"Has there been any word? Any sign of him at all?" Impa asked.
"No, my Lady," replied Dorian, shaking his head. He shut the door behind him as he entered. "All scouts have reported no sightings of Link in any of the surrounding villages. We've sent word to our fellow tribe members all across the land, but to no avail."
"What about the other races?" asked Paya, optimistically. "We could check with them, perhaps he has simply gone to tame the other Divine Beasts…?"
Dorian shrugged. "I considered that. But just as well, the Gerudo, the Rito, and the Gorons have had zero contact with any Hylians fitting Link's description. I'm sorry, but there's nothing to report at this time."
Impa's face took on a rare, grim frown. "I… hesitate to expect the worst." She said. "But if King Dorephan's words are true, then Link is in a very fragile state of mind right now. We must do whatever it takes to find him."
It had been well over three weeks since anyone had spotted the young hero. With eyes and ears all over Hyrule since Link's awakening, Impa usually received updates on his position and activities every two or three days.
But for twenty-four straight days now, the young Hylian had fallen completely off the radar. Needless to say, this proved to be a rather enormous source of panic within the Sheikah and Zora communities.
Impa slowly, painfully, brought herself to her feet and hopped off her set of pillows - leaving behind a decades-old indentation of her small legs. She hobbled over to a nearby chest, producing a small cane and a dagger.
"It would seem that I must undertake this mission personally," she said.
Paya shrieked in concern. "Lady Impa, you mustn't!"
"What are you thinking?!" Cried Dorian. "You are in absolutely no condition to leave the village!"
But Impa shook her head, stretched her legs out.
"My dear Paya… and Dorian, my friend… my health should be of no concern to you. We have far greater priorities at this time." She made her way to the entrance of her home, staring out at the rain-soaked village below her.
"Assemble a new search team. And send word out to King Dorephan. We will set out immediately."
Back at Zora's Domain, King Dorephan called together an emergency meeting with the Zora council. A Rito postman had arrived that morning with a rather important letter from Lady Impa of the Sheikah tribe. Dorephan wished to brief the council on the letter's contents.
Prince Sidon also joined the group, reporting on his findings from the last week. He had resumed his usual patrols around the wetlands in the area around the domain, yet again in search of a Hylian...
Except this time, he was asking about one particular Hylian.
Link.
"It would seem that nobody in the surrounding area has spotted him," Sidon said, "Though we should not be at all surprised." He crossed his arms and frowned to himself. "I... cannot help but feel quite a bit of responsibility for this. With all the celebration and excitement surrounding his successful appeasement of Vah Ruta… it seems that I neglected to factor in his own feelings on the entire matter."
Nearby, Trello shook his head. "It is not your fault at all, Sidon. We of the Zora council must accept full responsibility for this grievous error…"
"Indeed!" interrupted Muzu. "We burdened Master Link with unneeded shame and guilt from the very moment he returned to the domain. We overwhelmed him with blame... undeservedly so."
Seggin chimed in also. "And if his words were true, that he did indeed encounter the spirit of our dear Princess Mipha within Vah Ruta... then truly, I understand his traumatic pain. We should not have ignored this."
Next to Seggin, the scholar Jiahto nodded in agreement. But he remained silent. He had helped lead the charge in vilifying Link for his perceived transgressions, and words simply could not express the regret and remorse he felt as a result of this.
Dorephan quietly sat on his throne, choosing as usual to remain silent as the councilmen deliberated around him. He too felt tremendous guilt for not recognizing the true depths of Link's pain - until it was too late.
Link was only seventeen years old after all. Still quite young; even by Hylian standards. With the boy's incredible courage and his mature stature, this fact was quite easy for Dorephan and others to forget…
"It is too late to dwell on the past now." Dorephan finally said. "What matters now, is what we intend to do about it." He picked up a slip of paper nearby, gesturing to it with his hand.
"We've received a letter from Lady Impa of the Sheikah Tribe. Her own scouts have not found even a hint of Link's whereabouts, and she intends to call together a special team to search for him and ensure his safety. They request our cooperation, if possible."
He glanced around the room, and sighed. "My duties require that I remain here at the Domain, as much as I wish to join in. I understand that most of you will likely desire to stay here as well. But with that said… do I have any volunteers for this mission?"
The entire Zora council raised their hands.
Mipha's spirit stood atop Divine Beast Vah Ruta, as its powerful laser beam focused itself on the center of Hyrule Castle.
"Ruta, we've found a way to be useful to Link." Mipha said. She suddenly caught herself, "...And… the other Champions, of course."
She laughed internally at this and smiled. Even now, her mind was ever trained on the brave, incredible, courageous Hylian Champion she loved so much.
"Our job will be to help Link as he fights Ganon inside the castle… however we can. Using your ability to drain Ganon of his power is key to our success." She spoke these words to Ruta like a long-lost friend, walking gently across the Divine Beast's head as she got a closer view at the castle far off in the distant horizon.
"This is it. This will be our last chance… and everyone's last hope."
She bent down to pat the Divine Beast on the head. It seemed to shudder slightly in response to her gentle touch…
"If we seal him away, then we can restore peace to Hyrule. And both your duty… and mine, will be fulfilled…" Her voice lowered as she said this, giving away the slight hesitation she felt in her heart. She stood straight up, and turned to face Zora's Domain, far off in the valley below her. She could see a crowd of Zora, most of them unfamiliar, peering up at the Divine Beast. But shielded from Mipha's view… was the throne room of her father, King Dorephan.
"Father… are you well, I wonder…" Her voice choked slightly, as sorrow now flooded her heart again. "I want you to know… I have always followed my heart…"
Her mind once again drifted to thoughts of Link. She longed to return to his side, longed to be with her family again...
But the time for that had long passed. And duty beckoned.
Mipha's head took a solemn bow as she withheld the tears from falling. She turned away from the domain, calmly staring out at the horizon.
"I'm... sorry I made you worry. I wish I could see you again… Even just once more...
With one final sigh, Mipha disappeared into the ether, waiting patiently for duty's call to summon her once again…
GASP!
Link snapped awake from his dream, coughing for air and sweating profusely. He looked around himself, took stock of his possessions, exhaled deeply.
He had camped out at the top of the Faron Sheikah Tower, which was situated far, far south of the Dueling Peaks. Surrounding him was a vast rainforest that easily lived up to its name - enormous trees towered above him, barely blocking out the ceaseless downpour of rain that fell endlessly in sheets.
As Link packed his things to set out again, he reflected briefly on his dream. The vision had been so incredibly vivid... so real , that he knew it had actually happened. This puzzled Link. And even moreso, it distressed him. Because that solemn, ethereal memory obviously wasn't his...
It was Mipha's.
How?
DONK!
A small rock slammed into the side of Link's head, bringing him to his feet in alarm. He looked up and spotted the source of the projectile: A snarling, angry Lizalfos, staring down at him from the top of a high cliff. Link coldly picked up his bow, nocked an arrow, and shot the lizal warrior right between the eyes. It fell forward off of the cliff it stood on, colliding with the ground below with a small thud.
Link fumed to himself. A blow to the head was the last thing he needed to wake up to, in his current state. The burning embers of rage dwelling within his spirit erupted once again into a roaring inferno. His anger at his guilt and shame returned to him in a flash. And as he stared up the looming mountain wall next to the tower… he knew precisely what he could take his anger out on. Further back on the cliffs above him, he could hear the familiar snarls and snorts of several Lizalfos warriors - friends of the one he'd just slain. They'd be joining their buddy soon.
Overwhelmed with fury, Link gathered his things and leaped off the tower to the mountain nearby, nearly sliding down several times in the relentless pouring rain.
Raging waterfalls roared down the cliff faces around him as he furiously climbed. He knew he could have simply used his Zora armor to swim up them - but he'd carefully packed away the armor long ago, having felt that he no longer deserved to wear it.
He'd have to earn that right again.
After pulling himself to the top of the cliff, he stumbled - as expected - upon a large Lizalfos settlement. Immediately, two of the creatures charged at him.
Without any melee weapons, Link would have to get a bit creative in order dispatch them.
Or not.
In a flash he beat the pair of warriors to death with his bear hands, stealing their jagged boomerang-like razor swords and moving on to slay the rest of the entire encampment in a few short minutes. Now pumping with adrenaline and fury, he began to sprint mindlessly along the top of this enormous mountain range.
Better. I need to get better, he thought to himself.
If I wasn't strong enough then... How could I expect to be strong enough now?
Link continued his marathon run through the unknown wilderness. He glided past enormous palm trees, swam across great rivers - all while avoiding roads and trails at any cost. In his aimless wandering, he began to discover, activate, and complete dozens of trial shrines at breakneck pace. He tested himself. Pushed himself. Tortured himself.
But it was never enough.
He didn't bother to check his slate's map, didn't care where he was. All he knew was that he was heading eastward - Goddess help whatever monster or evil entity stood in his way. Any bokoblin or lizalfos encampments, any stray enemies were met with total annihilation at the hands of this grief-stricken young man. At one point even, an unlucky Yiga clan member inadvertently crossed paths with Link. Appearing in front of the madly sprinting Hylian in a puff of red smoke, the warrior began to taunt him.
"Yahahahaha! We finally meet, hero of- BLURK !"
Link cut down the Yiga warrior in one smooth motion and continued to run blindly eastward without a second thought. His nonstop running dulled his senses and stifled his overactive mind. Over time, his brutal, intense focus began to work its magic - preventing any negative thoughts from entering his brain at all. For the time being, he pushed his pain away. Buried his sorrow. Stopped himself from dwelling on anything substantial. This mindless dash went on for several days , and he stopped only to relieve himself, to eat, or to sleep for very short bursts of time.
But he couldn't allow much time for undeserved rest.
He had to get stronger, had to get better. And in the end, he knew of only one way to do so: by throwing himself repeatedly at any and all challenges that came his way. It was an old habit he'd picked up during his time in the brutal Imperial Guard training. And it was quite effective.
Though weary and tired, Link pushed through his physical and mental pain. He continued to raid encampments of monsters that had the misfortune of being anywhere near his incredible warpath. And soon, his silent rampage of destruction found its way to an area far southwest of Hateno Village - a massive bokoblin fort seated just below another shrine on an enormous cliff.
He stood atop a large boulder nearby and briefly considered his many options of attack. He could shoot down the flaming lanterns roped to the ceiling of their skull-shaped base, burning the evil creatures alive with their own explosives. He could pick them off one-by-one with arrows and bombs before they knew what hit them. He could even simply wait until nightfall, and ambush them as they slept...
...Or he could just walk straight up and brutally slaughter them all at once.
He chose the last option.
VREEEEEEW!
Link whistled obnoxiously at the encampment to get their attention as he approached their open doorway. And before long, dozens of furious bokoblins flooded out of the skull-shaped rock, ready to kill this intruder. Link smirked to himself, drew his dual Lizal boomerangs, and got to work.
Several minutes later, now drenched in the blood of his bokoblin enemies, Link found himself descending into the cliffside shrine of trials that sat next to the now-decimated enemy encampment.
'Muwo Jeem Shrine: A Modest Test of Strength' his slate read. Link shrugged.
'Modest?' ...I hope they're just being humble.
They'd better have a real challenge in store for me this time…
"He has definitely been here," said Seggin. "There's no mistaking it."
"Are you sure about that?" asked Dorian. He walked up alongside Seggin, carrying Impa on his back. "This could have been done by anyone you know-"
"An entire Lizalfos camp?" Seggin scoffed. "Quite unlikely." He leaned on his good leg, crossing his finned arms across his chest. "In my younger days, I might have been able to accomplish such a feat. But this, is clearly the work of our young master."
They were standing in the midst of a destroyed Lizalfos camp, examining the carnage before them. The damage was quite thorough, and the persistent rain hadn't yet washed away the blood stains and lizal body parts that remained strewn about the camp.
Glancing up at the edge of the cliff, Impa raised her eyebrows in recognition. She pointed in the direction of the top of a Sheikah tower that peered just over the cliffside.
"Over there!" she said. "That is one way we might be able to verify his presence here..."
The group of Zora and Sheikah made their way to the edge of the cliff, peering down at the enormous tower before them.
It glowed blue. It was active.
Impa smiled. "It appears he's been here after all! And it is good to see that his irreplaceable sense of duty remains intact…" she glanced back at the destroyed encampment behind them. "...Even in his apparently unhinged state."
"Should we leave him be then?" asked Dorian. "I do not know how much longer I can stand to expose you to the elements like this, Lady Impa. Perhaps we should turn back-"
"Absolutely not!" said Muzu.
He and the other Zora elders were exhausted from their week of travel thus far, but still they remained stubborn in their determination. Muzu continued. "I refuse to believe he is truly okay, until I have seen it with my own two eyes. He could easily have activated this tower before arriving at Zora's Domain in the first place. And all the more, something could have happened to him after he passed through. Nothing at all is certain here...
He folded his arms across his back and stood proudly in front of Dorian and Impa. "Besides," he said, "There is something we all wish to tell him… something that must be said. I will not rest until this is done."
"I agree," said Trello. "I'm in favor of continuing the search. No matter how long it takes…" The other Zora elders nodded in assent.
Impa's smile grew wider at hearing their words. She knew that Link had been incredibly close to the Zora people long, long ago; and it warmed her heart to see that the bond remained so strong after all these years.
"Very well then." she said. "The search continues in earnest. Let us move."
The group began to march forward, optimistically believing they were on the trail of the wild Hylian they desperately wished to find. Paya remained silent, bringing up the rear. Though her face remained stoic, she smiled on the inside. Because after all this time, hoping and praying for Link's safety, they had finally found a lead.
And perhaps more so than anyone else in the group, she very much longed to see him once again...
Well that was a waste of time...
Link emerged from the shrine even more frustrated than before. Inside he'd found an advanced version of the miniature guardian scouts he'd seen in other shrines - except this one was fully armed to the teeth, and designed implicitly for combat training.
Not that it made much of a difference.
It wasn't that Link didn't appreciate the efforts of the monks to challenge him with creative trials and such. He just… didn't really care. Within the shrine, he had entered a state of pure autonomy while fighting the small guardian scout, rolling and dodging around its battle ax swipes and laser blasts, easily parrying away its spin attacks, and ultimately just picking the thing apart piece by piece with ease.
… But he supposed that, on the bright side, he at least had an awesome-looking energy beam battle ax in his possession now.
Hooray.
Blankly, he approached the edge of the enormous cliff, plopped down on his rear, and stared after the horizon. Despite the chaotic unrest which still held his heart captive, he still had to admit it: the view was incredible.
An endless sea surrounded him on three sides. Seagulls flew overhead, lifted high by the brisk wind that blew out towards the open ocean in front of him. The midday sun rose high above, marking the first clear day he'd experienced in an entire week.
But as he enjoyed the breathtaking view, something in the distance caught his eye.
An island.
An enormous, forested island just off the coast.
Link shot to his feet again. He felt himself strangely drawn to this place, enamored by it.
It represented the realization of his desires: complete and total isolation. He could be purely by himself with his thoughts, alone with nothing but the sea around him. Isolated entirely... with an uninterrupted chance to train and to grieve on his own.
Who wouldn't jump at such an opportunity?
Without a second thought, Link jumped straight off the towering cliff, assuming a perfect diving form that would have made Mipha herself proud. He hit the deep waters below and began to swim fiercely in the direction of the distant island.
His muscles already ached and throbbed painfully from this week's sheer marathon of events. His head ached tremendously, his heart hurt even more so. But he was far beyond the point of caring about it. Armed with stupid determination and reckless persistence, his countless strokes propelled him across the enormous expanse of water that separated him from his next destination...
He awoke several hours later, just as the sun set far off in the distance. He'd been lying face-down in the sand, passed out in total exhaustion from his great inverse aquathlon. It had taken him the better part of the day to get here...
But it didn't matter. He'd made it.
He slowly rolled himself over, wincing painfully as the coarse sand of the island beach rubbed harshly against the enormous sunburn on his bare back-
...Bare?!
Link looked down at his body, and a look of confusion grew on his face.
He was naked.
How.
...
Wait… My stuff!
In a panic, he leaped to his feet, scouring the area around him. Nothing but mile after mile of empty beach, as far as he could see. His rucksack, his clothes, his weapons, his food , everything...
It was all gone.
Frustrated, he kicked at a nearby mound in the sand.
CRUNCH.
"AAARGH!"
He hopped on one foot, grabbing his toes in agony. He glanced down at the spot he'd kicked. A familiar screen greeted him from the sands.
The Sheikah Slate. He picked it up, groaned. This... was it. This was all he had left…
He paused. His eyes suddenly widened with a painful shock of realization.
Mipha's armor! No!
Further enraged, he violently chucked the poor, abused slate at a nearby palm tree. The force of the impact knocked a few coconuts to the ground, one of which fell right on top of Link's head.
It hardly hurt him, but he collapsed to the ground anyway, screaming loudly in exasperation.
He laid there, quietly, for some time. Just staring up at the sky, tracing the clouds that floated aimlessly with the gentle currents of air above. The ocean wind whispered through his ears, the waves splashed and battered the shoreline in a meditative rhythm that helped to soothe Link's tortured spirit.
After several minutes of this peace and calm, Link regained his composure. He sighed quietly.
"I'm still here. I'm still breathing."
He said this aloud, as if trying to convince himself that everything was alright, that everything would be okay. He shook his head at himself, his thoughts finally settling on Mipha once again.
"It's never going to be okay. Never again..."
Now as composed as he'd ever be, he stood up and began to make his way along the beach, picking up his Sheikah Slate along the way. He allowed his cold, stoic survival instinct to kick in. He needed to focus. He'd have to find shelter, food, and water before the sun set fully…
With a twisted sense of purpose at this newfound challenge, Link pounded his chest in invitation, suddenly screaming at the top of his lungs.
"Come on, world! You got anything else to throw at me?! Bring it on!" His eyebrows furrowed, his mouth contorted into a twisted, wild grin…
"Let's see... if you've got what it takes to bring me down!"
And so, the island trials begin. As always, many locations have been scaled-up for narrative purposes. The survival island will be no exception to this. Enjoy!
See you on Saturday (Hopefully!). Next up is Chapter 19: Swept Under
