they would just enjoy the moment together. They would sit under the stars and just listen to each other breathing. Sometimes Saria would rest her head on Link's shoulder, or stomach if they were laying down. She would then promptly declare how big and strong Link had gotten. At first Link would blush, but as it happened again and again he switched to puffing his chest out. He WAS getting bigger and stronger. The boy was proud of his progress. He had grown an inch just since his time back in the village, but even more impressive was his muscle definition. Younger than eleven years of age Link had shed much of his baby fat, due to his rigorous training. Small, hard, wiry muscle had replaced it making Link look older and more intimidating. Compared to a kokiri anyway.
That is how Link's days passed by. Training with Sheik, then reading his five chapters, riding with Malon, then usually ending the night with Saria. There was very little free time in Link's day, for which he was grateful. Even at night, alone with Navi, exhaustion dragged him into sleep before his mind could wander. Before it could remember.
On a typical early morning Link's routine was thrown off when he found Impa, not Sheik, waiting for him in the field. It was now two months since she had disappeared.
"Impa!" Link said shocked to see her standing there. The sheikah warrior only raised an eyebrow. "Where have you been? It's been weeks!"
"I will tell you." She said unfolding her arms and drawing her longsword. "After we train." And just like that she was back in instructor mode, as if she'd never left.
It took Link a few minutes to remember all the sword techniques he had been drilling. While Impa had been gone there was nobody to practice swordplay with. If fencing was one of Zelda's many hidden talents she had yet to mention it. Link tried to remember the last time he had even drawn his sword when suddenly he remembered. The soldiers in the forest.
Smack!
The flat of Impa's blade collided with Link's face so hard his vision blurred while he kissed the ground.
"You are distracted!" Impa scolded. "Do not let dead enemies defeat you."
Link jerked his head toward the warrior, a motion that made his head spin. "You heard?" he asked. I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
Impa nodded her head. "Sheik told me last night after I arrived. Sheik and the Lon Lon Ranch girl. You did well that night Link." She said it matter-of-factly and with a small amount of praise.
"How do you teach yourself to ignore that feeling afterwards?" If anyone could relate to him it must be Impa. Maybe not as she is now, a hardened warrior, but maybe she remembered how she was after her first kill. "Ignore the memories and the nightmares?" Link asked getting up and looking at Din's Wrath. He knew it was just his imagination but he could see remnants of blood stains along the purple razor edge. "How do you convince yourself that it was just one meaningless life?"
"A life always has meaning Link."
Link tilted his head confused. Impa sighed and lowered her blade.
"The Sheikah believe that life is sacred. That our spirits had to accomplish some great feat, or win some epic battle in order to be allowed a place amongst the living in this world. All souls did this, not just the Sheikah. So we respect the journey of that soul, and the blessing of drawing breath, drinking, eating and living. My people believe that creating these vessels for our souls, we call 'bodies', was the epitome of Hylia's power, making all life sacred. Achashverosh, the Fierce Deity, saw that Hylia's creations were wasting the gift she had given them; Humans, Hylians, Sheikah, Gerudo, Zora, Goron, and Kokiri alike. So the Fierce Deity found a way to teach us how to value life, by making it possible to die.
In our culture, you cannot truly become a man, or woman, until you have learned this lesson and faced your death. You must go to war, or battle, or a great hunt, and face your own mortality. Only when you have faced death yourself, are you ever allowed to take another's life. It is because we value our own lives, and the lives of our kin, that killing comes easy to us. A true sheikah memorizes the names and faces of every opponent slain, and offers those names to Achashverosh, to show him we have not forgotten the value of Hylia's gift."
Link stood there, stunned by Impa's lesson. Sheikah embrace killing because life is sacred? He thought to himself. "No wonder the Sheikah need conflict to survive." He said coldly.
Impa offered a shrug of her muscular shoulders. "My people believe this to be fact, and not something subject to opinion or evidence."
"But I read that the first Sheikah walked with the Goddesses."
Impa shook her head. "Sheikah believe that the Goddesses were only projections of Hylia, manifestations of her different traits. The Goddesses were not actually almighty beings themselves."
Link chewed on his lip processing everything he had just heard. Memorize their faces huh? The thought was daunting.
"But enough talk, we will not defeat Ganondorf by teaching him history." Impa lifted her longsword again and stepped forward.
"My thoughts exactly!" Link said referring to his mandatory daily chapters. He readied Din's Wrath and set his stance to meet the advancing warrior.
Like it had been months before, Link took his beatings all morning while trying to improve his own swordsmanship. With pride he noticed that Impa did in fact have to step up her attacks to defeat Link's defense. The boy even managed a few offensive strikes before the morning was over.
Since it appeared they were only going to train until noon, Impa had doubled her intensity, leaving Link no choice but to double his efforts and energy spent. By mid-day Link was lying in a puddle of his own sweat, face down in the grass.
"I thought all the conditioning with Sheik would leave me less spent," Link complained.
Impa shook her head. "If you are not pushing yourself you are not training properly. Increasing your limits does not mean you should decrease the percentage of effort you give."
Weakly Link lifted his arm and gave Impa a thumb's up. "Got it."
"Are you going to walk with me and learn why my absence was necessary? Or are you going to lie here the rest of the day?"
Link growled through his aching muscles and pushed himself off the ground. "Are you sure you aren't the Queen of Hyrule?"
Impa was not amused.
"I spoke to some of our allies in Kakorika as well as the other regions, about what is happening in the Citadel," Impa said when they were walking back to the village. "It would seem that Ganondorf cares more about his newly found power, than actually ruling Hyrule. He has neglected his citizens to the point that he has not been supplying them with enough food to eat. He practically robbed the merchant caravans that arrived just after he took the throne and so they have not come back. Thousands of Hylians and Humans have fled to Kakorika. When Ganondorf realized his subjects were fleeing he destroyed the drawbridge, and cast a spell that would make any who left without his permission deathly ill. Apparently dozens were killed by his curse before the people realized they were trapped. This was a month ago. Since then the only information that can be gleamed on the evil king's actions is the number of soldiers he dispatches for various tasks. He sends out units of one hundred or more to hunt down and kill soldiers who deserted in the first month of his reign. He has also sent a legion of soldiers to each realm, the gorons, the zora, and the gerudo, to collect taxes."
"Are they in trouble?" Link asked. "Brother Darunia and Princess Ruto I mean."
"No. Not ready to go to war the different realms begrudgingly turned over the fruits of their labors. This is good for us though. King Darunia's subjects will be demanding action from their leader. Same with those of King Zora XVI and Queen Nabooru. While on their own they may not declare war, they may become confident in the presence of each other. Not to mention the nine hundred deserters I provided refuge for amongst the Goron."
"Nine hundred? Will they fight for us?"
Impa nodded. "They will. But alone that is only 900 trained soldiers against Ganondorf's ten thousand. Not to mention that if he feels threatened he will resort to summoning monsters from outside Hyrule and turning to demons for aid."
"How many would we have if the Gorons, Zora, and Gerudo joined us?"
A rare smile spread across Impa's face. The look unnerved Link just a little bit.
"Enough to threaten him," she said. "But let us not rush ahead of ourselves." She quickly returned to her normal demeanor. "The first clash of armies may be years away. Ganondorf is postured for a hasty confrontation. Expecting a revolt no doubt. It behooves us to wait until he has lowered his guard but not so long that his power grows too great."
Link let out a long low whistle. "Years? What do we do for years while we wait?"
"Train," Impa answered without hesitation. "Train and better ourselves so that the blood shed on that prophetic day will not be our own."
Link clenched his fist, psyching himself up for the days of grueling training that lie ahead.
"Bring it on."
Author's note: Well we finally got to some plot development and foreshadowing. Sometime this week I am going to have to decide whether the next chapters will take us to those years ahead, when the war is about to begin, or if I am going to do another chapter or two more on character development. I am open to recommendations! PM me or leave a review with your thoughts. I won't start working on the next chapter for a few days. (Disclaimer: this is not a "choose what happens". Whether I decide to move the timeline ahead by years, or a day at a time, my plot will not change. Just looking for advice).
Some of you may not like that I toggled the lore about the Goddesses and The Fierce Deity. I just find it unlikely that such different races would all believe the exact same version of a religion. It obviously doesn't happen in the real world so I didn't think it should happen in this one. Also the Fierce Deity (character who is first mentioned in Majora's Mask) does not have a name so I lent him the name Achashverosh, which is Hebrew for "Great Warrior" or sometimes translated as "Lion King". Anyone who has played Majora's Mask knows the Fierce Deity Mask is badass but also full of mystery. I have seen many fanfictions based solely on Majora and the mysterious Fierce Deity, and so decided to take my own crack at it. I have big plans for him!
Anyway if you have made it this far I hope you'll keep reading. Getting on and seeing hundreds of views after each update is VERY encouraging and I appreciate it. Here is my last plug: I marked this story Adventure/TRAGEDY for a reason. Stay tuned and see why. Thank you!