A/N: The manual for Zelda II states that the Triforce symbol appears on Link's hand as he's approaching his 16th birthday and that it's been 'many seasons' since the defeat of Ganon. I headcanon that Link was 10 at the start of his first adventure. (We know Hylia seems to like sending them off young for the most part.) He's so small and adorable! 3
Many thanks to the LU Discord for the idea! (Two people in particular. Did you want to be mentioned?) It was so cute and I got permission to write it, so buckle up and enjoy the ride~
Warnings will be posted as necessary at the top of chapters. Also, I'm Australian and may spell things a little differently. Crossposted to ao3 - updates will be posted there first.
Beta'd by Renegade Bladesman. Huge thank you to you for all of your wonderful help and your patience when my brain quits on me XD
WARNING: various injuries, blood, drowning, dead animals
Chapter One: Here There Be Monsters
Going to new places provided so many experiences. Some were good, some were bad. Even the bad things often included new things, which made them no less bad, but definitely more interesting. The problem with new places was knowing where you could go and what you could eat. If a traveller didn't have such knowledge, even a map, then new places turned more daunting and only the brave, foolhardy or desperate continued on, trusting in luck.
Link liked to think he was brave, but deep down he knew he was a fool that was just a bit desperate. He hadn't eaten all day, having downed the last of his meagre rations last night, and was on the lookout for anything he could scavenge that looked vaguely edible.
Hyrule was a ravished land though. After centuries without the power of the royal family being used, the land had become darker and less prosperous while the monster numbers only grew. Travelling became too dangerous for most and most of the economy fell apart.
The land withered. Not only did the soil become harder to farm, but many sources of water also turned foul and drinking it without purifying it first would leave you ill. Sometimes you only needed to boil it for a short time, so getting drinkable water was relatively easy.
But the hearts and souls of the people withered too. Many folk were harsh, sour and untrusting. Any stranger in their midst was a target of stares, glares, paranoia and even threats.
Link quickly learned to keep his head down and even avoid people outright unless they smiled, waved, or gave a kind word first.
Then he saw an old woman being harassed by monsters on the road. He had no weapon, but he wouldn't let that stop him. He picked up some rocks and flung them at the monsters with all his strength. His aim was true, and he drove them off with surprisingly little trouble. He rushed over to the woman and helped her to stand.
That was where his troubles had truly started.
Now he was on a quest. Gather the Triforce pieces, defeat the ultimate evil that plagued the land and save the country's princess, Zelda.
Link wondered why the old woman, Impa, had entrusted such an important and momentous task to a random ten-year-old boy she met on the road. Then he wondered why the ten-year-old boy had accepted. Link wanted to help, true, but this seemed excessive.
At least Impa had gifted him with an apple before he set off on his task, which he happily bit into once she was out of sight. He had no map, but Impa had given directions to where he should start - someone that might be able to give him a weapon. He said he'd do it and Link was not one to go back on his word. It was all he had.
He found it quite quickly and felt proud of himself. A cave in the side of an overgrown cliff, in which lived an old man all alone.
The old man had taken one look at the boy, eyes raking up and down. "It's dangerous to go alone. Take this," he said, seemingly satisfied by what he saw. He held out a sword, smiling when Link took it.
Link was no swordsmith or weapon master, but even he knew the sword was rather plain and simple looking. However, it was in good condition and was sharp. Far better than nothing and certainly a big step up from throwing rocks.
The old man had retreated into the shadows when Link looked up from the sword, so he frowned and left, walking backwards until he reached the cave entrance.
It didn't take long for Link to find out the sword was much more than it appeared. Startled by an Octorok, he swung around, slicing his new sword down. The monster was well out of the blade's range, but a beam in the shape of the sword shot from it, impacting the Octorok and killing it easily.
The boy looked at the sword with no small amount of awe. Maybe, just maybe, he could actually give this quest a proper go now. He planned to anyway, but now his chances of survival were at least in the double digits somewhere.
He was slowly and steadily making his way around. Link had no idea where to go from here, but if he kept moving, he was sure to find something sooner or later to lead him in the right direction. He was getting quite good at taking out Octoroks with the beam-shooting blade and had even found some mushrooms. Whether they were poisonous or not was something he guessed he would find out later.
Link stumbled upon a more open area, where the walls of cliffs, trees and bushes gave way to sand and an expanse of water. He licked his lips, tapping his empty canteen, and walked towards the shimmering blue field. He would stick a finger in it first and lick it to check if it was safe. The traveller really hoped it was as he didn't fancy waiting around to make a fire and boil it.
A shape emerged from the water, facing him. It had large, puffy lips and a fin jutting from either side of its head and along the top of its head going down its neck. The dark eyes watched him, and Link froze. The creature opened its mouth, revealing large, sharp fangs, and spat a ball of fire. It sped right at Link, and he fired a sword beam at it hastily. The two energies seemed to phase through each other, and the fireball hit Link.
It threw him backwards and he landed heavily on the back of his skull and shoulders. The breath was knocked from his lungs and his fingers scrabbled helplessly in the sand for several long seconds before his chest rose with a frantic gasp of air. He scrambled to his feet just as the creature released another fireball. Nothing was in his mind but to run, so he did, dashing across the sand until he could no longer see the water let alone the dangerous thing that lived there.
His canteen was still empty.
Link looked down and placed his left hand carefully on his chest, wincing as it made contact. His clothing wasn't marked at all, but it felt like he had a giant warm bruise hiding under his green tunic. He wasn't looking forward to checking later when he stopped for the night.
There was no choice. He sprinted from his spot, going pell-mell towards the water with his canteen in hand. The creature appeared in a ring of ripples and spat another ball of fire at him. This time he was ready for it and dodged to the side, letting it sail harmlessly past. The creature gave a garbled cry that was a gurgling mix between a screech and a growl, then it submerged.
The traveller wasn't sure if it was gone or just hiding. He kept going, reaching the water's edge, and falling to his knees. He plunged his canteen in, watching the bubbles as it filled. There was a shadow under his canteen and the water began to ripple. Link yanked his canteen back, crying out as a clawed hand left red stripes along his forearm and tears in his sleeve. A head followed and the boy got a very close look at the creature.
It was covered in scales like a fish. They were a dark blue to teal colour and matched the water well. The camouflage would've been far more effective if the fins on its head weren't a bright red that shouted danger like a poisonous toadstool. The fangs looked far bigger up close, and Link skittered away gracelessly as it lunged for him, claws missing his boot by a hair.
It gurgled again and licked the blood off its claws, a wild and hungry look in its eyes. Its cheeks bulged and Link bolted like a frightened rabbit, zigzagging as fireballs were blasted at him.
He collapsed upon reaching his safe spot, spread-eagled on his back, and panting harshly.
The young Hylian didn't know how long he laid there, but the sun had moved a couple of finger-widths. He sat up with a groan and slowly got to his feet like an elderly person suffering from severe joint pain. His ribs throbbed with every movement and breath, but he forced himself to move. A short time later he had a sizeable pile of firewood and he bustled about setting up camp with the efficiency of long experience.
The canteen was only two-thirds full, but Link was grateful for that much. He licked the rim of the canteen and stuck his tongue out as his nose scrunched up and his brows drew down. Tainted. He poured it into his tin pot and hung it over the fire on a stick, sitting back to wait.
Link inspected his aching forearm. The sleeve of his brown undershirt was in tatters and was stained with blood. He pushed it up beyond his elbow to keep what was left of it out of the way. Three slightly jagged gashes decorated his forearm and wrapped around half of it, with a smaller and shallower cut going along the inner side. They were no longer bleeding, but Link thought that might be partly because of all the sand in the wounds clogging them.
There was no way he was going to waste his valuable drinking water just to wash out some sand. He fished out a handkerchief that he never used and began wiping away the sand, muttering creative things under his breath every time the edges of his wounds were tugged at. Lines of dried blood refused to disappear without scrubbing, but his arm protested too much so he left the tacky reddish mess alone.
Trying to clean out the sand from the wounds themselves was a task. He was a huffing, teary mess by the time he was done. Bandages were not among his limited supplies either. He was dragged from his morose thoughts as the water started to boil, the bubbling noise being the best thing he'd heard all day.
The tin pot was lifted clear of the flames and set on the ground to cool. Now to wait. Again.
Days passed with the same routine. Link was building up a good collection of rupees that some monsters dropped. He would dearly love to spend the night at an inn, eating a well-cooked meal. Those mushrooms that first night had been fine, luckily, but there was still precious little wild food to be found and some nights camping just lost its appeal.
Each time he needed water was a gauntlet all on its own, but the water creatures had yet to land another hit with fire or claws and Link felt bolstered by that fact.
The Hylian stopped. Ahead was a great deal of water and an island in the middle that looked promising simply because it was something new and different. Spanning the water was a wooden bridge, about three feet wide with no railings of any sort. The bridge did not make Link feel safe at all, but it was the only way to reach the island. He couldn't swim and wouldn't even try in Hyrule if he could, not with those beastly fish monsters infesting the waters.
He sighed and swiftly made his way to the bridge, deftly dodging a Leever that sprouted up from the sand. Link took a deep breath and went into a jog; slow enough to keep his footing but hopefully fast enough to keep away from monster attacks.
A ripple appeared on the water's surface after he'd barely taken half a dozen steps. It was close to the bridge, but well out of arm or sword reach. A fin covered head broke the surface and spat a fireball. Link sped up, feeling the heat of it on his back as it went by. He risked a quick glance at the creature, but it was gone. The glance turned out to be a mistake as his next footfall was only half on the wooden planks of the bridge and his weight tilted, sending his foot sliding off.
Link hit the water with a wet smack, arms and legs flailing wildly as his head went under. He could see the bridge, so he reached out and kicked, his hand leaving the water to curl around the edge of a plank. The boy heaved, kicking frantically for lift.
A cold band tightened around his right ankle, the temperature difference palpable even through his boot. Link yelped and accidentally let go, a mass of bubbles escaping his mouth, and he twisted and kicked out as he looked down.
The fish monster had him.
Its hand was wrapped firmly around Link's boot, the claws starting to dig in as he thrashed. The pain only increased his panic, and his left foot was smashed into its eyes. It let go with a muffled shriek, clawed hands covering its face. Black spots were dotting Link's vision and his lungs were starved for oxygen as he struggled upwards for the bridge.
His hand found the edge again and he pulled himself up with sheer desperation. He gasped in the precious air and quickly swung his legs up and onto the bridge. Link didn't stop, but stumbled upright and ran, coughing and spluttering as he went. His ankle screamed at him every time that foot had to bear his weight, though he bit his lip and didn't slow down.
The creature didn't reappear nor did any others pop up and Link thanked whatever higher powers were listening for the small mercy as he reached the island walled around with cliffs.
The island had large, dead trees with claw-like branches that reached for the sky. In the middle was one far larger than the rest, with creases in the bark that resembled an angry, spooky face and a wide, screaming mouth that turned out to be an actual opening to somewhere underground. This was exactly the sort of lead he'd been looking for!
His ankle threatened to buckle, throbbing in time with his pounding heart and he bit his lip. Exploring wherever the creepy tree led would have to wait until he could trust his ankle not to quit on him at any moment.
Link walked out into the glare of the blazing sun. He looked over his shoulder at the entrance to the second set of underground death trap rooms he'd managed to find. First that island, then this place. Link was pleased with the boomerang, bombs and bow he'd gotten though, even if he had no arrows to fire yet.
He needed more water, so it was time to play Dodge the Fish Monster again. He held up a dead rat by the tail and inspected it briefly. At least he had a little meat now. If monsters didn't seem to vanish in a puff of smoke Link was pretty sure he would've tried eating one. With the rat in one hand and his canteen in the other, the young boy located the nearest source of water and made a run for it.
Two fireballs were evaded, and he shoved the canteen in the water. At the shadow and ripples that preceded the creature, Link flung the dead rat at the spot.
Oops, he was used to throwing bombs now and forgot he wasn't holding one. There went dinner.
A scaled head broke the surface slower than usual, and the puffy lips made contact with the rat after a prod with a claw produced no results. The mouth opened and those large fangs flashed in the sun as the creature slurped the rat in one go.
Link gawked, not even noticing that his canteen was actually full for once. He tensed and withdrew it when the creature turned his way, but it merely eyed him, gave a rumbly little noise, and moved away before disappearing into the depths.
Well, okay then. He could find something else for dinner.
The next time Link encountered someone hanging around in a cave, an old woman this time, he plucked up the courage to ask them what the fish monsters were.
"They are a race called the Zora," she answered. "It is said that long ago they were peaceful enough to be considered allies, even friends, to us Hylians. But then Ganon's evil befell the land, and the Zora became twisted by the corruption until they were little more than the wordless beasts that prey on anything near the water you see today."
Link's ears lowered as he took in her words. "They were once friendly?" he asked, his tone a mix of dubiousness and pity.
"Don't you go feeling sorry for them, boy, that was centuries ago," she scolded, wagging a finger at him.
"Do you think...if Ganon were defeated, that they might be able to go back to the way they once were?"
The old woman cackled. It was not a pleasant sound. "Even if someone did manage such a feat, the old gods be praised if they do, then it would take decades at the very least for that sort of damage to even begin reversing. Ah, the optimism of youth," she said, giving him an indulgent smile.
It was not an encouraging answer, but he supposed things had to start somewhere. Now he knew what they were called, which was his goal, but the extra information had been interesting. He wanted to try becoming an ally to the Zora so they would stop attacking him, despite the old woman all but telling him such a venture was doomed from the start. What did she know? She probably hardly ever left this cave.
He exited the cave feeling tentatively hopeful about his new goal that neatly tied in with his quest.
A/N: How was that for a start? Don't worry, I won't cover every detail of the first game (I skipped right over 2 dungeons!) or even the second game. I'm just building things up until we get to the main bit. Can't build a sturdy house without a solid foundation after all~!
I love hearing feedback so please let me know your thoughts! Did you like it? Was there something I could improve on? Constructive criticism welcome!