The Hyrulian Valhalla Saga: Side Stories
By Queenie Z

The Elder Brother

Sky yawned as he stepped out onto his porch. Though he'd had a cup of coffee before he left the house, it would still take a while for it to completely kick in. He only had himself to blame for his grogginess, however; he had once again slept straight through the morning, only bothering to get out of bed just before noon. It was an embarrassing habit of his, he'd admitted, but it wasn't as though the dead Hero had any pressing responsibilities to wake up early for in this perfect, tranquil part of paradise.

He stretched his arms and legs as he pondered his plans for the day; or, rather, his lack thereof. The Zelda he knew wasn't around to do anything with, having made plans to spend time with her parents, and Groose was likely busy working on one of his ingeniously weird "projects"... Perhaps one of his fellow Heroes would be willing to help him kill some time, he thought, and he decided to stroll by the other houses to see if any of them were as bored as he was.

Because Mini's house was located closest to his, Sky decided to check there first. He walked up to the door, knocked, and waited for a reply; however, he never received one. After another knock with no answer, he frowned slightly in disappointment and began to wander back the way he came. He stopped, however, when he heard a series of clangs coming from inside.

Of course, he thought with a slight smile, Mini never answered the door when he was working at the forge; it was a habit he said he had picked up from his grandfather. Curious as to what sort of cool project he was working on, Sky walked over to the window leading into the smithy attached to the main house and peered inside.

"Whoa, it's all chipping off!" exclaimed a voice Sky recognized as Green's, "Is it supposed to do that?"

Mini stopped his hammering and turned to his successor with a grin. "Yeah, that's how you make the pointed part of the blade!" He lifted the length of crude iron he'd been crafting and presented it. "See?"

Green then stepped into view, inspecting the metal carefully. "It doesn't look very sharp," he mused.

"Of course not," said Mini, "right now we're only making the shape of the blade; we'll sharpen it later on." Setting the iron back down on the anvil, he removed his gloves and handed them to Green. "Wanna try?"

Nodding, Green took the gloves, put them on, then took Mini's place by the anvil. He took the iron in his right hand and the mallet in his left, raising it over his shoulder.

"No, no, Green, don't hit it just yet!" cried Mini, laughing as he gently turned the younger Link around to face the forge. "You have to heat it up first, remember?"

"Oh, uh," Green stammered with a nervous grin, "yeah! Yeah, I remember..."

He held the unforged blade over the fire until it glowed, then returned it to the anvil. After Mini gave him the okay, he began to slowly and falteringly hammer the metal's pointed end.

"Good, good," said Mini, nodding in approval, "you're getting the hang of - "

Suddenly, a large chunk of iron came flying off, startling both Heroes and ruining the blade's pointed shape. After glancing at his predecessor, Green pouted and sat the mallet down on the anvil.

"Dammit," he swore, "and you make it look so easy, too...!"

"Hey, it's okay," Mini said as he laid a hand on Green's shoulder, "we can try again as many times as you need!" He reached for a bellows and handed it to Green. "Here, I'll show you how to keep the fire going."

As Green took the bellows and stoked the forge's flames at Mini's instruction, Sky couldn't help but chuckle a little at the sight. How nice it was for Mini to teach his successor like that... However, the two clearly were having enough fun on their own, so Sky did not feel the need to interrupt them during their time of bonding.

Sky's next few stops proved to be fruitless as well; Time's house was completely empty, as were Wind's and Light's. After grunting to himself and scratching his head in another bout of disappointment, he made his way down towards Twilight's house - maybe if he was lucky, he'd let him come in and play with his cats or something. The place had a breathtaking view of the pasture where the realm's goats and cows grazed, so it was located at the edge of their little neighborhood and, consequently, a relative hike from where Sky's own house was located.

When he eventually made it to the top of the hill overlooking Twilight's house, he paused, having spotted the younger Link sitting on his porch with his ancestor (so that was where Time had run off to, thought Sky - though he ought to have guessed as much). He raised a hand to call out to the two; however, the sound of Twilight's loud Ordonian drawl interrupted him.

"...And so I said to him," said Twilight, barely containing his laughter as he spoke, "'my wife? No, no, I was talkin' about my horse'...!"

At that, both he and Time burst into raucous laughter. Both of them also had bottles of what Sky could easily recognize as Chateau Romani - it seemed that Time had brought some from his supply, and clearly they had been indulging themselves a bit. Amused, Sky lowered his arm and listened in on their drunken conversation.

Time snorted slightly as he tried to recover from his bout of laughter. "That was pretty funny," he snickered, "clearly you got that wit from my side of the family!"

"Well," said Twilight with a cheeky grin, "better your wit than that big ol' nose of yours, I guess!"

The elder Link frowned slightly. "Hey!"

This caused Twilight to break into another bout of laughter. "You set yourself up for that one," he said, reaching into the ice box they'd set up and pulling out another bottle of Chateau Romani. He offered it to Time. "More milk?"

Accepting his little peace offering, Time uncorked the bottle and took a swig. Then, he sighed in satisfaction, slouching in his seat and smiling warmly at Twilight. "My successor the comedian," he said half-jokingly, "just one more thing I can be proud of you for."

His cheeks turning slightly pink - that is, more pink than they already were - and grimaced slightly. "Oh no, don't you start with that sappy stuff again..."

"It's not sappy if it's true!" Time sat down his drink. "You're smart and friendly and fun-loving, you became a good man and a wonderful Hero..." He sniffled slight, wiping a tear from his eye. "I'm so glad we're together again, Twilight, so I could tell you how proud I am...!"

Getting even more embarrassed at his teacher's sentimental blubbering, Twilight scowled. "Goddesses, Time, you're such a sap, I swear - "

Suddenly, Time stood from his seat and wrapped his arms around Twilight's stomach, lifting him effortlessly and crying messily into his tunic. Twilight shrieked in response, grabbing onto the sobbing Hero's wrists in an attempt to pry them off.

"What are you - let go of me, you big crybaby!"

Time payed no mind to his protests, however. "I just love you so muuuuuuch...!"

"That's it, I ain't related to you anymore!"

The scene of Time kept drunkenly crying over his beloved descendant as poor Twilight kept struggling in his embraced proved hysterical for Sky, and he was nearly in tears himself trying to suppress his laughter. He had always found it wonderful how close the two were; how much Time loved and cared for Twilight and how much Twilight admired Time in return. ...And yet...

Sky felt the laughter rumbling in his belly cease as he experienced a sudden, inexplicable twinge of sadness. Strange, he thought; he loved his successors, all of them, and normally he would have enjoyed watching them act so joyful and merry together. However, there was something about this particular instance that made him feel - jealous? Lonely? Both, perhaps?

Turning away from the house, he sighed a little; perhaps he was merely frustrated that most of his fellow Heroes seemed to have already found someone else to spend their day with. Dismissing his feelings as petty moodiness, we wandered back into the heart of the neighborhood to see if anyone else was free.

When he reached the northernmost of the houses, he first checked Duo's house for any sign of an occupant, then Engie's. Neither seemed to be home - just his luck, he thought. As he left Engie's porch and circled around the back of the house, catching a glimpse of the train tracks located a short distance away and the silhouette of the train that had been parked there.

Sky smiled to himself - Engie must have brought the train in for cleaning again, and he would surely be looking for someone to help him! He headed over to offer his assistance; however, as he got closer, he realized that Wind seemed to have already beat him to the punch. Stopping abruptly in his tracks, he watched as the two diligently washed the windows of the train's passenger car.

Engie stopped his washing for a moment, glancing over at the window his predecessor was working on. "You missed a spot," he said as he reached over with his rag to clean said spot.

Pouting slightly, Wind scoffed. "Geez, sorry," he said, returning to work once Engie returned to his own window. "I didn't know washing windows was such a big deal with you."

"H-Hey, I didn't mean it like that," replied Engie sheepishly, "I just want to keep my train looking good, you know?"

"You usually don't fuss over it this much, though." Suddenly, Wind stopped, as if suddenly realizing something, then turned to Engie. "Wait, let me guess - your Zelda's coming over soon, isn't she?"

"Huh?" The Engie returned his gaze and blinked. "How'd you know?"

"Oh, come on, Engie," said Wind with a grin, "everybody knows she's the only one you'd worry about impressing this much!"

Turning slightly pink, Engie frowned deeply. "I'm not trying to impress her! I just don't wanna be driving her around in a filthy train!"

"That still sounds to me like you're trying to impress her."

"I am not...!"

Wind snickered to himself, stepped off of his stool, and dunked his rag into a bucket of soapy water. "You just keep telling yourself that," he said sarcastically. Then, he gasped slightly as he felt Engie's rag land on his head with a splat.

Normally, Sky would have found their little spat to be somewhat endearing - however, as he watched the two continue their gentle bickering, he felt that same sadness in his gut that he'd felt over at Twilight's house. Try as he might, he still couldn't put his finger on what was causing his sudden melancholy, and that simply soured his mood even more. He sighed deeply, turning and walking away from the scene in a sulk before it could upset him even more.

At this point, Sky had just about given up on finding anybody he could spend the afternoon with; but that wasn't at all what was causing his bad mood. This wasn't the first time he'd been stuck alone with nothing to do, and truth be told, he probably could have simply asked to join in on any one of his fellow Heroes' activities - and yet, he had chosen not to do so. Indeed, this moodiness wasn't like him at all, and it irritated him that he could suddenly feel so jealous and glum and not even know why.

He shook his head and took off his hat, scratching an itch on his scalp as he walked before putting it back on. How embarrassing, he thought, to be acting so petty and sullen for no reason at -

His thoughts were interrupted when he came across a picnic table where Brown was sitting, holding his head in the palms of his hands and looking even gloomier than Sky himself felt. Behind him were Light and Duo, the latter of whom was holding a small parcel wrapped in cloth. Clearly, the newest Hero was upset about something, and his predecessors had taken it upon themselves to cheer him up.

"H-Hey, Brown," said Duo, "I know it's a little strange getting used to being here, and we know you've been feeling homesick lately."

Brown stayed silent, merely lifting his head slightly at the sound of his name.

"...So Light and I went out and got this for you." Duo gently sat the parcel down infront of him.

Surprised slightly as the sudden gift, Brown blinked. "Huh? ...What is it?"

"Open it up and see for yourself," said Light.

Curious, the younger Link unfolded the cloth to find a box, which he then emptied of its contents - a small loaf of bread wrapped in a napkin and a thermos, which he then opened to reveal a hot, golden chowder emitting a delicious, familiar scent. His eyes widening, he took a whiff of the chowder.

"No way," he said, turning towards Light with a shocked expression, "this is - "

"That corn chowder you loved so much," answered Light with a satisfied grin, "from the inn in Rauru Town."

Duo smiled warmly and nodded. "It took us a while, but we managed to find the inn's cook - she had passed on just a few years before you did." He chuckled. "She was more than happy to cook up a meal for the great Hero who saved Hyrule!"

"You guys," said Brown, his eyes beginning to swell slightly, "you went through all that trouble just to make me feel better...?"

"Hey, we're brothers now, right? That's what we're here for." Light leaned in, watching his successor eagerly. "Now are you going to eat it, or are you going to let it go cold?"

Brown turned back to his food, hesitantly unwrapping the bread and tearing a piece from it. He scooped up some of the chowder with the bread piece, then put it in his mouth. As he chewed, savoring the nostalgic, sweet and salty flavor, he was overcome by pleasant memories of Hyrule and all of the wonderful people he had met during his travels. Tears began beading at the corners of his eyes, and when he swallowed, he turned to his elder brothers with the biggest grin he could muster.

"It's just as good as I remember," he said, rubbing his face with his sleeve, "I-I don't know what to say...!"

"I don't know, 'thank you', maybe?" joked Light as he removed Brown's hat and placed a hand on his head.

"Okay, okay," laughed Brown, wincing a little at his touch. "Thanks, you guys."

As Sky watched Light's hand affectionately ruffle Brown's hair, his heart sank into the pit of his stomach. That gesture of comfort he'd shown his successor reminded him of a similar gesture he'd received not long before, a warm smile from a predecessor he never knew he had; and, finally, he began to realize what was causing that sadness he couldn't explain. He loved his fellow Heroes, his comrades-in-arm, his brothers, and he had been their eldest, their protector and confidant, since time immemorial. But now, he realized, he found himself longing for once to be the younger brother; to be loved and cared for by someone older and wiser, just as he had done for all of the other Heroes.

He missed that man - his own elder brother, the Hero before him who sacrificed his eternal rest for that of the ones who would inherit his spirit - and it was that longing that was at the root of his jealousy and heartache.

Shutting his eyes and lowering his head, he turned, headed for the road that would take him straight back to his own house.

He tried to stifle the burning in his eyes as he approached his house, yet he could not distract himself from the overwhelming wave of loneliness that had engulfed him. Not since he realized that Fi would never join him in paradise had Sky felt such things - how could he, when he enjoyed the company of everyone else he had ever loved? - and the grief he felt for his predecessor was such that he almost wished the man had never bothered to visit them in the first place.

He walked onto his porch and reached for the handle of his front door - perhaps he ought to simply go back to bed and hope his melancholy subsides. He stopped, however, when he saw that the nearby mailbox had its flag raised. Strange, he thought, the postman usually didn't come for another hour or so... curious, he went over to the mailbox, opened it, and pulled out a peculiar letter with no name on the envelope. He frowned deeply; how in the goddesses' name did such a letter wind up at his doorstep? He opened the envelope, unfolded the letter, and was shocked to see a salutation written in the ancient language of Skyloft - "Beloved Incarnate".

His mouth hung agape - no, it couldn't be... could it? He continued reading the latter.

Beloved Incarnate,

I leave you this message in the hopes of quelling your sorrows. As you know, my place in the cycle of death and rebirth that is tied to the fate of our world leaves me with little time to spend with you all; in fact, I had not shown myself to you initially for fear of marring your happy eternities with inevitable goodbyes. For all of this, I deeply apologize, for it was never my intention to hurt or deceive any of you.

Someday soon, I will be reborn once again as a new Hero. As a part of his soul, I will guide him and grant him the strength to fight. Then, when his time in Hyrule has ended, you all will welcome him with open arms, and I shall be there to greet him alongside you. Of this, you have my word - but you must remain strong in the meanwhile, for your own sake as well as your fellow Heroes'.

Do not grieve for me, Sky; our parting is but a brief one in the grand scheme of history. Take care of the others in my stead, an wait for me with joy and gladness in your heart, for that is the ultimate gift your gods have blessed you with.

Until we meet again.

The end of the letter was left unsigned, but Sky did not need a signature to know who it was from. The burning in his eyes became unbearable, and small tears began to roll down his cheeks. He shut his eyes, smiled, and returned the letter to its envelope.

"All right," he said with a small, tearful laugh, "I will."

Wiping his tears away with the back of his glove, Sky returned to the porch and entered the house, eager to find a safe place for his elder brother's words of hope and comfort.