A note before the story
This is a direct continuation of the story from Dragons: A Breath of Hyrule. However, it will not be one main story, rather several medium length stories that occur at various points in time after the ending of Breath of Hyrule. This story will also be more evenly balanced between the main Hylian and Berkian characters.
This chapter is almost entirely focused on Link and Zelda, but Hiccup and Astrid will resume being major characters next chapter.
Anyways, with that addressed, enjoy the first chapter of The Dragon Riders Ballad.
Chapter 1-Once There Were Dragons
Zelda, Crown Princess of Hyrule sits down at her desk in her study. Noticing a pencil, she picks it up and starts twirling it in her fingers, bored.
For the past two months, she has had little in the way of exciting activities, which is especially boring in comparison to the first month after her friends, Hiccup Haddock and Astrid Hofferson, returned to their own time. With help from Purah and Robbie, the two leading ancient Sheikah technology researchers, and Link, her personal bodyguard and now boyfriend, she had been able to apply the anti Malice corruption program to all the Guardians. She and Link had also made a descent into ancient tunnels beneath Hyrule Castle, following a clue from Hiccup's map. Though the expedition had resulted in some interesting results, the best part was that she had finally been able to get rid of the leftover stew that Astrid made.
At the thought of the map, Zelda looks up at it, where it hangs on the wall of her study.
While the geographical accuracy is far less impressive than the map on the Sheikah Slate, Hiccup's map has the advantage of being entirely hand drawn, being in full color, having sketches of various landmarks and wildlife, and being a personal gift to the princess from the young chief of Berk. Her eyes trail over the southeastern portion of Hyrule on the map, and she chuckles at the Bewilderbeast drawn next to Mount Lanayru, with a question mark drawn next to the dragon, since Hiccup thought that the unique rock formations on Mount Lanayru resemble the ice spikes that the massive dragon can blast.
However, something underneath the Bewilderbeast catches Zelda's eye.
Intrigued, she stands up and leans in closer to the wall. She sees a sentence written below the Bewilderbeast, though unlike every piece of writing on the map, which are in both Hylian and Berkian letters, this sentence is only written in Berkian letters. Now interested, she puts down the pencil, pulls the Sheikah Slate off her hip, activating the Camera rune, and takes a picture of the sentence. Sitting back down, she grabs a piece of paper that has the Hylian and Berkian alphabets written on it, with each letter next to the corresponding one, allowing for easy translation.
Zelda uses her right hand to remove the casual hand of her prosthetic left arm, and grabs the hand ment for holding things. After attaching it, she moves the thumb, places the Sheikah Slate in the hand, then returns the thumb to its original position, locking it in place to ensure the Slate doesn't fall out of the hand. Placing the relic in front of her, she grabs a blank sheet of paper, and starts the work of translating.
Link knocks on the door of Zelda's study and waits for a moment. After hearing no response, he opens the door and enters, followed by Terrako, a plucky little Guardian and Zelda's second personal bodyguard.
Link smiles at the sight of Zelda sitting in her chair, head leaning to one side, with her steady breathing indicating that she's asleep. He quietly crosses the room, noticing the Sheikah Slate clamped in her prosthetic hand, and looks over her shoulder at her desk. Two pieces of paper are on her desk, one being the translation sheet of Hylian and Berkian letters, but the second one catches Link's attention. At the top of the page, a sentence is written in Berkian letters, though in Zelda's familiar handwriting, not the unique left handed style that Link remembers Hiccup having. But below the sentence, is a second sentence written with Hylian letters. Link's eyebrows shoot up as he reads the sentence.
'Viking ruins? Dragon motifs present, so maybe Berkian?'
After reading the translation, he gently taps Zelda on the shoulder. She jolts awake, and spins around, right hand reaching for the Royal Broadsword-a gift from Astrid-at her left hip.
Link immediately holds up his hands in a gesture of peace. "Easy Princess, just me and Terrako," he says in a calming voice.
Zelda immediately calms down and points to the paper on her desk. "I take it you saw what I was working on?" she asks in a curious tone. Link nods and Zelda continues. "I noticed some writing below the sketch of the Bewilderbeast on Hiccup's map. It was only written in Berkian letters, so I translated it. The location of the supposed ruins is at the small forest on the northeast slope of Mount Lanayru."
Link smiles before he replies, "I'm guessing you want to go investigate personally?"
Zelda grins in return. "Yep, I'm planning to teleport to Lanayru Tower, glide down, then use the Master Cycle to get to Mount Lanayru. Will you accompany me?" Link nods once more, then Zelda continues. "Alright, excellent. We'll leave tomorrow morning. Meet me here at say, an hour after sunrise?"
Link nods again and then walks out, going to pack.
Astrid Hofferson lies in her bed, fidgeting with an object.
Since her and Hiccup's return to Berk, nothing crazy has happened, outside of the villagers being shocked that the Chief and his future wife had magically reappeared after vanishing for two months. The only notable upcoming thing for her is her and Hiccup's wedding, but some troubling news had surfaced during their last dragon rescuing raid.
She had cornered the captain of the dragon trapping ship and demanded to know everything he knew about the plans of the three warlords leading the remnants of Drago Bludvist's armada. He had been happy to divulge information upon seeing Astrid's advanced Sheikah tech battle axe at his throat alongside her usual metal battle axe. The information he had divulged was that the warlords had hired a hunter named Grimmel.
She and Hiccup had then asked their ally, Eret, son of Eret about the hunter, due to Eret's past as a dragon trapper. He had revealed that Grimmel is supposedly the man responsible for killing every Night Fury except Toothless. Immediately alarmed, Hiccup had doubled patrols and had Astrid, his mother Valka, and his unofficial surrogate father/the village blacksmith Gobber stay at his house to help protect Toothless, should Grimmel try to kill Hiccup's best friend.
Astrid checks the fletching on the arrow she is fidgeting with, before checking the arrowhead. She flicks up the switch and pulls the activation ring, smiling as the blazing blue dagger-like blade of the Ancient Arrow materializes.
When she was unpacking the few things she brought when returning from Hyrule, she had found a wrapped item with a note that must have been slipped in her bag before she left. The item was an Ancient Arrow, a special weapon from Hyrule that simply disintegrates most things that it hits, or deals incredible damage if the item isn't disintegrated. The note accompanying the arrow has the seal of the Royal Family of Hyrule at the top, and is written in Zelda's hand, but with Berkian letters.
Astrid,
I know that somewhere in your time, there will be someone who will stop at nothing to harm you, Hiccup, Toothless, or Stormfly. I'm entrusting this Ancient Arrow to you to deal with that person, should they appear. I know you will use it responsibly and keep it safe from those not responsible enough to use it.
Your friend,
Zelda, Crown Princess of Hyrule
Astrid deactivates the Ancient Arrow and rewraps it in the fabric bundle that she had found it in. Something in her heart tells her that Grimmel will strike soon, and if Hiccup is unable to talk him down, she has a special surprise planned for the hunter.
Link knocks on the door of Zelda's study, and hears her say "Come in." He opens the door and enters.
Zelda stands up and turns to greet him. She's wearing her winter attire, designed to protect against the cold. Consisting primarily of a white vest, white jacket, and a short white cape that wraps around her shoulders, all bordered with a golden trim. The attire is completed by puffy white fur around her neck and wrists, dark gray trousers, a thin embroidered brown leather belt, brown gloves, and knee high brown boots with white soles.
Link is also wearing different attire, having swapped his normal light tan undershirt for a dark teal sweater, and his tan forearm bracers for brown fabric bracers and shorter leather bracers. He is still wearing his usual Champion's Tunic, with the leather left shoulder guard and chest guard, and Hylian trousers.
"Have you got everything?" Zelda asks.
Link nods and holds up a large bag. "Got food, two tents, flint, Spicy Elixirs, and water canteens," he replies. "Oh, and the Master Sword," he adds sarcastically, since the Sword That Seals the Darkness is almost always on his back, with some people even thinking that he sleeps and showers with the sword on his back.
Zelda smiles at the sarcasm, something both she and Link had picked up from Hiccup, the undisputed king of sarcastic comments. "I have my sword as well," she adds, pointing to the Royal Broadsword strapped to her belt on her left hip, before continuing, "Ready?"
Link nods, and Zelda puts the Sheikah Slate in her gripping prosthetic hand, activates it, and taps the icon of Lanayru Tower. The Slate beeps, then Zelda, Link, and Terrako all turn blue before dissolving into blue strands of energy heading skyward.
Moments after they leave, King Rhoam enters the room, looking around. He sees the hand drawn map of Mount Lanayru that Zelda made the previous night, with a course charted from the main path up the mountain to the site of the presumed Viking ruins. After seeing that, the King goes to Zelda's bedroom and after seeing no sign of her, checks her closet. He shakes his head and sighs upon seeing her cold weather attire missing from the closet.
"Ah, Zelda. I hope you at least find what you are looking for," he says.
Link and Zelda open their eyes, seeing the northern mountains of Necluda in front of them.
Link assembles the two Paragliders he brought, before helping Zelda get her gripping prosthetic hand clamped around the left handle. With that done, Link picks up his glider, runs and jumps off the south edge of the tower, the glider catching the wind. Zelda closes her right hand around the handle and follows him, jumping off the tower, and catching the breeze, with Terrako jumping onto her shoulder.
The trio glide across the Rutala River, and land on Rabia Plain. After Zelda unclips her prosthetic from her glider, Link disassembles the Paragliders and puts them back into the bag on his back.
Meanwhile, Zelda pulls the Sheikah Slate off her hip, turns it on, and taps the Master Cycle rune. Blue energy strands appear and form into the shape of a two wheeled contraption, then the blue glow fades, leaving a slick Sheikah bike standing in front of Zelda.
The Master Cycle is based on a Divine Beast meant for the chosen hero that Zelda has read about in some ancient Sheikah texts. She had then asked Robbie to make a replica, which is standing in front of her.
She gets onto the seat, slides her gripping prosthetic onto the left handle, and locks the thumb. Link walks up and gets on behind Zelda, with Terrako getting on to his shoulder. With a big smirk, she holds the brake, while revving the acceleration, before letting up on the brake. The Master Cycle shoots forward, causing Link to hastily grab Zelda's shoulders to not get flung off. She feels his hands and smiles to herself, though she also blushes.
The trio make excellent time, passing through the Lanayru Promenade, Naydra Snowfield, and up the first part of the climb up the mountain without any problems. Zelda slows the Master Cycle as the path begins to curve around the southeast slope of Mount Lanayru. Right before the path switchbacks up, she veers east, and heads off the path, down the mountain slope. Luckily, she does descend slowly, and they make it to the edge of the light forest on the northeast slope.
Zelda and Link get off the Master Cycle, while Terrako jumps off of Link's shoulder. Zelda pulls the Sheikah Slate off her hip and taps the screen, causing the Master Cycle to disappear in a flash of blue light. Link pulls two torches out of the bag on his back, lights them and hands one to Zelda.
She secures it in her gripping prosthetic hand, points north with her right hand. "The map indicated that the ruins were in the center area of the area. Let's split up, I'll take the outer edge, you take the inner edge," she says.
Link nods, and they start walking forward.
Zelda looks around, appreciating the presence of the torch which allows greater visibility, since a snowstorm is shrouding Mount Lanayru. She walks through a little grove of snow covered pine trees and gasps. In front of her are two buildings, a watchtower to her right, built on the eastern edge of the level ground, and a large house to her left, located in the center of the level ground. Both buildings have clearly been abandoned for some time, as the watchtower is barely seven feet high, while some of the walls and most of the roof of the house have caved in.
"Link! I found them," she calls out, before drawing her sword and heading towards the crumbling watchtower.
Zelda walks around the base of the watchtower, finding that the wall height isn't consistent all the way around. At the lowest point, the remnants of the wall are maybe just three feet high, low enough for her to look into the interior, which just has some snow covered stone bricks. Sighing, she leaves the watchtower and approaches the house.
In its prime, the house had a curved roof, with a circular log at the top of the roof. Currently, the roof is mostly collapsed, with only a small portion still standing.
"Zelda, look!" Link's voice catches her attention, and she turns to see him pointing the Master Sword at something.
Following the invisible line from the blade, her eyes land at the edge of the roof beam, just above the door.
Her eyes widen as she sees a rotting figurehead carved from the end of the beam, sticking out above the door. Despite the carving being half gone, Zelda recognizes it as some sort of dragon, due to the carving not resembling anything found in Hyrule, and because the bottom jaw reminds her of Stormfly, Astrid's Deadly Nadder.
She and Link enter the house through the doorway, with the door itself being long gone. Seeing no immediate threat, they both sheath their swords, and investigate the room. Link looks at some stones on the walls, and a quiet gasp escapes him as he finds a carving in the stone resembling a dragon. A faint glint of metal catches his eye, and he finds a sharp metal point sticking out of the snow. He brushes the snow aside, grabs the metal point and pulls upwards. His eyebrows shoot up upon seeing that the metal point is actually part of a horn, attached to a helmet that has a second horn opposite the first. He is about to tell Zelda, but a shocked gasp from her distracts him, so he sets the helmet down and rushes to her side.
Zelda gently brushes a light layer of frost off of a book she just found in a metal box set into the wall. On the cover, a design is etched in, and her eyes widen, realizing the design is some sort of dragon. However, after studying it for a moment, her eyes widen even further as she notices the dragon has both Night Fury and Deadly Nadder characteristics. A surprised grunt from Link causes her to look over her shoulder, seeing him staring at the cover. He looks at her and nods, indicating that he's ready to see what's inside it.
Zelda gently opens the book, and is surprised to find that the book is in relatively good condition. The writing on the page is in an unfamiliar hand, but Zelda frowns upon recognizing the letters as resembling Berkian letters.
Seeing her frown, Link takes the Sheikah Slate off Zelda's hip, activates it, pulls up the camera album, and taps on the picture Zelda took of the translation sheet between Hylian and Berkian letters. He shows it to her and she nods, thanking Link for doing so.
After a moment of looking between the book and the Slate, she gasps again. "Link, I think Hiccup was right! This is written in Berkian letters, and I made out Berk being written at least once on the page. This is a huge discovery!"
Link smiles before responding. "Do you want to take that book back to the castle or stay here?"
Zelda ponders for a moment before shaking her head. "No, we're not taking it back to the castle. It's been here, in the cold for who knows how long, so it could suffer major damage if removed from this climate. We have tents and warm clothes, so we can stay here for a day or so to take notes from the book," she replies.
Link nods in response before asking, "Do you want me to set up the tents?"
Zelda nods and turns back to the book, while Link goes to find a suitable tent site.
Late the next day, Zelda finishes her investigation. Link can see her excitement as she sits down at the fire he made next to their tents.
"What did you find?" he asks in a curious voice.
Zelda beams at him as she replies, "Well, these ruins are definitely Berkian and about a thousand years old, based on the dates in the book. I did see Hiccup and Astrid mentioned several times, though it sounds like they had died by the time these ruins were originally built. It seems that this was a small Berkian outpost, and that they were friendly with the locals. I saw my name, but given that it's the tradition of the royal family to name their daughters Zelda, I'm positive that this Zelda was my ancestor, not myself. I also saw a couple mentions of a dragon called a Night Nadder, which is the dragon on the cover of the book."
Link's eyebrows shoot up, his eyes silently asking for more information on the topic.
Zelda consults the notes she took before continuing. "From what I gathered, the Night Nadder is a fast agile dragon with extremely hot fire and plasma blasts. The book didn't specify, but I'm guessing that they are a rare cousin/subspecies of the Deadly Nadder, or a possible hybrid between a Deadly Nadder and Night Fury. Personally, I think the second idea is more plausible, considering the depiction of the dragon on the cover looks more like a hybrid than just a Nadder."
Link raises one eyebrow as he interjects. "Wait, I thought Hiccup said that Toothless was one of, if not the last Night Fury alive. So does this mean that Toothless had/will have babies with Stormfly or a different Nadder?"
Zelda smirks and shrugs. "I think that Stormfly would be more likely than a random Nadder, because I saw that Toothless and Stormfly are close. Not to mention that their riders are engaged, and love each other." Link nods while frowning, seeing the logic in the statement.
"Anyways, the author of most of the entries in the book has Haddock as their last name, and appears to have rode or known one of these Night Nadders. Given that hybrids can't reproduce, that would imply that this outpost was built sometime relatively recently after Hiccup and Astrid's passed away. This would indicate that Hiccup was wrong about him and Astrid coming from a different universe. Instead they were just pulled a thousand odd years into the future," Zelda says.
"So maybe you could make good on that promise," Link mumbles, before noticing the expression appearing on Zelda's face. "No! No, no, I know that look," he says, pointing a finger at Zelda.
She frowns at him, pointing a finger back. "Why not? They are our friends and it would be wonderful to see Berk in person. You might not have noticed, but I've also been reading everything I can find about my sacred powers and the time powers that I found out about thanks to them. I think I can get us there, and get us home with help from Terrako."
Link sighs, knowing that Zelda will not abandon the idea. Even though she's a twenty one year old young woman, she is still the crown princess, and used to being obeyed. "Alright, I see that you I can't talk you down," he replies, "Just ask the King for permission first. He might not be too fond of his daughter traveling a thousand years into the past for a month."
Zelda nods before responding. "Okay, I'll ask Father. If I go, will you come with me and Terrako?"
Link lets a smile appear on his face. "Of course Zelda. I'm sworn to protect you, even across time."
Zelda smiles back at him. "I know you will," she says, then gives Link a quick kiss on the cheek. "Ready to head back to the castle?" she asks.
"Yep, just let me pack up the tents," he replies.
She smiles once more, then puts the Sheikah Slate in her gripping prosthetic hand. Using her right hand, she activates the relic, taps the screen a few times, then taps it once more. Suddenly, a glowing blue travel gate appears on the ground, letting off a gentle hum. Zelda grins at the success of the Travel Medallion, another invention of Robbie's, a travel gate that can be placed anywhere.
"Hm, I can see the determination in your eyes," King Rhoam says in a thoughtful voice.
He is speaking to Zelda in the Sanctum, with Link and Terrako at her side. The trio returned from Mount Lanayru late the previous day, and waited to approach the King with their plan until the morning, which they are doing now.
The King strokes his beard as he continues. "And as much as I dislike the idea of the crown princess and my only daughter, along with one of the Champions traveling through time to a thousand years ago, I do see potential benefits. There could be things on Berk that we could replicate here to improve the lives of our people. Additionally, I still feel that I have not yet made it up to you for all the pressure I put on you for that decade before Calamity Ganon returned."
At that statement, Zelda's face briefly darkens with sorrow, but she composes her features and returns her gaze to her father. "I will allow it, on the condition that you make it home," King Rhoam says, "I also know that once you become Queen, you will have much less time for recreation, so you should explore as much as you can before that time comes."
A big smile grows on Zelda's face as she replies, "Thank you so much Father. Link and Terrako would die before any harm comes to me and I have been studying the nature of my powers. Do you mind if we leave tomorrow?"
The King smiles at Zelda's enthusiasm. "You can leave tomorrow if you wish. Just have dinner tonight and breakfast tomorrow with me before you leave." Zelda nods and turns to leave.
Link and Terrako go to follow her, but King Rhoam stops them. "Link, Terrako," he says, his deep voice grave, "Keep her safe for me."
The Hylian Champion and little Guardian nod, then follow Zelda out of the Sanctum.
The next morning, Link meets Zelda in her room. She's back in her winter attire, and gently putting a pot with several Silent Princess flowers into her bag.
Link sets his bag down, which has spare clothes and some food in it. He has the ever present Master Sword on his back, plus the Hylian Shield attached to the Master Sword's scabbard.
Zelda grabs a small cylindrical piece of Sheikah tech, with a blue circle on one end and a spot to attach to her prosthetic arm on the other end. The piece is a small laser cannon, similar to the ones wielded by the phantom of Calamity Ganon sent to kill Revali. Robbie had been bugging Zelda about making it ever since she first got her prosthetic and she had finally allowed him to make it recently. She puts the cannon hand into the pouch on her belt, along with her gripping hand, while her casual prosthetic hand is attached to her arm.
After checking that they have everything, Zelda pulls the Sheikah Slate off her hip and teleports herself, Link, and Terrako to the Travel Medallion at the Mount Lanayru Berkian ruins. After they arrive, the trio walks to an open area of snow and Zelda takes a deep breath before nodding at Terrako.
The little Guardian lets out a peculiar four note whistle, the same one used before Hiccup and Astrid were both brought to and sent home from Hyrule, and the same one used before Terrako brought the Champion descendants through time to save the Champions.
Glowing Sheikah letters appear in a circle around the trio, and the ground inside the circle begins to glow white, while outside the circle, a blue glow radiates outwards for several inches. Zelda raises her hands and a golden glow emanates from them, causing an identical glow to mix with the white glow inside the ring of Sheikah letters.
"Take us to the time of Hiccup Haddock the Third and Astrid Hofferson," Zelda says in a solemn voice.
The opening gateway glows brighter before Zelda, Link, and Terrako suddenly find themselves falling. Looking around, Zelda makes out that they are in a tunnel glowing white, blue, and gold, with Sheikah letters swirling around them. However, they are only in it for a few seconds, before the tunnel vanishes.
Link immediately looks around, trying to assess the situation. They are at the edge of a forest, on a rocky ledge. However a gasp from Zelda causes him to look at her, then up. Overhead, a large dragon with two heads, two long necks, and two tails flies over the trio, towards a village a little ways away. Link's eyes widen upon seeing more dragons flying around the village, with the large reptiles clearly being welcomed.
"We made it," Zelda says breathlessly, "We're on Berk."
Couple notes
The events that occured on Berk during Hiccup and Astrid's time in Hyrule will be addressed in the next few chapters, along with Zelda and Link's expedition Beneath Hyrule Castle
Zelda is wearing her winter attire from Breath of the Wild and Age of Calamity.
Link is wearing the Champion's Leathers from Tears of the Kingdom, but without the chain mail or the leather guard around his waist.
For those wondering if Link, Zelda, and Terrako time travelling to Berk might affect the seal on Calamity Ganon(since that is how Calamity Ganon broke free in Breath of Hyrule), as long as they don't time travel at Hyrule Castle, the seal will hold strong.
Hope you enjoyed and see you in the next chapter :)