3.
He had tried walking in a straight line to the point on the slate, but there was a monster camp in the way. He wasn't ready to take on multiple enemies with a few arrows and a club. He walked the long way around. He encountered some strange gelatinous enemies, they were weak, but had an annoying tendency to pop out of the grass and stick to him. His club was getting ragged and Link wasn't sure how much more it could take. He saw a few bokoblins at the bottom of a hill. At the top was a boulder.
Link grinned.
He had expected the bokoblins to flee at the site of an incoming boulder. He did not expect the boulder to hit a barrel containing something explosive. The monsters were thrown in the air before disappearing. Cautiously, Link went to their campsite. He found a sword. He swung it experimentally with a smile. This was much better.
Equally exciting was the realization that they had been cooking. Hanging over a spit was an over cooked slab of meat. Link approached it and sniffed. It seemed to be some sort of animal. He decided to risk it. He grabbed it and took a bite. He wasn't as hungry as he had been earlier, but it had been a few hours since the fish and he'd done a lot in that time. He didn't have a place to store it, and he didn't want it to go to waste, so it was getting eaten.
He really needed a pack.
He was getting near the orange dot. A large paved area stood between him and it. He saw a few monsters sitting, but he could easily skirt around them. He thought the dot might be referencing a tall needle like object sticking out of a pile of rocks. Cautiously, avoiding the bokoblins, he crept around to his destination.
Beneath the rock pile, a platform with patterns similar to the room he woke up in was nestled inside the rock. Link looked around in wonder, then realized he heard a snort of surprise. Link turned quickly, throwing up an arm. A bokoblin reared before him, arms raised, one hand holding a sword, the other holding a shield. Link jumped back, but not quickly enough. The sword came down, slicing through his forearm. Link hissed, but brought up his sword to parry the bokoblins attack. For some reason, the monsters often jumped into the air, exposing their middles to attack. Link dodged, keeping out of the bokoblins reach until it leaped into the air. Crouching, Link moved forward quickly, slashing horizontally across the monsters middle. When it recoiled, he brought the sword around again. The creature never even tried to use its shield. It collapsed and then disappeared.
Panting, Link looked around. He was sheltered on three sides by rock. It was foolish of him to get attacked in such a fortified position. He felt blood running down his left arm. He lifted it, looking at it carefully. The cut was long, but shallow. He knew it needed to be bandaged. A memory tugged at him. People – not a memory, a feeling. He used to have people who helped care for his wounds. He swallowed. He was sure that if he kept moving forward, he would find people who remembered him. He hadn't always been alone, he was sure of it.
Link grabbed his shirt. It was falling apart anyway. He ripped off a section, shortening it even further, and wrapped his arm tightly. The thin fabric was soaked quickly, but Link wasn't ready to sacrifice what remained of his upper garment.
With a sigh, he looked around. The platform had a circular pattern on it in front of another pedestal. He took out the Sheikah Slate and moved to the pedestal which began to glow orange. He tensed, not even realizing that he was hoping to hear the voice again, guiding him.
Nothing.
So, he brought the Sheikah Slate up to the pedestal. Proximity wasn't enough, Link inspected it and realized it looked as if the pedestal could hold the slate. Link slid it in. Across the screen, the words "Sheikah Tower activated. Please watch for falling rocks." The dark space began to glow and the floor began to shake. Link reached for the pedestal, but was thrown to the floor. He felt himself being pushed down as the floor launched itself into the sky. Rocks broke free from the tower, shattering into pieces before falling away.
When it stopped moving, a blue glow seemed to flow through the tower and then disappeared through the center of the ceiling. After a moment, making sure it wasn't going to move any more, Link stood and looked around. The tower had clearly risen a great height. He could see farther out over the woods and fields. He didn't walk to the edge yet. The slate was still glowing in the pedestal. Symbols appeared in the ceiling, flowing out from a protrusion hanging down. Then a drop of light fell on the Sheikah Slate and the slate glowed, showing a map of the area.
Link picked up the slate when he thought he heard a voice. The voice.
"Remember." Link turned, looking around him.
A bright light shone in the distance. He ran to the edge of the tower. The building he'd barely been able to perceive in the distance now shown with a bright, warm – familiar? – light. "Try. Try to remember."
Was the owner of the voice in the building – that castle? He leaned toward it, squinting as if that would allow him to see more of the distant castle. He was trying to remember. Why did the voice say it like he hadn't been trying?
"You've been asleep for the past 100 years."
One hundred years.
Link felt like he'd been punched in the gut. One hundred years? How was that possible? Link stared, his mind racing. Surely that wasn't possible? He looked at his hands. These were not the hands of a one hundred something year old.
The ground rumbled, and Link focused his gaze back on the castle. Something was happening. "The beast." A swirling stream of black and pink rose around the castle, moving toward the light. Link reached out, as if he could do anything to help.
"When the beast regains its true power, this world will face its end." A form appeared out of the black, a head with a pig like snout and glowing eyes roared as it circled above the castle. Link felt dread settle in his stomach and he reached forward, as if he could do anything to stop it. It would destroy the light. The voice. His only connection to his past.
But then, the light brightened. The same light that woke him from his slumber, grew in intensity, dispelling the beastly form in the mists. The blackness receded, but didn't disappear.
"Now then." The voice said, calm and sure, "You must hurry, Link." Link watched, dread filling the pit of his stomach. The voice began to fade away, "Before it's too late."
Link stood there, shock warring with excitement. This was what he needed to do. If he could find the owner of the voice, if he could go to her aid, then. . .
One hundred years. How was it possible? Maybe she was wrong. Maybe time worked differently for her. He examined himself once more. Link shook his head. Whether she was correct or mistaken it didn't change that he was here now.
Link knew he had to help the voice, help her. Watching the castle surrounded by darkness, he felt more sure of that than anything since he had woken up in the shrine. Link straightened his back. He glanced down, over the edge. It was a long drop down, but he could see platforms. He was sure he could drop between them. The bigger issue was the drop to the land below the plateau. There were broken walls stretching around the tower he was in, but from this vantage, he couldn't see a way safely over the edge to the land below beyond which lay the castle and the light.
Well, the most important step was the first one. Link went to the hole in the floor and peered down. It wasn't too far of a drop, he leapt and landed lightly on his feet. He could see that the platforms spiraled out and around the shaft of the tower. Link stepped back, took a few quick steps and jumped to the next platform. He landed precariously close to the edge, but he grabbed the wall to keep himself from falling even further. He tried again with the next platform and landed safely in the middle. He settled into a rhythm, careful to keep his balance. Since the old man and monsters were all he'd found so far, t wouldn't do to twist an ankle.
One hundred years. He pulled up short. Maybe, maybe there wasn't any one else left? All he could see from this great height was ruins and nature. What could have happened in those one hundred years. Would anyone still know him? Recognize him?
Suddenly the idea of finding someone from his past seemed preposterous. Who would remember him one hundred years later? He reached for the wall, suddenly light headed. What was there even to remember. Who had left him in that cave? If they had been waiting for him, they'd either given up or worse, died waiting for him. Just what was that space?
He sat on the platform taking a minute. Would he be able to get his memory back? Did he want to? If everyone he knew was gone – had died? He felt hollow inside. He had been holding out hope that if he just went to the right place, tried the right thing, the vacuum that was his memories would fill. Who could help him now? Did it even matter?
He knew the beast the voice had mentioned was more important than his memories. He felt it in his soul. What were his memories when the whole of Hyrule was in danger. He took in slow, deep breaths. There had to be people still out there. He couldn't be alone. Why would the voice warn him about the world meeting its end if it had already ended.
He stood back up, steadied. If he couldn't remember what had happened in his past, then he'd just have to work to build a future.
A/N:
It's interesting, trying to find the balance between losing all your memories and being an exceptionally resilient person. We lose so much character with Link since he doesn't have a companion in this game like he does in many others. A lot of his personality is pieced together through little tid bits. I'm trying my best!