Ian pulled out his handkerchief and wiped the sweat off his brow. The sun was almost directly above them, indicating that it was nearly noon. The two of them had been walking for nearly four hours now. He reached for his water skin and took a quick, refreshing drink. Behind him, Link stopped to take a drink as well.
"How are you holding up back there, Link?"
"I'm doing fine. This heat is nothing compared to the heat in the desert. Try walking through that on a summer day," Link paused for another mouthful of water. "And what happened to calling me Evan?"
Ian closed his water skin and put it back on his belt. "There's nobody out here, so why bother? We just need to keep anonymity around the people of this land. Not many travel anymore, except for maybe to the castle. Even with their Link around, the roads and forests are still very dangerous to the common man."
Link put his water skin away. "Where are we, anyway?"
"We're just entering the Southern Swamps. We are nearing the halfway point of our journey," Ian said as he looked up at the sun. "We shall walk a little further, then we will rest and eat."
The elder man began walking once again. Link stood there for a moment longer, looking up into the sky. Don't worry, Zelda. I'm coming to save you all again. Just hold on. He averted his eyes back to the man walking away from him, and began walking.
The sights and sounds around him were completely unfamiliar to the Hero of Time. There were no swamps in Hyrule in his time, and the creatures that lived there couldn't be found anywhere else. In the distance, he could see tall structures on the horizon. Most of them seemed to be ordinary pillars, although they were placed in the middle of nowhere in his mind. But one structure was bigger than all the rest, and Link's best guess was that it was a temple of some sort. He called up to Ian.
"Hey, Ian!" The older man stopped and turned. "Where did all this come from? And what temple is that in the distance?"
Ian looked up at the sun again and judged that they had traveled enough without food. "I will try to explain it to you while we are eating," he responded. Ian looked around in their general area until he found a spot that would be suitable for eating and a little rest. "This way, Link."
The two men came upon a dry spot with a stone pillar and took off all their equipment. Ian went through his rations pouch and pulled out some bread and some dried meat. Link had already taken a seat against the stone pillar. Ian walked over to him, gave him the food, and sat down beside him.
"I know it's not the best food, but it'll have to do," he said.
"It's alright," Link responded with a piece of bread already in his mouth. "I've done this many times before."
They sat in silence for the next few minutes as they ate their rations. When they were finally done eating, they decided that they should rest for a little while.
"So, are you going to answer my question?" Link asked.
"Ah, yes. Of course I will," Ian responded. "This swamp, like so many other things in this world, was affected by war, famine, and civilization."
"But this swamp didn't exist."
"That's right, it was caused by the erosion of the rocks separating the desert from Lake Hylia. Of course, this erosion was aided by battles and civilization. At one point in history – I don't know exactly when – they tried to make the desert suitable for life. During their attempts to irrigate the surrounding lands, war broke out in Hyrule. The destruction of the irrigation system and the dam that had been constructed caused the land to be flooded. The desert soaked up as much as it could, but there was just too much water. And so the swamps were formed."
Link nodded. "That makes sense. But what about these pillars and the temple?"
Ian looked around at all the structures that could be seen throughout the swamp. "Those are all structures of worship. Although this time period is more advanced than your own, they still believed strongly in the Goddesses. However, no one has ventured to these ever since the swamp was formed."
All his current questions answered, Link's thoughts once again drifted to Zelda, Evan, Nick, and the others. He hoped that they were all safe. But most importantly, he hoped that he could still save them.
Ian remained silent, not thinking about anything in particular. It had been so long since he could appreciate the feeling of a beautiful, but hot, day. The shade of the pillar offered some relief from the heat, and Ian was thankful for that. Finally, after sitting there for almost half an hour, Ian decided that it was time to move on.
"Hey, Link," he slapped the Hero on the shoulder, "we have to be moving along. Time is not on our side. The longer we wait, the closer the ripple from your death will get to us."
Link woke up out of his daze. "Yeah… of course…," he murmured. He didn't want to get up now; he had just gotten comfortable. But he knew Ian was right, so he forced himself up off the ground and walked over to his equipment. "Oh, and Ian?"
"Yes, Link?"
The Hero slung the Master Sword and its sheath over his shoulders. "Are we going to face any creatures that might attack us? Because I don't want to relive the time in the forest in Purgatory."
Ian let out a small laugh. "Fair enough. Yes, there will be some enemies along our way, but none even close to as tough as those wolves you faced. I wouldn't worry about it."
"That's good," he said with a smile as he placed his shield on his back. They picked up all their pouches and walked on toward Lake Hylia.
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The string twanged as the arrow was released. It flew true, but she didn't want to look. With her eyes closed, she heard the arrow hit the target. Slowly, she reopened her eyes, expecting to be off the mark yet again. Instead, to her delight, the arrow stuck directly into the bulls-eye.
"Yes!" Zelda cried out, finally achieving what she had spent so long attempting.
"Mommy, what happened?" Evan said sleepily with tired eyes.
In her excitement, Zelda had completely forgotten that Evan was still asleep. She looked at her son, a big smile across her face.
"I did it, Evan! I did it!" she said excitedly while pointing at the perfect bulls-eye. Evan looked in the direction she was pointing and saw what she was so happy about. And if his mother was happy, Evan was happy. The boy jumped up out of the bed and ran to Zelda. She knelt down and hugged Evan.
"Aw, how cute," came a voice from behind Zelda. She stood up and turned, and standing in the doorway was Aaron.
Zelda smiled. "Oh, be quiet."
"So this is the secluded area where you've been hiding the few days," he said as he glanced around the room. "Not bad. Although I still prefer the comforts of the more furnished rooms."
"Well, I couldn't be picky with that, now could I? I'm just glad that there was a spot in this refuge that was seldom used. What did you come down here for anyway?"
"What? I can't come down here and visit a friend?" Aaron asked in a mock tone, bringing another smile to Zelda's face. "Dinner's about to be served. And seeing as how you've been, shall we say, absent all day, we felt that you should come." He looked down at Evan. "And I'm sure the little squirt would like some food. What do you say?"
Evan's face lit up with anticipation. "Let's go Mommy! Let's go! Mommy!"
Zelda placed her hand on the boy's head. "Alright, we're going. Just calm down."
Aaron smiled. "This way, milady," he said as he bowed with his hands pointing in the direction of the dining hall.
"Oh, stop it," she said as she and Evan walked past the bowing Aaron. Aaron stopped bowing and took one more look around the room.
He saw the arrow in the bulls-eye, nodded his head a few times, and his face expressed approval. "Not bad, Princess. Not bad at all." He turned and walked out of the room.
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The dining hall was a very large room, much larger than the room in which Zelda had been practicing. There were perhaps ten tables placed throughout the room, each able to hold about ten people. Due to the fact that the room could only hold 100 people, everyone had to eat in shifts. There were meals throughout the day, and the room was never empty.
Zelda, Evan, and Aaron walked in and could instantly smell the food from the kitchen. It was a very pleasing, and appetizing, smell as the Hylian cooks were perhaps the best in the entire world. They passed several tables of soldiers, women, and children. Without so much as a word, Evan took off running toward a table that was full of all his friends from the refuge. Zelda and Aaron continued all the way to the back of the room, where the Knights always sat. Seated around the table were Nick, William, Robert, Celes, Sarah, Liz, Adriana, and Diana. Zelda took her seat at the head of the table, while Aaron took the last remaining seat.
"I'm glad you could join us, Princess," Nick said.
"I wouldn't miss it for the world," she replied.
"Oh, is that true?" William asked. "Then why did you not join us for lunch, or dinner last night?" he asked in a joking tone with a smile.
"Yes, I've heard that you've been practicing the bow," said Robert, "Really, Princess, I wish you wouldn't fight with us."
"And why not? Am I not a patriotic citizen of this country as well as being its leader?" A hint of anger was present in her voice.
"It's not that, Your Highness. It's just that…"
"She's a woman, right?" Adriana interrupted.
"No! It is certainly not!" Robert shouted back.
"Women are capable of fighting too!" Diana added while rising from her seat and pounding the table with her fist. The entire room grew quiet and all heads turned to see what was going on at the most important table of them all.
Zelda broke the silence. "Everyone, please resume your meals. There is no need to worry about our conversation." And with the Princess' orders, the dining hall once again filled with conversation.
Aaron tried to resolve the argument. "What I think our good friend Robert was trying to say is that he fears for the life of the ruler of this land."
"Exactly. Thank you, Aaron." Aaron nodded his appreciation.
"I'll be fine. You needn't worry about me. You should worry about yourselves and the other men and women who will be fighting in the front lines. Nick has made it so I won't be in the fray."
Nick nodded. "That's right. I have placed Princess Zelda in the back line of archers, far enough from the battle to avoid injury, but close enough to do some damage herself."
"But what if the tide of the battle is against us?" William asked. "What if they break through our lines and attack the archers?"
"I have instructed the Princess to flee from the battlefield if it seems as though we are faltering. But we still need to determine a safe place for her and the children to escape to."
"That's it? That's the plan?" Celes asked with doubt evident on her voice. "Attack them and hope we win, otherwise run for your lives?"
"That's all we can do," Nick replied.
Liz spoke up for the first time, "So when are we going to attack?"
"Two days from now. I will lead the attack at 0800 hours."
"So," she continued, "we have about a day to figure out a safe place for the Hylians who are not fighting to go."
"That's not a whole lot of time," Aaron added.
"No, it's not," Diana said, "Especially since none of us know the woods that well."
"Except for Link," Zelda said quietly. Everyone stopped talking and thought about the difference Link could make in this battle. Surely, they would have a much higher chance of success.
They all ate the rest of their meals in silence, some trying to think of a new refuge for the remaining Hylians, while others were thinking about the battle. But all Zelda could think about was Link.
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The sun was now almost directly behind them. They had traveled through the Southern Swamp for nearly four hours, and they were finally just about to leave it behind. Their clothes were sweat stained, their boots wet and dirty. The temple that Link had seen so many hours ago came and went. From what he could see, he wasn't that impressed with it. But then again, some of the temples from his time had unimpressive exteriors, but once inside, they were marvelous pieces of work.
During the journey across the Swamp, they encountered numerous creatures, but Ian was right. They were nothing to worry about. Link easily destroyed everything that dared to challenge them. Ian was right about another thing as well; Link didn't recognize a single one. Although they had some of the same characteristics as creatures he once fought, none of them were an exact match.
They were now beside some large stones that could have been another structure at one time. Whatever they may have been, they were laid to waste since that time. Link reached back for his water skin, opened it, and placed the opening to his lips. He tilted his head all the way back as he finished off the last of his water. Disappointed, and still thirsty, Link closed the empty water skin.
"I'm out of water," he called up to Ian. "Are we almost to Lake Hylia?"
Without turning around, Ian replied, "We're getting close. Perhaps another hour. As for more water," he reached for his water skin, "you can have the rest of mine. I won't be needing it." The elder man turned and tossed the water skin back to Link, who caught it with his free hand.
"Are you sure, Ian?" Link asked, even though he had already opened it and taken a mouthful.
"Yes, yes, I'm sure. Now let's hurry along. We'll have to keep moving if we want to get there by nightfall."
Ian picked up the pace and Link followed suit. As they passed by the large stones, Link had a strange feeling that they were being watched. He stopped and surveyed the surroundings, but didn't see anything other than a few birds perched up on the ruins and nearby rock ledges. Not wanting to fall too far behind, Link jogged back up to within a few feet of Ian, and then slowed to Ian's pace.
A short time later, they were completely out of the Southern Swamp, and for that, Link was grateful. Perhaps now his boots could dry. He was sick of his boots being soaked through. They were now standing on top of a cliff, which Link estimated to be about 40 feet high. Piece of cake, he thought to himself. He had climbed many things that were much higher than this was. However, Link realized that Ian might have trouble with it. He wasn't sure what the man could do.
"Are you going to be able to climb down this?" he asked.
Ian stopped and turned to look down the cliff. "Sure, I could climb down that. But why would I?"
Link was a little confused. "You mean we aren't going that way? But isn't that Lake Hylia in the distance?"
"Yes, that is Lake Hylia, and yes, we are going that way. But why bother climbing down the cliff when we can just walk down that pathway up ahead?" He pointed in front of him.
Link looked ahead and saw what Ian was talking about. Just up ahead was a pathway that led from the top of the cliff all the way to the bottom. Link got the point. It would be much easier, and safer, to use the path than to try and climb down the cliff, no matter how easy it would be.
"Lead on," Link told Ian.
They continued on their way to Lake Hylia. The path sloped gently downward and Link could barely feel the difference between the path and flat land. Once at the bottom, Link observed their new surroundings. They seemed to be in a small valley, trapped between cliffs that extended only 40 to 50 feet into the sky. In that respect, it was really more like a lowland than a valley. Link found it strange that there was very little grass and vegetation so close to a body of water. The whole area was dry and the little amount of shrubbery seemed on the verge of dying. As they moved on, Link didn't even give it another thought. It wouldn't be long now. They were almost there.
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As the sun was starting to set, the two weary travelers finally made it to Lake Hylia. The waters were calm due to the lack of wind and disturbance. The place seemed eerily peaceful, as if it wasn't always this way. Link looked out over the water and could just make out an island in the middle.
"It seems as though this other Link defeated the monster after all," Link said. "Too bad. I would've liked to have seen what was causing so much trouble."
Ian didn't respond. His eyes were fixed on a point in the distance; not in the water, however. His gaze was eastward, along the high cliffs that made up the borders of Lake Hylia. Link followed the elder man's eyes, but still wasn't sure what Ian was looking at.
"Ian? What are you looking at?"
Ian raised his hand and pointed with his finger. "There's a vulture flying in a circle up ahead."
"Big deal," Link retorted, "Vultures aren't anything exciting."
"Except that they circle around injured creatures, waiting for them to die," Ian said. He turned to Link, "I have a bad feeling about this."
"Shall we go see what the vulture is eyeing up, then?"
Ian nodded and immediately began walking. His pace quickened tenfold, as if their lives depended on their speed. Link struggled to keep up with Ian, but he stayed right with him. The cliffs began to slope upwards, making the strenuous pace even harder to endure. The vulture continued to fly in circles around a creature, something that was hanging on to life by a thread. The two travelers kept the pace up, and soon they could see a figure lying on the ground. They were still too far away to tell, but Ian feared the worst. He began to run as fast as he could toward the limp body, Link not far behind. Link was growing more and more concerned. Ian made it to the body first. It was rolled on its side, so its back was facing Ian and Link. Ian reached out and grabbed a hold of the right shoulder and gently rolled the body onto its back. Ian gasped.
Link, the Hero of the Triforce, was lying there, motionless, unconscious, and on the brink of death.
"Quickly, we must set up a camp and make sure he doesn't die!" Ian yelled to Link. "I'll go get some water from the lake. You go find anything you can that will burn! We need a fire!"
Link nodded his understanding and took off running. He had remembered some dried shrubs along the way, and he was sure they would make a good fire. Carrying back as much as he could, Link ran back to the spot where they had found his descendant. Ian was already there, trying to get some water down the throat of the unconscious Link. He threw the firewood and dried shrubs into a pile and quickly started up a fire.
"How is he, Ian?"
Ian continued to try to get some water down his throat. "It's too early to tell. He's in very bad shape. It seems as though whatever this creature is, it must be strong. There are not many things that could defeat one of your line," he said as he gently laid the unconscious Link's body on the ground. He reached into one of his pouches and pulled out a small blanket. Placing it on the boy, Ian turned to the Hero of Time. "All we can do now is wait."
Link didn't take any comfort in that, but he also knew that Ian was right. Exhausted, he leaned back and gazed into the twilight sky. His thoughts once again drifted to Zelda.
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The moon was full, but its light did nothing against the darkness. The two travelers still sat and waited for the unconscious man to finally wake up. Little had been said between the two in the few hours that they had been in camp. It wasn't an eerie silence, but a welcome one. Both men had a lot on their minds, and each needed time to think. The once hot day began to slowly melt into a cool, crisp night.
Finally able to stop thinking about the world he had left behind, Link sat up and took a look at his surroundings. Of course, it was much too dark for him to make out anything, but he looked around anyway. But then, he did see something. At a lower elevation and quite a distance away, Link caught sight of a small campfire. He tried to make out who or what was there, and how many were there. Not being able to see either, he gave up.
"Hmm," he muttered under his breath.
Ian heard Link's sound of interest, muttered as it was. "What is it, Link?"
The Hero of Time looked at the older man. "Seems as though we've been followed," he said as he pointed to the campfire in the distance. "I had a feeling that we were."
"Ah, yes," Ian said as he saw the campfire, "I had that feeling too. It would seem that someone didn't take too kindly to us asking around about their Link, the Hero of the Triforce."
"Is that what they call him? Hero of the Triforce?"
"Yes. Unlike you, he never traveled through Time to complete his quest. His journey led him in and out of the Dark World, which if you remember, was the Sacred Realm before Ganondorf entered it," Ian responded. "Now, Link, I think it would be best if you introduced yourself as Evan when your descendant wakes up."
"Why?" Link asked. "Won't we have to tell him who we really are, where we're from, and what we're trying to do?"
"Well, of course we are. But I don't want to give him all the details the moment he wakes up. He's going to be confused as it is. There's no need for us to help him in that respect. Perhaps when he's been up for awhile, we'll tell him everything."
Link nodded. "Alright. I just hope he comes too soon, because I'm getting tired of…"
Link was interrupted by sounds coming from the previously unconscious Hero of the Triforce. He moaned and groaned as he slowly pulled himself up off the ground into a sitting position. He placed his hand on his head as he slowly became less disoriented. Realizing that he was being watched, he reached for his sword, but it wasn't there.
"Looking for this?" Ian asked as he held out the aged Master Sword.
The Hero of the Triforce was disgusted with himself. In his mind, he had been captured and the mystical sword had fallen into the wrong hands. "Who are you and what do you want with me? I will do no evil, no matter how much you torture me!"
"Hey, calm down," Ian said. "We're not going to hurt you or make you do "evil" things. In fact, we were looking for you and we found you unconscious."
Link didn't know why, but he trusted the two strangers, especially the quiet one. He somehow seemed familiar, but he had never seen him before. It was like there was some sort of connection between himself and the other one. "So, who are you? You seem to know who I am."
"How impolite of me," Ian apologized. "My name is Ian, and my companion over there is Evan. We've come all the way from Kakariko Village looking for you."
Link looked at Evan, "And why were you looking for me?"
Evan grabbed a bowl and poured in some soup that had been cooking over the fire. "For now, eat this. We'll tell you more when you have regained more of your strength and composure."
Link reached over and took the bowl of soup from Evan's hands. Although he would've liked to know what they wanted with him as soon as possible, he realized that eating was the most important thing at the moment. He ate greedily, not caring for manners at this point. It was becoming obvious to him that these two strangers had more than likely saved his life, and he was grateful. When he finished his soup, Ian took his bowl and filled it with more soup. Link was ecstatic. He quickly ate a second bowl of soup, then a third. His stomach full, he placed the bowl on the ground beside him.
"I now feel that you aren't after me for any evil intentions. Why, then, have you come all this way just to find me?" Link asked the two strangers.
"It's a long story," Evan said, as if he didn't feel like telling him the whole thing.
"That doesn't matter. We have all the time in the world," Link said. Once he said this, Ian and Evan each turned and looked at each other. Link caught the exchange and became worried. "Don't we?"
Ian turned to Link. "No, we don't have all the time in the world. In truth, Time itself is our enemy right now. The longer we wait, the more Time catches up with us, and if we don't act quickly enough, the world will never be the same."
"Right," Link said confused.
"We came searching for you because you are needed in this battle against Time and Evil," Evan added. "You are a piece of the puzzle."
"What puzzle? What are you talking about?"
Evan turned to Ian. "This secrecy is not getting us anywhere. Can we just tell him the truth now?"
Link's eyes lit up and he sat up straighter. "The truth? Who are you guys? Really."
"Alright then," Ian said, almost dejectedly. "Let's tell him."
"Good," Evan said. He turned to face Link, the Hero of the Triforce. "My name is not Evan. It's Link."
"Your name is Link? What a coincidence," the Hero of the Triforce said.
Ian picked up where Evan left off. "It's not a coincidence, Link. The person that sits before you is your ancestor."
"He's my… ancestor?" he asked. "How is that possible?"
The Hero of Time said, "We traveled through Time."
"You say that as if it were just you're everyday task. I'm no scientist, but is that even possible?"
Ian continued. "It is only possible if the Goddesses demand it. Your ancestor," he pointed to Link, "was the first to ever battle against Ganon, almost a thousand years ago. In his quest to defeat the King of Evil, Link needed to travel through time seven years. He was the destined Hero of Time that would put an end to the Evil King's rule in Hyrule."
Link turned to his ancestor. "You fought against Ganon?"
"Yes. I fought that demon after I had destroyed Ganondorf, the Gerudo that became Ganon."
"But if you defeated him, how was it that I fought him as well?"
The Hero of Time responded, "We merely trapped him in the Sacred Realm. Since he held the Triforce of Power, I couldn't kill him."
Ian jumped in. "But the reason we've come looking for you is because Ganon is back in your ancestor's world."
"So why don't you just go and beat him again?"
The Hero of Time sighed deeply and lowered his head. Ian sensed that he didn't want to talk about it, so he took the liberty himself.
"He tried, but was killed in the battle. The Triforce of Courage, which had long been carried inside of Link, fell into Ganon's hands."
"Oh," the Hero of the Triforce said, realizing the pain that his ancestor must have been feeling. "But how did he get out of his imprisonment?"
"That…," Ian sighed, "That was my fault. He summoned me from the future… yes, I'm from the future… and tricked me into doing his evil deeds. When I released him, he killed me. I am to blame, but I will clear my soul by making sure he is sent back."
"Wait a minute," Link said, "If what you're saying is true, then you're both dead, right?"
Ian nodded. "Yes, I spent several years in Purgatory, awaiting your ancestor. The Goddesses had given me another chance. If I helped your ancestor find you and one other, then I would be allowed into the Heavens."
"This is all very hard to believe."
"You don't have to believe right away," Link told his descendant, "But we must leave tomorrow to search for the last piece of the puzzle."
"Hold on," the Hero of the Triforce said. "We're not leaving here until that monster in Lake Hylia is dead."
"Very well," Ian conceded, "We will help you defeat the monster of the lake, and in return, you will come with us to save all of Hyrule once again."
"Now what about this name thing?" the Hero of Time asked. "My name is Link, his name is Link, and my other descendants name is Link. It will get very confusing."
"I see your point. We can refer to you as Evan, especially when we're in a town. Now for you, Hero of the Triforce…," Ian looked at Link.
"Sean," he said. "If you must call me something else, then call me Sean."
"So be it, Sean," Ian said. "Tomorrow we will rise with the sun, defeat this monster, and continue our journey. But for now, we must rest."
They all agreed silently, and each laid themselves down on the hard ground and tried to get some sleep, for the next day would be a busy one.