One day, deep in the Rok Woods...
Link was hunting, hiding amidst the beautiful fall foliage that seemed to perpetually dominate much of Akkala's woodlands. A red tusked boar was in his sights, a huge, powerful male with large, razor edge, blood red tusks, quite dangerous yet a tempting source of meat in an impoverished Hyrule. He crept ever closer to the boar, making sure to freeze whenever it even vaguely seemed to turn his way...eventually the swine came within range of Link's bow. Link pulled out an arrow from his quiver...inserted it into his bow...pulled back on the bowstring...and...
"OW!"
Suddenly someone crashed into Link at full bore, knocking his bow out of reach and spooking the boar into fleeing for its life. Link quickly stumbled to his feet to discover a beautiful young hylian woman with bright green eyes, pointed ears (typical of hylians...Link had them too) and long, blonde, somewhat tattered hair in a brownish, visibly worn commoner's outfit that went down to her knees. She looked abjectly terrified but could not seem to say why when asked...Link did not need to wait long to find out.
"THERE SHE IS!" screamed a nearby man. Link whirled around to discover a rapidly approaching group of a dozen well armed soldiers in iron armor, equipped with a variety of swords and spears, all with red eyes, yellowed skin, and snarling, almost rabid expressions. They stopped a few meters away from Link.
"HAND...HER...OVER..." their leader snarled. With a look of pained familiarity in his eyes, Link defiantly drew his sword and engaged the mob in battle.
"CLANG!" went Link's sword as it struck the blade of one of the soldiers. After several strikes Link unleashed a spin attack, whirling his sword around himself rapidly and taking out several of the soldiers, all of whom disappeared in gray blue smoke. One soldier managed to block Link's blow with his shield and knocked him back slightly, but when he went to counterattack Link leaped out of the way of his spear and felled him with a parry of his own, after which he quickly took the iron hylian shield he was carrying for himself. Eventually only Link and the ringleader were left, and with a quick block with his newly acquired shield Link left him open for the final blow. With all twelve soldiers felled, Link hurried to attend to the mysterious young woman, who was now looking at him in abject shock.
"But...but...this cannot be..." Link helped her to her feet and asked her name.
"You...you are never going to believe me, but I...I am Zelda. The Princess of Hyrule." Link looked VERY skeptical.
"I cannot blame you, really...well, cheers for saving me. I guess I will be continuing on now..." She reluctantly started heading southeast. Link watched her for a short while before changing his mind about following her, hurrying after "Zelda". The young woman turned when she heard him coming...
"You...you want to come with me, even though you do not believe me? Even though you have naught a clue what I am doing all the way out here?" Link nodded. "Zelda" gently smiled in response.
"You must be an extraordinary person...by the way, what is your name?"
"Link."
"Link...I really feel like we were fated to meet. Follow me to East Akkala Stable...I will explain everything after we get there." Link followed "Zelda" southeast. Before too long they left the Rok Woods, traversed the North Akkala Valley, and eventually arrived at the East Akkala Stable at sunset...
The stable, a large tent with a model of a horse sticking out the top, was not nearly as lively as it used to be; only a few people (aside from the staff) and horses were spending the night in the stable. It was situated about midway up a hill situated just to the west of the Akkala Sea. By the time Link and "Zelda" reached the stable a violent thunderstorm had broken out and the two looked like drowned rats. Link payed for two beds with what few rupees he had and began settling into bed...
"Link?" The young man sat up to listen to "Zelda".
"I will wake you up at midnight when everyone is asleep. Then I will tell you everything you need to know...get some rest for now." Link quickly fell asleep, his troubled mind soothed by the now far gentler sound of the raindrops striking the earth...
"Link...wake up, Link..." At first Link thought it was a dream, this voice projecting into the darkness of his drowsy mind. Then he felt someone tapping his shoulder; he jumped awake, startled and bewildered, before realizing it was just "Zelda".
"Link," she whispered as she knelt next to his bed, "what I am about to tell you is extremely dangerous. It is not only dangerous to me; if you accept it...your life will be on the line as well. Are...are you sure you want to hear my story?" Link thought about it for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
"Thank you...you must be an extremely selfless person, Link."
No I'm not...I just met a pretty girl and want her for myself.
"I am Princess Zelda of Hyrule. Or so I was...I am now but an outcast, a pariah from my own kingdom. Hyrule...Hyrule is now under the control of the Dark Prince, a wanker despot who stole something most precious from me and used its power to spread a terrible Plague throughout my kingdom. Those who will not follow him fall ill and die...those who do follow him are reduced to mere shells of their former selves. If nothing is done the Plague will spread and consume everyone in Hyrule...but I am powerless to stop it..."
"But you...you are a real ledge. When you saved my life yesterday...I was convinced you MUST be the Hero reborn, the legend destined to save our fair land from destruction. Link...will you...help me save Hyrule?" Link nodded, at which point "Zelda" suddenly embraced him.
"Link...thank you thank you thank you!" she whispered in his ear. "I do not yet know how we will stop the Dark Prince...but we will start by heading to the South Akkala Stable. Maybe we will come up with a plan on the way...get some rest. We will depart first thing tomorrow." With that "Zelda" returned to her bed and both Link and "Zelda" fell asleep...
By the next morning, the rain had stopped and there was not a cloud to be seen in the sky. Link mustered his few remaining rupees to give a tip to the stable hand on duty before he and "Zelda" departed for the South Akkala Stable. As they descended the hill they eventually passed the Ordorac Quarry to its south...the sight piqued "Zelda's" interest, and she tapped Link on the shoulder, at which point he stopped walking.
"You see that quarry, Link? Somewhere nearby...is the Spring of Power. My ancestors used to pray to the goddesses in that spring so as to acquire the power to seal away evil...do you think I should pay the spring a visit?" Link agreed to visit it, and the two approached the quarry to look for the Spring of Power. The quarry was littered with the remains of ancient machinery...various random screws, gears, and springs...
"Those parts used to belong to some guardians," "Zelda" told Link. "Legend has it they were conceived to fight Ganon, the Demon King...but eventually he turned them against our ancestors, used them to destroy Hyrule, and thus we buried them. The technology seems fascinating to me, but my father...forbade me from researching them lest...lest history repeated itself..." The mention of her father seemed disturbing to "Zelda", and she began tearing up. The two climbed down the sides of the quarry and scoured the quarry for the entrance to the Spring of Power. Eventually they found the entrance and entered the Spring of Power, where there stood a large statue of the goddess Hylia (Hyrule's patron deity) and an endless supply of flowing water. "Zelda" very cautiously approached the spring...
"I cannot swim, Link...and...and water scares me. Can you...can you please come with me? Just in case?" Link seemed irritated, but nonetheless agreed and guided "Zelda" to the goddess statue. The water reached about up to their knees at deepest.
"Thank you, Link...please, give me a moment while I pray..." Link returned to the outskirts of the spring as "Zelda" - still somewhat agitated - knelt and made her petition to the goddesses. It felt like an eternity, but really "Zelda" prayed about five minutes...eventually Link could not handle the suspense any longer and turned to see if anything had happened. To his dismay, absolutely nothing had transpired in those five minutes..."Zelda" looked very disappointed.
"Link...I guess this does nowt to prove who I really am...I am sorry. Maybe...maybe if we visit the Spring of Courage in Faron and the Spring of Wisdom atop Mount Lanayru, that may help authenticate my mental claims..."
This is going to be a long, LONG trip...Link mused to himself before they climbed out of the quarry and resumed walking southwest.
Before too long Link and "Zelda" reached the Shadow Pass, a wooded pathway flanking the volcanic Eldin region. As they continued through the Shadow Pass they were suddenly ambushed by nine bokoblins, bipedal, dim witted, club wielding porcine monsters with a taste for hylian flesh. Link hastily planted "Zelda" in the security of a nearby tree before engaging the bokoblins in battle. He quickly cut down the six red bokoblins in the herd; the remaining three black bokoblins, older, tougher, and somewhat wiser, proved more challenging. Link impaled one between his sword and another nearby tree and felled the second with a charged spin attack; the third ALMOST struck Link behind the head with its weathered dragon bone boko club, but "Zelda" quickly chucked a rock she had picked up in the quarry at the bokoblin, distracting it long enough for Link to turn and strike down his would-be assailant. When all of the bokoblins were dead, Link retrieved "Zelda" from the tree...she looked very concerned.
"You are not immortal, Link! If we are going to stop the Dark Prince we have to be more careful!" The two continued marching towards Kanalet Ridge and finally the South Akkala Stable. As they approached the stable, "Zelda" had a most disturbing revelation...
"Link," she whispered, "bokoblins...bokoblins have not been seen since the Demon King was vanquished who knows how long ago. Has...has the Demon King...returned?!" Link could not come up with a counterargument for "Zelda's" fear. The two soon arrived at South Akkala Stable, and, as neither had money for a bed and the local merchant was hesitant to buy bokoblin parts, they slept on the wood flooring...not comfortable.
The Next Day...
Link and "Zelda" awoke to another torrential downpour, delaying their travel several hours. "Is your back killing you, Link?" "Zelda" asked as she sat up. Link did not seem particularly bothered by the lousy sleeping situation, but "Zelda" did not seem used to not having a bed to sleep on.
When they were finally able to leave the stable Link surveyed the surrounding area...the path from the East Akkala Stable met up with another path coming almost straight from the east to form a single path that continued uphill past the ruins of a massive, heavily eroded tower littered with more gears, screws, and springs, though no recognizable guardians were in sight.
"That tower? That...is Akkala Citadel. Or at least what is left of it...when Old Hyrule was still standing it was considered unassailable. Alas...the guardians possessed by Calamity Ganon managed to make short work of it, and it has sat abandoned ever since, a testament to the horrors of the Great Calamity..."
"Do you really need to narrate every single landmark we pass on our journey?!" Link complained. "Zelda" promptly stopped talking and looked deeply hurt...Link felt VERY guilty.
That...was uncalled for...why do I talk without thinking?!
Link and "Zelda" climbed the hill and passed the Akkala Citadel; soon the ground transitioned to a stone pathway overlaying a whitish gray rock face, before again transitioning to coniferous forest as they continued on their way down the path. They eventually reached another road following a river...
"If we head east here we will head to Zora's Domain...we need not do that yet. Honestly I do not want to set foot in Zora's Domain ever again!" Link tried to ask why, but "Zelda" seemed too rattled to answer him. They continued northwest on a sandbar flanking the Trilby Plain, eventually reaching the Thims Bridge to their west. Upon crossing the Thims Link and "Zelda" passed between the Crenel Hills and Crenel Peak (to their north and south respectively) before finally reaching the Wetland Stable to their south. The Wetland Stable was built alongside a river and seemed livelier than the two Akkala stables they had previously stayed in...still bereft of rupees, Link and "Zelda" once again resorted to sleeping on the floor, Link trying to make "Zelda's" sleeping situation more comfortable by placing a spare hylian hood (a dark, bluish gray hood with a cape attached) under her sleeping spot. Around midnight, when almost everyone else was asleep, "Zelda" crept closer to Link to discuss their itinerary with him.
"Link," she whispered softly, "tomorrow we will be continuing south and will reach a fork in the road. If ...if we head west to Eagus Bridge we will be able to visit the Spring of Courage, while if we head east up Sahasra Slope to Kakariko Village we will be able to visit the Spring of Wisdom. Do you have any preferences where we should start?"
"My gut is telling me the Spring of Courage."
"Alright...I...I should have expected you to say that. Get some rest, Link." They both fell asleep...