The sun was setting on Ordona Province. As it did, light burst brilliantly through the clouds above, showering the open fields and golden waves of grain and barley in a collage of orange and pink that bled out through the sky.
Link watched the light of the setting sun shimmer through the waters of the Faron Spring, entranced by the gathering twilight as the sun sank beneath the trees around him and flung out a few last desperate rays of light before it went.
This was his favorite time of day, a time to unwind from the day's work. Plenty of others throughout Ordona seemed to share his zeal for the sunsets, but few bothered to make the trek all the way up to the edge of Faron Woods to pray at the spring there. There was another spring not far, nearer to Ordon Village, where most of the farmers and shepherds went to pray and leave offerings. Link preferred the quiet tranquillity of the forest when paying homage to the gods, over the well-meaning but noisy clamor of half the province's occupants.
Ordona was a vast land, cut off from the rest of Hyrule by the imposing Faron Woods, but nonetheless an important part of the Hylian economy. Hemmed in by tall mountains on all sides, it nestled in the southernmost spurs of the valley kingdom, where the soil was richest and best suited to crops and livestock alike. Through that miraculous soil, Ordona Province had prospered and grown, and the old Ordon Village had developed into Ordon town, where all the folk from farmsteads and villages across the province would gather to trade, gossip, and of course, to pray.
The gods had blessed Ordona with their plenty season after season, and each autumn the province grew richer from selling goods to the capital. With prosperity came gratitude, and it was rare to find an evening when Ordona's spirit spring was not crowded with pilgrims come to give thanks for their good fortune.
"Tell me," the voice beside Link took him from his thoughts, and he realized he had been staring off wordlessly as he sat beside the shores of the spring. "Do you ever feel a strange sadness as dusk falls?"
Link looked over at Rusl in surprise. The question had come from nowhere, they two of them hadn't been discussing anything of the sort on the way here, and since they arrived both had been quiet in either prayer or silent introspection.
He looked back at the bubbling waters of the spring rushing over the rocks. He hadn't thought about it really. A strange sadness? If there ever was such a feeling in him, being here when night fell usually brought him enough peace of mind to wash it away.
Link didn't answer, and Rusl continued on. "They say it's the only time when our world intersects with theirs," he said softly, and once more Link turned to look at him. Rusl was matching his expression, gazing out at nothing in particular as he spoke, his eyes cloudy, like he was somewhere else.
"…The only time we can feel the lingering regrets of spirits who have left this world. That is why loneliness always pervades the hour of twilight," Rusl finished speaking and turned to look over at Link. Link wasn't sure what point his friend was trying to make, but did his best to follow along anyways.
"I suppose there is a sort of loneliness at dusk," he agreed, "But with how much the town has grown in the past few years, maybe that isn't such a bad thing. It's nice to be out here, without all the people surrounding us. Peaceful, if you catch my meaning."
Rusl smiled. "On that we may agree. But enough talk of sadness and loneliness, I did not ask to accompany you here for that. I've a favor I must ask of you."#
Link's ears perked up at this. A favor? In all the time he had known Rusl, and that was most of his youth, the man had never asked anything of Link in the manner of a favor. More often than not it was Rusl who was favoring Link, always going out of his way to make sure the younger man was well and wanted for nothing. In a certain sense, Link had almost felt like a late addition to Rusl's family, like another son. Certainly he saw Rusl like something of a father to him.
"A favor?" he asked, trying to glean from Rusl's face some hint of what this entire affair might be about. "Finally planning to let me pay you back for all the times you've helped me?"
"Something to that affect," Rusl chuckled, "I was supposed to deliver something to the Royal Family of Hyrule the day after tomorrow, a task set to me by the ealdorman, but I believe that you would be more suited to the task than I."
Link shook his head, dumbfounded. He couldn't believe his ears. "You aren't serious are you?"
"You have an objection?" Rusl sounded surprised.
"Well no, that is, I would be honored, but… a gift for the Royal Family themselves? What could Ordon have that would interest them?"
Rusl stood, clapping a hand on Link's back, "Come to my house tomorrow, once your labor is done and I will show you. It is a gift to commemorate the years of service our province has provided, as well as to further pledge our loyalty to the crown."
Link stood as well, somewhat reluctantly as the last few rays of sunlight finally disappeared behind the trees, leaving the spring bathed in darkness, "It just seems all very sudden…" he began, and now Rusl laughed openly.
"Sudden for you, perhaps, but many of us in town have been preparing for this day for many months, hoping that our tribute will be ready in time. I was chosen to deliver it, but as I said, I believe that you are a superior representative of our province than I could ever be."
Link gaped at the candidness of Rusl's words. The admission was the last thing he had expected to hear today, and yet it filled his heart with pride all the same. As if in a dream, he stumbled after Rusl as they left the Spirit Spring and began the trek back to town. For Rusl to spring something like this so suddenly… what had he done recently that had made the man decide out of the blue that Link should go to the capital in his stead?
Rusl seemed to guess his thoughts, "You aren't a mere boy any longer, Link," he slowed his pace so the two of them could walk side by side. "And I, I am no longer the young man I once was."
"You may claim that all you like," Link smiled, "But I'll believe it once I haven't got any more bruises across my back!"
Rusl smiled, "You may not be a steady hand with a sword yet, but I've had years of time to practice, far more than you have. This journey may, though I pray against it, give you a chance to use what I've taught you."
"Ah, so that's why you want me to go? So I can fight off monsters instead of you?" Link grinned ever wider at this, and Rusl let out a gusty laugh.
"Don't mistake my admission for cowardice, young man, or perhaps I oughtn't to give you the privilege at all, hmm?"
"Only joking, you have my word."
"Yet all joking aside, Link, you have grown into a fine young man, with a good head on his shoulders, a steady hand, and a heart of gold. I have had my time as Ordona's chosen representative, but my time is ending now. And if I would choose any man to carry the torch in my stead, it would be you. Of all Ordona's sons, you have proven yourself her greatest."
Link felt his cheeks flush with pleasure at the compliment, and he had to blink back tears of pride. To any boy it would be a dream come true to hear his father say such a thing, but to Link it meant even more. Rusl was his teacher, his mentor in all things. The man had taught him to read and write, taught him to swing a sword as well as any other aspiring soldier of Hyrule could. He had taught Link how to ride, and even gifted him with the newborn foal of one of his prize mares when Link was only a boy. To be told that all his hard work, all his studying and labor had come to fruition brought a greater pleasure than he could fathom. #
"I… thank you," Link said lamely, unsure of what one would even say in the face of such praise.
"Think nothing of it, my boy," Rusl stopped at the fence where Epona, that same foal from those years ago, was tied, and handed the reins to Link. "I didn't know at the start if you would succeed, but I always hoped. It is only fitting, I think, that my best pupil become the next Captain of Ordona in my place at the same time that our Princess becomes Queen."
"Is that what all of this is about?" Link gasped, "The coronation is happening now?"
"Not right now, no, but soon enough. Hyrule has been without a proper ruler for too long while Princess Zelda prepared to take the throne. Once you deliver to her Ordon's gift, and our sister provinces deliver theirs, it will be time for Hyrule to have a Queen once again."
Rusl strode on ahead while Link hesitated, his thoughts whirling. He had struck out that afternoon as just Link of Ordon, a farmhand and nothing more. Now he was Link, soon-to-be Captain of Ordona's militia! And even aside from that, in a few days time, he, Link, had been chosen to deliver the coronation tribute to Princess Zelda herself! The mere thought that he might stand in the presence of royalty was too much for him to even comprehend.
"Link, keep up!" Rusl called from ahead, and Link hurried to catch up, tugging gently on Epona's reins to lead her back across Faron Bridge and towards where home awaited.