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On this early morning, all was peaceful in the young kingdom of Hyrule. Link, the Queen’s advisor, was still calmly asleep in his bed. He dreamt of soaring through the skies of his old home Skyloft. On the back of his red loftwing, he flew around the islands floating in the air, turning in wide arches and diving down towards the surface at breakneck speed. His loftwing cried out in joy and brought them higher again and again when they came close to the barrier. They rose and dove and rolled mid-air, two parts of a whole.
Back then, Link had been young, barely and adult, and the surface still unreachable. Loftwings made life among the clouds bearable and his missed his trusted friend fiercely. In his dream, Link revelled in the wind blowing on his face and guided the giant red bird in another sweeping arch. He leaned sideways into the movements of his bird, feeling the muscles beneath him move in synch, preparing for another –
“Link!”
With a start, Link woke from his dream. His limbs flailed and, overbalancing from moving in his sleep, he promptly fell out of bed.
“Link!”
“What?” he grumbled. Waking up early had never been one of his strengths. It was early in the morning, because Queen Zelda herself stood in the middle of this room with only a dressing gown over her sleepwear. Forgive him for being grumpy after being rudely torn from his pleasant dream. He turned and sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. The blanket was still tumbled around his legs.
“Good morning to you as well, my dear. I have urgent news that cannot wait.”
Link’s sleepy moodiness vanished in favor of the alarm cursing through him. Her Majesty usually waited until after breakfast with news like this.
“What is it?” Link untangled the blanket and stood up.
Her Majesty started to pace the length of his room, from the foot of his bed to the wardrobe Link made his way to and back. “I had a vision. A terrible darkness falls over Hyrule, brought on by the missing light.”
“When? What light?” Link wanted to know and made his bed.
“I don’t know. Something essential is missing.” Zelda reached his bed and turned around again. “In the future, I think. Far into the future.”
A new quest he would not be home from for some time, then. Without pausing a beat, Link pulled out new clothes out of his wardrobe and put them on. Beige pants and a shirt. Some socks. Such a thing was not said lightly, least of all by Zelda, and Link had a feeling he would not be home in the foreseeable future.
“When in the future? Was is so essential?” he asked and finished pulling on his boots.
“I don’t know,” Her Majesty said solemnly. “As much as I don’t like it, I do know a hero needs to address the issue.”
“There are other heroes. There must be one in the future. I know there is.”, he argued. Link had fought side by side with them, after all, talked to them and shared meals. He did not wish they had to go and protect Hyrule because no one else could, but he had responsibilities here and now, too.
“None that can help, I think. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have gotten the vision,” she said apologetically.
Link chewed on that for a moment. If no one else…. Then he made his decision.
“What am I looking for, then?” he wanted to know, as he grabbed his backpack from the top of his wardrobe and stuffed it full of clothes. Tunics, socks, pants, underwear, mittens. His bedroll and a blanket. A tiny sewing kit for small repairs.
He dug around his bottom draws for the metal plate, mug, fork and spoon he had used on his travels before. They, too, were shoved unceremoniously into the backpack. In the back of his mind, he found it eery how quickly he assumes it is him that is send on another quest, that it is him and no one else who is deemed up to the task- How quickly he is taking it on and gearing up. A hero’s life, he supposes, old acceptance of his dealt hand spreading in his chest.
Routine, he figured.
Frustrated, Her Majesty let out a tiny huff and ceased her pacing near his bed. Link threw a look at her, hair still bed-tousled but a queen with every fiber of her regal being and wasted no more time. Item after item from his wardrobe, drawers and even under his bed found its way into his magical pack. On his travels, he’d assembled quite the large collection he kept meticulously maintained. It was not nearly as vast as that of the veteran he had met so many years ago, but he was well-equipped for most situations and that was what counted.
“I don’t know,” Queen Zelda said eventually. Link briefly looked up to show he was listening, never pausing in packing his belongings. “I just know that you’ll have help, Link. You must find the light and bring it back to where it belongs. Back to our kingdom.”
With all items inside, Link pulled the pack closed and put it down where he stood. Going for his armour in the corner next to his desk. “Where do I start looking for something I don’t know I’m looking for?” he asked, pulling the heavy chainmail and a green tunic over his head.
“The Gate of Time.”
Link stopped in his tracks, halfway to tying his belt and sash. “But that’s closed!”
“Not anymore, I think,” Zelda said. “I found this when I woke up.” She held out a wooden gearwheel the size of the palm of her hand. In its middle, three crests were carved into the wood, one in each triangle of a whittled Triforce. On each of its twelve teeth it had an unfamiliar, stylized symbol as well. “Go to the Gate of Time, Link. Maybe you’ll find more answers there.”
Nodding decisively, Link finished tying his belt and sash. He belted his vambraces in place, making a mental list of things he didn’t have enough of on hand. Potions, first and foremost. Food for the road, bombs, arrows. Probably whatever else the merchant had on sale and was not too expensive.
What else would he need? His gaze fell to the sheathed sword leaning next to his shield. He’d have to get Fi from her resting place again. Link didn’t like disturbing her, she deserved her rest, but he knew she would want him equipped one hundred percent and, apart from the Triforce, the Master Sword was the most powerful weapon he knew of. Even if she was silent to him now.
He was almost ready to go. Link brought the ordinary metal sword he’d gotten years ago to replace Fi and the Hylian shield standing propped up next to his armor stand over to his pack. Then, he turned to his desk for his sailcloth. The soft, white and blue fabric gifted to him by Zelda herself before his first journey usually sat on the chair at his desk. He always put it on before he left the house. It wasn’t there though.
Link looked around for his sailcloth that usually sat on the chair at his desk, finding it tightly clutched in Her Majesty’s hands.
“Link,” she started, but words fled her. For a moment, the woman in front of him, sending him into danger again, wasn’t the Queen of Hyrule, wise and regal and composed. She wasn’t the Golden Goddess Hylia reincarnated either, beautiful and glowing and magical. For a moment, she was just Zelda, his best friend since childhood, his equal, his partner who worried for his safety.
Seeking to reassure her, he stood before her, held her gaze and took her delicate, trembling hands in his. “I will return,” he promised.
She shakily nodded and turned her hands in his to grip is fingers tightly, the sailcloth crumpled in between. Link clutched her back, until she gently pulled her hands away to drape the sailcloth around his shoulders. With practised motions, Zelda fastened the white and blue fabric with their royal crest on his back and smoothed out any wrinkles she could find. Her hands lingered, gently, reluctant to let him go.
He knew she would not act on her feelings, so Link hugged her tightly, forgoing their titles and roles and reservations for a moment. Zelda sank into his embrace, and he missed her before he even did the first step of this new quest. He breathed her in, committing the feeling of her, delicate and compassionate and bound by duty as much as he, in his arms to memory.
After a moment, she took a deep breath and released him. Link watched as she schooled her features, folded her hands before her and became Queen Zelda I once more. “Have courage, Hero.”
Unable to reply or look back, Link grabbed his pack, his sword and his shield and left home for the unknown.
The Gate of Time was indeed active again. The steady ticking if it’s moving gearwheels echoed in the Sealed Temple, simultaneously giving the impression of time standing still and time racing to unstoppable doom. What lies ahead? Link wondered. Who activated it? Why is it active again at all?
First things first, though. He turned away from the ticking gate and stowed his sword including sheath in his pack. In its place, he belted another sword sheath, a longer, purple one accented by golden highlights and the Triforce.
On the other side of the temple, nothing had changed at all. The Master Sword, illuminated by the early morning light falling through the cracks in the ceiling, stood peacefully in its pedestal. The magnificent weapon had not lost any of its shine and glory. Up close, he could see that it was as sharp as the day it reached its final form. The pristine handle felt familiar in Link’s hand, not worn but used to his touch.
In one swift motion, he pulled the Master Sword from its resting place and raised it skyward. He took a moment to appreciate the help Fi was willing to give him, before he sheathed the sword safely on his back.
Link doubled checked he had everything he needed. His bag was filled to the brim in such a manner with clothes, arrows, food, bombs, potions, fairies and his helpful items that it would have made the champion he met on his last journey proud. The merchant back home had been willing to sell him two more bottles for an outrageous price in rupees, Eldin ore and monster parts, but in Link’s opinion, it was worth it. Link was as well prepared as he could be.
With everything he could do here done, Link got up the stairs of the Gate of Time and stepped through.
The feeling was still weird. Indescribable, really, and unquestionably weird. On this side of the Gate, the Sealed Temple stood in ruins. Walls had crumbled under the weight of age, large pieces and bricks laying scattered under a non-existent roof. Grass and bushes overgrew any free spaces, determined to make the ancient structure part of the landscape.
Link pulled the Master Sword and raised it again, sealing the Gate of Time with a Skyward Strike. He put the sword away and made his way down the stairs to look closer at where and when he had landed. The stairs and the pedestal of the Master Sword were gone, as were most other structures Link had seen just a moment before. In their place was an entirely different layout of a grand temple but the rocks were too weathered and overgrown by mosses to make out any inscriptions. Three pots stood forgotten in a corner. They were empty.
As was the area around the ruins. No monsters stood in Link’s way as he left for the open, rolling fields and scattered trees. Smooth sailing until now. Must be his experience, he thinks bemusedly, like the veteran, or just luck.
Without a map or an idea where he should start, Link followed the overgrown, barely visible road leading away from the ruins. It leads him down a winding path through the empty landscape with nothing to see except for trees for half the day. Once, a fox crossed his path. Link stopped, not knowing if it was dangerous or not. The thin animal threw him a wicked look and vanished into the tall grass.
The dark and cloudy sky felt oppressive and suffocating, making the grey-green fields seem even bleaker. Everything looked malicious on second inspection, from the gnarly trees to the occasional scruffy animal to the desolate, distant mountains. No birds sang from the trees, but there were swarms of keese patrolling above him and the only rustle came from a like-like drawling through the underbrush.
So much for smooth sailing. The monsters seemed ferocious despite going down fairly easily with one hit or an arrow. Granted, he had very powerful weapons at his disposal and the monsters were low level, but what they lacked in strength they made up in numbers and determination.
Finally, the path led to a small village that was clearly lived in yet had empty streets. Mountains loomed on the horizon. Link made his way in slowly, taking in the carefully kept gardens and clean housefronts in a variety of dull colors. Not a pot was out of line, not a fence broken and not a single house without a dim light. The chickens in their coop near the village center clawed and pecked listlessly at their food, only sometimes actually eating it. The whole village seemed miserable, clinging to normalcy and joy in this solemn world with everything they got.
Link entered several houses, curiously looking around for what the village has to offer. Apart from the chicken coop, he found the villagers at work in a forge, a farm, a bar and a shop. While he did not need to restock on anything yet despite the fights with monsters, he deemed it useful to know what he can get at a shop like this.
Inside, three men and the shop keeper were engrossed in trade. The men were heavily armed, with bows and swords and well-worn shields on their backs. All three wore green tunics and tried to haggle with the shop keeper about the price of something. Link ignored them in favour of checking out the items for sale. The shop itself was tidy and displayed a variety of arrows, shields, and quivers. Even gauntlets and armor pieces made from leather were up purchasable, albeit for a hefty sum. They did not look very durable either, so Link let them sit.
At the counter, the three men finished their purchase and leave. On their way out the door, Link caught the flutter of a long, blue scarf and overheard the brunette saying, “What do you know about the darkness that has settled over Hyrule?”
Link perked up. That was the first clue about his quest apart from Zelda’s ominous warning and request to find the Triforce. Hurriedly, he left the shop and ran in front of the group, stopping them to talk.
The blond man in the middle squinted, mustering Link up and down. Despite the ageing lines across his face and wired muscle in his short frame, he came across as rather boyish. “You look familiar.”
“Link?” asked the greying man to his right. The green tunic over chainmail and metal pauldrons paired with a light blue scarf draped elegantly over his shoulders gave Link, the Hero of Warriors, away.
“Captain.” Link smiled, pleased, and reintroduced himself. “Link, from Skyloft. We live on the Surface now, in the new kingdom of Hyrule.”
Recognition lit the face of his old companions.
“No way! Sky!” the boyish man cheered. He eagerly pointed at himself, then the inconspicuous brunette man. “It’s me, Link, Hero of the Winds! You know, the sailor? And that’s Link the traveller. You remember him?”
“Of course.”
“I didn’t recognize you. You look so old!” Wind said, hands on his hips.
Warriors elbows him. “Have you looked in a mirror?”
“You’re greying, too, captain! And all these wrinkles on your face- ”
The traveler, Link, Hero of Hyrule, tried to steer the conversation away from potentially upsetting topics. “How have you been, Sky?”
“I’m good. You?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m very glad to see you. Zelda sent me to find a light that’s missing here. She said it’s urgent and that I need it to fight against a darkness settling here. Do you know something about that?”
“No, not in so many words,” Hyrule replied pensively. “I was asked to help bring light to a country in darkness by some old man in a cave and then he pointed me to a portal outside that wasn’t there when I went in. The sailor’s said something similar.”
“I was on a boat, though.”
Warriors chimed in, “Zelda and Lana, one of the advisors who can wield magic, told me something similar. They sent me here directly. Any idea what they mean?”
“No. Zelda had a vision and pointed me to the Gate of Time. That’s it.”
“The villagers haven’t been very talkative so far. Everyone just seems to burrow inside their houses,” Wind said.
“We haven’t been through the whole village yet.”
“Me, neither. I just got here when I saw you in the arrow shop.”
“Maybe someone will know something,” Hyrule muses.
Said and done. Two villagers later, a woman complained about having to repeat what she already said about the darkness setting over the country. Upon further inquiry, she revealed she had been talking to two heavily armed Hylian men, one wearing a green tunic and a windswept wolf pelt, the other wearing red, no pants, and a light blue hat. The heroes asked her about the men, and she harshly points them in a direction out of town, then shut her door in their faces, grumbling about nosy outsiders.
Another told of thunderstorms happening out of the blue, monsters roaming the roads at night and people going missing. It’s all very strange, he said, ever since the castle fell years ago, things were not as they used to be.
With every other option exhausted at the small, gloomy village, the group decides to leave and go look for the men that villager pointed them to. Sky thinks they might know more. Maybe they could even be of help.
Out on the open road again, the bleary scenery continued with trees alternating with scrubs, bushes, and like-likes. The heroes made sure to stay clear of the lesser monsters. No one needed unnecessary excitement. They talked idly, wondering about why they were here, musing about who the people they were searching could be and catching up on each other’s lives.
It turned out Sky and Queen Zelda had not been the only ones busy since their last collective quest. Wind had grandkids now, whom he adored and loved recounting his most adventurous quests to. Life had been quiet for Hyrule, but his country continued to recover, and he did his part by clearing the roads from monsters. Warriors had climbed the ranks in the army and made efforts in securing the citizens and rebuilding.
While they talked, nothing much happened. The steady sound of their boots on the sandy road drowned out all other sounds except for their quiet voices and the rustling of the wind in the leaves. The sun began to set, coloring the dull grey-green fields in a softer, warmer red-brown. Trees became sparser and thinner, more suited for softer grounds.
“Hiya!” The battle cry echoed through the evening field. Clashing swords and the dull striking of a weapon on a wooden shield sounded in answer, followed by shouts of pain and effort.
“Trouble ahead,” Warriors concluded. The heroes looked at each other and, as one, decided to help. With practised movements, they grabbed their shields and drew their swords and ran off the road towards the fight.
Just behind the gentle hill they had been walking along, two Hylians were battling a whole horde of monsters. Moblins, keese, green, strangely floating jellyfish-like creatures sparkling with electricity and skeletons wielding sword and shield. Sky could see the two men were seasoned, heavily-armed fighters, but were no match against the overwhelming numbers they were up against.
With Warriors in the lead, the four heroes launched themselves into the fight. Almost forgotten team-work came back to Sky’s mind as they coordinated their attacks. Duck, strike, slash. The two men, who were on the retreat until they arrived, gave shouts of new vigor and launched themselves at the monsters to fight their way to Sky and his companions.
The rhythm of the battle was fast, but largely routine by now for Sky. Draw the bow and hit a moblin. Swipe at the keese and any monster that came too close. Duck, recover, slash and strike anew.
It was not enough. His boots could not find the right footing on the slippery swamp mud, and he stumbled or sank in deep constantly. And he was not the only one with difficulties. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Warriors slip and sprawl on his side into a long puddle of dirty, brown water. The captain came up soaking wet and splashing, roaring at the monsters for getting him dirty. One of the Hylians the came to help, an older man in a green tunic with a wolf pelt across his shoulders he could now see was the Hero of Twilight, had trouble keeping his balance and was limping.
The monsters, stronger and in the majority, had far less trouble with their battlefield and were able to push the heroes back, further into the swamp. They overwhelmed them with their numbers. Just when Sky had defeated one enemy, another immediately took its place.
It was as maddening as it was exhausting. He, like his brothers in arms, were used to fighting outnumbered and outmatched in strength. They relied on their quicky wits, on outsmarting who they were fighting more than on brute strength. But the only one with experience against these kinds of overwhelming numbers was Warriors, if Sky recalled correctly. Sky risked a glance to his side where the captain was fighting a moblin supported by a swarm of keese. He was struggling, too.
Turning his attention back to the fight, Sky struck one of the jellyfish that floated closest to him. Instead of dropping dead, it just cleaved in two and formed two smaller, red jellyfish. Sky overlooked the faint sparks of electricity running over their bodies and, on the next strike, got zapped. It hurt and he dropped his sword. He rolled sideways to get some distance between him and the monsters and lunged for his sword. Immediately, the monsters turned on his new position, crackling dangerously.
Sky raised his shield, opting for blocking their next strike. The shield protected him from the worst of it, but he had to retreat back, away from everyone else.
He called for help, “How do I hit these things?!”
“The boomerang!” Legend shouted from not too far away. He sounded out of breath and was locked in a duel with one of the skeletons, stunning it with his own boomerang. “Sky, hit them with your boomerang! Or when they aren’t charged!”
“Got it!” It took a second to locate the boomerang in his bag and another to defend against the keese bearing down on him again. A bomb exploded from Legend’s direction. Two rapid, precise throws later, the jellyfish were no more, and Sky sprinted back to the others.
Back near the main fight, a moblin, hulking and black and far larger than any other he had seen, stepped in his way, blocking the direct way to Warriors who was nearest. The moblin roared and charged, landing a sloid blow on Sky’s shield. The hero countered, throwing the boomerang he still held in his hands, but it had no effect.
He exchanged it for the Master Sword again just in time jump out of the way of the next blow from the moblin’s overly large hammer. It put him behind the monster, and he used the advantage to land a couple of hits on its exposed back. The moblin howled and swung its hammer in a wide arch. Sky had to jump out of the way again and got dive-bombed by keese.
They were too many and the moblin lumbered closer again, determined to defeat him. Sky gripped his weapons tighter and swung the Master Sword around in a spin attack. It took down most of the keese in time for the moblin to arrive.
This time, Sky scored the first hit before he had to step back again from the moblin’s furious attacks. He was barely aware of the monsters and heroes fighting behind him, but knew he was at least not getting herded away again. A shriek alerted him to the keese about to strike him from above getting struck itself by a hookshot and fall limply to the ground.
The help bought him enough time to gather energy and raise his sword. The Skyward Strike took down the weaker monsters in his vicinity and brought the moblin nearly to its knees. Someone cheered behind him.
The moblin charged again, fierce in its anger, and send him flying even though he was blocking with his shield. Sky hit his head on the ground and nearly lost his sword again. This moblin really was something else, he thought sluggishly as he gathered his strewn limbs. His shield arm was numb. He barely had time to get up when it was attacking again.
The monster raised its arm high above its towering form, the sharp edge of the sword in its clutches glinting in the light of the setting sun. Sky heaved up his shield to protect his head from the incoming swing and braced himself. Just when he thought it was coming, the monster suddenly stilled, reeled as if stunned, and dropped dead.
Incredulous, Sky stood frozen for a split second with his shield still above his head, staring at the three arrows stuck precisely in the monster’s neck.
“Incoming!” Warriors shouted. Sky shook off his stupor and fell back into his usual defensive stance.
Not a moment too soon. A wave of blazing hot fire engulfed the two moblins now fighting with Warriors. It burned close enough that Sky could feel the searing heat on his face. The monsters shrieked in pain and tried putting out the flames by patting at them hecticly. Sensing a chance, Sky ran to Warriors and together they slew the distracted, weakened monsters.
A third sword came to their aid, slicing the skeleton that had been creeping up from their side in half. The skeleton crumbled to the ground and revealed the Hero of Time standing behind it. He looked barely a day older than last Sky had seen him. His one eye darted over Warriors and him and narrowed at the slain skeleton. Then he fished a bomb out of his bag and waved them back, before he lit the bomb and threw it at the pile of bones for good measure.
It exploded, leaving only scorched dirt in its place. Panting from exertion, Sky nodded at his friends and pushed back the greetings and questions in his mind in favor of concentrating back on the fight.
When it was apparent that the monsters can no longer attack anybody, the heroes gathered away from the fight scene and treat their wounds. Everyone was dirty from fighting in the swamp. A slash here, a bruise there. Altogether nothing serious but barely anyone escaped without a scratch.
Sky glanced at the new arrivals in between sips of his health potion and tries to figure out who they are. The Hero of Time, who had not aged at all, and the Hero of the Wild with his facial burn scars and large bow still in his grip were easily identified. The champion was not much older either, maybe of the age the captain had been on their first journey.
The third, however, Sky could not easily place. From the confident way he held is shoulders to the practised way he chugged potion and cleaned his sword, this man was obviously a fighter. He was very short, and his once blonde hair had greyed in places.
“Hey, gimme a hand, please, would ya?” Twilight asked, coming up to Sky’s side with a limp that seemed more like a bad knee acting up than wound, and held up a bandage. He gestured to the deep, bleeding cut underneath the sleeve of his tunic just where his chainmail ended.
“Did you already take a potion for that?” Sky asked, a little chidingly, as he put the rest of his own potion back into his pack. Nevertheless, he took the bandage and wrapped it tightly around his friend’s arm. He too well recalled too many close calls and “It’s just a scratch!” excuses from members of this party. Him included.
“Just did.” Twilight showed him the empty bottle in his bag, sitting neatly next to a row of ones filled to the brim with colorful liquids. He came prepared as well. “Thank you.”
“No problem, rancher.”
“Looks like everybody is here, then,” Twilight said pensively. He kneaded at his shoulder a bit, then dropped his arms by his side.
“It does. But who do you think that is?” Sky pointed at the short newcomer. He did recognize the face and the colorful tunic with golden embroidery on the margins, but it was years ago.
“The smithy, of course. You don’t recognize him?”
“Oh, yes, now that you say it.” Feeling a little silly, Sky smiled. Then it became genuine. “Everybody’s here then.”
“Yeah, been quite a while, eh?”
“Not for me!” the champion grinned happily, walking over to them from where he had been talking to Time and Legend. Indeed, Sky could see the lines on his face hadn’t deepened as much as they had for the rancher. Wild seemed as energetic as ever and pulled each of them into a brief, but tight hug. “Feels like yesterday I saw you all last.”
Twilight cleared his throat and said, a little amused, “Well, it certainly wasn’t yesterday for me.”
“Sure, old timer,” Wild said. “Come on. Me and the smithy and the old man have a camp down the road. There’s food and it’s away from here.”
“Yeah. I don’t want to stick around for whatever got drawn by all the noise,” Legend chimed in.
“Let’s go,” Time announced and turned back into the direction of the road.
The heroes followed him, back around the hill and onto the road. Sky stuck to Twilight’s side and fell to the back of the group with him. The old man stoically did his best to keep up and not let his limp be too noticeable, so Sky didn’t say anything. Legend had seen, too, as had Wild and Hyrule. They kept glancing at Twilight but continued with their quiet conversations.
The trip to the little camp took a bit longer than Sky anticipated. He suspected the three heroes had had to run to come to their aid that quickly. It was also a less happy and excited reunion than he thought, overshadowed by the fight and the continued guessing game of why they were here. While everyone was catching up and exchanging stories about their lives, no one was really overjoyed or excited. Perhaps they were just tired. Perhaps too much time had passed.
He overheard Wind asking Four if he shrank and saw the smithy giving the other hero a side-eye. Sky noted he had to look up a lot more now. Wind was nearly as tall as Time.
“No, you just finally went through puberty and put on some height,” Four replied. “Care to share the growth potion?”
Sky didn’t hear the quiet answer and turned his attention back to Twilight, Wild and Hyrule walking at his side.
Arriving at the campsite, Wild was quick to relight the fire in the middle of the small camp. Out of the corner of his eye, Sky noticed Wild still wore the glove on his right hand when he had removed nearly all other gear to cook. The camp itself was off the road, nestled between bushes and on dry, largely stone-free soil.
Conversation ceased except for figuring out who slept where and what they wanted for dinner. It was a busy and chaotic, but quick affair. They still had their same preferences and the younger ones unanimously let the older men put down their gear closer to the fire. The group cleaned up as best as they could without running water nearby, but no one felt comfortable enough to take off armor to put on new clothes.
Soon, they were gathered on logs and blankets around the fire, watching Wild cook their dinner in silence. A keese shrieked in the distance. Clothes rustled and chainmail clinked as they tried to get more comfortable on the hard ground.
Chilly from the falling night, Sky warmed his fingers over the flames and tried to radiate calm and comfort. No one quite knew how to go from here now that the adrenaline wore off. So many questions, so many things unknown, unsaid. Where to start? At least, Sky thinks gratefully with a look at his old friends, he found the help Zelda promised.
The strange, gloomy atmosphere that had settled over their camp was only broken when Wind leaned forward and sniffed loudly to get a good whiff of what Wild had cooking in his pot.
“Mhmm! I didn’t know how much I missed your cooking, champion. This smells amazing.”
“Just my cooking?” Wild teased, jumping at the excuse to lift the mood.
“Don’t get cocky with me, kid,” Wind jested back and pointed a finger. “I’m your elder now, so you listen to me.”
A round of chuckles sounded from the men sitting around the fire. Wind had been the youngest, had wanted to prove himself at every corner.
“Okay, grandpa. But you tell me when you reach 125 years, we’ll talk then,” Wild said good-naturedly.
“It’s only been eight years for you, champion?” Four asked.
“Yep. Why wasn’t it for you?”
“That I’d like to know as well.” Wind said. “It’s been a bit more than thirty-five for me. I am a grandpa now.”
“Less than six,” Legend said melancholically. “Felt a lot longer.”
“Nearly seventeen,” Four admitted.
Hyrule counted on his fingers. “Same.”
“Almost twenty,” Sky said. “Took a while to build the kingdom on the surface.”
“Wow, that’s a lot. Barely been twelve for me.” Warriors was stunned. “Good times, though.”
All eyes turned to Twilight and Time, both of which had not said anything yet. They looked at each other and, coming nonverbally to an agreement, grinned mischievously.
“Age before beauty,” Time gave a light bow to Twilight, clearly teasing.
“Don’t mock your elders, young man,” Twilight said in a poor imitation of any old, cranky grandpa, grinning from ear to ear. He relented. “Close to thirty-nine years. It’s … been a while.”
Wild briefly put a comforting hand on his friend’s knee. The group turned expectantly to the Hero of Time.
“Still not telling.”
A chorus of “No!” and “You gotta tell!” and “Come on, old man!” sounded across their little campsite until Time waved them off. Some things do not change after all, Sky thinks.
“Link, old man!” Warriors elbowed him playfully. “You haven’t aged a day! Why not tell?”
Time laughed heartily. “Believe me, the years since we met might not have been as numerous for me as they were for you, but they certainly have left their mark.”
“Did you grow your hair out? You’re going grey there.” Wind, already greying himself like several other members of the Chain, gestured at Time’s hair.
“Dinner’s ready!” Wild announced, interrupting the conversation. “Everyone gimme your bowls. It’s fortified pumpkin stew today.”
Instantly, the ire was forgotten in favor of the food. The camp fell silent once more as the heroes sated their hunger with bowls of delicious stew.
“Veteran,” Warriors called between bites, perking up as an idea popped into his head. “You remember that bet we had at Lon Lon Ranch?”
That caught Sky’s attention from his food. Legend was wary. “Yeah. Why?”
Warriors smugly lifted his right hand where an intricate golden ring graced his ring finger. “You lost. Pay up.”
Grumbling, Legend held his bowl and spoon in one hand and fished out fifty rupees out of his purse. Handing them over, he said drily, “Congratulations. Who is the unlucky woman?”
“Her name is Nadeena,” Warriors said lovingly. “We met at the garrison a few years after we defeated the shadow. We have three lovely kids, two girls and a boy.”
“So, you do actually know how to not scare off a woman,” Hyrule teased. Apparently, he had been listening in on the unlikely friends, too. Sky chuckled to himself. Eavesdropping certainly was a useful and widespread skill among the heroes.
“Or make her want to hit you after talking to you. Impressive,” Legend added sarcastically.
“You’re jealous,” Warriors countered, but continued eating. Pointedly conversationally, he asked: “Did you find someone?”
Sky expected Legend to withdraw then. The last time the topic of significant other had come up the veteran had been sad and forlorn. To Sky’s bewilderment, a soft, content smile made itself at home on Legend’s face.
“Yeah. Eventually.”
“Oh, come on!” Wind challenged. “You can’t be mysterious like that and not give us any details!”
Legend laughed as the others demanded and begged for answers again. He laid a hand on one of the leathers bags hanging from his belt and help up the other to ask for silence. When they fell quiet, he said, “I met her on a quest- “
“How else?” Warriors chuckled. Legend glared at him for interrupting and continued.
“- but I couldn’t find her after. It was years before I saw her again.” His face fell. “She didn’t remember me. Still, she was willing to try and we’re making it work. Her father helped a lot with the bumps on the road. Honesty truly is the best policy.”
“It is,” Time said.
“What about that bunny merchant?” Hyrule wanted to know.
“Oh, him!” Twilight said. ”I think his name was Flavio or something.”
“Ravio?” Legend asked. Hyrule nodded. “He’s still there, living rent free in my house. Even still runs that stupidly overpriced shop from my house front.”
“Not to be a killjoy-,” Four started.
“Then don’t be one,” Wild said.
Four rolled his eyes and continued, genuinely saying, “I’m happy to see you all again and that everyone is doing so well. But why are we all here?”
“I’ve been wondering that, too,” Time said, stroking his chin with a finger.
“And the monsters, they were very strong again. I had trouble defeating that moblin,” Sky admitted.
Wild agreed, “Yeah, stronger than usual. And bigger and there are a lot more here than anywhere I’ve been.”
“Maybe all of us are needed again,” Twilight said. “Like back when we were fighting against that shadow.”
“There’s a big threat and no hero? Again?” Legend asked incredulous. “No wonder this era went downhill.”
“Yes, but the question is why,” Time reminded him. The heroes stared thoughtful and cluelessly at each other or the fire. Sky scraped at the last of his second serving and contemplated the question while he ate up.
Wind’s face lit up in realization. “There is no Triforce.”
“Huh?”
“Come again, sailor?” Warriors asked.
“There is no Triforce,” Wind repeated.
“How can that be possible?” Twilight wanted to know. “There has always been a Triforce.”
“Actually, no,” Legend said. “One of my quests involved going to a parallel world called Lorule. They didn’t have a Triforce, and the land withered. Monsters plagued every corner, and the people were distraught. It happened similarly in the Shadow Realm, too.”
“And in my time, when the hero’s spirit left, the Triforce of Courage shattered, and no hero came to fight Ganon,” Wind explained. “I told you I had to travel a vast ocean in my youth. That ocean is there because the Goddesses had to flood everything to defeat Ganon themselves. I was able to restore the Triforce, but we certainly felt the consequences of its destruction.”
Legend continued, “I agree with the sailor. If the Golden Power of the Triforce were here, Hyrule wouldn’t be in this desolate state.”
The heroes nodded. That made sense, Sky thought. And …
“Golden Power, you say?” he asked. The veteran nodded. “Zelda had a vision, about a terrible darkness befalling Hyrule because of a “missing light”. I’m here to look for it, but I’m not sure what it is. It could be the Triforce, I think.”
“In any case, it’s a starting point. Never needed much of a direction and information beforehand is overrated but knowing what we’re going for is very much helpful,” Wild said lightheartedly.
“The Triforce it is then, for now,” Time decided. The heroes nodded enthusiastically, relieved to finally have a tangible quest.
“Does anyone know where to look?” Sky dared to ask.
„The villagers today didn’t seem to know anything. They would barely sell us a map,” Hyrule said, “but they confirmed we’re in Hyrule and that the last Hero is several hundred years in the past.”
Twilight was confused. “You saw a village? There’s nothing here for ages!”
“Yes. It’s up the road, where we came from.”
“Did they say which Hero?” Time asked.
“No,” Warriors said. “The legend wasn’t too clear either, just a short story about a young man in green who pulled the Master Sword and defeated the Calamity Ganon with the help of the Princess with the blood of the Goddess.”
Wild raised a hand. “That would be me, then.”
“That means we’re far into the future, right?” Four asked.
“Yeah.”
Sky steered them back on topic. “So, the quest is to save Hyrule?”
“The usual,” Legend sighed, turning to put his dishes away and settle into his bedroll.
“No problem!”, Wind said, excited despite the late hour.
“Yeah, no problem at all…,” Wild mumbled, barely loud enough for Sky to hear him. Sky wondered what caused the sudden drop in mood. A question for tomorrow, probably.
“We should continue where the monsters came from.”, Warriors suggested.
“What?!”
“Are you insane?”
“They almost got us today!”
Warriors was quick to calm the protests. “We were unprepared today. Ambushed. It won’t happen again. I know it’s been a while, but we know how to fight together.”
“The monsters certainly were unexpected. And it’s the only lead we really have,” Sky argued, although he was not quite happy himself to go right into the Staldra’s cave.
“It’s not,” Legend said. “One of the villagers mentioned a library on the neighboring region. It’s supposedly down the road.”
“We know where there is nothing. There’re two ways to go where we can at least hope to find some answers,” Hyrule said. “I say we go back to the swamp tomorrow and check it out briefly, see where it leads us. If we don’t find anything or get caught in another fight, we can go look for that library instead.”
The others grumblingly agreed.
“Sounds like a plan.”, Four said and yawned. “I’m spent. I’ll go to bed now if it’s all the same to you. Thanks for dinner, champion.”
Now that Four mentioned it, the familiar exhaustion from a day’s worth of travel and fight settled in Sky’s bones. That will ache so much tomorrow. For now, his bedroll seemed invitingly soft and warm. “Good idea.”
“I’ll take first watch.”, Time declared. He looked at the full moon looming above them, then around one by one. “Get some rest, boys. Tomorrow, we have a long day ahead of us.”
~ End ~