Chapter 1: The Legendary Heroes

What does it mean to be a hero?

Is it worth it with all the sacrifices?

Is it worth it to fight against your own family for it?

Many heroes have sacrificed their livelihoods for their kingdom and vanquished evil as honorable knights. They saved their princess countless times and resisted the urges of their past. Even seeing their own family slaughtered, they continued on and created a new generation to flourish.

But evil continued to persist again and again.

After many struggles, the Hyrulean royalty and its many groups created a ceremony so that a Hero would be chosen and trained in anticipation for Ganon's return. A village would be randomly chosen to hold it, so that there was no favoritism among them.

It was called the Hero's Ceremony, and only held once every century.

The Sages from each race would test the hero candidates' potential and sends him back to Hyrule Castle for training as well as meet the current princess of that era. It is said that the legendary Master Sword only appears in times of need, so the chosen Hero was trained using a special weapon based on his specialty instead.

All for the inevitable against the future Demon King.

"Do you want to become a hero, Link?"

A fairy flew forward on Link's shoulder, as he read from the library book deep inside the Lost Woods. He wore a hood and a coat, to keep himself warm within the cool forest. The blonde-haired ponytail boy sat near a rock, leaning on it for support. A stuffed bag full of herbs was beside him, ready to be harvested.

"I don't know. The Hero Ceremony is in a few days, but I'm not sure if I want to compete against everyone for it. My brother is a better fit to become a Hero than me."

He shook some weeds and dirt out of his hood as he continued flipping through the pages. A beautiful green-haired maiden was sitting on a rock beside him, looking over his shoulder. It unnerved him after a couple of minutes of her staring at it.

"You don't need to look through me like that! Saria, I can give you the book if you want to look through it."

She giggled in her small form, reminiscence of the Kokiri. But she pushed the book back towards him instead. They were together in a small meadow within the forest, which was a small trek from his village nearby. There were a small group of fairies listening in on Link's book readings, since most had never been outside the forest. Even Saria had trouble leaving it.

Except for one of them.

"Nikki! Stop nudging me! I'll continue reading okay? I just wanted her to look at it—Ah!"

She persisted angrily, slightly jealous.

After he finished reading, he felt groggy and tired. Laying on the grass, he looked up at the sky, covered by the forest all around them. Saria sat beside him and smiled. He blushed and turned his face away from her.

"What's the matter? Do you want to tell me something?"

"…"

How did she know that? I was going to surprise her…

"It's written all over your face, Link. Is it about the festival that's coming up?"

Oh yeah! The Mask Festival. It starts around the same time as the Hero Ceremony this time around…

"Y-Yes. it's that."

Link quickly grabbed onto her shoulders.

"I want you to come to the festival with me, Saria."

There was a moment of silence, as if the forest had just heard a confession. Saria looked at Link for a long time, while the fairies buzzed around them curiously. But Nikki immediately broke the silence.

"Again? You know that Saria can't stay outside the forest for very long, right? What are you planning?!"

Nikki's screeching snapped Link out of it, and he tried to calm her down.

"I know that, but it's only during the festival. Last time we tried it, she managed just fine. It's just that…"

She didn't know how to act around the villagers. She scared everyone so much that everyone's think that I'm cursed by the forest now…

Link sighed in agony at the thought of it happening again. He should come up with a better plan this time. He really wanted her to meet his older brother. He was finally coming back to the village after all those years for the Hero Ceremony. He ran away from home and became a knight, guarding many territories throughout Hyrule. It caused a rift within the family, since Link was now stuck as the next-in-line sole inheritor of the potion making business in the village.

I really didn't want to inherit the business. I want to become a merchant and travel all over Hyrule selling my potions. But I can't leave the village without permission ever since he left the house. I want to see all those places shown in those library books…

"I'll figure something out. Saria, I don't want people to run away from you like this. Just follow my lead and everything will go smoothly. I can't have you staying in a forest forever."

"That's very considerate of you. I just don't want people to hate you because of me."

"It's alright. I'm sure they will warm up to you eventually. It takes time. I'll make sure of it!"

Link pumped up his chest to show his confidence towards Saria. He didn't want to worry her, especially about something so important coming to their village so soon. The Lost Woods sunlight dimmed, signaling that the sunset was coming. He quickly organized his herb bag and stood up from the ground. Nikki followed suit, flying around his shoulder.

"I need to go now. I'll be back again so that we can prepare for the festival."

Maybe they should prepare something in the meantime so that they don't get bored waiting for me…

Link sprinted towards the sides of the forest and looked around for a large leaf. That way, it could help her hide behind him and not scare people with her face. He found a large leaf and went back to Saria. With a short dagger he brought for finding herbs, he cut out a few holes for the eyes and mouth.

"You can make something like this. The fairies can help you with finding large leaves. Maybe—What's so funny?"

Saria giggled as Link showed her how to wear the mask, but he still felt confused by her laughter. There were a few giggles within the forest, as if others were observing them as well.

"You don't need to show me that. The Great Deku Tree has made many leaf masks for the forest spirits around here already. But I still appreciate your effort, Link."

The Great Deku Tree. If only she could show me who this special being is someday. It's best that I don't barge into her with questions too much…

Link nodded in embarrassment, and gently put some makeshift masks on some rocks nearby. After waving goodbye, he hopped along and left the Lost Woods to return to his village.

By the time he returned home, it had grown dark, with only a few lights to guide his way. A warm bowl of soup was waiting for him on the table. His mother was waiting beside the table, greeting him by candlelight.

"I'm home."

"Did you enjoy spending your time in the forest, Link? Everything went well?"

"I'm fine, Mother. Here's my herb bag from today's collection."

He dumped the bag on the table and quickly ate his meal. Nikki hid inside his clothes, not making a sound. Afterwards, he waved back to his mother before going to bed. The moon shone brightly through the window, and he laid down.

What does it mean to be a hero, huh? I doubt I could be one, my brother is a better match for it than me. But I can't think too much about that, I need to figure out a way to get out of the village eventually…I can't stay here forever…

Before long, he fell asleep.

In the darkness, a strange, hooded figure observed the village.

The Mask Festival was approaching.