CHAPTER ONE:
Link exhaled a deep sigh. Sitting at the edge of Tangar Canyon, he stared into the deep chasm below. The sheer cliffs of Hamaar's Descent were imposing and silent, but shared with him a little warmth as the heat from the afternoon sun bounced from them onto his back.
For a time, he simply sat there, letting the updrafts and the quiet of the surroundings wash over him. The day had passed slowly, his only mission to make sure no monsters still lurked in the camps toward the edge of Hyrule. With no Blood Moon to rekindle their Malice, the number of bobokins and moblins had dwindled in recent weeks. Yet it was a task that Zelda had given him, a reminder that the peace they had won was still fragile and that there was much work to be done.
The camp here by Hamaar's Descent was deserted, save for a wolf or two scavenging at what food had been left behind. Judging from the smell of rotten meat and fish that hung in the air there, it had been empty for some time. And so, having left the camp he was now back at the canyon edge. He jad been there for some time, his feet dangling freely over the scarped cliff face. The sun was high but the air cool, with powerful updrafts burling upward from the rocks below. They felt good. There was barely a cloud in the sky, and for a moment it seemed as though time itself could stop and no-one would even notice.
But sitting here on the edge of the world, with nothing but his thoughts and a rough chunk of rock in his hand, Link somehow could not shake the sense of isolation and exhaustion that plagued him. The fall of The Calamity had brought new hope and purpose to Hyrule, but for Link, it had come at a great cost. His body was scarred and weary, his family were dead, and his memories lost to the winds of time. These were not an easy things to reconcile.
His tongue pressed against the back of his teeth as a crease formed between his eyebrows. He pursed his lips. There had been much celebration since the fall of The Calamity. With Zelda, Sidon, the few people he knew in this new world. Yet Link struggled to feel part of it. He was angry, sad, confused. Guilt still pervaded like a dark cloud. With everyone so happy and moving forward, he still felt like an stranger in this land. In this body, thrust blindly into a fight he had no longer understood, and then it had become all he knew. His memories were gone, and with them his identity, his belonging, and part of his soul. And rather than easing with time, the sense of isolation and estrangement flared up and wrapped their claws around him more intensely than ever, their grip slowly squewzing the life from his soul.
The only solace he found was in his adventure, in the battles he fought and the monsters he vanquished. It was in those moments that he felt alive, that he felt like he had a purpose. He felt one with The Sword of The Hero, and felt worthy of it's blade. But when the battles were won and the monsters were gone, the sense of emptiness and isolation returned with greater ferocity.
He reached up and buried his face in his palm, gradually drawing his fingertips down his cheeks and letting out a deep groan. 'I don't know,' he sighed, his jaw tight like a knotted rope. He turned his head, his eyes searching toward his one and only companion. She was stood there, quietly listening. It was a comfort, at least.
As he looked back across the canyon Link felt as though his head could explode. Trying to process everything alone was driving his to distraction. He had nobody to talk to. Zelda was preoccupied with her studies, Sidon treated him like they were old friends and yet Link barely knew him at all, which made him feel awkward and like an imposter. Praya just seemed nervous and embarrassed, Impa felt distant, and he had no affinity with anyone in Hetino anymore. They, like everyone else, were all strangers who did not recognise him at all. Stables were just stopovers for weary travellers, Kass was obsessed with his music and the Gorons and Gerudo just did their own thing. Link didn't fit in anywhere. Everywhere he went, he saw unfamiliar faces, heard unfamiliar voices, and felt the weight of his own inadequacy. Maybe he had always been a lone wolf, but he had no way of really knowing. Either way it didn't feel right, and he felt no connection to any of them.
His mind was just a whirlpool of conflicting emotions, pulling him in different directions. He felt disconnected, like a stranger looking in on his life. The one person he knew he should be able talk to was Mipha, who he was supposed to marry, yet now she was little more than a faded memory. A faded memory he would never get back. Never feel. Never know. That thought troubled him deeply. It underlined just how damaged and alone he really was.
And, hidden beneath a veil of Courage and the face of The Hero, nobody had any idea.