Link still felt a bit sore as he walked down the grassy path towards the old Temple. He once more wondered just how long he had been in that unusual chamber to make him feel so stiff. Despite these sensations, he also felt refreshed in a way he couldn't quite explain, like some sort of burden was removed from him.
Due to the Old Man's warnings, he continuously glanced around for any sign of danger, yet after a few minutes he saw nothing worrying. The only things around the young man was grass, some bushes, and a few trees, some with fresh looking apples on them. His stomach growled, the food the generous stranger gave to him simply not being enough.
After a moment of hesitation, Link climbed one of the trees, finding it was tougher than he expected! As he went up, he found himself quickly winded, like he had never worked out a day in his life despite his physique! Maybe he was just tired from his sleep still? Either way, before long, he found himself sitting on a branch, plucking a red fruit and biting into it. The crunching sound was so satisfying, and the juices were a treat he didn't savor the first time around.
Like before, the apple was devoured quickly, even the stem and core. Without missing a beat, Link grabbed a second apple and repeated the process. Only then did he start to feel that his hunger was satisfied for a while. He gazed out more at the world around him from his higher perch, but couldn't see much else he couldn't before. One exception was a tall, snowy mountain that was becoming increasingly visible to him, but it was a far way off, even farther than the old Temple. It felt a bit odd seeing such a snowy landscape while eating apples in the warm sun.
He gazed up at the mountain, coated in show. The white material practically glowed in the sun and was a gorgeous sight to behold. As dire as things appeared, with ruins and little sign of life aside from a single Old Man, seeing such a beautiful sight put him at ease, just a bit. There was even a part of him that wanted to climb the mountain and see the view from its peak…but he had other things to do at the moment.
Not wanting to waste any more time, the young man descended from the tree and continued on his way.
It wasn't much longer that he came across the axe that the Old Man had mentioned. He hadn't been lying when he said it was large, the head of the tool was the size of Link's torso! The axe was embedded in a stump near a bundle of sticks that was clearly used for a fire somewhat recently. Approaching the object, Link took it from the stump and held it in both hands.
Heavy. Two hands needed. Can lift, but awkward for combat.
Carrying it around wasn't an issue, but fighting with it could be. Obviously, it was designed to hit a large, still target. Link had no idea what the monsters the Old Man mentioned were like, but he doubted many of them would just stay still and let him use the axe on them. Still…it was better to have something to use in case of emergencies instead of nothing. As awkward as it'd be to use the axe in a fight, it was far preferred over bare fists.
There was a strap next to the stump that Link picked up, placing it on his back and sliding the axe in so he could wear it on his back. Were the tool smaller, he'd just carry it around, but even though he could lift it with relative ease, lugging it would make his arms pretty sore before long. He just knew he'd have to be extra cautious about potential dangers, needing to be ready to get the axe ready at a moment's notice. And with that, he went on.
The walk was downright pleasant and peaceful for a while, and Link started to wonder if the Old Man was lying about the monsters. He did seem a bit odd, but the young man quickly dismissed his suspicions. The elderly stranger was secretive, but didn't seem the type to just outright lie. As Link pondered this, the path started to have patches of stonework in it. Clearly part of some old manmade path, probably to the Temple, that had long since been mostly taken over by nature.
It was almost a sad sight to see something that had apparently been so revered at one point reduced to a husk, even if it was just a building. Even the walkways to the Temple were nearly erased by time, and it made Link wonder how much longer they'd last. As he went on, thinking about the Temple, he suddenly heard a new noise. A guttural, inhuman grunt. Without thinking, Link quickly but quietly ducked into some nearby tall grass, getting on one knee as he focused on what he just heard.
Inhuman. Sounded relatively small. Close by.
Link held his breath, staring on the path ahead, which went down in a bit of a steeper hill than before. He didn't let a single muscle move as the assured source of the noise wandered into view, the young man having to actively stop himself from reaching for his axe, knowing it was a clumsy weapon.
Short. Shorter than him, at least. Red. Armed. Horned.
It was an ugly thing, humanoid in nature but clearly nowhere close to an actual person. The creature was red in color, from head to toe, and had a nasty, piglike nose on its flat, oval-shaped face completed with large floppy ears. Its eyes held virtually no intelligence, and its mouth simply hung open like it was too stupid to keep it closed.
One visible sign of potential danger was the single horn protruding from its forehead, long with ribs and barbed. If that wasn't bad enough, it was actually wielding a weapon, a wooden club it clutched in one claw. That paired with the wraps on its forearms, a necklace with a skull pendant, and even a loincloth, it seemed to imply there was slight intelligence to the beast, to the…
Bokoblin.
Bokoblin? Where did that name come from? Link mused it must have been like how he knew all the other things he did, the words and objects he was inherently familiar with. This Bokoblin creature must have been one he had encountered before he lost his memory. That made him feel a bit better about his chances, at least. It wasn't like the monster looked all that threatening anyway, save for the horn. Link just knew that one stab from that thing would be his death, the barbs looking like they'd tear any organs or muscle that got snagged on apart upon the Bokoblin pulling its head back.
He was, however, a bit nervous as he saw the Bokoblin lean down and sniff at the ground. It only took him a moment to realize it must have his scent! How good was its sense of smell? Its tracking abilities? Did he risk using the axe? If he charged it, it could be too startled to put up a defense…but he wasn't sure he wanted to risk that. As he gathered before, one good stab from that thing's horn and he'd doubtlessly die. What else could he do, though? Just run past it?
Unknown speed of Bokoblin. Was it alone? Could he sneak by? How good were its ears?
Link glanced around, looking for other options as the Bokoblin wandered around, grunting and snorting as it sniffed at the ground some more. He doubted it was going to go away until it found him or he snuck off. In all honesty, he wasn't too sure of his sneaking abilities, and chances are it could sniff him out with relative ease. He was also worried it'd just spot him. The top of his head, just enough for him to see, was about all that poked out of the grass, but even if he was entirely still, that'd never be enough.
Then, he spotted a branch nearby. It was decently long, about as long as the club the Bokoblin was wielding, but of course not nearly so thick. This certainly made for swifter, easier swings than the axe. He could at least stun it, maybe even knock the club out of its hand he could snatch it up! Alongside the branch, he saw a stone nearby, about the size of his fist. A perfect way to start the encounter with the monster!
Slowly, Link shifted towards the branch and rock, his gaze glued to the Bokoblin. It still hadn't noticed him, but he wasn't sure that'd last much longer. The grass rustled lightly with each of Link's movements, but apparently it wasn't enough for the monster to notice. After what seemed like several agonizing minutes, the young man wrapped his hand around the rock and prepared himself.
His body just moved on its own.
Link didn't stop to think from that moment on, shooting up as he snagged the branch with his free hand and pelted the rock at the Bokoblin! The red beast was startled, but only had time to let out a gurgled noise of shock before the stone hit it right between its eyes! The human didn't exactly process that this stunned the monster, he sort of instinctively just knew it'd be the case. Indeed, the Bokoblin was dazed, staggering lightly as Link sprinted at it, his hand tightly clenched around the branch.
With a cry of effort, he slammed the desperate weapon into the side of the Bokoblin's head as hard as he could, hearing the wood splinter a bit from the impact. This strike jerked the creature to the side, nearly knocking it to the ground. However, it recovered shockingly fast as it leapt away from Link, roaring at him as it then charged with its club at the ready. Its swings were clumsy and wild, just striking out at the young man, but with no strategy to them. Vertical, horizontal, a wild swing…they had no thought to them, and it was clear the Bokoblin was barely intelligent enough to wield the weapon at all.
This allowed Link to weave around the blows, his movements done through instinct rather than strategy. If his mind hadn't gone blank, he would have quickly realized he must have fought hundreds of times in his youth, as dodging about the swings felt as normal and natural as breathing. As the Bokoblin readied another swing, Link swiftly attacked first, slamming the tip of the branch into the creature's left eye.
Such a blow caused the Bokoblin to stagger back, shrieking and snarling in pain as well as leaving itself open to another attack, which Link took full advantage of. He charged forward and once more slammed the branch onto the side of the creature's head. This attack was so strong that the branch snapped in half with a loud cracking sound! As luck would have it, his impact knocked the Bokoblin to the ground while also making it drop its club!
Taking full advantage of this, Link scooped the monster's weapon up before it could recover. Without a hint of mercy, the young man slammed the club into the Bokoblin's head, eliciting another audible crack. But it wasn't Link's weapon this time, but the monster's skull that broke. The Bokoblin quickly went limp, and just like that the fight was over.
It was only then that Link's mind turned back on, and he stopped moving via instinct. Panting a bit, he looked around the area and noticed no other Bokoblins approaching. If there were any around, they'd have surely heard all that commotion and came running. He felt oddly exhausted despite how quick the fight was, like how he got tired out from climbing the tree. Maybe he wasn't used to such battles? But he moved on his own, like he had fought a thousand battles! Deciding to ponder it later, he looked at his hand and observed the club more closely.
One handed. Thick and sturdy. More wieldy than the axe.
A sword or a spear would be far preferable, but for the time being, it would do. Yet, it was able to fit snugly in his hand, Link able to get a good grip with it easily. While not as dangerous as the axe, he could attack with the club far more swiftly, making it a better weapon for the time being in his eyes. Yet something still felt…off with the club. It was as though he were meant to be carrying some other weapon, but he couldn't put his finger on which one specifically…
In any case, Link imagined the club would wear down and break after enough fighting. Not nearly as easily as the branch, but he knew if he fought more than few more monsters, he'd have to replace it or use the axe. He glanced down at the Bokoblin's corpse, eyeing its horn. If he had hand protection, he'd tear the horn out and maybe attack it to the club to make it more dangerous…but he also had nothing to attach it with. And without gloves, the ridges and barbs of the horn would tear his hands apart…
There was nothing else of use on the Bokoblin, which didn't surprise him. He wondered if others of the species carried other weapons, or if they all had wooden clubs. Hopefully he wouldn't have to find out, but given the Old Man felt the need to warn him, he doubted he'd be so lucky. It also made Link think about what else could be lurking on the plateau.
The Bokoblin was simple to take care of, but there was only one of it. If there were three or four at once, that could've been trouble. And there could be larger monsters lurking around for all he knew. He only remembered that the word 'Bokoblin' existed when he saw the creature, but even as he wracked his brain, he couldn't conjure up any other monsters he might have known.
This issue with his memory was just getting worse, it seemed so…selective. Anything personal about himself was a blank, but he knew what a lot of words and objects were without having to see them. He knew what swords and spears were along with other weapons, he also knew about many fruits, vegetables, and animals…but knowing what monsters to be on the lookout for was just impossible for some reason.
Knowing that trying to get his memory to work right was fruitless, Link just went on with his walk towards the old Temple. And things were quiet during this trip. He spotted no other Bokoblins or any other type of monster, yet he remained observant the entire time just in case. As he got closer to the decrepit old building, he came across more ruins.
Moss-covered and time-nibbled stones and walkways littered the area like the bones of some long-dead creature. There were even the scarce remains of small buildings about, mainly their floors and a bit of their walls. Homes, maybe? Whatever they were, nothing important remained of them, and it seemed the old Temple was the most resilient structure in the area. It was at this point he was only a few minutes away from said Temple…but then he heard that woman's voice again…
Link…Link…! Head north, and use the Sheikah Slate to guide you.
Distant. Weak. Guiding.
"Who are you?!" Link called out to the open air, shouting out as if it would help the disembodied voice hear him. "How do you know me?!" In that moment, he wasn't thinking about monsters or anything of the sort, he just wanted some answers! Yet the voice didn't return, either unwilling or unable to give an answer.
As Link felt a sting on his cheek and felt something whiz by his ear, he realized he made an error in shouting. Blood started to trickle down his face as he whipped around to see what happened. No doubt drawn by his shouting were two Bokoblins several yards away! The monsters were coming from out of some ruins, hidden by a wall and initially invisible to Link.
They were both red like the first, complete with the same type of ribbed, barbed horns. One of them wielded a club similar to the one Link had, but also had a shield on its other arm that resembled a clumsily crafted chunk of tree bark. The second Bokoblin was wielding a bow that looked like a slightly bent stick with a string tied to it. Strangely, he had a normal looking quiver with him full of a dozen arrows or so. It had to be assumed these last few items were pilfered instead of crafted by the Bokoblins themselves.
Outnumbered. Archer. One can't fight well up close though.
The young man felt his body moving on its own again as he sprinted at the Bokoblins, club at the ready as he went for the one with the bow first. Naturally, the archer got another arrow ready and fired it at Link. With him fully aware of the attack now, Link saw just how poor it was. The bow was a clumsy, near-worthless thing that couldn't fire arrows with much strength. This made the projectile come at him at a reasonably slow speed, allowing Link to weave around it as it flew uselessly past.
Apparently, this was enough to absolutely baffle the archer, as Link quickly closed the gap and slammed his club right into its snout. This knocked the Bokoblin off its feet and onto its back, but instead of finishing it off, Link whirled around as the other monster attacked him with its club! He used his club to block the blow, a surge of pain shooting through his arm at the impact. With a grunt of effort, though, he was able to parry the opposing weapon away.
Link tried to slam the club into the second Bokoblin's face, but it used its makeshift shield to block. As clumsy as the shield was, the club was hardly better and their poor craftsmanship were about equal, causing a stalemate. At this point, the archer got onto its feet and readied another bow. His body once more reacting on its own, he listened for the strain of the bow as the arrow was readied, and swiftly moved out of the way when he heard the twang of the projectile being fired.
He wasn't fast enough to dodge it entirely, the arrow grazing his arm and tearing his shirt, drawing a bit more blood. But the arrow kept going as the club-wielding Bokoblin lowered its shield at Link's movement. It only had time to grunt in confusion as the arrow went right toward it, striking it in the throat! It fell down to the ground, gurgling as blood poured from its wound. With no hesitation, Link slammed the club down on the archer's head, cracking its skull like he did with the Bokoblin from before. By the time he did this, the arrow-pierced monster had passed out from shock and would be dead at any moment.
Once more, Link's mind flipped back on and he found himself exhausted yet again. He was starting to worry about himself, wondering what could be wrong with him. His lack of memories and waking up in some unusual chamber in the side of a mountain…something just wasn't right. No way he was just asleep since yesterday. Something odd happened to him, something that left him physically drained. He had a healthy physique, but he didn't feel healthy, and it was as if he hadn't gotten to do any exercise for a long time…but this was just a theory. He had no proof of anything like that…
As he pondered this, he took his rewards from the Bokoblins he slew. The bow was shoddy at best, but anything was better than nothing. He took it along with the quiver of arrows, placing them on his back. He then looked at the clumsy shield and took that as well. No way it'd last long but having at least some protection was okay. He even swapped out his club, which startled to crack a bit, with the less damaged one the dead Bokoblin had. With the bow, arrows and axe on his back, things were getting a tad crowded. He decided to just keep his club and shield handy.
In all that excitement, he had nearly forgotten what he was about to do! The mysterious woman's voice said to consult his Sheikah Slate on where to go next, somewhere to the north! Putting his shield on his back, Link lifted the device, wondering what he was supposed to do with it. As if it sensed his desires, the screen turned on with the same humming noise as before.
To the young man's surprise, he saw the view in front of him on the screen itself. Blinking once in confusion, he moved the slate around and saw it was constantly viewing what it was pointed at. Was this supposed to help him somehow? How was the slate going to guide him by showing him things he could just see normally? The woman's voice did say something about the north, so Link moved the slate, so it pointed to the north. At first, he saw nothing of interest, but slowly scanned the area to see if anything stuck out in some way.
At first, he still saw nothing, but then the slate showed him something odd! There was a rock formation, about a mile or so to the north. It itself didn't seem special in any way, but through the slate, and only through it, there was a green glow acting as a guide or marker of some sort! Somehow, the Sheikah Slate knew where he should go next. He hadn't yet stepped foot inside the Temple, but he supposed if he were to choose between trusting the Old Man and the unknown woman…he'd pick the latter. She knew his name and was guiding him more explicitly than the Old Man, try as he might.
With his new destination set, Link went to the north, club and shield at the ready as he placed the slate back on his hip. He kept his eyes peeled for more Bokoblins, having caught his breath since killing off the most recent two. While he did see some, they were thankfully a far way's off to the east. There were four of them, all gathered around a large fire where a huge hunk of meat on a bone was cooking. Apparently he really underestimated their intelligence! They could use weapons, shields, start fires and even cook! When he looked closer, it even seemed the four monsters were conversing amongst themselves. Disturbingly enough, there was a large pile of bones from various animals near the group of monsters.
Knowing better, he kept his distance, and they never noticed him.
When Link arrived at the rock formation twenty minutes later, he was confused at first. Nothing there stuck out, and he had to wonder why that woman directed him to the area. He even checked the slate again and saw that green glow was present over it, just like the last time. He started to walk around it, looking for anything odd and very quickly saw something that stood out. There was a sort of metallic structure in the rock, the lines and design reminding him of the odd chamber he awoke in!
As the young man approached, he saw that the structure seemed to be a podium of some sort. Or perhaps a platform, with stands near the center holding up a sort of small roof that had the same symbol as the other Sheikah stuff, whatever that even meant. However, the most telling aspect was the same small device he saw in the chamber he awoke in, the kind that had a slot perfect for the Sheikah Slate! It was glowing a dull orange, showing it was still powered in some way. Oddly, the structure had a sort of stalactite coming from the small roof that dangled above the small pedestal. Could this be what the voice was directing him towards? There didn't seem to be anything else of interest, so it had to be! Not knowing what else to do, he placed the slate into its slot. The device latched onto the slate and took it, inserting the machine into the slot and, like before, a voice rang out.
Sheikah Tower activated.
Please watch for falling rocks.
Wait, tower? Rocks?!
Before Link could react, the eye symbol on the structure glowed a vibrant blue as the ground around him started to shake! He wasn't sure whether to stay where he was or move back! For once, it seemed, his instincts didn't kick in at the first sign of danger as the rumbling continued.
Unbeknownst to Link, it wasn't just the area around him that was shaking. The entire plateau was quaking as the tower was activated! Animals such as squirrels and deer scrambled in the nearby forest while birds flew away. The nearby Bokoblins ran around in blind fear over what was going on. And this rumbling wasn't confined to the Great Plateau, but all over the place, all across where Link had seen when he exited the cave.
Then, in a startling jolt, the structure Link was on shot up, causing the rock encasing it to break apart and fling away! The young man ducked under the roof of the tower, meaning that none of the rubble came close to him. He then started to realize that the tower was rising even further, it becoming apparent that most of this tower had been hidden underground and was now simply rising out of it!
As the tower continued to rise, Link started to really grasp just how high up the Great Plateau was. Making sure not to get too close to the edge, he saw that a stone structure marked the edge of the plateau and, as far as he could see, wrapped around it entirely. Off in the distance, miles away, the young man swore he saw other towers rising up too! He was only able to spot three or four, the ongoing rumbling and the distance making it hard for him to properly see.
Then, as suddenly as it all began, the shaking stopped.
Link felt a bit dizzy, needing a second to catch his breath from the unexpected event. He had no idea how high up he was, or how he was supposed to even get down. Before he could ponder this further, the pedestal started to glow blue which drew his attention. At the same time, the device spoke once more.
Distilling local information...
The stalactite started to glow a faint blue, symbols that Link wasn't able to understand running down the object. A quiet hum started up, slowly growing louder until a bead of an unknown liquid formed at the stalactite's bottom and dropped onto the Sheikah Slate, which was laying with its screen facing up.
This triggered something on the device, turning on and showing Link an odd screen. It almost looked like a map, faint blue lines acting as borders…except none of the different areas were detailed at all, just entirely black. That was until a part of it glowed for a moment and suddenly filled in! Link quickly started to realize this was the area he was in as he observed mountains showing up on the map along with what had to be the old Temple. To its north was a blue symbol that looked vaguely like a tower. In the west, near where Link would have come from, he saw another symbol that looked a bit like a cave. It had to be where he awoke from his slumber, since all this odd technology was connected! Then, once more, a voice rang out.
Regional map extracted.
That confirmed his suspicions, that activating this Sheikah Tower got the area he was in mapped out somehow. He of course noticed the area around the Great Plateau was still blacked out on the map. Given that he saw numerous other towers, Link quickly realized if he went to the other towers, he could get more of the map to show up…though he had no need for such a thing. With all that taken care of, the Sheikah Slate was twisted and spun and stood upright on the pedestal, Link taking it quickly. For the moment he had to figure out how to get down.
Can't jump. Built-in ladder maybe? No chance otherwise.
Just as Link turned to investigate the side of the tower, a voice called yet again. This time it wasn't the machines speaking to him, but the mysterious woman who only seemed to exist in his mind. As always, her voice had no source, and it didn't sound any closer or farther away than it had before.
Remember...Try...Try to remember...
You have been asleep for the past 100 years…
The words hit Link like a smack to the face. What did she just say?! A hundred years?! No, that couldn't be right…! No way he could survive for an entire century in some cave sleeping in that weird basin! As much as he was willing to trust the voice before, this was beginning to be too much. She knew his name, or at least called him by one, but a sleep lasting a hundred years wasn't believable at all! And, thinking of it, he had no way of knowing that his name really was Link.
The name…did feel right, though…
Before Link could try and talk to the voice again, despite the last time yielding no results, he was interrupted. Once more, the world around him started to quake, and it shook him out of his thoughts. The shaking felt different from the tower activation, however. It seemed more intense, and he somehow felt that the source was from farther away.
The beast…
Now the voice sounded scared, nervous about some beast. Link's gaze was drawn to the large castle in the distance, noticing the smog around it was intensifying! Unlike before, when Link looked at the odd miasma, he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end as a sickening sensation filled his gut. There was also an intense glow near the top of the castle that he hadn't noticed before. It actually reminded him of the light he saw when he first stirred from his sleep…
When the beast regains its true power, this world will face its end.
Not even having a chance to ponder what that meant, a massive shape emerged from the miasma, seeming to be made of the same, unknown substance. It was a serpentine shape, flying high into the air, spiraling around the castle. When it got farther from the misty substance, it was revealed to be some sort of draconic creature with a boar's face and tusks! Glowing yellow orbs made up its eyes, Link was able to see such details even from such a vast distance which spoke volumes on how massive this thing was!
The creature, this 'beast' that the voice was surely referring to, opened up its maw. Disturbingly, its body practically split in half when it did so, a massive jaw forcing itself open as a deafening roar bellowed across the land, reaching Link easily as he stared at the sight. As the beast flew higher up, it let out another roar, the very sight of the entity making all of Link's nerves demand he run and hide somewhere…! He was so scared, though, he couldn't even move…
Yet, as the beast stirred, the glowing light in the castle intensified. This caused the rumbling to settle as the monster collapsed in on itself, becoming a cloud of smoke, its eyes seeming to stare right at Link before it vanished entirely. With that, the miasma retracted a bit, and the shaking stopped entirely.
You must hurry, Link. Please, before it's too late...
With that, the voice faded, and everything settled, though Link couldn't stop staring at the castle and the mist surrounding it. For a few seconds, his entire body was just still, unsure of how to process what just happened. First of all, the idea he was sleeping for a century seemed so unbelievable to him. How could he have survived such a process? Why would he even be asleep for so long even if it was possible? Who would put him in such a predicament? His family? Friends?
Then there was that…thing…he saw soaring across the sky like a living bruise. Was that what he was supposed to save Hyrule from? The voice had never mentioned what explicitly he was meant to do before, but was slaying such a beast really something he was meant to do? Was it even possible? Killing a Bokoblin was one thing, but that monstrosity he saw could swallow him and probably the entire tower he was standing on in a gulp!
This just raised further questions as to who he even was. For some reason, the woman seemed very confident that this was something he could accomplish. But why? Was this something he had done before, or at least something similar? How was he meant to take down something so large? What was that light that seemed to have the thing trapped? Couldn't it do a better job than he could?
Link had no idea what to do with himself. He was struggling to believe he was slumbering for a century, and now he was being directed to what seemed like an impossible task. The only thing he could think to do was find that Old Man and try asking him questions. He didn't care if mentioning a voice in his head made him seem crazy, he had to have answers and that man was the only one he could ask!
For the moment, though, he had to get down.
With all the shaking and then the revelation of a monstrous force that he apparently had to take down, Link didn't notice there were holes at the tower's top. Looking down one, he saw footholds were built into the structure's side, with small platforms spiraling towards the ground not too far down. He recalled how climbing a tree had been tough on him, but climbing down would surely be far easier.
Getting all his gear on his back, Link slowly lowered himself onto the footholds and eased himself down. He was certainly right with how much easier it was, the young man taking his time as he descended the tower. Yet by the time he reached the first platform, he was still a bit out of breath. What he hated most about this sort of thing was that it gave credence to a century long sleep. If that really happened, it'd be little wonder why such basic activities would wear him out so fast.
Shrugging that thought away, Link continued his descent, noting that the platforms were just far enough away for him to hop down to. This was lucky, as though there seemed to be footholds all the way to the ground, the young man didn't want to climb from platform to platform and exhaust himself. Carefully, he jumped down to each of the platforms, the falls only long enough to make his legs mildly sore as he made his way down.
The tower had been pretty high up, though Link couldn't wager an exact size from his position. Not that it truly mattered. He was just glad he hadn't been closer to the edge and fell as all the quaking happened. At the very least, he knew a fall from the top would've killed him without question. After a few minutes, Link taking a few short breaks to let his legs stop throbbing, he reached the ground.
Almost the very second his feet hit the dirt, the young man heard a "Ho!" of greeting from somewhere above him. He looked to the source of the noise to see the Old Man gliding towards him from somewhere higher up, using an old, battered looking Paraglider to make his way towards Link. After a moment, he landed alongside the young man, humming as he looked the tower over. "My, my. Quite the enigma, isn't it? The towers erupted all around Hyrule without warning! It's as though some ancient power awoke suddenly…But tell me, boy, did anything…unusual happen when you were at the top of the tower?"
His mind still reeling a bit, Link wasn't sure what to say. Did the Old Man not see that beast that lunged from the darkness? Or the lights that seemed to stop it? After a moment of pondering, the young man decided to just throw caution to the wind. He didn't care if he sounded crazy anymore, he was desperate for answers.
"I heard a voice. In my head." Link flatly confessed, ready for the Old Man to give him a skeptical look or even laugh at him. "A woman's voice. I've heard her several times." Who knew? Maybe the stranger had some idea as to what was going on. Maybe something like this was actually normal around here. He severely doubted, but there was always a chance…
Rather than laugh or accuse Link of being insane, the Old Man just seemed amused and nodded. "A voice, you say? Tell me, did you recognize this voice?" He didn't sound skeptical, if anything there was the tiniest bit of hopefulness to his voice.
Not expecting that answer, Link didn't verbally reply at first, just shaking his head. After a moment, he spoke up too. "No. I don't recognize her. She knew my name, though, and she told me I have to save Hyrule. Do you know what this means?" The Old Man's nonchalance got Link's hopes up…
"You didn't recognize her? That's a shame…" The elderly man replied, sighing lightly through his nose. "And I'm afraid I can't tell you what it means. On a much more important matter, I'm sure you saw it, didn't you? The beast that lurks by the castle, Hyrule Castle. A terrible sight, isn't it?"
For a moment or two, Link had wondered if he imagined the monster, starting to feel better as the Old Man at least accepted the voice without issue and had also seen the spectral entity. "What is that thing? It appeared and then it just vanished." The young man asked.
"That atrocity is called Calamity Ganon." At the mention of the name, the Old Man nearly shuddered, like it was too horrible to speak of. "A hundred years ago, the vile thing brought all of Hyrule to ruin. It appeared without warning, and countless lives were lost in its wake…" His voice was cold and strained, as if he had witnessed it firsthand.
A hundred years ago. There was that timeframe again. Was the voice actually right? Was he asleep all that time? Was it somehow connected to this creature, this Calamity Ganon? If he had seen it before, why didn't he recognize it like he did with the Bokoblins? Maybe he never encountered it. These two mentions of a century ago didn't seem like a coincidence, and Link was starting to think maybe he truly was asleep for that long…but why was slaying this beast his job? Rather than that, he asked something else on his mind. "Why doesn't it just escape? It seems trapped at the castle."
The Old Man didn't answer right away, as though he were pondering on how to word it. "I don't know." He admitted after a few moments. "The light within the castle seems to be holding it at bay. As you can imagine, I haven't ventured to the area to see for myself. All I know is that beast is festering, waiting for a chance to break free and finish what it started. Despite its efforts, not all were lost during that horrid event a century ago."
"When will it break free? It's been trapped for a hundred years, so a hundred more could pass before it can do anything, right?" Link was trying to be hopeful, but even he knew that wasn't the case. Something in his gut just told him it wouldn't be so easy.
"If only." Replied the elderly stranger with a sigh. "It really could be any time now. A day? A week? A month? Maybe a year if luck is on our side, but I wouldn't bet on that." After a moment, he turned to Link, his old, sad eyes piercing into the young man's very being. "Tell me, young man, do you intend to go to the castle?"
That was a hard question.
Link had no known ties to this land or its people, but he had to come from somewhere. He didn't want anyone innocent to die, but what could he do about it? All he had was a shoddily made set of equipment and an axe too big for him to wield in combat. He had no armor or any other sort of protection! Yet the voice seemed so sure this was something he had to do. Maybe it was right, maybe this was something fate had in store for him. It wasn't something he wanted to believe, but he knew nothing about himself except what the voice said. She could be trying to lead him on the right path…or she may be tricking him.
"I don't know." Link answered honestly. "I think I may have to." He didn't want to lie, but he wasn't so sure that he wanted to just outright refuse either. Maybe the road ahead would lead him to the castle, he'd just have to see…
Nodding, it seemed the answer was sufficient to the Old Man. "I see. I can understand hesitation. It's a lot to suddenly be thrust into. However, I sense something in you. I think if anyone could slay Calamity Ganon, it's you. It won't be so easy, though, as you're stuck here. You can go all around the Great Plateau, but you won't find a way down. Sheer cliff walls are all that you'll meet. You'd need this Paraglider to get down."
"So, it's your Paraglider or I'm stuck here. Will you give it to me, then?" Link was thinking that's what the old man was hinting at in mentioning the helpful tool. He was sure that trying to climb down would end in failure, and from the top of the Sheikah Tower, it was clear that just jumping down would lead to a certain death.
"Oh, most certainly. I wouldn't have brought it up otherwise." The Old Man replied with a soft chuckle. "However, I won't give it away just for nothing. It's quite a valuable object, after all." He hummed in thought for a moment, stroking his long, dirt-peppered beard before nodding. "How about you fetch something for me? There's a treasure slumbering nearby. If you give it to me, I will happily hand the Paraglider over to you."
Link felt it was a bit unnecessary, the Old Man didn't seem interested in ever leaving this place anyway. But he could understand wanting to exchange things rather than just give something up. Was there really treasure nearby, though? "Okay, that sounds fair. Where is this treasure?"
That elicited a small chuckle from the Old Man. "Very good, young man! Follow me, I'll show you." The giant of a man walked up a nearby dirt hill, Link following alongside him. When they reached the top, the tall stranger pointed to the west. There was a leveled area that stretched far, with small ponds and broken structures dotting it. Link even saw another Bokoblin camp, one more advanced than the other one he saw, complete with a small watchtower that one of the red menaces was keeping lookout from. However, there was also an unusual black structure seeming to grow out of the ground, an orange light radiating from it. "You see that glowing structure? That's where the treasure lies."
It didn't look too bad to get to, about a half hour walk, and there was plenty of room to avoid the Bokoblin camp. "What is that place?" The younger man asked, noticing the orange glow was like some of the unusual machinery he had come across.
"That I cannot say. What I can say was that it began to glow the instant the towers all activated." The Old Man explained. "There's bound to be treasure there, though. I take it as a fair trade. You bring me whatever you can find, and I'll give you the Paraglider. A fair trade, no?"
So, he had no idea if there was even anything there. The structure could be empty for all he knew. Link wanted to ask what would happen if there was no treasure but decided not to. He'd have to go there one way or another. "Okay, it's a deal. I'll explore the structure and give you anything I find." Link promised, having no need or desire for treasure.
The Old Man gave no real response, just chuckling joyfully as Link descended down the dirt hill. Who knew what he'd find in the odd structure, if anything at all. As little as he knew about the stranger, he didn't seem like the picky type. Maybe a handful of gold or gems would be enough to satisfy him. He didn't even know what those structures were for, though, the kind of purpose they served! Given the Old Man didn't offer a name for them, Link doubted he had any idea either…
When he neared one of the ponds, Link paused. He glanced back and saw the Old Man had wandered off. Odd. How was he going to know when Link was done his task? He wasn't about to doubt the stranger now, he had just wanted to check if he was watching still. As when Link got close to the pond, he approached and looked into it, the water's surface as reflective as he had hoped.
Staring back at Link was a young man's face, looking to be in his late teens, not even twenty. He had dirty blonde hair that was tied back in a ponytail, with long sideburns down his face. Blue eyes scanned the face looking back at him, noting how well rested he looked, which made sense if that century long sleep happened to be true. Disturbingly, looking at his own face didn't spark any familiarity in the amnesiac, no sense of self became known nor did a rush of memories rise up in his mind like he hoped.
Just a stranger's face.
Frowning a bit, Link lifted his shirt and observed his body once more. A toned stomach with visible abs, just as he saw before in the dim chamber where he awoke. He thought, perhaps, it was a trick of the light. But no, everything seemed to suggest he was very healthy and physically active…so why did small bursts of action tire him so much? Once more, his mind wandered to the idea of a hundred years of slumber. Being inactive for so long would explain that plainly, but he still wanted to refuse such an idea. With a small sigh, he lowered his shirt and went on.
Halfway to the structure, Link passed by the Bokoblin camp, moving nice and slow as not to draw attention. Thankfully, the disgusting creatures didn't notice him and he slipped right past at a distance.
As he got closer to the structure, Link noticed some unusual things within the ruins he passed by. There were what seemed to be more pieces of ancient machinery, but without orange or blue glows to signify they worked. Sticking out of the ground were cylinders on top of a wider base, moss drenching their forms and what looked like a space for an eye dim and lifeless.
For some reason, looking at these old structures, ones that were twice his height despite being partially buried, made Link nervous. No, it was more than that, he felt a sort of anxiety bubbling in him that he couldn't explain. He didn't even try to use the Sheikah Slate on them, something inside of him saying how horrid of an idea it was…
So, he went on.
It was fifteen minutes later that Link arrived at the structure in question, Link knowing it had to be part of this Sheikah technology as the others. It held the same orange glow, and there was a pedestal near the entrance for the slate to be used, that symbol of the eye present on it. The building, if it could be called that, seemed to be growing right out of the ground, no other defining features to signify just what it was for, and its only entrance blocked off by metal bars with unusual symbols on them.
Activating one of these pedestals hadn't been bad for Link, thus far, so he felt comfortable doing so once again. Slowly, he placed the slate by the eye symbol, causing a flash of blue to show it worked, and once more the same automated voice rang out.
Sheikah Slate confirmed. Access granted.
The orange glow on the bottom half of the building turned blue, the metal bars lighting up as well as they opened up for Link. Inside was…very little. A tiny room he could cross in a second, a circle on the floor with the eye symbol on it. Cautiously, Link entered the odd structure and stepped on the circle. There wasn't another pedestal for him to activate, so what was he meant to do?
As it turned out, not much else! Apparently, just standing on the circle was enough to activate it, as it flashed blue with a hum, startling Link mildly. Staggering a bit, he was surprised as the circle started to slowly move downward, taking him further into the unknown Sheikah structure.
And, hopefully, to some treasure.
A/N: Thus, the first Shrine is entered. Yes, all four Shrines of the tutorial will be here. As for afterward...I'm not sure. Obviously having over a hundred of them sure won't be happening, but I think it'd be a shame to get rid of literally all of them except for the starting four. I may include just a few more, in the single digits, outside of the Great Plateau, but we'll see. This does mean he'll indeed get his Runes, and I'll do my best to keep these balanced. Lord knows the bombs were sort of overpowered in the actual game. And I do feel a bit more comfortable including Shrines, as puzzle-y and video game-y as they are since they're explicitly made to be trials for Link, not like with Temples being weird trap and puzzle filled dungeons instead of places of worship like in other games.
As for Link, I do realize he's a tad blank, but this is on purpose to an extent. At the moment, he has no memories and no connections. He's a blank slate. But as the story goes on and he sees more of the world, meets more people, and unlocks his memories, he'll start to shape into more of a complete person. Right now he's just trying to figure out what the heck is going on, so his focus is generally on little more than exploring the immediate area and hoping for some answers. His exhaustion could be seen as him only having "one wheel" of Stamina, but I won't have any sort of direct measure of where in the story he'll get more. He'll simply get more used to travel, climbing, and fighting as he goes.