A Quest to Seal the Darkness

by Ebblenubble

One century ago, a disaster struck the kingdom of Hyrule. The knights were slaughtered, the citizens were scared, and the princess was trapped. Those who survived the event lived with the knowledge that, when the princess lost her power, Hyrule would be destroyed. In the present, she calls out to her hero, not knowing that another hero is out there. One journey, two legends. Enjoy!

5. Chapter 3, Descendants of Ancients

Chapter Three, Descendants of Ancients

Present day….

"Thank you, King Rhoam," Link whispered, staring back as he stood by the edge of the window. "I swear I won't let you down." Despite having already cried while writing in his adventure log, tears still clung to his eyes and made them tingle. Thankfully, though, looking back out the window seemed to softly burn them away. Out there, neighboring the Dueling Peaks, was another Sheikah tower that he marked with his scope. 'Now, I just need to… to….' His stomach sank once again when he looked down, seeing the orange-lit grounds of the Temple of Time, far enough away to make a fall from here lethal. He felt his hands quivering but clutched his fists, forcefully ceasing the movement.

'No. I… am… not scared. Not… scared. I can't be scared.'

He inhaled deeply and stepped back, pressing himself against the opposite wall of the tower. After somewhat soothing his nerves again, he dashed toward the window and leaped out of it, whipping out the paraglider in a flash which slowed his descent. On his way to the edge of the plateau, he quietly admired the burning sun and the glow that came from it, turning the once varied and vibrant plateau into many shades of orange. It was nice. Every sunset looked beautiful, even if it marked the beginning of dusk. Tears tempted him again, but he shut his eyes and let them pass.

By the time he had landed atop one of the ruins at the plateau's edge, the fiery orange became mixed with shades of blue, purple, and indigo. For one final time, he looked back at the plateau and at the Temple of Time, seeing the faintest teal glow coming from the top tower. "Go, Link," King Rhoam's echoing voice whispered, igniting a spark in him. He nodded at the glow and it faded away, coinciding with the sun falling behind the horizon. With nothing but the world on his mind, he leaped off of the plateau, spreading his arms like wings while he descended.

Nothing went wrong while he went away from the plateau, and soon, he found himself strolling through the soft silence of the night along a stone path going east. Its edges were marked with massive flagpoles, with the flags themselves ripped to shreds and barely blowing in the wind. They were painted with faded versions of primary colors, housing the symbol of Hyrule's Kingdom. The rest of the path forward weaved through a ruined outpost, filled with old supply crates, broken barrels, deactivated Guardians, and many old structures. He couldn't help but ask, even if for a little moment, how tight was Hyrule's overall security?

THUD!

In an instant, he drew his sword and shield, turning on his heel toward the noise. The source was a beast, around 10 feet tall and looking quite lanky, with reddish-pink skin and a splendid horn atop its head. Considering its looks, it must've been in close relation to the small red creatures that littered the world. In its hand was a large, clunky bat, hastily carved from a tree trunk. Even if the creature was double his height, he prepared himself for battle as it began approaching him with the bat being lazily dragged along the ground.

It leaned down at him and roared, making its long, little nose wiggle about. He smiled faintly at it, amused.

As it charged up a massive swing, he ran toward it and slid under it, slashing at its ankles. When it collapsed, he switched to his spear and ran back out in front of it, stabbing it right through its guts. But its aggression persisted and it tore the spear out of its chest, also sending him to the ground. He kicked himself up and grabbed his spear, sharing a brief standoff with the creature before it raised its bat high into the air. This time, he stood defiantly, waiting with his spear until it finally swung. The very second it flinched, he switched to his sword and threw it up into the creature's throat, killing it instantly. As it melted into mush, its parts and weapon clattering to the ground, he thought, 'Huh… that was underwhelming.'

But no matter; he had to get going… to… sleep. Exhaustion called to him, and the warmth of a campfire. He looked toward the nearby forest, barely seeing the skin of a red creature through it. 'I should…. No, no, I…. I should die in battle, not from insomnia. I will seldom sleep, as long as it doesn't get me killed.' He picked up the horn and sharp fangs of the lanky creature, plus his sword, before entering the forest. A few blue blobs tried to ambush him, but, being as fast as tumbleweeds on a near-windless day, they failed. When he arrived at the camp, all but the tower guard were unconscious, snoring loudly and sleeping soundly.

Wooosh, Splat!

Shink, slash, slit!

And just like that, the camp was taken out silently and entirely looted. He also uncovered a rusted shield among a pile of rubble and a torn weapon rack, which wouldn't deflect things any better than his current shield but could last against a few more strikes. Then, he set down a bundle of wood beside a piece of flint, breaking the latter to light the bundle. The rope was burnt and the planks fell apart, somehow forming a neat little campfire. He sat down in front of it, tucking his knees into his chest as he watched the slow embers fly into the sky.

He sighed softly and wiped down his face with his hands, ensuring that he had soaked in what he learned just an hour ago. Now that he was resting alone by a fire, he spoke his thoughts aloud, picturing Zelda's pretty face smiling at him through the embers. It felt better talking to her smile than anyone else's, especially after recollecting his past. He looked at where he imagined her sitting, seeing her wearing a pristine white dress with ornate golden accessories across it, and began to recite what he learned as if she was there. "I'm a knight, your bodyguard, the man meant to save the world, and a Champion. I… woke up after a century of recovery, and now I've gotta go meet Impa. If… if you don't mind, may I ask who she was?"

To his shock, a ghostly golden glow grew from in front of the fire, quickly dissipating and unveiling… Zelda. Her form was only colored with translucent golds and whites, but he could still make out every detail of her clothing and her pretty smile. Although, there were some slightly darker, and faintly red, spots across her body. She took a deep breath, savoring the air, before smiling peacefully at him. "Impa was a good friend of mine and my father's personal advisor. She was the younger sister to a famous researcher of ancient technology, who I, myself, was close with. Anything else, my dear knight?"

If she was here now, then it wouldn't hurt to ask something else, most obviously one of the many questions that had been on his mind for the past little while. "…I… I did just wake up, right? Nothing more than that?"

"Of course you did, Link," she said, dismissing the thought rather quickly. "Those shrines have no power over life and death, and would only be able to accomplish such a thing if mixed with power that I" —she pressed her hand to her chest and laughed slightly— "certainly couldn't have had."

"I think it would've, at least, been plausible for you to have that power." His eyes began to droop a little and he felt his posture relax.

"Hehe, I'm unsurprised that you said such a thing, my dear knight. When you spoke, your words only showed heart, not hate. I don't think it would be possible for you to say anything rude." Whether it was her smile, her words, or the fire, his heart was warm and his body was in a cocoon of comfort.

"Well, I did swear one time," he replied, turning faintly red and rubbing the back of his head.

"Oh, we're teens, Link. There's no harm in a hint of vulgarity living inside us, is there?"

"Not really, no." The red quickly faded from his face, reassuring him that Zelda would probably be the one person in the world to not cast any judgment on him.

"Alright. I will answer one last question for you; holding this form is already difficult with what little power I have."

He felt slightly disappointed at hearing that, wanting to talk with her until the end of time, but still asked one last question. There were five Champions, himself included, so then… who was that fifth voice he heard with the Champions' voices? King Rhoam, the very man who had appointed every Champion, couldn't have forgotten about a sixth Champion, especially with circumstances as dire as the current ones. "There was a man I heard with all of the Champions, Zelda," he softly said, barely keeping himself upright. "Who was that? Why was he as important as them? Why did he call me… 'kiddo?'"

Zelda suddenly stood, walking over the fire and kneeling by his side. She silently pressed her hand to his forehead, gently pushing him down until he was laying on his back, before leaning over him. "You will know," she cryptically explained, smiling gently. "You two were very close; I'm sure you'll find the truth soon.

"He survived, you know."

As always, her words knocked him unconscious, allowing him to rest peacefully. However, she lingered over him, peacefully pretending to pamper him until she felt claws dig themselves into her shoulders. She sighed in defeat and stood up, feeling the Demon King's ghastly form pass through her own. He manifested in front of her, staring down at Link with hatred in his eyes. "Hmph; he has grown shorter," the Demon King remarked, attempting to kick Link. Being a phantom form, like her own, they couldn't physically interact unless they were at their full strength, which neither of them were. When she put her hand on Link's forehead, he laid down on his own accord, only thinking that she had pushed him down. "Once a mature, confident knight who was willing to stand up to me and had two bloodlines of brave warriors… now nothing but a timid weakling."

"He is stronger than you know, Ganondorf," she said, fearlessly approaching him with her feet phasing through Link. "He will defeat the blights that you summoned, and will survive through any trial he faces."

"Then explain why he has died twice against me. Explain why remnants of my power have cut him down like a farmer to weeds. As stated, EVERY time he thinks he has faced me, he has faced smaller and smaller fragments of what I am. But there is only so much time before the TRUE me breaks free and tears him apart, limb by limb. Perhaps I will start with his sword arm."

"As if you are strong enough to break free," she mocked, receiving a hateful glare from him that she returned.

"As if you are strong enough to break free," he echoed, walking right up to her and staring her down. For a brief moment, his hollow eyes were filled with normal ones — Ganondorf's true eyes. "As if either of us truly are," he gloomily whispered to her, mere seconds before their phantoms returned to the castle. He was tragically right.

By five o'clock the next morning, Link woke up, feeling refreshed and ready to continue forward. He left the forest and investigated the ruins, breaking open crates, scavenging Guardian parts, and taking any rusted shields he came across. All the while, he thought about last night, lingering on his chat and vision of Zelda. 'Was that night real?' he mused. 'It felt like it was but… I can't tell. A vision of Zelda, despite how nice it was to see her beautiful smile again, seems… weird. No, I shouldn't complain; I learned some things, I can wait a few days to learn more.'

While in one of the ruined buildings, he noticed an interesting book, the only one remaining on a broken bookshelf. Compared to the state of the bookshelf, it looked rather clean, with just a few scratches and dust patches. Although there was a lock on it, it was rusted to the point where he could force the book open with just a bit of leverage. He opened it, almost dropping a loose page that was crudely torn out some time ago. On it were many words and titles, with all but one scratched or crossed out. After skimming through all of the titles, he realized that the book was a journal, belonging to someone named Misko. Unwilling to read through it all, he threw some hundred-ish pages aside and read what he first found.

---

Entry 259 — The Tenth Age, Summer, Sunday

I stole yet another set of relics today. Ugh, the castle grows more dangerous by the second. Last week, there were some dozen black bokoblins guarding what I planned to take; this week, I was ambushed by a combination of blue and black moblins and lizalfos. Still, I managed to maneuver around them using what skills I have honed all my life, but soon, I fear that the risk will be too high. But these relics… so fascinating. History lurks within each piece of armor and little trinket, and I savor doting on them in my personal barracks. I am pleased that Master and his Right Hand offered me my own barracks to give me a living space and storage room. As long as I don't happen to leave any of them behind. You shouldn't forget anything in this world.

---

There was certainly more to read but he didn't have the time, so he stuffed the book into his pouch and continued along the path. Inside one of the buildings around the edge of the outpost was a blue creature guarding a chest that contained a red rupee, which would amount to 20 green ones, and a piece of amber. Seeing currency once again gave him nostalgia tingles beyond description, reminding him of simpler times and little things. Even a century ago, it wasn't all about destiny and swordsmanship — sometimes it was about earning a humble living and going to shops.

He got a bit distracted while attempting to follow the path, noticing a large stone tower that held a sapphire atop it, then approaching some noises that sounded like Koroks, crossing a river to get to a second Korok, and stumbling across a shrine after that. Perhaps this kind of sidetracking would become a trend.

The shrine, headed by a monk named Bosh Kala, put his paraglider and paragliding to the test, shooting him forward with strong gusts of wind. Other than obtaining yet another bit of amber and a soldier's heavy claymore, there was nothing to note about the shrine or the monk as he received another Spirit Orb. He stepped outside of the shrine, instantly spotting a creature camp surrounded by explosive barrels. He approached, crouching behind a big rock and taking a brief moment to watch them. The single blue creature stood in the center of half-a-dozen red ones, gesturing widely and making a lot of proud snorting noises. It felt interesting to see how these, admittedly stupid, creatures seemed to have a chain of command and survival knowledge akin to a beginner's. 'They're still monsters in my way, though.'

BOOOOM!

With a cleverly aimed fire arrow, he set the barrels ablaze and blew them up, taking down all of the creatures with them. Even if any had survived, the later burns and wounds got them as he scavenged around their camp for supplies. He grabbed the bow they guarded and a sword one of them held before returning to the path, finding himself crossing a large stone bridge with little fires lining the rail. As he walked, he noticed a… person, staring out in the distance. It was a very pleasant surprise to see someone who, hopefully, wasn't a ghost that dedicated their existence to helping him. Link approached him, hearing him speaking to himself.

"I've seen some bad things before, but that…" the man murmured, his voice as soft as Link's own, "it's certainly badder than most of 'em. Oh, Hylia, what the hell is this world falling into…."

"Pardon me?" Link quietly asked, catching the man's attention. He looked to be halfway through his 20s, although his condition made it look like he was older. His cheeks and eyes were sunken with a very clear difference between his cheekbones and eye bags to the rest of his long face. What he wore made his face and wrecked hair stand out, due to its dulled blues and reds, plus its good condition. Despite his lanky figure, he, by some miracle, carried a pretty thick backpack with small blades and tools dangling from it. "Would you know where—"

"WE'RE ALL DOOMED!" he suddenly boomed, staring at Link with crazy eyes.

…

…

His face burst into a bright red, not even naturally fading into the color. "I-I mean…. Sorry! I got a bit caught up in my paranoia. D-don't" —he quickly neared Link, wildly shaking his hands in some act of reassurance— "panic! W-we're fine! Well, not really but…. Ah, sorry. I…. Sorry." Finally, he relaxed and sighed, his face slowly turning pale once more. "Have we met before?' he asked, stepping back.

"Um… I don't think so, no," Link answered. He chose those words specifically rather than an outright 'no,' as he was already committed to keeping up the lie that he was any other traveler. If he was paranoid about sounding crazy to King Rhoam, he was terrified at the thought of sounding crazy to genuine people. "What exactly do you mean when you say, 'we're all doomed?'" The man stepped past him, pointing with his spear toward the Great Plateau.

"You aren't blind, right? You see that?" he asked, jabbing his spear toward the tower. "That tower, according to what legends I've been able to read, hasn't been seen since the Great Calamity. And" —he forcefully turned Link to face the shrine that he left mere minutes before— "those shrines just started glowing!" Then, he tightly gripped Link's shoulders, practically stabbing them. "Do you know what this means?" he lowly said, his eyes widening and forming that same, paranoia-crazed look.

"…I—"

"THE END IS HERE!" he yelled, shaking Link so violently that it gave him a slight headache once the man let go. After the man's eyes normalized, he burst into a bright shade of red again and stepped back. "Damn it…. Sorry."

"No, no; it's… somewhat reasonable," Link reassured, shaking his head slightly to make the ache go away.

The man faintly chuckled and smiled. "You think?"

"The world is a dangerous place, from what I've… been through." He changed it from 'heard' to 'been through,' further pushing himself into a self-made den of lies. As long as the man didn't notice his odd pauses. "Sometimes paranoia will save you; who knows."

Huh. He felt… confident and cheerful, now. Talking to people other than Zelda might not have been as hard as he first thought. Socializing wasn't all that bad.

"It makes me so… erratic, though. I" —he pressed his hand to his forehead with a defeated look on his face— "swear I can't talk to anybody without screaming pessimistic 'doomer' ideologies."

"Think of it like the side effects of medicine. You might feel a bit woozy but you'll feel better in the morning." He didn't even think about giving advice like that, it just came out. 'Confidence has many benefits, I suppose.'

"Right… yeah. Thanks, kid." The man turned to face what he had been intently staring at earlier, pointing at it much more casually. "Assuming you heard my wild mumblings, which wouldn't surprise me, you probably noticed me talking about how that thing is a bad thing, right?"

"What thing?"

The man gestured for Link to come closer, which he did with full faith, following the man's gaze toward a deactivated Guardian. "That's a Guardian. Even if Demise hasn't cursed you with an encounter with one of these pricks, you should know what they are and what they do. That is?"

"They fire bright blue beams that detonate on impact, at… anyone in sight."

He snapped and nodded at Link, like a tiny show of congratulations. "Uh-huh. If it's not fueled by the Calamity, it's on the chopping block. I… um…" —he broke into a cold sweat— "nearly died to one of these things some years ago." He shuddered and paused, staring, terrified, at the Guardian's remains. When he looked back at Link, he snapped back to reality, taking a moment to wipe the sweat away before continuing to speak. "A kid and some other teens saved my ass by dragging me into some thick woods. They dropped me off here with some weapons and advice, which I'll go on and pass to you: If a mobile Guardian spots you, don't turn your back on it. They try to get in front of their target before delivering the killing blow, so, while sprinting away is a good idea, make sure you keep an eye on them to make sure they don't pursue you."

Link smiled and nodded appreciatively at the man. "Thanks. It might just be intuition, but I get a feeling I'll be encountering a couple of those things on my journeys."

"Then I'll keep you in my prayers, kid."

"Thank you… um…. What's your name?"

"Brigo; Brigo Ikro. Yours?"

"Link."

"Link what?" Brigo inquired, referring to his last name.

Prior to now, the questions about his identity had solely been linked to his history, not his name. Now that he had been asked about it, he was taken aback and slowly realized… he really had no idea who he was, by name and by personality. He felt an inner sense of alarm as Brigo stared at him with perplexity and a hint of concern. What was he supposed to say now? "Link… uh… hm…" he stuttered, turning away to hide his red face and sweat. 'Think, think, think….'

"Do you… not know it?" Brigo asked, making him tense up more.

"No, no, it's just… I-I'm trying to remember how it's pronounced," he lied, hastily looking into the distance for something, anything, that could make up his last name. His eyes flicked from bit of land to bit of land, from mountain to river, from animal to insect, from ground to sky — all out of desperation. Brigo neared him and he began looking around even faster. Then, he looked around all his environment one last time, thinking of what it all was as one thing: the wild.

"Link Wilde," he quickly said, turning to Brigo so quickly that it threw him off guard. "My last name is Wilde."

Brigo relaxed and nodded. "Alright. Sorry if that question was a bit personal, I just needed to make sure you weren't born in a bad crowd."

"It's okay. Now that I think about it," —he laughed a bit, doing his best to lighten the mood— "it shouldn't have taken that long to pronounce 'wild.'"

"Hey," —he nudged Link in the arm— "not everyone has a way with words, even veteran travelers… which is a weird thought. You'd think that people who travel across the world would be great wordsmiths or, at least, interesting people to talk to. Finding a talkative person is a bit more uncommon than you'd think." Brigo stretched and rubbed his eyes, adjusting his hair to make it look a bit cleaner. After he did, it still was a bit spiky but in a more intentional way than before. "So, are you headed somewhere?"

"Kakariko. Do you know where that is?"

"It's east and north; just follow the path that continues past this bridge." He reached a hand out to Link. "Be careful out there."

Link shook his hand and smiled. "I will. And thank you for the advice."

"I'm just a guy doing my part in the world, no matter how small."

Link exchanged one final positive look with Brigo, waving farewell as he jogged forward along the path. 'It's good to know I can talk to people. It's… pretty fun, too,' he thought. Just fifteen minutes after leaving the bridge, he spotted another camp of red and blue creatures guarding a chest, surrounded by both wooden and metal crates. Using Magnesis and lots of clever maneuvering, he managed to break them over the monsters' heads, not using a single weapon of his own. The metal crates dropped some green, blue, and red rupees, as well as a few roasted fish and crabs. The wooden ones dropped some small foodstuffs, and both of the crate types dropped a surplus of arrows.

After snatching the opal they guarded, he noticed some massive, hollow tree trunks embedded in some hills across from the camp. Upon going through them, and up the hill, he found two Koroks with separate puzzles; one just had him chase a flower and the other needed him to make one apple tree match two others beside it. When he realized that those hills encircled the ruins of a fairly small village, he slid down into it, taking whatever he found and thought of as useful. He fought another talus but was unfazed as it melted and roared at him. After all, he had already seen hell and been through it.

He left the ruins and hopped back on the path as it neared a forest with a plume of smoke coming out of it, clearly marking a camp. But before he went to investigate that, he also noticed another camp of creatures that he blew up with some explosive barrels. They formerly protected a broadsword and a shield made out of metal with a wooden core, both of which were taken by him. After that, he noticed a cracked stone wall that seemed to hide the fact that the hill it belonged to was hollow. Within the cave were some rare gemstones embedded in ore deposits, plus another little Korok. Oh, and the hill was topped with a sharp orange plant that he snatched before finally approaching the camp that brought him into this forest in the first place.

…Yep, he was right: he would get very sidetracked.

Inside of the small clearing where the camp was was a man, sitting casually against a log while a fire burned in front of him. He was a little pudgy but not overly so, wearing a slim white sweater beneath a jade vest with a dozen frills and trinkets pointlessly decorating it. He was continuously adjusting one of his fancy black boots with ornate stitching, pulling it up and tightening it in vain. "Why'd I order such a stupid boot…" he grumbled, pronouncing his vowels longer than necessary. "Even I'on know why I…." Link stepped closer to the man, catching his attention with a polite wave. "Oh. Seems you caught me fixin' my boot here."

"Do you need help with that?" he asked, squatting down by the fire to rest his legs.

"No, no, but the help's 'preciated," the man answered, shoving his foot into the boot and finally securing it on his leg. "It takes a bit o' elbow grease to get this li'l thing on, but I can manage."

"…If you don't mind me asking…" —the man shrugged and smiled approvingly— "what's with your accent?"

Apparently, such a question made the man chuckle loudly and punch his leg out of amusement. "Oh, no no, it's nothin' with you," he reassured Link, noticing his slightly hurt and concerned expression. "It's just that I haven't gotten that question in a long while. I was born and raised in the south, livin' on a farm and helpin' pops with growin' crops. He spoke like this and I took it from him, and the rest is history. Sometimes it comes out like a stal from the ground, other times I'on really hear it."

"I see. So," —he sat down more casually, caressing his eye scar and softly touching some bruises he got from previous fights— "what are you doing out here?"

"Gettin' my wares, o' course. Speakin' of…" —he removed his backpack and opened it, laying a long white cloth down on the grass— "I'm a merchant. I sell… well, to be frank with ya, whatever I pick up that's worth a couple dozen rupees." With all the caution of a goose with a bucket on its head, he dug into his backpack and grabbed a few carrots, truffles, arrow bundles, stamella shrooms, and pieces of rock salt, nonchalantly tossing all of them onto the cloth. "But a good merchant doesn't just sell — they buy. So, anythin' interestin' you're willin' to sell?"

Link reached into his pouch, grabbing the majority of all of the ores he had collected while saving a couple for himself, should he need any for later. "Just these. I'm guessing they aren't worth nothing, right?"

Giro grabbed them out of Link's hand, admiring the glint of each stone. As he looked at increasingly rare gemstones, his eyes almost sparkled as brightly as the gems did. "Well, kid," he said, sounding quite impressed as he stuffed the gems into his bag, "you struck gold! This stuff ain't gonna get you hundreds o' rupees, it'll get you a thousand, at least! Kudos to you, kid; kudos to you."

"Oh, it's not much. All it took was some exploring and fighting; nothing more."

"Well," Giro said, grabbing a small drawstring bag full of rupees and shaking it about, "what really matters is what it earns ya. And… here ya go!" He tossed the bag at Link who flawlessly caught it, feeling the sharp edges of rupees poking through the yellow fabric of the bag. "That wallet has the exact amount of rupees you earned."

"Wow," —he looked up at the man, putting the bag into his pouch— "you got the exact amount? How…. Sorry if this is rude, but how do you have that much? Being a merchant can't earn that much… can it?"

Weirdly, Giro adopted a suspicious smile and wink, hand-waving it away with the weirdly vague explanation of, "Merchants have tricks up their sleeves." As Link tilted his head at Giro, narrowing his eyes, he just chuckled and packed up all of his stuff. "Well, I s'pose we're done here," he said, putting his bag back on and standing up along with Link. "Keep an eye out for monsters, kid, ya never know where they're hidin' these days."

"Okay. You too, Giro," Link said, waving a cheerful goodbye toward him before continuing forward. Now that he actually had a bit of net worth, he felt himself settling into his new identity as a traveler, not some knight who came back from the brink. Of course, he would eventually accept that part of who he was, but he had to keep it under wraps for the time being. Everyone who didn't know didn't need to know, especially since he planned to go on this adventure alone.

As if anyone would be willing to throw everything away like he was.

---

That evening in Hateno….

"Hey guys," Enn greeted, welcoming his friends into his sunset-lit house for their bi-weekly dinner. Everybody walked in, greeting him with a smile or a few words that he tuned out. This dinner, though, wouldn't involve nearly killing one another, talking about boys or girls, planning out sparring, or relaying times that they were nearly killed by monsters — no. This time… it would be… different. So far, anyhow, nobody had noticed his oddly cold tone.

"What's for dinner this time, Enn?" Zu asked, quickly taking a seat at his table with the others. "Is it risotto again?"

As it always did, Zu's loud cheeriness made him smile, even now. "Yeah. There's not much harm in occasionally indulging ourselves." He grabbed the warm plates of mushroom, crab, and vegetable risotto, passing each person their favorite kind of it. "I added a bit of extra butter and sugar; I hope you don't mind."

"Got a sweet tooth tonight?" Dara joked, smiling at Enn as he quietly sat down with a hint of a frown on his face. Finally, he noticed that Enn seemed… off, since he'd usually be eating and chirping like a bird with everyone. While everyone else ate, he watched as Enn stared blankly at the table. "You good, Enn?"

He suddenly perked up, seeming weirdly surprised at such a question. "Yeah. I'm… I'm alright. It's nothing, Dara, but it's appreciated," he answered, faintly smiling it off. Of course, that answer didn't satisfy Dara, who continued giving him a concerned look. "I'm just a bit tired, that's all," he added. "I feel like I've been working all day. You know how summers sometimes send headaches my way, right?"

"Yeah, I know. Just" —he scooped out a bit of his vegetable risotto and ate it, moving it to the side of his mouth to keep speaking— "been a while since you were down like this."

For once, Enn genuinely smiled, asking with a joking yet slightly curious tone, "How long, exactly?"

Ria knocked against the table three times swiftly, getting everyone to look at her just as she swallowed her food. "Well, if you'd ask me, I'd say shortly after you started your journey from Lurelin to Hateno. When we crossed paths, you looked so down but still smiled sweetly at me."

Zu entered the conversation, asking while chewing, "Weren't you 11?"

"Well, yeah, but I'm not an amnesiac. Zu." They all laughed, even if barely, at the false act of aggression. That was how Ria made others laugh and smile. But, as she always did after making a joke, she looked around at everyone for approval, being the second to notice Enn's subdued expression. "Hey, Enn," she said, getting everyone to look at him, "you're looking pretty down. Is everything alright?"

"I'm tired," he hastily dismissed, coldly looking up at her. In his mind, he grew anxious, debating whether or not to tell them here and now or another time. He knew he had to tell them, but had no clue when would be the right time. Now seemed ideal, but… it was so much easier to imagine doing it rather than actually going through with it.

"Oh, come on, don't be like that," she replied, rolling her eyes. "When you've worked yourself to the bone, these little meals usually get you back up on your feet. Then we punch away our frustrations in sparring. You know that better than all of us, Mr. Leader." Everyone said words of agreement but he ignored them, attempting to stifle his somberness by going stone cold. It usually didn't work but he never learned, anyway.

"Yeah. I do. But things change sometimes."

"You're not fine, Enn," Zu suddenly cut in, finally speaking in a dead-serious tone. When that tone came out, which also happened as often as Enn got genuinely shocked, Zu would get a guaranteed serious answer — no exceptions. Perhaps it was the fact that such a bubbly person speaking with genuine concern and worry meant that everyone should've been feeling the same thing. It would explain why Enn dubbed them as the emotional compass as often as he dubbed them 'second sun.' "Something is off. We're your friends, Enn. You trust us… right?"

"Of course I do," he said, embracing his somberness with welling eyes. "I trust you with so much. I" —he lightly chuckled— "even trusted you with the tale of Link and my old man… which is why it hurts like hell to tell you… that… I…." He broke down into tears but kept his posture, refusing to speak until the tears passed. However, Zu, Ria, and Dara all softly grabbed Enn's hand, nodding all at once for him to say it. A small smile spawned on his face and he wiped his tears away, taking in a deep breath to cool his nerves. "I…." Even with all of the support, it took all of his will to finally say what he thought. He took a deep breath and shouted, "I'm leaving!"

…

…

"WHAT!?" everyone screamed, with some of them slamming the table without knowing it.

"Why?! Do you wanna go get yourself killed out there?! What happened?!"

"Did we do something wrong? Do you need help with something? Have I been too annoying, even?!"

"The hell, man?! What changed?!"

"IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU GUYS! THERE!" he screamed, so loud that it startled his cats and sent them jumping, with the sound probably going far outside the walls of his house. After that, he silently sat down, barely keeping himself from sobbing like a child who just lost his toy. Screaming was too overwhelming for him to consider willingly, so it was something he did out of desperation. Still, it tore him to shreds on the inside after the fact. He felt everyone staring at him, more concerned and worried than they had been in years. "It has… nothing to do with you guys," he repeated. "Nothing with you."

"Then… what is it?" Ria quietly asked, adjusting her seat and uncrossing her legs. "For once, Enn, you've gotta tell us everything. No matter how bullsh…." Even she knew cursing wasn't right for the moment. "I mean, no matter how outrageous it might be, no matter how much it might make no sense, we've gotta know." She held Enn's hand. The others silently joined in.

"Right…. But first… I wanna tell you something." He wiped his tears away once more and smiled softly. "I love you guys. You" —he slowly looked from one side of the table to the other— "are my family. My brother, my sibling, and my cousin, all here by my side. I…. I wouldn't give you guys away for the world." Every word that left his mouth was true; he believed it, even. Never in a hundred years would he imagine Zu or Dara as just friends — they truly were his family.

…

"…Hate to be a moment killer," Dara said, looking a bit confused, "but you make it sound like we're puppies."

Enn burst out laughing, as loud and proud as he usually did, ending it with an ear-to-ear smile. "Yeah, that comparison was kinda silly," he admitted, feeling the room swiftly getting refilled by positive energy.

"Silly?" Ria asked. "The last time you used that was nine years ago when you were… well, nine."

"Hey, I'm happy now. Appreciate that," —he leaned over the table to jab at her arm, barely grazing it— "grandma."

"I'm not the only one with white hair, you know!"

"Yeah, yeah. Sure, granny."

She rolled her eyes, exaggerating the movement to the nth degree and crossing her legs again. "Fucking hell."

"Granny must've grown vulgar," Zu added, making everybody break into another fit of laughter. "Also, Enn," —he stopped laughing and looked them in the eyes— "you don't mind if we keep eating, right?"

"Oh. Right, this is dinner." Before anybody could break into another fit of laughter, he nodded at Zu and everyone else. Funny enough, they all simultaneously took a bite out of their food and swallowed it. "So… I'll start by being direct: it's about Link. Did I tell you about what the plan for him was?"

"No," they all answered.

"Okay. Here I go." He readied his 'dramatic reading' voice, reminding himself of the plan that Purah and Impa, plus a few others, had told him over and over. Ever since he had convinced Purah and Impa to let him help with the plan, and that they learned of his heritage, they relayed it to him. "Link will leave the Great Plateau after collecting King Rhoam's paraglider and learning of his past. After going to Kakariko and this little village, he'll go save the Champions and Zelda. By then, he's out of our reach. I plan to join him on his quest for…" —he hesitated, not too willing to talk about the truth too much— "very personal reasons. Boom. Any questions?"

"King Rhoam?" Dara asked, casually brushing some rice from his mouth with his hand. "Wasn't he the last king of Hyrule who… died?"

"Oh, yeah, we're kind of relying on ghosts for this plan." Unsurprisingly, everybody glared at him with confusion, each shown through a head tilt, a little finger drumming, or just a furrowed brow. "Just trust us," he reassured, eating a bit of his risotto. "Impa and Purah dedicated a century of their lives to this; they've thought of everything. According to Impa, she managed to convince the last free ghosts tied to the Great Calamity to help Link."

"Ghosts? Plural?" Ria asked, setting her hands on the table beside her empty plate. Nobody had noticed how fast she had eaten, but that always happened. All she wanted was her tea. "If the Champions' souls are trapped, who's the other ghost? Zelda's not dead and Link currently isn't… so… who is it?"

He began snapping and staring blankly at nothing, trying to recall that fateful day when he joined in on the plan with Impa and Purah. 'After being let in, she told me the plan, I asked about King Rhoam's ghost, she explained, and then I asked about the other ghosts and… hmm….' After resting his head on his fist, he shrugged and replied, "She never really said. All she did was smile and tell me that I had to go."

"And… you just did?"

"She kept insisting with that little smile; what else was I supposed to do?"

Beneath the table, she kicked his shins, barely making him flinch. "Weaksauce," she insulted, crossing her arms and not bothering to hide the smirk on her face. "I would've persisted until she gave me a hint — bare minimum."

"You really think that sweet old lady would've tolerated your bull?" Dara asked, also crossing his arms and pushing his empty plate away. Funny enough, his utensils were still neatly wrapped up in cloth by his elbow, completely untouched since they all sat down. "If I didn't drag you out of her house four days ago, you woulda been thrown out by the guards."

"Yeah, right."

"I think that you're both wrong," Zu said, getting their attention as they also put away their plate. "She's lived for 121 years, I'm sure she's tolerated a lot of things. She can deal with a trio of young adults and one teen."

"Hey, don't bring my age into this conversation!"

"As much as I hate you as my cousin, Ria," Enn suddenly said, getting everyone's attention as he picked the tiny remnants of food from his plate, ensuring it was spotless, "you do act a lot older than you are. Not in a bad way, either."

"Thank you! And to think you're the same guy that hands me my own ass on a silver platter every time we spar."

"…You suck with swords, though."

"Oh, fu—"

"Speaking of sparring," Enn cut her off cheekily, standing and collecting the plates and used utensils, "how about you guys go prepare? I'll clean these dishes here and then we'll be on our way." Once he had all of the plates, he put them on a set of cabinets and drawers, right next to a bunch of bottles of water. Ria and Dara both nodded and stood, turning on their heels and walking out the back door. But Zu stayed behind, approaching Enn. "Did you need something, Zu?" he asked.

"It's funny how you went from a downer to your usual self, huh?" they asked, leaning on the counter.

"Yeah… it was. But I know you don't just wanna point that out." He smiled at her expectantly, opening a bottle of water. "So, what do you really want?"

…

…

"Nothing, actually." His eyes widened and Zu walked backward, barely avoiding the table. "I did just want to point that out. Okay, see ya!"

As he watched Zu walk out the door, pulling out their metal hat from their bag, he smiled and began rinsing off the plates into a wooden bin. "I suppose it's not always dramatic."

The trio stepped outside of the house and stretched before preparing their weapons, admiring them in the fiery glow of the sun. Ria had a fondness for swords but never trained with them — or bothered to — simply relying on her quick feet and high leaps to compensate for it. In contrast, Dara refused to use blades and preferred to wield a variety of shields. He either used two small, sharp shields or a long, rectangular shield. In his words, 'Defense was the best offense.' Zu's metal hat was attached to a long chain with a hook at the end, used to immobilize or pull in their opponents for kicks. Not the fun kicks, but rather actual kicks. They carried multiple metal hats because… one was not enough… even though they had dozens of hats already.

"He done yet?" Dara asked, practicing swings and slams with his long shield. "Dishes aren't his strong suit, but it doesn't take this long."

"'He' is," Enn replied, strutting out the door while flicking his wrists. "Hey, since I'm" —he approached them all, watching as they prepared themselves— "going to go on a highly dangerous adventure in a few days, how about we do the… ahem, forbidden training."

Ria suddenly put on a smile more grand and excited than usual, practically leaping for joy as she approached him. "You don't want us to hold back?"

"Uh-huh."

"YES!"

…

"Um… heh, sorry," she said, swiftly drawing her two soldier's broadswords. "I just hate having to hit you with blunt edges. Do you know how many broadswords I've wasted because I had to beat them against a wall for an hour?"

"Fair point." Enn readied his stance, smirking. "But we've spoken enough. We exchanged, what, 831 words before we got out here?"

"Have you seriously been keeping track?" she asked, ditching her blunt blades for sharp ones as everyone else also prepared themselves for battle.

"Just a guess. But enough talk — for real, this time."

They all stepped back, giving one another a perfectly equal amount of distance between each other. Meanwhile, Enn quietly put some fairy tonics and hearty elixirs on his smelting table, just in case. To start off this little session, Ria charged toward Enn with her sharp blades at the ready. However, Enn was quick to dodge or catch her swings, biding his time for the right moment to strike back. Dara and Zu exchanged a nod before Zu tried to dropkick him, but Dara easily parried the attack, sending Zu tumbling to the ground. Undeterred, he attempted to slam his shield down on Zu, but the agile fighter managed to roll away. Dara then chuckled softly and drew his sharper shields.

As an attempt to tempt Ria, Enn sent a false hook her way, causing her to leap backward with a tinge of panic. He sprinted toward where she was going to land, sweeping her legs right as she touched the floor before kicking her side. Dara was suddenly kicked toward Enn, knocking him down. Ria rolled up and jumped into the air, aiming for Zu and slashing their hat out of the way, Zu could only dodge so many attacks before Ria had her blade at their throat, seemingly ready to kill them on the spot… until….

"Enn?" she asked, still staring Zu dead in the eyes.

"Yeah?" he replied, pausing his little standoff with Dara.

"What determines the winner of this match?"

"Whoever is still conscious at the end."

"Cool." With that, she promptly punched Zu in the nose and gut, finishing them with a twirl and another hook that sent them to the ground. Once they hit it, they were knocked unconscious with a few bruises forming around their face and such. She stood over them, smiling faintly. It was almost funny how Zu still looked great while they slept, even if blood leaked from their nose and onto the grass. "Sorry… ish."

Meanwhile, Dara and Enn continually countered one another. If one landed a swing the other would instantly land one, if one parried the other threw them, if one dodged the other chased them, and so on and so forth. Ria interrupted it, precisely throwing her blades at their ankles, grazing them. Although, it left her unarmed, allowing the duo of dudes to knock her out with a few hits. "Alright; are you ready to look really cool?" Enn asked, briefly tending to Ria's unconscious body.

"Ever notice that it always ends like this?" Dara asked, stepping closer to the center of Enn's backyard and coolly staring him down.

"You are the second-best fighter we've got."

"Enough to be promoted in your place?"

Enn stepped over Ria and stood in front of Dara, slowly circling him. "If fighting made good leaders. Ria would do better at holding all of you together."

He scoffed at Enn. "Your bratty cousin? Really?"

"She's stubborn but not overly so, can be there for people, and knows how to divide and conquer. Sure, she's not perfect, but that's not what I'm asking for." Dara rolled his eyes, slowly pulling out his long shield and squatting down on the ground. "Hey, she's a good kid, I know it."

"You forget that she's 16? Y'know, two years younger than you?"

"Oh, shut it. You're just… seven years older than me."

"Yeah, great point. 'Kay, let's—"

"Enn?" a woman, with a blatantly obvious British accent, suddenly called out. They both looked in her direction, seeing Clavia, the sweet wife of Hateno's chief. "Oh, I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" She began twiddling her thumbs while slowly walking away from Enn's little station for blacksmith work, concern appearing to be the main emotion she had. Perhaps Enn was right: that loud scream from earlier hadn't gone unnoticed.

Dara stood, cracking his neck with loud pops. "It's nothing, Auntie," he said, nodding at Enn with a little smile. "Go talk to your mom, I'll get" —he briefly nodded at the others, who still remained unconscious on the slightly muddy grass— "those two up with those elixirs you got there." By now, they both had wiped down their equipment and stashed them away.

They saluted to one another before tending to their own duties. "Hey, Mom," Enn jokingly greeted, softly hugging Clavia and savoring her warmth. "Hylia, I needed this," he whispered, resting his chin on her neck as she did the same to him. For a woman who just passed 30, she was a bit short, a mere inch taller than him. Her nephew was taller than herself. At least it made for some of the greatest hugs in Hyrule.

"I would like to talk to you, dear," she gently told, attempting to escape the hug to hold his shoulders. He noticed her awkward little movements, somewhat sarcastically tightening his grip to keep her in his grasp. Some part of that little act was genuine, though. Realizing she couldn't escape, she laughed and hugged him back. "Just let me know when you're done hugging me, okay?" He didn't reply, just holding her close for what felt like forever. But even forever came to an end, and he soon let her go. "I love hugging you," she quietly admitted, brushing her curly brown hair out of her face.

"Your hugs remind me of my mom, you know."

"Oh, like that's a secret. Anyway…" —she softly placed her hands on his shoulders— "I heard you scream really loudly earlier. I eavesdropped on the rest of your conversation after that, and… um…."

"Before you say what I know you'll say," —he removed her hands from his shoulders, holding them instead— "how many people heard that?"

"…Everyone." Even the orange glow of the sun couldn't hide the fact that he had turned blood red with embarrassment, but she swiftly dismissed any of it, adding, "But I was the only one who eavesdropped on you guys. I shooed anybody else away, because… well… I have no good reason, I suppose. Either I wanted the information all to myself or I thought only I should've known; neither answer really puts me in a good light. I… am sorry, dear."

"Mom, I'm not upset at you," he reassured, gently caressing her hands and staring intently at her sparkling jade eyes. "In fact… I'm kind of glad it turned out that way. I don't want too many people to know that I'm… y'know… leaving." For some reason, she seemed surprised, widening her eyes at him and leaning forward at him.

"…Dear?" she confusedly asked, drumming her fingers on his knuckles. "Did you just call me 'mom…' unironically?"

"Huh. I guess I did. You're not complaining, are you?"

"Why would I?" They briefly paused their conversation to hug one another again, right as the rest of Enn's crew got up and approached him. "But…" —they slowly let go of one another— "yes, you're leaving…. You do whatever you have to, dear. Am I allowed to tell everyone after you leave, though?"

"Of course, Mom," he quietly answered, glancing at the others as they waited for him. "I just feel like you, Reede, and my friends should know the… real reason. Everyone else… I'm close to them, yeah, but not 'family' kind of close. So… tell Reede and leave it at that, okay?"

"I promise."

"Thank you." He stepped back from Clavia, standing between her and his group. "Well, I've only got a couple of days before I'm out of town, so I'll be packing until nightfall. Goodnight, guys!"

He jogged off, waving at them all before entering his house to continue figuring out what to keep and what to leave. Once he was out of sight and his door was shut, Dara approached Clavia, staring at her expectantly. "We're not doing that, right?" he asked.

"…No, we're not," she replied, holding back a few tears.

"Isn't that breaking what you just promised?" Zu asked, checking if their nose was still bleeding or not. "That's not the nicest thing to do."

"Neither is letting him leave without making a big deal over it. We've all" —Dara gestured generally at all of them— "been helped by him; least we could do is give him a big 'thank you' before he goes off somewhere. 'Breakin' eggs to make omelets,' as dad would tell me."

Clavia set a hand on her hip and smiled. "Of course Dantz would tell his son that. Now," —she turned around and walked toward the road— "if you all want to plan for Enn's farewell, then join me at my house. In the meantime, I'll be talking with Reede about it." After that, she set off, staring back at Enn's house for a bit before fixing her gaze on her own house. But soon, she found herself staring at it once again, seeing Enn's shadow as he went around his house and examined his many little treasures. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her and they exchanged a friendly wave. "I hope to Hylia that you'll be okay, dear," she uttered beneath her breath, watching as Enn returned to examining his stuff.

"Clavia?" Ria asked, joined by Zu and Dara.

"Yes?"

"We're in."

Those two little words made her smile brightly, nodding at them as thanks. "Then let's make sure nobody forgets him," she proudly declared, staring, determined, at the trio.

"Oh, and brew us some tea, would you? Chamomile, specifically," Ria added as they all walked to the chief's house, with their only greatest friend on their minds.

Who knew that such a kind kid from a traveling family could do so much for a village in five years?

…Who knew what secrets that kid held beneath his kindness?

…Who would ever know that the kid himself thought he deserved nothing he got?

…Who knew that, despite his stubbornness in going on the journey of a lifetime, he was afraid deep down? Afraid of the world… and of himself.

---

Along the road to Kakariko, after that night….

Yawn!

Link stretched outside of another shrine and tightened the red bandana that covered his forehead, feeling cold Sheikah metals pressing against it. Since he got the tower beside the Dueling Peaks, he had taken on two more taluses and obtained two more Spirit Orbs, plus the new little bandana that was tucked beneath his hair. Sheikah tech planted within it enhanced his core strength, giving him a bit of speed when it came to climbing. If only he had obtained it before scaling the shrines.

He was feeling quite drained, both from the climbing and lack of sleep since last night.

Across from him and the shrine was a stable with a large, horse-like figure without eyes and weirdly ornate makeup on its roof. At least he could register a horse here, even if none were nearby. Having one would prove invaluable to his journeys, considering, at the bare minimum, he would have to travel across the large field that led up to Hyrule Castle. Even still, he would need weapons and some more blessings from that weird statue to survive such a treacherous journey. As King Rhoam had said, going there so early was reckless. He was more concerned about beating the Calamity over himself, however.

"WAH!"

THUD!

On the dirt path in front of the stable, continuing from the one he'd been following, a man tripped and fell backward. "Oh noes, not again!" he shouted, flailing to try and swing himself back up. Only a massive, beetle-shaped backpack kept him off the ground, which made his already skinny body look even more brittle. The bag itself, and a little wooden tray that descended from a small roof above it, was covered in many fabrics, signs, more tiny bags, and other little decorations to make it stand out. Link swiftly came to the man's side, grabbing one of his hands with both of his own and yanking him up. Although it took a minute of straining and trying not to pull the man's arm from his socket, he managed to bring him back to his feet. "Thank you…" the man uttered, panting and wobbling.

"Are you alright?" Link asked, gently letting go of the man's hand and helping him to stabilize.

He fixed his puffy hair and wiped some smudges of dirt from his long, freckled face. "Yup… it happens," he said, his tone weirdly exaggerated. While the man ensured that the rest of his bag wasn't going to crumble under a stern glance, Link skimmed over some of the signs that dangled from the tray. Outside of the standard 'advertisement talk,' there was a name that came up over and over, most likely belonging to the man: Beedle. Although, the shape of his bag and the oddity of the name made him wonder if it was just some false moniker — another ploy to sell better… somehow. "Well," —he shook hands with Link— "I'm Beedle, but you can call me…. Actually, let's just stick with Beedle. But, even if you forget who I am, then you should recognize me from my little backpack!"

'…Surely he's noticed the size of his backpack… right?' Link mused, tilting his head at him. "Little?"

"Oh, right. I forget how it looks to anyone else. Usually, I never feel the weight of this thing unless I'm" —he pretended to poke a glass bottle off of a shelf, making fitting sound effects with his mouth— "tipped over." He readjusted the tray in front of him, which was, somehow, covered with a handful of monster organs, arrows, and dead critters. "Alrighty, these are my wares! Take and buy or sell and… uh… ah, I dunno where I was going with that." Link laughed a little, reaching inside his pouch to grab a bunch of the ores he got from the few taluses he killed. "Wowee! Where'd ya get that?!" Beedle asked, his eyes wide and jaw hanging.

As Link approached a smaller bag on Beedle's main one, labeled, 'Stuff that's been sold to me,' he answered Beedle nonchalantly with, "Some taluses I killed."

"WWWWWWWWWWHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAT!?"

In an instant, dozens of pairs of eyes snapped toward him and Beedle, turning his face bright red. He also froze, standing stiff as a stick and dropping some of his ores. Although, he was too shocked to bother picking them up until it wore off, even if slightly. "T-t-taluses? TALUSES!?" Beedle repeated, unintentionally ensuring that nobody would look away from the scene as Link began to collect his ores off the ground, still stiff as ever.

"Yes," he quietly replied, fearing the potential next outburst of surprise. "I took down two… individually." That last word was added at the last moment, desperately trying to dull Beedle's potential reaction.

"Th-that's still a feat! I-I…." He cleared his throat some 10 times over, shaking his head back and forth while holding the sides of it. "Sorry! I… just…."

He straight up stopped talking, allowing himself some breathing room. Meanwhile, Link, after taking a large sigh of relief, curiously asked, "People don't engage monsters often?" Monsters weren't so much of a big deal, so it surprised him to think that people often ran from them. Well, running from things like taluses made sense, but running from smaller ones… was odd. Beedle nodded, slowly regaining the rest of his composure. "Why so? They aren't that big of a deal."

"Maybe to you! But to us lowly people… whoo boy, they are a threat!" Finally, he fully calmed down and everyone else looked away from the situation, continuing with their own business. "People usually run from bokoblins and don't dare go near the biggies like taluses. You must be more courageous than most of us, huh?"

"Considering what you just said… I suppose," he humbly said, shrugging. On the opposite side of Beedle's bag was another smaller bag, magically filled with two small bags of all the rupees he had earned. There was no use questioning how or why it happened, he just took it as fact and moved on. It would take a fool to find some sciency explanation for it.

Beedle opened his mouth, most likely to add to the conversation, before slowly shutting it and turning a tad red. Perhaps he had remembered the fact that he was a merchant. "Well, maybe we could talk about it another time. But, whaddya wanna buy?" Once he had picked out a total of 25 arrows, taken the dead crickets and a few of the dead frogs — and paid for all of them — Beedle lifted the tray back into the roof above his head. "So, you're into bugs?"

"I just pick them up here and there when I can, just to see what they are. It's fun to find new things."

"Well, make use of them and brew yourself some elixirs! I'm pretty sure" —he pointed over to a cooking pot where a girl sat, crossing her legs and peacefully staring off into the distance— "that girl over there could tell you. I've forgotten her name, though. I hope we meet on my travels, Link! I'd like to sit down and listen to some of your stories!" To his slight relief, Beedle waved goodbye and began walking down the road, carrying his bag with minimal effort.

'What an interesting man,' Link thought, skimming over the environment of the stable, savoring its peacefulness. Barrels and boxes littered the area where the girl sat, also clinging to the walls of the stable itself, with some horses locked in a pen close to them. Maybe a place like this was nice enough to put him to sleep… if he had the time to sleep — which he didn't. 'I should also ask that girl for directions, too.' He waved at the girl when she looked at him, able to hear his footsteps. "Hello," he cheerfully said.

She threw a smile at him, flicking some of her light brown hair from her lime eyes. "Mornin'," she greeted, brushing a bit of dust from her pants and waving. After looking him up and down, she raised her brow and smirked. "I don't reckon I've seen you before. You're new here, aren't cha?"

…A little warm tingle overtook his face and he staggered a bit in surprise. Something about her overly casual way of talking, that little smirk, and 'cha' over 'you…' it all was… flattering.

"Um… yeah. I'm pretty new here," he murmured, brushing his cheek and eye scar with his fist to try and hide his blush. "Do you know where I could find Kakariko?"

With an unnecessary amount of peppiness, she shrugged but continued to smirk. "Frankly, I don't. I'm not one for traveling, but I do know a guy who could tell ya. He's right over ther—"

"Directions! DIIIIRREECTIONS! If you're completely lost, I'm the man to ask!" a man boomed from the front of the stable, startling him but only making the girl turn over suddenly. This must've been quite a normal occurrence, as she simply giggled and rolled her eyes, turning back to face Link.

"That's just Rensa, for ya."

"I… see," he said, staring curiously at Rensa as he waved eccentrically at nobody in particular. For a second, he was perfectly willing to walk away from her and ask for directions, until he remembered what Beedle had said about her which brought him there in the first place. "Hey, do you know how to make elixirs?" He turned back to her, noticing some more glass bottles that lingered dangerously close to the fire beneath the pot.

She seemed a bit surprised but refused to drop the smirk that she held. "Well," —she leaned down and picked up a bottle, instantly beginning to tap her long nails against it which made a tinkling sound— "to make any elixir, you need monster bits and a critter. There are hasty elixirs, spicy, chilly, energizing, and so on, and so forth. Just don't mix anything naturally edible with them because… well…. Just don't, okay?"

"Why so?"

"Well, unless you're not squeamish, you'll hurl your breakfast, lunch, and dinner all in one go."

He tilted his head. "…What?"

All she did was sigh, laugh, and continue smirking. "Let's just say that if you make it, don't say I didn't warn ya."

"Well… thanks for telling me how to make elixirs… um…. What's your name?" Inside his mind, he thought, 'Why do I keep forgetting to ask that?' While interacting with people was fun and interesting, he wasn't exactly good at it, especially when it came to maintaining confidence and making introductions. So many things were on his mind that names seemed to pass him by. Maybe the names of random strangers he, most likely, would never meet again just weren't important. He knew, deep down, that many relationships would come and go on this journey.

Outside of Zelda, not one would stick.

"Sagessa. The last name's Ateneo, if that means anything to you. And your cute little name is?"

That warm tingle overcame him once again and he resisted the temptation to stutter and lose composure. "Link."

Slowly, she lifted two of her fingers to her lips and giggled, very faintly biting her lip. "Aww… you're cute." By now, he had lost any sense of composure, breaking into a small mess of stutters, head-scratching, and bright pink cheeks. "Tell me, Link, how old are ya?" His blush faded as another big question about himself kicked down the front door of his thoughts' house.

…How old was he?

Biologically, he had to be 100, due to his slumber, but that would sound outrageous for someone who looked like… well, him. If he was over a foot shorter than King Rhoam, who was somewhere between his late 40s and early 60s, and had luscious golden locks with a ponytail and piercing blue eyes, then he had to have been just a few years away from his prime. 'Twenty? No, that's too old…. Fifteen? Too young…. Eighteen? Eh… maybe a year younger.' "Seventeen… and… uh…" —it didn't take a genius to know that asking for a woman's age wasn't exactly a nice move, but his curiosity took over— "you?"

Thankfully, she didn't mind, simply answering, "Twenty-eight." He was surprised by that answer based on her looks, which she noticed and, shockingly, giggled at. "I hide it well, don't I?" All he could really do was nod once, feeling himself blush slightly once again. "Awh, thank you."

"Y-yeah… you're welcome. And" —he sat on a stool across from her, picking up a glass bottle— thank you for the elixir advice."

"Oh, if you're gonna be thanking me for that" —surprised, he looked up at her— "then you're also thanking the kid who told me about them. Yeah, I'm not exactly the inventor of them, if you could believe it. I assume a little curious cutie like you would enjoy listening to it, huh?" He nodded, setting down the bottle beside the bottom of the stool to listen attentively. "It's not really interesting, but your attentiveness is appreciated. So, some five years ago, I was running through this" —she nodded at the large field behind the stable— "field from some little bokoblins. A young kid, joined by two older teenagers, saved me from them and noted my slow jog. He gave me a little hasty elixir and told me how to make 'em. We've been flirting friends since that fateful day."

"'Flirting friends?'" he asked, unable to ignore the weirdly specific wording.

She leaned forward, hushedly saying, "Oh, yes. He is a charmer, I tell you what." It seemed like this kid's charm got to her, too, as she began twirling some curls in her otherwise straight hair. "It doesn't matter if they're two years younger than him… heh, or even a decade older, as long as they get all cutesy and submissive for him, he'll flirt with 'em. I… am one of them."

"Really?"

"Uh-huh. He's good at what he does." As Link nodded, digging into his pouch for monster bits and critters, she looked back out at the field and blushed. "He's hot, too."

Once he had brewed up a couple of elixirs and put them into his pouch, he stood and waved farewell to Sagessa, approaching the man who had been screaming about giving directions earlier. Along the way, he couldn't help but admire the peace of the stable. And, if a little stable like this could have such serenity, then the world could have it, too. If getting that peace meant… sacrificing himself… then he would do it. Now that he thought about it… he had no clue why that was everything he could think about. Why was that thought connected to almost everything in the world? Maybe he just had to shrink his vision down a bit.

But the fate of the world fell on his shoulders, didn't it? He couldn't just—

"DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEECTIONSS!" Rensa boomed once again, startling Link so horribly that he leaped up like a wild cat except he didn't land on his feet. Apparently, his back made for a better cushion for impact. "Oh, sorry, kid," he said, quickly grabbing Link's hand and pulling him to his feet. "I don't really think I'm too loud until" —he laughed a little, watching Link rub his back— "something like that happens."

"It's fine," he assured, stretching, "I've had far worse wounds."

"Ah, so you're the reckless type, eh?" While keeping eye contact with him, Rensa stepped back onto a small wooden slab right outside of one of the stable's entrances. He also seemed to get slightly concerned after examining Link's face closely.

"Er… I wouldn't say that. Courageous…" —he shrugged, trying not to sound like he was bragging— "I guess?"

Oddly, Rensa sighed and knelt down, now putting him just an inch or so below Link's standing height. Even though Link had just met this man, he seemed off from how he acted before. "Kid, there is a real fine line between those two words. I'm talkin' thinner than Beedle's pinky kind of thin. If you fall from that line, consequences follow you." He stood back up and Link looked away and at the ground, fiddling with the strand of hair by his ear. "I'd rather someone as young as you don't learn that the hard way."

"Thanks," he quietly said, staring Rensa in the eyes again. "Um… I know this change of subject is… a bit weird, but… you were shouting about directions earlier?"

"…Ah, right!" he exclaimed, donning a more casual and upbeat expression that matched how he acted earlier. "Just take that advice to heart… and…" —he leaned down again, pointing directly at Link's eye bags— "get a bit of sleep too. Actually, when did—"

A man identical to Rensa, behind a counter and open window out front, nudged him in the shoulder, sipping out of a tall glass filled with a bright yellow liquid. On its edge was a slice of some kind of melon, right next to some little leaves floating on the liquid. "Don't pester the kid, Rensa. You do that enough with those" —he pointed behind himself, bringing Link's attention to the two kids who ran about behind the man's counter— "little demons there."

"Fine, fine. So," —he turned back to Link and the man kept drinking— "where are you headed? Kakariko? Hateno? Otherwise, I got nothin' for ya."

"Where's Kakariko?"

"Take the northern road and keep going straight. Once you" —he pointed at a big bridge off in the distance— "pass that bridge you'll just have to climb a big hill before you get there. Although, it's almost 50 miles away from here. You look tired enough, no offense, so you should go fetch a horse from the nearby field."

There was a small spark in Link's eyes. "So there are horses here?"

"Uh-huh. You'd be surprised at how many stables aren't near herds of horses. If you need advice on how to fetch 'em, ask that guy," he said, nodding at the man at the counter from earlier, who was currently at the other end and putting away his tall glass.

"Are you two related?"

"Yes. Shocking, isn't it?" Despite his expectant look and the obvious joke, Link was oblivious to it.

"Not really, but—"

"Ha ha ha! C'mon," —he punched Link in the shoulder— "laugh a little, kid." Suddenly, he dropped his big smile, keeping a mere shadow of it as he somberly said, "In a world like this, it's… all we've got."

"What about hope?" he asked in turn, very vaguely hinting at himself. "Someone out there has to be willing to fight for us all, right?"

Rensa knelt down again, meeting Link's eyes with the look of a caring parent. Even if that look wasn't from Rensa directly, it was a look Link recognized from his past. He could almost hear a smooth, mature voice calling him 'kiddo.' Rensa quietly, but almost out of admiration, said, "You've got real big eyes, kid." Before he could question it, or even tilt his head, Rensa's brother returned to the window. "Hey, Tassaren, give him some horse advice, yeah?"

Tassaren sighed, rolling his eyes. "Right. And you say you work here."

"I'm the direction guy, you're the owner of this place!"

After dropping his head, almost spilling a bit of his drink from another tall glass, he chuckled. "Thank Hylia I won that match of rock, paper, scissors all those years ago," he murmured. "Alright, kid, come here." Link approached Tassaren, shaking his extended hand. "So, what advice do you need, eh?"

"How do I catch a horse?" he asked first, his eyes quickly flicking down at the drink Tassaren held, feeling a strong urge to ask about it.

"Well, find yourself a herd of horses and sneak up on one that you like. Mount it and bring it here or to any stable you want, register it for 20 rupees, and you have a mount," Tassaren explained, almost taking another sip of the drink before putting it aside. "If you're looking for good horses, one-color ones that have no mottling are usually faster and more loyal, albeit more stubborn and wild. If you don't want trouble, get one with mottling or spots and it'll instantly submit."

"Alright. I'll go and get some. Thank you, Tassaren."

Before he could walk away, Rensa suddenly leaned on the windowsill and exclaimed, "Oh, come on, buzzkill! You're just gonna let him go get whatever he wants?"

"…Yeah… that's our job…" Tassaren answered, furrowing his brow intently at his brother. In an instant, though, he slouched and frowned with crystal-clear disappointment. "You wanna make another shit bet, don't you?"

"No harm this time, right?" All Tassaren did was roll his eyes, receiving a heavily exaggerated one from Rensa before the latter of the brothers faced Link. "If you can catch any kind of horse, you get" —he pulled out a purple rupee from the pocket of his horse-themed vest, most likely the uniform of stable workers topped with a little hat— "this. Fifty rupees, which is a profit of 30 if you register that right after. But if you get a one-color horse, I'll toss in 50 more rupees."

"No," Tassaren simply said, shaking his head and slowly reaching into his own vest pocket.

…

"What?" Rensa asked, upset and confused. "It's just a small bet, nothing—"

"I'll give you 50 more if you get a one-colored horse," he said, holding a purple rupee. "That way you get 50 from him and me." Rensa side-eyed Tassaren with pleasant surprise, to which he casually and cheerfully replied, "Hey, I hate you, but I care about your wellbeing and your wallet's wellbeing. Frankly, the thing that I care about more is…" —he intentionally paused, making Rensa stare impatiently with slight anger, just as planned— "you."

"Oh, screw you." He faced Link. "Well, wish you luck, kid. And don't forget to eat a bit and get some sleep, 'kay?

"I will," Link replied, gratefully smiling at Rensa before jogging around to the back of the stable. Once he arrived behind the stable, he sat down against one of the walls and began to rummage through his pouch for all of the dishes he had cooked three days ago. The dish he grabbed was full of simmered fruits, with the very sight of it making his mouth water and stomach growl. Craning his head up at the fresh blue sky, he smiled and began slowly eating with his hands. As he ate, Rensa's words rang through his mind. 'He has a point,' Link thought, taking a bite out of an apple, 'I said it myself, I'm not going down until I know the world is safe. But… he doesn't have the full picture — nobody will until I save everyone. And… Zelda.'

Slup!

Suddenly, a rough but soggy thing wiped his cheek and went up it, making him turn to its source quickly. As it turned out, it was a cute little dog, smiling brightly at him. He smiled as brightly as the dog, starting to rub its face as he greeted, "Oh, hi!" It relentlessly nuzzled into his hand and arm and licked them, only getting more pets and scratches from him. "Hehe, do you live here?" he playfully asked. Soon after he did, it began hungrily staring at some of his fruits, mainly the apples. "Oh, do you want this?" It seemed to nod and track the apple with its eyes before he tossed it away, saying, "Fetch!"

Before the apple hit the ground, the dog caught it and returned to him, receiving two more apples as a little reward. "You can eat those, I don't mind." While it sniffed and wolfed down the apples, he began picking out some other fruits and eating them. It neared him and his food, sniffing them closely. "Woah, hey!" he exclaimed, watching as it began eating from his plate directly. He couldn't help but laugh cheerfully and set his plate down, watching as the dog ate half of his food, occasionally taking a few small bits from the other side of his plate. "Awh…." It stopped after a little while, starting to bark while trotting over to a tree.

He grabbed the plate and put it away, following the dog until it stopped around a buried treasure chest. After pulling it out of the ground and opening it, getting a silver rupee, the dog approached the spot where he once sat. It laid down and rolled around, a sight that just made a smile encompass his face. Now that he wasn't as hungry as he was before, he entered the field to go and find a trusty steed. While he thought he didn't mind about the kind of horse, he was heavily tempted to ignore any that had mottling.

Perhaps he had a hint of greed within him. But, as Zelda would probably put it, 'Who doesn't?'

The field, littered with ruins and Guardian bodies, was populated with a few groups of horses as Rensa had said. A few here, a few there, a little bit of this, a little bit of that. While he examined the groups from afar, one specific horse caught his eye and made him gasp quietly. The horse's coat was a rich brown hue that seamlessly blended with the earthy surroundings, with the only distinguishable marking being a striking white diamond shape on its forehead. From its head flowed a mane of black hair, cascading and swaying in the wind like ink on a canvas. Its black, bushy tail contrasted against the white hair on its ankles that grew sparser as it moved up toward its knee. It probably looked like a standard horse that anyone would pass by without a glance, but… not to him.

"Epona…" he whispered, making direct eye contact with the horse. A strong wave of nostalgia crashed on him, as the horse seemed to… approach him. He reached out soothingly, beckoning for the horse to come to him. "It's okay… It's okay…." Together, after a minute of it trotting to him, they began slowly approaching one another, not losing eye contact. "I know you… you know me… right?" With agonizingly slow speed, almost as if they got slower the closer they got, he reached out and gently brushed the horse's face. "Epona…. Is that your n—"

"AH!"

A blue blob shot out of the ground, enveloping itself around his chest at such a fast speed that it knocked him to the ground. The horse squealed and galloped off in terror, leaving him to deal with the blob. Two more emerged and leaped on his hands, fusing themselves to them and the ground — now leaving him pinned. He twitched and grunted in pain, quickly beginning to look for a way to escape them. 'Reach for something? No, too far. Fight them off? Hasn't worked now and it won't work later. Wait, there's only three — one on my chest, two on my hands, not my legs!' It took some clever legwork and strain on his arms, but once he stood he was able to kick the two blobs from his hands and tear the third in half.

"Shit…" he muttered, brushing some blue goop from his doublet. "Where did you go?" He looked across the field, just in time to see the horse's bushy tail before it was hidden by ruins. He approached the ruins where the horse had run, being quite surprised to see it stomping out a couple of blue blobs. It flipped around and stared at him, practically ready to ram into him and stomp his lights out. But then, after it seemed to examine his face, it calmed down and approached him, nuzzling into his cheek. "Oh… so you're pretty brave, aren't you? Hey, hey," —he softly stroked its face— "I think I'd like that in a partner. Do you mind?"

Thankfully, it appeared to shake its head. "Then let's get going, okay?" It nodded.

Just five minutes later, he brought Epona to Tassaren, unable to resist the urge to savor both his and his brother's shocked faces. With a little coy smile, he said, "So, you had 100 rupees for me?" Deep in his mind, he swore he heard Zelda's little laughs, almost able to see her.

"I… um… yeah," Tassaren uttered, pulling out a purple rupee in sync with Rensa. "To be frank, I didn't think you'd get one."

"You didn't believe in him?" Rensa asked, handing both of the rupees to Link. When they were both in his hands, he took a moment to admire them. He was surprised to see them emit a faint purple light as they began fusing together, the color of the light slowly changing to silver before flickering away, unveiling a silver rupee. "Oh, yeah," Rensa casually said, noticing Link's surprise, "that happens to rupees. Most times, we don't see it because it's in our wallets."

"Okay…" he quietly acknowledged, stuffing it into his pouch.

"Life's weird — we adapt. Alright, Tass, it's all you," Rensa said, walking around to the side of the stable. Before Tassaren could talk, his brother's booming voice shouted, "Hey, there's my little demons!"

Link smiled and Tassaren chuckled, grabbing a red rupee from Link for the registry fee. "So, what do you wanna name your horse?" he asked, picking up his glass and sipping calmly from it, leaving just a bit of the yellow liquid left.

Without the slightest doubt in his mind, he replied, "Epona." Tassaren appeared shocked, albeit, pleasantly so. Being the naive kid he was, he didn't notice the pleasant part of the surprise. "…What's with the name?" he asked, tilting his head at Tassaren as Epona nuzzled into him from behind. "It's not… rude, is it?"

"No, not one bit. It's just…" —he cleared his throat and put on a pair of reading glasses, pulling out a large book filled with aged pages— "fascinating…" he murmured. Inside the book, from what he could see at his angle, were a few words here and there alongside scratchy symbols. "I hate to get all historical on you, kid, but… well, I just can't help it sometimes. Lemme know if I get a bit carried away, would you?"

"Of course."

"Thanks. So, almost two million years ago, a horse named Epona was stolen off of the Lon Lon Ranch." For a brief moment, Link was encased with this odd sense of nostalgia, practically quivering at the mention of that place. "According to both legends and records," Tassaren continued, "the man who stole it went on to challenge the king of that time, who didn't exactly have the favor of everyone. He lost but was remembered as a hero who inspired others to rebel, eventually making another young man challenge the, now evil and mutated, king and win."

As entertaining as that tale was, he couldn't see the explanation of Tassaren's fascination yet. "…And that makes the name fascinating… because?"

"I'll get there," he reassured, flipping a few dozen pages before stopping on some more records and pictures. "Ten thousand years ago, the prince of Hyrule bought a horse and gave her the name… Epona. He was also the one who beat the Calamity. A century ago, as part of the Law of Knights, Princess Zelda's bodyguard received a simple steed who he lovingly named…" —Link already knew the answer, and Tassaren knew that he knew— "yes, you guessed it… Epona." He leaned on the windowsill more casually, sipping a bit more from his drink and shutting the book. "So… would you happen to have some heroic blood running through your veins?"

Link nervously reached up and rubbed the back of his neck, the sweat forming on his forehead betraying his growing panic. The fear of being caught was overwhelming as he struggled to conceal it with embarrassment, worried that even the slightest hint of the truth would be exposed by another question from Tassaren. With no plausible excuse to offer and feeling too nervous to simply shrug it off, the weight of his predicament bore down on him heavily. "I-I… um… well I… uh…" he stuttered, his mind racing and heart pounding.

'Please… please don't—'

"Hahahaha!"

Tassaren's chuckle relieved Link beyond description, and he brushed most of the sweat from his forehead as Tassaren dropped a hand on his shoulder. "I kid. There's no way that someone as young as that knight could've had any kids, especially since…." He let go of a sigh, putting the book away and chugging the rest of his drink before staring, almost sadly, at Link. "Someone as young as that knight… they wouldn't…. He didn't deserve to—"

"And you say you work here," Rensa snarkily interrupted, leaning against a nearby wall of the stable and snatching the words that Tassaren had planned on saying. "I overheard your history mumbo-jumbo. Get back to work, would ya?"

"Oh, like you're doing anything productive," Tassaren countered, relaxing a bit and smiling. "Well, he's got a point," he said to Link, nudging something below the window with his leg. "So, Epona it is. For the register, I'm gonna need your name. So, who are you?"

"Link Wilde," he replied, watching as Tassaren ducked behind the window to open the mysterious object more properly. When he emerged and entered Link's sight again, Tassaren carried a saddle and bridle with small bits of pink, magenta, indigo, purple, and cyan fabrics contrasting heavily against the simple light browns of the leather. He also wrote something, presumably Link's name and Epona's name, on a piece of paper before setting it down on a shelf. "So that's what I'm going to put on Epona?"

"Yep. Here, I'll help you with it."

Once Tassaren had left the counter and approached Epona, he helped Link apply the saddle, instructing him along the way and getting snarky and sarcastic commentary from Rensa, to which Tassaren would snap back with something just as sarcastic. It was amusing to listen to and made Link laugh cheerfully a couple of times. One of his favorites was, 'Don't get your fingers bit off again, Tass.' Tassaren replied, 'If it happens, I'll take yours. It's not like you're using 'em.' It was fun to just listen to passing banter, even if he wasn't part of it.

"Alright," he said, watching, almost proudly, as Link mounted Epona. "If you ever need to call your horse, just whistle and it'll come running if you're both in earshot of one another." Link quickly checked his reins, ensuring they were secure before preparing to walk off. "Although…" —he stopped, turning around— "can you whistle?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Just curious. There was a kid who passed through here some five years ago who had to have a whistle made for him by a member of stable staff. I feel kinda bad for him, but it's not my concern. The last time he passed through here was a month ago to run some errands."

"I've heard of that kid before," Link quietly remarked, unable to notice the little pattern of people mentioning some kid. "Who is he?"

Tassaren walked away, only stopping at the entrance to the stable and cryptically answering, "Just go visit Hateno if you ever have time. You won't regret it."

'I hoped for a better answer, but… okay,' Link thought, simply shrugging it off and beginning to travel to Kakariko on horseback. Although he could canter all the way there, it was a lot more relaxing to trot. He was quite glad that Epona — or, more likely, her descendant — had been peaceful and loyal just like before. Someone, somewhere out there, was probably dealing with a rebellious horse that would kick them in the face and drag them across a road on a somewhat regular basis. They must've been having a hard time.

The path to Kakariko was calm and serene, occasionally interrupted when he dismounted to grab interesting plants or find a Korok. Along the road, right as the hill began rising higher and higher, he spotted an odd creature sitting defeated at a tree. Like a Korok, its skin was light green with patches and wavy lines of darker shades all across its body, with a miniature tree fused to its head, complete with itsy bitsy birds. That was where any similarities ended, though, as it didn't wear a full mask and more of a… mouth mask, if one could call it that. It was really just a leaf impaled on a sharp spike where its mouth should've been, with wing-like things where its eyes should've been. Also, it had a satchel by its hip. Its massive stature easily towered his own height, and it had a big round belly.

It was so… cute!

He parked Epona in the general vicinity of the creature before approaching it, staring at it intently. "Hmm?" it asked, its voice as high-pitched as the Koroks. It slowly looked up at him, and he swore he could see its expression turning from defeat to cheerful. Suddenly, it gasped and leaped to its feet, accidentally pushing him to the ground. "Can you see me?!"

"Yeah," —he stood back up and gave the creature some space— "I see you."

"Shala-zah! Shala-kah!" it sang, waving its arms about happily. "It's been 100 years since anyone has been able to see me!" If he had found Koroks cute previously, which he did, then this one was a dozen times cuter. "I'm Hestu, and I need help!" That name, Hestu… he recognized it. So then, this cute little creature was Hestu, the annual forest musician of… wherever the Koroks lived. It must've been some forest to have a musician. Hestu waddled in front of Link and pointed to a small camp of blue monsters beside the road, who were almost worshiping something he couldn't see. "Those monsters over there stole my maracas…."

Hestu slouched and made a sad noise. "Oh… I'm sorry," Link said, softly patting his shoulder. "I'll get them, don't worry."

"YOU WILL?!" Suddenly, as if a switch in Hestu's brain was flicked, he leaped onto Link. Maybe it was intended to be a hug, but, because of their size difference, it was more like a tackle that barely left Link standing. "Oh, thank you thank you!" he yelled, stepping away from — more like off of — Link. "I hope you can get them!" With that, he waved a farewell to Link as he ran off. Meanwhile, Epona approached Hestu and stared him in the eyes. "So he's always nice like this, is he?"

"Yes," Epona replied, nodding. "My great-grandmother — his original companion — said he always served her well."

"I think I met her at some point."

"She did talk about you, as well, Hestu."

"Hello, Epona," Link said, returning to Epona and scratching behind her ears. "Everything is alright?" All she did was nuzzle into him and make a slight noise, hopefully, a good one. From her perspective, she greeted him and hugged him, but, of course, he didn't see that. No Hylian was ever meant to see, or even know, that animals and spirits could talk to one another. He approached Hestu, popping open his pouch and smiling.

Hestu gasped, able to see the bulbs of his maracas poking out of Link's pouch, jumping and cheering as he neared. "You got them! You got them!"

"Mmhmm. But they're—" Before he could react or prepare for it, Hestu shoved his hands into his pouch and yanked the maracas out with an odd amount of force, making him stumble.

"SHAAAAAAA-LAAAAAAAA-KAAAAAH!" he squealed, flailing his arms and maracas carelessly.

Wooosh! Wooosh!

"…Huh?" Eventually, he slowed down his waving, eventually putting the side of his invisible ear to the maraca and shaking it slightly. He did the same one with the other maraca, getting the same result of silence. "Why aren't they knick-knocking?" Link frowned, shutting his pouch and setting his hands on his belt. "Are they…" —he sniffled and rubbed his eyes— "empty?" There was no point answering that — they both knew the answer, and neither liked it. "If only I had some Korok seeds…" he gloomily murmured.

"Korok seeds?"

"Yes… Korok seeds," he confirmed, raising his head a bit. "Those power my maracas… but the Forest Children — or, as you probably know them, the Koroks — stole all 900 of mine. I wanted to start finding them, but then my maracas were stolen and… ah…. I'm just a forest musician…." Despite not having any proper eyes or tears, he was crying. While Link could've just given sympathies and left, he knew he could help. He silently knelt down and dropped two Korok seeds at Hestu's feet before softly poking him. "What…?" He sniffled again. "There's nothing that could… that could…. Wait." He sniffed again, more intently and with less sadness. "What is that smell?"

"Would it be those Korok seeds at your feet?" he asked, happily pointing at the seeds he left.

"Korok seeds!" Hestu swiftly swept up the seeds and they absorbed themselves into his maracas. "Did you put those there?"

"Yeah. I have… 20 more, I think." To his delight, Hestu squealed and hugged him again. Because he was a bit more prepared for it, it was an actual hug rather than feeling like he was tackled by a bear. "You're welcome, Hestu," he said, reaching into his pouch to fetch more seeds as Hestu backed away.

"Oh, but before you give me more seeds, I wanna thank you with a little thing," Hestu said, turning to face the tree he once sat under. "Just let me get this little branch…." After taking a few tiny hops as he tried to reach a little branch, he managed to pluck it off and gave it to Link. "You can't put that in your pouch, right?"

Curious, he tried to dip it into his pouch only to have it shot right back out into the sky and in his grasp. "No. How did you—"

"Well, I can fix that! Just watch!" Hestu briefly knocked his maracas against the ground, making sure that they made the little 'knick-knock' sounds, before hopping up once again. "Shaky sha-kah!" A mysterious yet lively tune emerged from nowhere, much like the red sparks that burst from the top of Hestu's maracas as he waved them around. His dance moves were simple but cute and entertaining, and, once he finished with another adorable jump, a massive red cloud fired out of his maracas and into Link's face. "Sorry about that," he said, watching as Link spat red sparkles out of his mouth.

"So" —he spat out the rest— "what did that do?"

"Try stuffing that branch into your pouchie again."

Link did as told, but this time the branch wasn't ejected from his pouch, instead having no problem sitting in his pouch for all time. "Oh. You expanded my pouch… without expanding it physically?" he asked, tossing the branch away. With proper swords and equipment now, and also because that branch was just meant to test Hestu's abilities, there was no need for a stick again.

"Yep! It can't be too weird, right? That tiny thing doesn't look like it could hold more than two acorns already, so I don't think you should bother. Anyway," —Hestu shook the remaining red sparks from his maracas— "since you gave me another seed, I can expand another stash for you! So, what will it be?"

"My shields, I suppose."

After enjoying another dance, and getting blue sparks shot into his face once again, the sun glared at them over the horizon. Hestu stared right into it and gasped, quickly flicking back to Link. "Oh, look at the time! I need to get back home before Grandpa yells at me. Sorry, but I've gotta go!" With that, Hestu poofed away, leaving behind a mesh of red, green, and blue sparks in his wake. Link couldn't help but feel like there were some questions to be asked, but, by now, he knew he had to answer them himself… later.

He mounted Epona and continued the trek, hoping to pick up the pace before dusk. Either way, he would be taking a nice nap in Kakariko once he got there. Along the way, the natural hills that towered and neighbored the path began to close in, leaving little more than the path itself to explore. Still, there were plenty of ore deposits, a Korok or two, and a couple of plants and mushrooms that he wanted. He was smashing some more deposits when the end of his hammer suddenly popped off of the handle, sending it flying toward a passerby. "Crap!" he said, dropping his hammer and checking on the girl as she held her knee in agony. "Damn it…. Sorry, I didn't know my hammer was going to break right then. Are you alright?"

Once he was close enough, he couldn't help but notice that her outfit was decked out with countless bits of colorful gems, all sprinkled randomly, which somehow made it more pleasing to admire. "Yeah…" she groaned, standing with quivering legs. "That's why I got this piece of armor." To his surprise and relief, the knee he hit was protected with a bit of white metal, although now it was shattered in half. "I paid quite a bit for this… but I suppose those hammers are meant to break lots of things." She cleared her throat, tapping it and swallowing. "Did you get that work of art from B.C.?"

"B.C?" he asked in turn, picking up the head of his hammer. The thing was merely dented by the plate of armor and all of the other bits of rock it had been slammed against. It also happened to be marked with the initials, 'B.C.'

"You don't know about them?"

"No…" —he tossed the head of his hammer away, facing her— "what are they?"

Once more, she cleared her throat and shuffled her feet, somehow nearly tripping on them. "B.C. — Bolson Construction, by the way — is one of the biggest construction companies in our time. Because it's the only one left in our time." For an agonizingly drawn-out moment, she just stared blankly at him, waiting for… something. He inclined his head at her, which seemed to be the moment that she chose to speak again, after, of course, clearing her throat. "Um… hehe… that, uh, was a… y'know, a joke. I kinda thought you'd… well… laugh."

"Oh."

"Anyway, they do house stuff, make mining stuff, and… well, labor stuff. Those hammers are pretty durable but everything breaks. If you wanna go mining without a hammer, you can use bombs! There'll be a big 'boom' and colorful fire to look at, as long as you're willing to go running after the ore. Y'know… big explosions" —she faintly laughed— "make things fly… right? Because that's… physics…. Haha… um…."

"Did you mean to make another joke for that?" he asked, not trying to sound rude about it. It was pretty obvious, though, that she was both trying too hard and not good at it.

Frustrated, she sighed and nodded. "Yeah. I guess I'm not good at it, huh?"

"Just keep working at it. Make it natural and don't force it," he advised, apparently already boosting her mood. "It's just a chat, and if it goes for long enough, crack some jokes."

A little smile appeared on her face and she nodded, reaching out a hand to shake. "Thanks, kid. Tell me," —they shook hands— "what's your name?"

"Link. You?"

"Brokka. And, hey, if you ever wanna talk and hone my joke skills," —she pointed cheerfully at herself with both of her thumbs— "keep an eye out for these sparkles."

He jumped back onto Epona, happily nodding at her. "Maybe I will." It hurt a little to say that, knowing that the chances of them crossing paths over and over were… pretty low. Either way, they parted, continuing in opposite directions toward wherever. Along the way, he saw and was tempted by many an ore deposit, blowing a few of them up and chasing the ores as they flew through the sky. The point where he reached Kakariko was very clearly marked with a set of gates, with one accompanied by a yellow beetle that skittered about on its pole.

After picking it up and leaving Epona beside it, he entered the village, being greeted by the soft knocking of wooden wind chimes. By now, it was nighttime, leaving the fires and lamps to light his way to Impa. The only trouble was that, with so many houses around, Impa could be anywhere. She was very old, since she personally knew Zelda, lived in Kakariko, and… that was it. It was also too late to start opening doors and asking, 'Where's Impa' over and over. Doing that would get him sent flying over the hills and out of town. If only there was someone nearby who was still awake….

"Gah!"

Right by a campfire was an old woman who had fallen down, holding her ankle in pain. Link quickly knelt by her side, checking on her. "Hey, are you alright?" he asked, gently reaching out toward her ankle but not touching it. As if he had magical healing powers.

"Enough to stand," she groaned, slowly standing up with his slight assistance. When she was up on her feet, and after she had cracked her back, she sighed. "Forgive me for making such an… well, an 'introduction' to you, traveler," she said, putting her hands behind her back. Now that they were face to face, he couldn't help but examine what she wore. It was a set of white robes with edges lined with thick red fabric of an unknown origin, all above a slim, navy blue suit. She adjusted her straw hat, widening her eyes at his belt. "Traveler… what is that… thing on your waist?"

Hearing that, he hesitated to answer. Maybe she knew what it was, maybe she didn't. For once, he took a chance and chose to be honest. "It's…" —he swallowed thickly— "a Sheikah Slate. Do you… know what that is?" A bit of sweat dripped down his face and onto the ground. 'Please don't make me sound crazy…' he internally pleaded.

To his relief, she smiled and nodded, forcefully shaking Link's hand with enthusiasm. "Then I, Nanna, have lived long enough to meet the hero of legend us Sheikah have prophesied about."

He gasped a little, staring at her with shock. "This is where the Sheikah live?"

"Well," —she stepped back— "the descendants of the ancient Sheikah I presume you refer to. Either way… I know what you are here for." Once more, he stared at her in surprise, something that she seemed to expect. "Yes, indeed. Lady Impa has spoken highly of you ever since she returned with survivors of the Great Calamity."

"Lady Impa? Like… advisor to the king and friend of Zelda, Impa?" he asked for clarification, receiving a nod. "Where is she? I need to… well, you know."

Nanna approached a nearby fence, pointing at a large house by a trio of waterfalls. Its roof was more decorative than the rest, marked with a shiny golden Sheikah eye, and it was on a wooden platform at the top of a long staircase. "That house is the house of our elders, where Lady Impa now resides. I believe you should go meet with her before she retires."

"On it." He nodded at her and began to jog toward the house.

"Although…" —he stopped, faintly sighing and facing her— "considering that dusk is now upon us, it would be ideal to get some sleep. Now, I assume you haven't had a bed since you first left that cave of yours, yes?"

"Just campfires. If you're gonna offer me something, then—"

"There's an inn around the center of the village, run by a sweet soul named Ollie. Go get some sleep there," she advised, waving at him before he continued deeper into the village.

Beep, beep! Beep, beep!

As he approached a hill diverging from the path, his Sheikah Slate began to beep with increasing intensity. This sudden change was not unexpected, though, as he received the Sheikah Sensor from the Dueling Peaks tower. It beeped when he approached any shrine, only stopping when he was right at the shrine. So, as he had done twice before, he approached it and entered the shrine. The layout of this one was… notable. There were two chests near the descending platform, a large gap in the middle of the room, and… nothing else. It put him on alert.

The monk of the shrine, Ta'loh Naeg, made introductions as every other had done before. But his last sentence also made him perk up. "I share with you my knowledge of combat, so that it may please Hylia. Take those weapons before you and wield them against the training scout." Link opened the chest, grabbing the sharp dagger and small yet tactical shield before putting them away. Afterward, he drew his own soldier's sword and rusted shield, gingerly approaching the gap in the ground. When the ground jolted a bit and the whirs of gears became audible, he swallowed thickly and prepared for… whatever a 'training scout' was.

From the ground, standing on a platform with its four small legs, came a white-plated robot, wielding a blade made out of pure blue energy. Its little blue eye locked onto him and it twirled the blade, like a challenge. "When the scout swings down," Ta'loh Naeg said as it began to approach with frightening speed, "hop to the side and counter!" Link charged, rolling past the scout before it even attacked. The scout approached him again, pausing to raise its blade upward. Once it twitched a little, Ta'loh Naeg shouted, "Now!"

"HUT!"

Whiff!

…

Suddenly, a mysterious hyperawareness surrounded him, and… he could spot every little detail of the scout. From small parts that spat out from its inner workings to the aura of its blade, he noticed it in excruciating detail. He landed on the ground and neared it, something that it either ignored or didn't notice… unless it couldn't move. Had he frozen time? Or the scout itself? Was it just his perception? Well, it probably was, but… eh, he had a chance to attack — he'd take it. He dashed toward it and slashed it, knocking it back slightly. With that, the mysterious hyperawareness disappeared, leaving him slightly disoriented at the sudden, and literal, change of pace.

"That feeling you just got is a skill only used by master fighters," Ta'loh Naeg explained as Link examined his arm once more, still impressed with the power he held. Thankfully, the training scout stood and waited its turn, clearly under Ta'loh Naeg's control. "As the best swordsman in Hyrule's history, the notion that you would keep that skill for so long, even past the point of little return, is not an unbelievable one."

'Past the point of little return?' What did that mean? His… coma? That was all that made sense… if Zelda hadn't lied to him. But that would be crazy…. Yeah…. It would be.

"Now, when the scout swings across, jump over or duck beneath it before unleashing a counterattack!" Link, now confident and prepared, stood his ground and waited for the scout to approach him. Its arm rotated and moved back, preparing a swing that he backflipped away from and returned, adding a slight kick for flare. After spinning out of control and grinding to a halt, its upper body spun and descended like a screw into its lower half. Below his feet, the ground shook, and the tile he was on raised itself, albeit not too high to scare him. Until Ta'loh Naeg nonchalantly told him, "Jump off the edge" —before he even finished his sentence, Link was filled with fear— "and fire an arrow at the scout!"

"Okay…" he whispered, staring down at the scout. 'Here goes!' With full faith and yet full fear, he leaped off of the edge and drew his bow, loading an arrow into it. That familiar hyperawareness also seemed to work for mid-air shots, allowing him to perfect his aim before sending one right into its eye. He slowed his fall with his paraglider, landing where the scout was before it scurried away.

"When the scout fires a blast of light at you, deflect it right back with your shield!"

'Just like Oman Au and Keh Namut's shrine,' he thought, tightening his grip around the handhold of his shield and raising it up. He waited for the blast of light to charge up and get fired at him, incinerating the arrow he shot into the scout's eye, perfectly parrying it. After it made contact, it sent the scout spinning out of control, ultimately falling upside-down. It refused to even attempt and flip itself back over.

"Now, prepare a strong attack and slice it in half!" He ran up to it, holding his blade at his side and preparing to swing it with all of his might. If he was meant to slice something mechanical in half, then it would need a lot of effort.

"HAAAA!" he screamed, swinging directly at the neck of the scout. In fact, he swung so hard that he did a full spin, slashing through the neck of the scout twice, ensuring that it was deactivated. Exhausted from the, albeit scripted, duel, he set his hands on his knees and panted heavily. Once he was ready to keep going, he grabbed the small blade and parts from the scout and entered the chamber of Ta'loh Naeg, taking the opal and well-earned Spirit Orb.

"Hyrule is safe in your hands, hero," Ta'loh Naeg affirmed, vanishing into the wind. Just another monk and a fourth Spirit Orb to spend.

When he was continuing along the path that went through and into Kakariko, he noticed the lack of… anyone, really. The path was lit but the path was empty. But there was another mysterious winged statue, donning a cute red apron around its neck and residing on a platform in the middle of a pond. This small center was the most well-lit part of the village, with four brightly burning torches surrounding the statue, raised out of the pond on long poles.

He approached it and waited for it to speak. "Ah, you have returned for another blessing, I see," she warmly greeted, saying the words with a smile he couldn't see. "I must apologize for both taking over our last conversation and my ambiguity throughout our last encounter. I should've given you a bit more… freedom to talk, especially because all that I said was… well, gibberish, really. Us Goddesses speak in mysterious ways."

"You're a… Goddess?" he curiously asked, tilting his head at her.

"The consciousness of one, rather," she clarified. "I chose to do this to myself many, many, many years ago for… reasons I should not get into. I believe that regaling you with such a story would be distracting to what you wish to achieve. And I also believe that you did not come to me to have a chat as long as this one, yes?"

As tempting as it was to tell her that he wanted to talk more and wanted to hear from her more, she had a point: there was no use getting distracted like this. This time, she allowed him to answer for himself. "No, I didn't."

"Hmph. You were always one to focus on your mission, even if it gave you slight tunnel vision. But… what do you request?"

"That… um… green… thing. From last time, I mean."

She softly laughed, soothing his soul. "It is a Stamina Vessel, young hero. The alternative is a Heart Container. Both up your resilience to exhaustion and damage, respectively. But now, your blessing." With a mysterious, shining light and warm feeling encasing him, the statue absorbed his Spirit Orbs and gave him a Stamina Vessel. "Farewell, young hero," she said as the light and warmth faded away.

With that, he finally decided that it was time to get a nap. It seemed that, once that extra warmth went away, he could feel the full chill of the night. There had to be an inn nearby, he just had to find out where. So, he approached some of the buildings and examined their signs, unless it was just a person's name. 'The Curious Quiver, Enchanted, High Spirits Produce… aha! The Shuteye Inn.' He entered the inn, pushing aside the sliding door, his eyes instantly drawn to the one light in the room. It came from a lamp, unsurprisingly, lighting up the face of a sleeping man. He wore the same robes as Nanna, also with white hair, which was quite odd considering his look. His round, smooth face meant that, at most, he could be in his mid-to-late twenties. Drool descended from his mouth as he slept, still standing.

'Um… that's… not… sanitary.'

Beside the lamp was a little bell and a note, reading, 'Ring for service; even if I'm sleeping. — Ollie.' He softly tapped the bell, getting nothing but silence for the first attempt. That was when he realized that the bell was a bit rusted and old. He tapped it again… and again… and again… AND AGAIN… and then he gave up and practically bashed the bell. Unfortunately, that hard of an impact made it ring really loudly.

DIIIING!

"AH!" Ollie awoke with a start, jolting and jumping before his gaze zipped around the place. Once he saw Link, though, he relaxed and sighed. "Oh… just a g-guest… not a ghost…."

"I'm sorry for waking you up like that," Link quietly replied, turning a slight shade of red. "The bell wasn't working and I… I got frustrated. That's on me, I—"

"No, no…" he grumbled, cracking his neck and trying to rub something out of his eye, even after all of his continuous, slow blinking. "I can barely keep my sleep schedule up for more than a day… but I shouldn't ramble. It's not like you can hear what I say, anyway…."

"…Pardon?" Link asked, unable to hear what he had said.

Amused at the accuracy of his words, Ollie drowsily laughed and hand-waved it away. "Anyway…. The normal bed is 20 rupees, the softer… the…" —he shook his head rapidly, barely able to stand straight— "softer one is… 40."

"What's the difference between the two?"

Ollie squatted on the ground, reaching out with a feeble arm toward a piece of paper resting beneath the desk. He stood back up, wobbling slightly as he squinted at the paper. "They're stuffed with premium cucco feathers — whatever… that means — that will make for a comfortable sleep. You… y-you should be more energized when you get up." Despite trying to softly set down the paper, it slipped out of his loose grasp, landing by Link's feet.

"Here," —he grabbed the piece of paper, putting a little something beneath it, and set it on the desk— "I've got it. And I'll have the soft bed, please."

After he cracked his neck again, Ollie picked up the paper, seeing two red rupees beneath it. "Thank you. The beds are…" —he drowsily pointed to the side of the room— "over… right there."

Link stared, concerned, at him. "I think you should get some sleep," he said. "Maybe you should take a soft bed, too."

"Oh… your advice is appreciated, but I… I can't."

"Why?"

"If people see me sleeping in my own inn…. I can only picture how… how embarrassing that would look."

"Focus on your health, not your reputation. What truly matters, at the end of the day, is that you're alive."

"Heh… thanks. I'll consider that… someday."

"Just, for your sake, don't forget it." Ollie nodded appreciatively and Link went off to bed, tucking himself into the soft, feathery blanket. The mattress itself felt cozy and warm to the touch. Even if it was obvious, a bed felt much better than some grass. Never before had he realized how much he needed something like this. Zelda could certainly put him to sleep with pampering and sweet nothings, but a bed could do the same… albeit… slower. Zelda, herself, appeared to know this.

"Goodnight, my sweet knight," she gently whispered as he pictured her vividly, playing with strands of his hair. "I promise everything will go well."

And just like that, he was knocked out once again. If only someone else got an easy sleep like he did.

---

Hateno, long into the night….

In the darkness of his house, lit only by a lantern at his desk, Enn read over the most recent entry in his journal, hearing his own voice in his mind as he did so. Whenever he passed upon a part that had a lot of interesting factors behind it, he examined each individual letter to stretch out how long it would normally take to read it. That odd little habit was one of the few things that carried over from his past.

---

Entry 2010 — The Tenth Age, Summer, Wednesday

I'm almost done packing and deciding what to keep and toss, and it's only been a little over a week. Frankly, I don't know if that's a feat or way too long — probably the latter when it comes to me thinking I've done something impressive. But even if I can stuff 10-ish weapons into my leather pouch, there are two things I have to give away for a bit: my little kitties. I don't think I could shove Kookie's fat lumps into a crate, let alone my pouch. So, they're both going to Clavia's. She's always been one for new things to do. I hope they're going to be okay….

Ugh, I'm so paranoid. They'll be fine, Ennathaniel. They'll be just fine.

…I hope the others are okay.

Ever since I told them all about what I'm going to do, they've all been… different. Ria looks at me differently, like she wants to tell me something or she can't bring herself to talk to me. Her actions would match that last little sentiment. Dara seems a bit… excited, almost? He hides it and acts a bit somber around me, but I know he's feeling excited about this arrangement. I should ask him about that when, or if, I have time. Zu has been extra happy and peppy, but in less of a 'I'm glad he's leaving,' way. They keep checking on me, bring me little things, and always tell me that I'll be okay. I don't regret facing a lynel to protect them, even though that gave me my arm slit. (Scar? Oh, whatever. I wish they could make a quill with erasable text.)

…

…

I'm afraid, you know.

For my friends, my loved ones, and… I know this will sound selfish, but… myself.

What if none of this will be worth it? What if I won't be able to get my redemption even after I help save the world? Link is the one, true hero, so he's obviously going to kill the Calamity. If he had done anything wrong — as if he could — he'd be redeeming himself three times over on his journey. But if I'm helping, what the hell will I get? A thank you and a pat on the back? Death? I don't know and that's… what scares me. Even if I survive past everything… will it matter? Or am I just another useless assistant forced to stand beside the star?

…I hope only my journal sees this, and… not my old man. I'm just imitating the tale of the great Nathaniel Manuel — I'll never live up to it. Not after everything I did.

I hardly deserve redemption, let alone a… girlfriend. Like any pretty Zora would fall for this walking pile of failure.

…

…

I should get some sleep — clear my head.

Goodnight, journal. Wish me luck.

---

Even looking at his own writing — full of stupid words, self-pitying, and selfish thoughts — he hated it. Everything he did these days felt good but could never outweigh what he did. He sighed and shut his journal, putting it into his pouch and walking over to his bed. 'I'm fucking nothing,' he thought, sitting on the edge of his bed. 'I'm just a…. No. I'm sleeping to clear my head, now clear my damn head!'

Knock, knock, knock.

The sounds of someone at his door, slipping something beneath it, brought him back to reality. He was too tired to jump from his railing but was agonized at the thought of walking down the stairs, yet… the knocking continued. With a reluctant sigh, he stood up and almost tumbled down the stairs, reaching for the door. Before he opened it, he bent down and picked up the letter, opening the envelope and unfolding the paper.

'I want to talk,' it read.

He opened the door, seeing Clavia standing patiently at the door. "Hey Mom," he softly greeted. "Sorry that you've gotta see me in this stuff, but—"

"No, I probably shouldn't have bothered you this late. I do know what you're… shall we say, up to, dear," she replied. For some reason, she just twiddled her thumbs and refused to walk in. "Now, I know that letter said that I wanted to talk, but… er…."

"Please don't cry, Mom," he said, both caringly and out of slight frustration. "I'm exhausted, I can't comfort people right now."

"Oh…. I see. I mean… well… oh, that's selfish of me. Here," —she handed him a small little trinket and cupped his hands with hers— "this is a gift Karin made for me when she was just a year old. Considering that I'm now your surrogate mother, I figured you would want to remember me on your travels." She uncupped her hands, allowing him to see an adorable paper bow crudely painted with faded pink. "I don't mean to take over for your mother while she's… somewhere out there, but it's quite clear that I'm close to her role in your life."

With a soft smile, he nodded and reached for the door to shut it. "Thank you, Mom. I love you."

"I love you too, dear. You should get some, much-needed, sleep." Being the equivalent of mother and son, they both couldn't resist giving each other another heartwarming hug before saying their farewells. She stood outside of his house, waiting for the last little light to fade away. "Good; he's asleep," she quietly said to herself, turning to face the direction of the inn. Over there, every resident, outside of the kids, waited for her to begin their meeting. "Please work."

Meanwhile, Ria, Dara, and Zu anxiously idled beside Reede, not willing to hear what everyone else thought about Enn's departure. At least Reede heard them out and was willing to do something big for Enn, but everyone else? They didn't want to risk it but they had to risk it. "You ready for this?" Dara asked, able to see Clavia walking toward them all. Ria squirmed and Zu shrugged. "Ria?"

"Listen, I…. This shit affects me more than both of you combined, alright?" she defensively said, clenching her fists. "You've known Enn since he was 16, I knew him since he was 13, and…." She froze up, choking on her words. It had been years since she struggled with words and was a clear sign to the others to drop the subject. Her quiet little nod ensured that.

"Can't blame you," Dara replied, turning to face Ria after glancing at Clavia.

"Could anyone blame us for thinking like this?" Zu cut in, brushing some dirt off of their darkest hat before putting it back on. Its top was indented and the brim hovered over their eyes. "To do so much for so many people in just five years…. He deserves the recognition he's gotten. I can't help but feel like he doesn't think that, though."

Reede suddenly joined the conversation, nudging Zu's shoulder. "Clavia's here. I hope you're prepared, kids."

Clavia slipped through the crowd and stepped up on the small platform by the inn. Everyone she passed noticed her fear and, being small-town residents, did what they normally did: passed the information around. By the time she was ready to speak, everyone was told that she was clearly anxious, thus influencing them to feel a tinge of fear, too. "Hello… everyone," she awkwardly greeted, already starting to sweat despite the cold of the night. "I hate to keep you up so late. But this was quite important for you to hear, so…. Yeah."

Ivee politely raised her hand, asking, "I'm just curious, why did we have to be up so late for this particular meeting?"

"…Reasons I'll get into, Ivee," she dismissed, doing her best to maintain some semblance of composure. "So… what I…" —she gritted her teeth— "want to tell you all is… er… ahem…." She looked back at the trio, with eyes that told them all what she wanted to say: 'Give me some help up here.' While everyone in the crowd continued having no clue what Clavia wanted to say, the trio all looked at one another, exchanging inaudible whispers between each other to convince anyone but themselves to go up there. Reede ultimately stood up and took the platform, slowly pushing Clavia aside.

"I'll do you all a favor and not beat around the bush," he said, looking down at everyone. There might've been some sadness in his eyes, but it all was unseen by the crowd because of how little of it there was. Reede was not a man of emotions — he was a man of duty. "You all know Enn, correct?" People began to speak out from the crowd, with only a few voices standing out from the rest.

"How could I forget? He helped us start this new life, after all," Pruce happily remarked, wrapping his arm around Ivee's neck and supporting Teebo on his shoulders.

"Yeah, he's the kid who always helps me hunt deer. Never heard a word of complaint from him," Dantz said, swinging his heavy club over his shoulder, almost poking someone in the eye with its edge.

"Isn't he that one kid who actually acknowledges us?" Amira hazily asked her friend, Nikki. "He's not rude about it, either; he doesn't even eavesdrop."

"Heh. Remember when he used to sleep in the inn all the time. Gave me pretty good business for a while," Leop, the inn's owner, said, looking at his inn proudly.

Reede got the crowd to hush with a few gestures and unheard words before continuing with his point. "I see that he has had quite a positive impact on you. In the span of only five years, he has done his part and more when it came to being a good person, for us and for others. That is why it pains both me and my dear wife to tell you that he's…" —he turned to face the others, watching as Dara tried to keep Clavia under control and as Zu did the same for Ria— "he's leaving this town in a few days."

The crowd burst into cries of confusion and sadness, each word said blurred out by another. At this point, Clavia had broken into a fit of tears and Ria had completely frozen up, sharing the same level of movement as a stiff corpse. "Auntie, hey, hey…" Dara softly said, trying to hold Clavia by her shoulders even if she wriggled around and sobbed. He didn't even know what to say to comfort her, just spitting soft words and hoping that it worked. When alone, he wasn't good with this kind of stuff.

"Ria? Helloo? Are you there?" Zu asked, waving their hand in front of Ria's misty eyes and getting zero response. Reede descended from the platform, standing by Zu's side with a vaguely upset look on his face. "This really isn't going to plan," Zu nervously remarked, holding their hands behind their back. "We all knew that this wouldn't go well, but… not this awfully."

"It doesn't matter," he dismissed, looking over at Clavia with a hint of concern. "It might take time, but this'll pass. I've gotta go take care of Clavia, so" —he walked toward her, continuing to speak over his shoulder— "I trust you guys to take care of this."

Finally, Ria wiped her tears away and began moving again, slowly stepping closer to the platform. "I'll do it," she shakily uttered, clenching her quivering fists. Zu tried to stop her by grabbing her arm, but they were quickly shoved off and she snapped toward them. "Don't…" —her aggression faded— "just don't, Zu. I might not do this… in the right way… but I'm fucking doing it." As everyone in the crowd continued with their confusion, she got onto the platform and took in a deep breath. That breath wasn't to calm herself but rather to prepare her throat for what she would say.

"EVERYONE JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

…

…

The whole crowd went dead silent, staring in horror at Ria as she glared at everyone. "This…" —she barely kept herself from swearing again— "is already hard for us to talk about… so… please. Just… make it easier for us… please." Thankfully, everyone nodded and said nothing more. As she took heavy and shaky breaths, Dara and Zu joined her side, setting their hands on her shoulders comfortingly. "Now… Clavia and Reede brought all of you here with the news of… his departure, but to also make a request. What they — what we — want from you is to make this bad news into something better. Rather than cry over it, we want all of you to prepare to give him the best farewell we can give. He's done… so, so, SO much for all of us. Let's pay it forward."

Inspired by the speech, they all, albeit quietly, cheered, making her feel a lot better. "Never heard you talk like that before," Dara remarked, staring Ria in her misty eyes. "I'll admit it, I'm not happy with you being the next leader of this crew… but I can't say you're not fully unprepared for it." She smiled at him and wiped her tears away.

She looked off in the distance toward Enn's darkened house, her mind flooding with countless memories of their adventures together, ever since that fateful day when they met. Throughout those memories, one phrase, one set of words was repeated over and over. They kept her calm and away from death, motivating her until the day she would die. She felt the need to say them to herself.

"You'll learn to sing in the rain."

---

The next morning in Kakariko….

"WHO ARE YOU?!" a guard boomed at Link, drawing a sharp dagger from a little holster and pointing it at him.

A bit shaken but otherwise unphased, Link slowly pulled down his hood and adjusted the cape connected to it. He had bought a new set of clothes, some 20-ish arrows, and cooking ingredients just a couple of minutes ago. As a result, he had grown more relaxed and comfortable in his new life. Rather than keeping the bandana, he bought a black hood and long cape that gave him a mysterious aura if he wanted the hood up, even if it was all too unfitting for him. He replaced his warm doublet with a hot pink tunic, layered with chainmail beneath it and a thick, teal fabric. The tunic overall was padded with leather and a pauldron, acting as, albeit weak, defense. By now, he had also gotten more confident when it came to talking to people, losing his stutter and hesitation… except when people flirted with him. "I'm Li—"

"If you don't answer me soon, I will… er… attack you!"

The other guard also had his weapon drawn but seemed more collected than his co-worker. Compared to one another, the calmer guard had more bulk and muscle while the aggressive one looked slimmer, most likely because an old bow seemed to be his main weapon. "Cado," the calm guard said, staring, almost disappointed, at the aggressive guard. "He was about to answer you. Perhaps you should explain who is allowed into Lady Impa's and who isn't, just in case."

"…Right," Cado replied, turning red. "Anyway… the only people allowed into Lady Impa's house are either carriers of messages, people who have lived in Kakariko for long enough for us to be familiar with them, or the fabled hero of legend. But," —he relaxed a bit and chuckled with a slight wheeze— "that such thing will only happen once my cuccos begin laying golden eggs." The other guard also laughed a little, examining Link and suddenly growing surprised. "And" —Cado also looked him up and down— "you are far too short and scrawny to be… to…. Holy cucco egg…."

"You see my Sheikah Slate, don't you?" Link asked expectantly, instantly tracing their gazes to his waist. With a little smirk, he reached out a hand to shake, calmly saying, "I'm Link, by the way."

"Well, Cado," the calm guard said, grinning at Cado as they both slowly put their daggers away, "I think you should be expecting a golden cucco egg soon." Still dumbfounded, Cado attempted to speak but choked on all of his words, and Link simply put a hand up, casually away the apology he planned to say and forgiving him without a word. "I, Dorian of Kakariko, apologize to you, Link. I ask that you forgive us for such—"

"Don't worry about it, Dorian," he interrupted, shrugging. "And I don't need any formalities. I appreciate it, though."

"Oh." They both leaned back up, shuffling out of his way. "Well, we both request that you go up these stairs to meet with our elder, Lady Impa. I assume you know of your important history, right?"

"Yeah. I'll see you guys on my way down, then." He went up the stairs, skipping over two steps at a time but eventually slowing to a walk. Something about running up the stairs to the house of someone really important felt disrespectful, in a way. Around the top of the stairs, he heard the sounds of something being dunked in water, followed by a high-pitched squeaking. As it turned out, it was a Sheikah girl around his age, scrubbing the wooden planks clean of dirt and muck. Her white hair — a coloration that was normal for native Sheikah — was long but had two little buns of it at the top of her head, and her robe had a few small trinkets and decor around it. On her wrist was a sparkling, studded bracelet with a small red cloth between it and her wrist.

From here, she seemed… pretty. "Hello," he said, waving at her.

She looked up at him, revealing a red Sheikah eye on her forehead. Soon, the red blended in with the rest of her face as it burst into a bright shade of the same color. "A-a man?!" she exclaimed, standing hastily and nearly tripping over a bucket of water. To try and hide her face, she grabbed it with both of her hands, but couldn't seem to resist peeking out once or twice. "Is… is that a… Sheikah… erm…."

"Sheikah Slate?" he finished for her, attempting to approach. Instead of approaching or even staying still, she backed away and quivered, making him stop and look at her with concern. "Is everything okay?"

"Y-yeah…. Yeah. I'm fine, oh, don't worry about… me. You're…" —she slowly pulled her hands off of her face, taking soothing breaths— "Li… Lin… Leenk…. Oh, no, that's not it…." She noticed Link's confusion and covered her face again. "Sorry, M-master Li…. I… I'm just so horrible at speaking."

Being called Master felt both familiar… and weird, not in a good way. But he pushed that feeling down and offered some words of assurance. "It's fine; take your time. Not everyone has a way with words."

Those words seemed to calm her down and she finally pulled her hands off her face, holding them over her chest instead. "Thank you," she said, nodding and smiling as her face lost its red coloring. "I-I'm Lady Impa's granddaughter, Pay…. Paay…." She turned away and clenched her fists, bouncing them on nothing and quietly motivating herself with, "Come on, come on, not now." With a determined look on her face, she turned around and confidently said, "I am Paya. My grandmother is inside. She has been waiting for you since I was little and since my parents were little. Please… go see her. I'll keep cleaning the floors here."

He nodded and she got on her hands and knees, continuing to obsessively scrub a certain area on the floor that refused to get cleaned. Before he opened the door, though, he heard a faint, ghastly voice in the pits of his mind. "She will not forgive you…" it said. "And even if she did, all she would do is put herself on the line for you. Do you really want someone to be sticking their neck out for a courageous, brave, and skilled knight like you? Because let me tell you what… if you let that happen, to her and anyone else, their necks will be met with a noose."

Zelda's voice rose up from that pit in his mind, warmly comforting him. "Breathe, Link. Impa is a kind and forgiving woman who will understand everything about what happened a century ago. Trust me and trust her."

"She lies," the ghastly voice hissed.

"He lies," Zelda echoed.

"Trust me."

"Trust me."

The last two words they both said repeated over and over, faster and faster, louder and louder, more and more intense, eventually reaching the point where they became screaming voices in his ears. He wanted to cover them but knew that it wouldn't do anything, leaving him with nothing to do against them. Their words, though… 'trust me,' both uttered with different tones — one of desperation and the other filled with sinister intent. Yet, the latter — the ghastly voice — had a point that sprinkled seeds of doubt. He tensed up, quivering, listening as the voices finally reached a climax and screamed at deafening volumes.

"TRUST ME!"

"TRUST ME!"

"TRUST ME!"

"TRUST ME!"

"TRUS—"

Squeeaak…

With a deep breath and a determined look in his eye, he opened the door, being greeted by the sight of an old woman sitting atop a stack of red pillows. Her large straw hat had several metal chains that held metal recreations of the Sheikah eye, topped with yet another metal eye. With a lot of deliberation, she raised her head up at him and locked eyes with him, without a single expression on her face. "So… you've finally come back to us," she said. After that, she smiled happily, raising her arm up and dropping it on her knee. "It has been quite a long time, Link. I am much older now, but you still remember me, don't you?"

Already, his heart hurt. It dawned on him that nobody from his past seemed to know that he couldn't remember any of them. "I'm sorry, Impa… but I… I—"

"So I see," she cut him off, frowning slightly. "You needn't say more. That hesitation speaks volumes, you know." She vaguely gestured for him to come closer, which he did, politely shutting the door behind himself. As he did, he shivered but hid it when he walked toward her. "If I am not mistaken, then King Rhoam's spirit has told you my name, yes?"

"Mhmm. And Zelda told me who you were."

For some reason, she seemed shocked and confused, leaning into him as she asked, "Zelda? How did Zelda…." She pressed two of her little fingers directly between her eyes and shut them, breathing slowly and calmly. "I suppose we should use what we can get while it remains in our reach…" —she opened her eyes and set her arm back down, her warm expression returning to her face— "such as your lack of memories."

"…How so?"

"I believe King Rhoam has said it himself: If you remember too much sensitive information relating to your past, then you will be overwhelmed and you might be vulnerable. As much as I wish we could, emotional vulnerability is something we cannot afford at the moment. Neither can I afford to ramble. You know that I can help you on your mission, correct?"

"Yes. But, if I may ask, how?"

"Zelda, before you entered your long recovery, gave me a vital message to pass to you. She also told me to give you some context and more information on the Great Calamity. But I cannot simply pass this on to you without confirming something." She paused, examining his features closely as if she was looking into his soul through his eyes. "Even if you are not the…." Her eyes widened and she backed away a bit, almost scared of… something. "Even if you don't feel like the same person you were a century ago, I believe that the same courage you held then lurks within you now. But I must hear it from the man himself. So, hero, are you willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of Hyrule?"

Even though he had told himself over and over that he was fine with the thought of dying for the people, he… hesitated. She didn't seem to see it in his eyes, but he knew he felt it. It took him a bit of time, but he eventually figured out what he was afraid of losing. Knowing it just hurt more.

Would he really have to freeze his heart to save the world? Would he have to cut himself off from everyone to protect them? Would it be worth it?

…

…

"Yes," he declared, answering both himself and Impa. "I am."

Despite her small size, she reached out and held his shoulder proudly, patting it. "I am so glad that my belief wasn't proven wrong. Everyone who remembers you will feel the same about this." To his relief, she didn't see his quivering fist and hurt in his eyes. "Now… let me tell you how this tale started. Forgive me if I lose myself when talking about the past. I know going over it again could be therapeutic, in a way, but… it doesn't mean that it won't hurt. Forgive me, hero."

"I know it's hard to talk about, Impa. For you, me, and everyone else. But as you…. As you said: we can't afford vulnerability. Not now…."

She nodded and waved slightly, almost as thanks. "One hundred years ago, Zelda, her bodyguard, and I traveled across Hyrule to find the four Champions to pilot the Divine Beasts of old. Revali, the Rito's best archer with the power of controlling the winds, piloted Vah Medoh. Daruk, the Goron's bravest and most optimistic warrior who could form a protective shield around himself, piloted Vah Rudania. Urbosa, the chief of the Gerudo who could control lightning with a snap of her fingers, piloted Vah Naboris. And Mipha, the Zora princess with the ability to heal both grave and small wounds, piloted Vah Ruta. During a test of Hyrule's soldiers, disguised as a celebration, you pulled the Master Sword and took over as the captain of Zelda's protection. Thus, the Champions were chosen, guided by Zelda's former bodyguard.

"Many months and failed attempts to unlock her sacred birthright passed swiftly, and soon, her 17th birthday came. A mere day after, without any kind of celebration or acknowledgment of the event, she and the Champions traveled to Mount Lanayru for her to pray. Just an hour before the night would begin to fall, she returned, defeated and demoralized after yet another failure. Meanwhile, I was in the castle, speaking to King Rhoam about… something I cannot recall. Considering what happened soon after… it was the least of my concerns.

"All I recall from that day, that night, that week, was the blood, ashes, fire, screaming, and terror. I gave it my all to save people and fight the corrupted Guardians, but…." She didn't say anything more, just sitting there and quivering as she gave him a thousand-yard stare. Why bother saying anything after that? He knew what she wanted to say, he knew what point she was trying to make — he knew what the Great Calamity had been like. "After that week," she continued, looking him in the eyes once again, "Zelda wrote a letter to me. I have kept that letter all this time, protected and preserved through fire and freezing, storm or serenity, death and destruction, love and life." Without even turning, she grabbed a small box and opened it, taking its contents and handing it to Link. "Read it."

He opened the envelope and took out the letter, unfolding it and smoothing its creases.

---

Dear Impa,

…This is it, isn't it?

Even after everything, I find some sense of humor in having my power brought to me at the very last moment. I just wish it came earlier, for everyone's sake… and his.

But I am not simply holding the beast back and praying that things go well. I know from past experiences that prayer isn't what we must live off of. I have sent everyone on our research team a letter with instructions on what we must do. Purah and Robbie are en route to the Great Plateau where King Rhoam and his men wait for them to prepare him for recovery. Nathaniel has promised to continue his support through his kin and past the grave, yet hasn't answered if he has had one yet (as if that is any of our main concerns). You are to give Link this letter and guide him to Purah before setting him off on his quest. I understand that this will require an abundance of patience and hope that even I feel like we can't afford, but we have no choice. Trust me.

I must also apologize to you. I left without saying anything, not even explaining if I was okay or the like. But I am going to enter the Calamity and chain it to the castle with my power. Don't follow me. Don't help me. Live your life until the time comes. Have faith in this plan, have faith in the technology that your ancestors thrived off of, and have faith in his skill.

From your closest friend, Zelda.

P.S. - Link, when you read this, you must do as these words tell you:

Free the four Divine Beasts. Remember who you were. Wield your legendary blade. Save us from demise.

---

"What…" —he folded the letter back up and put it back into its envelope, returning it to Impa— "does she mean?"

"You are to kill the blights that slaughtered our friends one hundred years ago. Speak with the leader of each race of pilot, and calm the Divine Beasts by freeing the Champions' souls," she instructed, putting the envelope in the box and closing it with a snap. "To achieve the other things she needs you to do, you must fix your Sheikah Slate. While it is not damaged, per se, it is missing key data that someone in Hateno Village can assist you with. Go to their research lab and convince them to help you." She held both of his shoulders firmly, staring him in the face with determined desperation, loudly declaring, "You cannot turn back from this! Find your heart and save the princess!"

After taking her hands off of his shoulders, she gave him the box with the letter, which he took without a word. "I swear it."

He turned and began slowly walking to the door, opening his pouch and searching for his journal. Suddenly, Impa quietly gasped, catching his attention. "And before I forget, there is one more important thing I wish to relay to you."

"What is it?" he asked, turning fully to face her.

"There is another man in Hateno, who, by all accounts," —she put on a weirdly sweet smile— "you should meet."

"Who is he?"

"Just go and find out."

It was very tempting to sigh out of frustration and ask again, but he dismissed it and walked away. Now with his journal and writing materials in hand, he leaned off the railing of Impa's house and wrote.

---

Entry 3 - I finally met with Impa today. She seemed sweet, the people in Kakariko, while a bit paranoid or loud, were also sweet, and everyone along the way who helped me or just spoke to me. I also got my first mount, Epona, who seems to be a descendant of my original companion. Even a horse can live past a calamity. Speaking of people (writing about?), I finally spoke to some genuine people who were living their lives normally rather than off of a plan made a century ago. I'm not that great at it, but I'm not uncomfortable with the thought of it.

I even got to speak to Zelda, albeit, that encounter was before I met anyone. I heard her voice before I spoke to Impa, but she came with… something else. It was this ghastly, hollow voice that tried to make me doubt Impa and Zelda. I didn't trust it, but he made a point: If I stay too connected to anyone, then… I'm risking their lives. When I can save myself without difficulty, why should I spend my time putting others in the line of danger because they're too close to me?

And yet… I fear losing my heart. Impa, hopefully without knowledge of that ghastly voice, reinforced that. I can't afford to be vulnerable… but I know I should be.

…

…

I should focus on requirements, not recommendations. I can't get too close to people.

---

A/N - Another step in the journey.

"Oh, boo hoo, I didn't post in 2 months when I said I'd do it soon." Hey, past me, delays happen. It's fine.

But yeah, I felt a bit melodramatic with that original author's note. If you have no clue what I'm referring to, then that means you don't know about how this story used to look, which is more of a blessing than it sounds. Trust me, the original draft was eye-watering. But this version? Heck no! I love this! I'm glad I've gotten back to writing.

What about my thoughts on this chapter? Well, Link's parts that were just a ton of dialogue kind of exhausted me, but I still found them enjoyable. Enn's parts were somewhat recycled from the original version of this chapter, but I definitely made them a lot better. I don't regret definitely borrowing with full permission the TP Manga OCs and making them my own, because they feel really… real. It adds more character to both Enn and them, which is a win if you ask me.

And hopefully, you think the same thing.

Love y'all, Chapter Four is coming in a little while.

Ebblenubble.