#{ he could have been saved by link and the master sword or zelda's light or something else }

[booksofadventures-archived]

"I am ashamed and wish I could forget..."

[undercityrezident]

So, did anyone else notice during Memory 4 that the Dueling Peaks is a complete and single mountain?

So that means, at some point between when Zelda arrived and the present day, according to Shay at the Lakeside Stable (in Breath of the Wild), "...legends say that a dragon god split the mountain in half to forge a way through, and that's how how it went from one to two."

It's worth mentioning that he talked about this while also mentioning "the presence of the shadow of a large creature on the surface of Lake Floria," which largely connects this dialogue to Farosh, the dragon often seen diving into the waterfalls near the peak of Mount Floria (in Breath of the Wild). The fact all this information comes from the same source may be the game's way of telling us that Farosh was responsible for the state of the Dueling Peaks.

However, I have a hypothesis to offer (which contains intensive TotK story spoilers, hence the readmore):

The way the camera pans in the memory to show the Dueling Peaks (or peak, rather, in this era), feels somewhat purposeful to me. And knowing that Zelda becomes a dragon in order to help restore the Master Sword over the aeons, I can't help but wonder if she might've been the reason why it happens.

Not that I blame her of course. She's a newly minted dragon, likely bursting with emotion and pain she doesn't understand or know how to cope with as she's just lost her sense of self. She could've gone mad for a time, flying erratically and ploughing through a mountain in her time of grief before settling into her new draconic existence.

Does this disprove that Farosh, or any of the other three dragons could've been responsible?

No, it doesn't. But I propose the idea that the other three dragons have existed much longer than her. By the nature of their names, they're connected to the three goddesses, Nayru, Farore, and Din, and have likely been around since the world's origin (or very close to it). Further, the Zonai have many carvings and depictions of dragons, meaning that dragons existed during and likely prior to this era, given their longevity.

Why is this important? We can look to how the three main dragons behave: they have regular patterns of flight, likely formed out of habit or preference, and do not go out of their way to harm people or impact the landscape in any significant way. For the most part, they're high in the sky where little can reach them, save for a hero with a paraglider.

Grant you, their paths have changed since TotK debuted, but the landscape itself has changed, as has the state of the world in general. The depths are now readily accessible, and perhaps there's an obligation on their part to survey it or maintain order wherever they can venture.

But my main point is that the dragons, given time, tend to settle and keep to their own habits and paths. If the three dragons already existed long before Zelda transformed, it's unlikely one of the other three dragons would find reason to deviate from their normal behaviour and plough through a mountain to split it in two.

But the new Light Dragon hasn't settled yet. She's wracked with emotion, grief, and new power she doesn't know how to control. She could almost be considered a newborn in that sense, and what might a newborn with nearly god-like powers do?

Split a mountain in half because it was in her way...

Also, keep in mind the former Temple of Time where Zelda transformed is not all too distant from that once unified Dueling Peak. As well, Zelda's own draconic trailblazing hasn't been consistent either in the present. At the beginning of TotK, she's seen flying in circles near the Great Sky Island before she boldly plunges through the cloud layer to open up Hyrule to Link once he's finished his trials there. As far as dragons go, Zelda doesn't have the same temperament as the other three.

It's true that there could be another dragon, or being that approximates one, that is responsible for the splitting of the Dueling Peaks. Maybe it was a more nefarious dragon sharing heritage with the likes of Volvagia, Argorok, or some progenitor of the Gleeoks.

Still, I think that it would be interesting to believe that the once gentle Zelda's sacrifice may have had a bigger hand in shaping the future of Hyrule than only her dutiful task of revitalizing the Master Sword. It would further contrast the change between the woman she was and the dragon she became, and emphasize the tragic nature of what she had to do in order for us to finally defeat Ganondorf.

[sapphicseasapphire]

Sorry for the many questions I'm about to ask but its been driving me insane.

How exactly does the story of Hyrule Warriors work with your cryptid au? Does Wars have a personality during those events or do the events of Hyrule Warriors not happen at all?

Your au is great and l really want to know how Wind, Time, and maybe Ravio interact with Wars. I am considering writing a short story with them, and I want to stay as loyal to the au as possible.

Also I love your art.

Hello!! First of all I’m SO SORRY it’s taken me this long to get back to you!! Sincerely I apologize!! But this question made me do a lot of deep thinking and I wasn’t exactly sure how to answer. I’m gonna break this up into sections under the cut because it’s gonna get pretty long.

How does Hyrule Warriors fit into the au? Gonna be completely 100% honest here, I’m kind of sort of rewriting the whole story I think. There’s a lot that I’m still figuring out, but (in the briefest of terms as this is all subject to change) here’s what I’ve got so far: Cia is still enamored by the Spirit of the Hero, and Ganon still takes advantage of that desire and purges her of her light, corrupting her. She still opens the Gate of Souls(s) and launches an attack on Hyrule, opening portals across time. However, in this era, there is no hero. (There was no Ganon either, before she showed up, so Link was never born. There was still a Zelda, since Hyrule’s princesses are always named Zelda. But yeah, Link just doesn’t exist). Not until Cia’s attack, that is. When Hyrule is threatened, Zelda and Impa decided that they need a hero. And so, they make one. They physically pull the Hero’s Spirit from its resting place in the Sacred Realm and manually place it in a sword, thus creating Wars.

They don’t call him Link, as he’s not a person. In this era, he’s always been called the Hero of Warriors, as that is his purpose. He was created solely to fight. To win the war and save Hyrule.

After the war is won, he is placed deep within a temple and abandoned. After all, he’s a literal weapon. A weapon without a wielder is dangerous- anyone could take up his sword and be accepted as his new Master. The temple that he’s placed in is a typical Zelda Temple TM, like a dungeon, and it’s where he will wait until he is discovered by the Chain.

Does Wars have a personality in Hyrule Warriors? Short answer: no. He is a freshly created sword spirit and bound entirely to his Master. (Which, at this point, is his Zelda). With the War of Eras still ongoing, his purpose hasn’t yet been fulfilled. At this point, he is very very similar to how Fi was in Skyward Sword: mostly residing in his sword and giving power ups to his Master, only manifesting outside of the blade when called upon. He doesn’t speak unless spoken to. He shows absolutely no emotion. Ever.

… which leads me to the bad news. How do the others (Time, Wind, Ravio) interact with Wars? Generally speaking, they don’t. Like. Not even a little bit. With Wars constantly in his sword, he’s pretty inaccessible. Plus, they don’t really have any reason to. Any of Wars’ advice is heard only by Zelda, who relays the information to the group, they don’t think to ask where these strategies are coming from. And they really don’t think much of the sword at Zelda’s back.

That’s not to say that nothing is happening between the Links, though!! I’ve been having a field day thinking of little Time, a godling, fresh out of Termina and trying to comprehend the weight of his fate while also being a kid and now fighting in yet another war he never asked to be a part of. He’d appear to the others as Child Link (and go by Mask), using his god powers to change his appearance. He doesn’t have to be Child Link, but with how new his powers are?? He’s scared to be anything else.

And WIND!!! Wind and Ravio interactions!!! I have been thinking about this for WEEKS, ever since you sent this ask. Wind, the chaos gremlin of an Aquili. And Ravio, the violence hating Mer whose whole family and everyone he knew was killed by the corrupted Aquili in his own world. Ravio witnessed his whole pod being murdered, he narrowly escaped. He was a child, alone and afraid. If Legend carries bias against Aquili, imagine the scope of Ravio’s trauma. I wouldn’t be surprised if he avoided Wind at any cost.

(I will be making a lot of Ravio content in the future. He’s just. He’s my little guy).

I’m having a very fun time thinking about these interactions, even if it’s a bummer that Wars isn’t a part of it. (Remember! The only one who knows what Wars is is Sky. Wind and Time never had the chance to meet him. Although, after they discover that he’s a Sword Spirit, I bet a lot of things suddenly make a lot of sense haha!)

ANYWAY. This is one of the less organized lore posts I’ve made but I wanted to get this answered. Like I said, I’m still workshopping this, but I hope this helps? You’re welcome to make a story (as long as you tag me)! I’m sorry if this was a bit of a let down, but even if Wars’ role isn’t very big, I already have so many ideas about the others! I hope this gives you ideas as well

[villanelleskiss]

you know what, literally fuck off 

zelda turned herself into a dragon, for link, to restore his sword. when she says “link, i will restore the master sword for you”. heavy emphasis on you. she knows that link is the only one who can defeat ganondorf. her trust and absolute faith in him is so strong, she chose to lose her entire self just so link could have a hint of a chance of killing ganondorf in this time. but it’s the way that we find the sword on the light dragon and we go to pull it, that she instantly tries to throw him off, bc she doesn’t know it’s link at first. until he’s able to hold on does she finally realize that it’s him, it’s her hero, retrieving his sword that she has been repairing and knows that she is finally back in her era and he found her and lets him take his sword back. the sword that feels like it was made for him, that skyward sword link made it just so this link would one day wield it. with other link’s it feels like we were just borrowing it, here, it feels like it absolutely belongs to link, it’s his sword and nobody elses. but we know that one day it will return to its pedastal until our next hero pulls it, in the face of evil and that zelda recognizes this even as she returns to traverse the endless skies, waiting for the moment link goes to meet with ganondorf, unknowing of what the demon king would eventually do, prepared for a turn of events to be the last stand against ganondorf in any means possible so link will not fall, her protectiveness over him even as a dragon, her strength and pure light saved hyrule. 

[skyward-floored]

berry link for the wip game? i'm very curious 👀💛

Certainly!

Berry Link is a little zelda au I’ve created, where Link has six older sisters who just so happen to be the six maidens/sages who are the key to freeing Ganon. He has to go on a quest to save them, and save Hyrule too of course. I call him Berry Link because his whole story has a big plant theme going on (his sisters all have flower names, there’s plant things he had to collect, etc), plus he loves blackberries, so his sisters and most people in his village call him Berry.

I’ve mostly just been writing some short scenes for him here and there, but maybe someday I’ll fit them all together into a bigger fic. Either way, here’s a scene I’ve been working on lately—

Link carefully took the flowers out of his pack, the blooms still as vibrant as when he’d first collected them from the temples. The petals glowed a bit in the sunlight, and Zelda leaned closer, her eyes wide.

“What are these?” Zelda asked in fascination, and Link held them out, vibrant greenish-yellow, soft blue, and warm reddish-orange.

“The three flowers of the goddesses,” he said simply, then pointed to each one in turn. “Blossom of Courage, Wisdom, and Power. I had to find them in these temple things, it took me a while— my grandpa said you’d know what to do with them.”

“Really?” Zelda said in confusion, staring at the flowers. “Oh. I... I’m sorry Link, I don’t think I do. I’ve never seen anything like these before.”

Link felt his hope plummet. “You’re sure?”

Zelda nodded, giving him an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, Link. I really haven’t.”

“I have.”

The two of them squeaked in surprise, Link scrambling not to drop the flowers as he grabbed for his sword, both of them whirling around. Standing a few paces away in a uniform reminiscent of the soldiers Link had seen around, was a teenager around the age of some of Link’s older sisters.

“Basil! Don’t sneak up on us!” Zelda pouted, and Basil, apparently, gave her a small smile as he walked over.

“Sorry Zellie. But I do know what your friend is asking about.”

Zelda immediately perked up. “You do?!”

“Sure. The flowers of the goddesses are mentioned in some older books I’ve read, they’re the key to freeing the Master Sword,” Basil said in a matter-of-fact voice.

“The what?” Link and Zelda asked simultaneously. Basil sighed.

“Don’t you kids pay attention in history class? The Master Sword. Pure weapon of light and goodness, slays demons, seals evil. It was locked up in a secure location so nobody could access it unless it was needed again,” he explained, a hand on his hip. “And those blossoms are the key to getting it.”

[dreamdepot]

Dreams of the Kingdom - Chapter 18: The Prince's Advisor

Previous < First > Next

AO3 Wattpad or below!

You stared at your hand, still not believing it was gone.

“It doesn’t change you,” Link whispered, gentling running his thumb over your knuckles. The group had retreated back to Lookout Landing, where you had been carried to your house and your bed. You were propped up on some pillows. Normally you’d be upset about dirtying the sheets with your sullied armor and wounds, but you couldn’t bring yourself to think about that at the moment. “You were always amazing, Triforce or not. Nothing Ganondorf does can ever change that.”

You nodded, but your eyes settled on Link’s arm. Link had the power of light and the Master Sword. Zelda had the power of the Goddess and, apparently, time. Ganondorf was the source of all evil and held not only a secret stone but most of the Triforce.

Maybe Ganondorf was right. Where did that leave you?

Prince you might be, but what did that matter in a battle of people with the strength of gods? You looked over the other sages, all of them with their own secret stones and abilities.

“Stop,” Link said. “You can’t compare yourself like that.”

“I failed them. I failed everyone. And now I can’t even fight back. What kind of useless royal am I? Can’t even protect my people.”

“Bullshit. You rebuilt most of Hyrule yourself, and you were with me on our assault on the Calamity and you were right there, first to charge in against Ganondorf today.”

“But-”

“No, stop.” Link placed his hands on your cheeks, guiding you to look into his eyes, filled with fierce determination. “No buts. [Y/n], you have been working around the clock to save Hyrule. You haven’t failed anyone. We will find a way to fix this.”

Sidon coughed. “I think we should go and check with the monster control forces in town.”

“Oh okay, Link do you want to come with us?” Tulin asked.

“No, no, honey,” Riju said, patting his head. “Just us.”

“If you, uh, need anything… you know…” Yunobo said, before Sidon yanked him around the corner.

As soon as they were out of sight, Link pulled you into a bear hug, as if he was trying to crush your panic. You felt the tears start to well up. “It’s okay, you can let it out.”

You clung to Link, sniffling. “I’m sorry… I was… I just…”

“It’s okay, we’re going to figure this out.”

“Link, he has two pieces of the Triforce and a secret stone. And he has this all planned out from the start? How do we know he isn’t controlling me or that he doesn’t know exactly what we’re going to do or…”

“[Y/n] stop. He’s getting in your head. Second guessing everything and being afraid is exactly what he wants.”

“But…”

“No,” Link said, cradling your head. “C’mon now, breathe with me. Four, two, six, remember? In… hold… and out… in… hold… and out…good boy.” You could feel the feelings start to recede. “C’mon, let’s get you comfy.”

Link drew a warm bath for you – you had to thank Robbie for using Sheikah tech to make a small water heater for your plumbing. While you cleaned off, you could hear Link busy in the next room. By the time you got out, he pressed a mug of your favorite relaxing tea into your hands. He made sure to get your favorite pillow and blanket, wrapping you up before easing you onto the bed.

“What are we going to do?” You finally asked.

“We are going to rest, and you are going to get some sleep.” You opened your mouth, but Link shushed you. “Please, [Y/n], I’m begging. You need to rest.”

“I…” You sighed. “I don’t want to, but I’ll try. But Link, what about you?” His face grew stony. “People are going to need help. With Ganondorf’s extra power…”

“I know,” he said. “I don’t want to leave you.”

“I don’t want you to go either, but…”

“There may not be a kingdom left if I don’t,” Link finished.

You took his hand. “I promise I’ll be fine.”

“Of course you will, you’re my prince,” Link smiled and leaned in to kiss you. “Just please take it slow. I’ll stay until you fall asleep, okay?”

“Thanks,” you sighed as your eyes drifted shut.

==============================

You woke, feeling someone sitting on the bed behind you. “Link…? Is that you?”

“No, I’m afraid not,” said a slightly familiar voice with a little chuckle. That woke you up quickly. You flipped around to see a tall spectral appearance sitting at the edge of the bed. The goatlike man nodded to you in greeting. “I apologize for the intrusion.”

“King Rauru!”

“Please, just Rauru is fine. We are family after all.” He looked over the room, eyes lingering on your photos and trinkets. “A rather humble home for the prince of our kingdom. It’s quite warm and cozy though. Sonia loved collecting little mementos too.”

You carefully shifted up on the bed, propping yourself up on the pillows. “Am I dreaming?”

Rauru laughed. “With all the dreams you’ve had lately, I can understand why you would be skeptical. But, I assure you, I am very much real – or at least as real as a spirit can be.”

“Yeah, you’re not the first spirit I’ve met,” you said slowly, pinching your forearm just to make sure. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m really happy you’re here, but why now?”

“Well, not exactly ‘now’, I’ve been around for quite a while.”

“You have?

“Of course, I have been watching over you and Link. I’ve been with you every step of the way, since Link reunited with you after you first discovered Ganondorf.”

Your mind returned to a certain night in a tent before the failed siege, your face heating. “…every step?”

Rauru crossed his arms. “I have enough class to give you your privacy for more intimate moments, [Y/n]. I’m not so old that I don’t remember being young. My… when I first met Sonia…” His eyes grew faraway for a moment. “Never mind that, I came to see you because you’ve had quite the ordeal.”

“You can say that again,” you muttered, a little mad at how childish your voice came out. “I don’t know what to do next. I don’t have the Triforce, my sword is broken… it feels hopeless.”

“You aren’t giving up, are you?”

“Absolutely not!” You gasped. “I’m not just going to hand my kingdom over to Ganondorf! If I’m still breathing, I’ll fight Ganondorf with a butterknife if I have to. How can you even-” Your voice trailed off as Rauru started to laugh. “What?”

“Determined and a bit hard-headed, aren’t you? That proves more than anything you’re my descendant.”

You moved to the edge of the bed. Rauru sat next to you, placing a ghostly hand on your shoulder. Despite your prior experience with the dead, it felt warm. “So, what do we do? I’ll fight him with a butterknife, but I’d rather go in with something that’ll actually end him.”

“There may be other ways you haven’t considered. Ganondorf prefers head-on assaults and manipulation behind the scenes. You will need to get creative.”

You thought for a moment, feeling like you were being tested. “There’s still the last piece of the Triforce, and Sharpe was adamant about his songs being important. I only know three of the five parts, so maybe Sharpe has something that will give us an edge.” You then frowned, thinking back to the confrontation. “Sharpe asked me to break the cycle. Then, during the fight, Ganondorf said Hyrule was always the story of three, insinuating I had no place in the fight against him…”

“Ganondorf has always been a master of manipulation, so I suggest taking anything he says with a grain of salt – like Link told you?” Rauru said, with a hint of the certain chastising tone only a parent could do. “Besides, he gloated about using you. You were clearly a cornerstone to his plan, as he wouldn’t have been able to get the Triforce without you.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

“Patience. Ganondorf used you to get the Triforce because he knew that he nor Link nor Zelda could. He gloats about using you because he wants you to be despondent, unlikely to fight back. If you were key in his rise, you may also be key in his ultimate downfall.”

That did help a little. “But he forced me – or, err, Sheik – to be reborn, and he said my soul was bound to him. What does that mean?”

“I’m afraid reincarnation and the flow of time is Sonia’s realm of expertise, but I can give you my best guess.” Rauru fell deep in thought for a moment. “You may be the reincarnation of my friend, and his soul may be within you, but you are your own person. Like how every Link and Zelda carry the strength and burdens of their predecessors, so do you carry that of Sheik. But at the end of the day, you are Prince [Y/n], my descendant and the hero that the people of Hyrule are looking to for leadership.”

“So, what do I do? Can you like, give me some kind of Zonai superweapon? Maybe a secret stone?”

“A secret stone won’t help you, not that you need it. Think of all you’ve done without one, even before you came to this time. I am proud of you, my descendant. I know you will find the answer, but you need to think broader than just strength. Think less like Ganondorf and more like you.”

It was nice to hear but not exactly helpful. Worse, it felt like you hadn’t given him the answer he wanted. You laid back staring at the ceiling. “There has to be something I can do, but… ugh, how do I stand up to Ganondorf? He has a secret stone, two pieces of the Triforce, and millennia of preparation.”

“It does look bleak, but people like us don’t take what fate hands us laying down. We are leaders, and we must take responsibility for the wellbeing of all our people.” Rauru thought for a moment. “Ganondorf has been planning this for quite a while. His influence has been poisoning Hyrule for centuries.”

“That’s it!” you gasped. You tumbled out of bed and grabbed your pack, fumbling around inside.

“What do you have there?”

You held out the stone you found. “Not exactly a secret stone, but I know it has to do with time. I don’t fully understand it, but it helps me see the past and even let me step back in time for a bit. Do you know how to use it?” Before Rauru could respond, you started pacing as your mind raced. “If I can use it to step back in time far enough, maybe that will buy us enough time to help us build something to stop him, or maybe to drain his power! Wait no, we can use it to undo his preparations!”

Rauru simply watched you with a small smile. He composed himself when you noticed. “My apologies. Link was right, you do get a certain fiery look in your eyes when you strategize.”

“I’m sorry?”

“[Y/n], that man is obsessed with you. He would not stop talking about you up on the Great Sky Island. I had to meet you myself – though again I apologize it took a little longer than expected.” He gave you a thoughtful look before a smile bright as the sun bloomed on his face. “I may not be your father, but I have to say I approve of Link courting you and vice versa. Hyrule does need a strong symbol of partnership and love these days.”

You felt a blush on your cheeks. “Thank you for your blessing, but back to the topic?”

“Yes, of course. I was going to say I’m surprised,” Rauru said, reaching out and taking the stone from your hand, letting it sparkle in the light. “I haven’t seen one of these in quite a while. What you have is a Timeshift Stone. They were exceedingly rare, even in my time. The largest supply of them disappeared long before I was born, back in the time when Lanayru was still a desert. After the Age of Hylia, the stones mysteriously disappeared, possibly used to build something large. Others were studied by the ancient Sheikah people and used to develop their technology. The few that remained were kept by the Royal Family and used to form a magical treasure.”

“The Ocarina of Time.”

“Precisely. But considering the Ocarina of Time and any other Timeshift Stones disappeared hundreds of years ago… well, I’m certainly surprised. You might call it divine intervention that the stone ended up in your hands.”

You thought back to when you fell into the abyss. “Something like that.” You then stopped. “Wait. You knew all this already, didn’t you?”

“Guilty as charged I’m afraid.” Rauru laughed. “But as your ancestor, I wish to impart wisdom to you by teaching you to find the answer rather than just telling you. I know you will be quite the ruler, far better than many others in our family. You truly are as resourceful and resilient as Zelda said.” He gave you back the Timeshift Stone. “Now, my descendant, please understand I didn’t leave you completely hopeless in this time. This old man still has a few tricks!”

“What do you mean?”

“Ganondorf’s strength is also his greatest weakness. He is too obsessed with the flow of reincarnation and time, that he thinks he sees all the angles. He’s missing the forest for the trees, or in this case, the war for the battles. He acts like he’s been setting everything up, but there are ways to undo his preparation – as you deduced. Sheik and Sonia saw this coming long before I did, and we made our own preparations.”

“The Shadow Temple?”

Rauru gave you a sly smile. “Now how did you know about that? But yes, one of many precautions, though I believe it’s not what you need just yet.”

You thought back. “Breaking the cycle and focusing on the damage Ganondorf has done, right?”

“Yes, exactly.”

You ran back your dream in your head, trying to remember the details. “But… the Shadow Temple is locked. I need a key to get in, so… where’s the key? Or maybe I should be asking, what is the key?”

“Excellent questions. The key is a bit complicated. My sister Mineru helped to ‘design the lock’ so to speak. It’s partly magic and partly mechanical. You’ll need to go to her laboratory in the Depths, if you wish to get inside.” Rauru seemed lost in thought. “Before that though, I think you’ll need to use a different kind of key, since someone went through the trouble to make sure you got it.”

“Lady Din does like to be a bit more hands on.”

Rauru chuckled. “It is an opportunity though. That Timeshift Stone is more special than it appears. It is the key to something that will be of great help to you.”

“Something that helps us defeat Ganondorf?”

“I wouldn’t say it would give you any power against Ganondorf per se, but perhaps something that would give you the edge you need... more time in fact. Under the-” Rauru stopped, his image flickered. He rose his hand, energy glowing, as his third eye opened. “Something’s wrong. Ganondorf, he’s…!”

“Rauru!”

“Link…in trouble,” He said as he faded and flickered. “…look skyward… Great…Island. I believe in you… my…” His body faded away, leaving his words hanging like an axe over you. The words then sunk in, and you bolted out of bed, kicking the door open and running towards town.

==============================

“MOVE!” You barreled through the soldiers towards Purah’s lab; manners were the last thing on your mind.

“Prince! You’re supposed to be-” Josha’s voice trailed off as you shot up the steps. “Resting…”

You nearly tore Purah’s door out of the wall as you skidded to a stop, sending notes and books tumbling everywhere. “Purah! Where’s-” Your words caught in your throat. In the corner, Link and Sidon stood, mid-conversation frozen in time. “No, no! Link please!” Every inch of him, even Rauru’s arm, had completely turned to stone. Even the Master Sword was nothing but rock without even a drop of magic.

Purah slowly descended the stairs. “I’m sorry, I did my best to stop it but…”

“What happened?” You asked hollowly.

“I don’t know. One minute they were talking, and the next...” Purah pulled you into a hug. “It’s okay, I’ll figure out something.”

Just then the door opened again, and Captain Hoz and Scorpis entered. “Lady Purah, we… I see you already know.” Captain Hoz looked over the statues, trying to keep his face steady. “Right then. Scorpis, keep his majesty under guard. We need to figure out what’s going on.”

Your head snapped up. “But-”

“I’m sorry, your majesty. With everything going on…” He looked pained.

It didn’t take a genius like Purah to understand the implication. The words fell out of your mouth. “I’m the only one left, aren’t I?”

He frowned. “Yes sir. All of the sages, and Sir Link…”

“I see.”

“So, the five new champions and the Master Sword itself,” Purah muttered. She looked at you.

You understood the silent question. “Ganondorf wants me alive. For what end? I don’t want to think about it. He just wants me alone.”

“Is it magic? Some kind of gloom curse?” Scorpis asked.

Purah shook her head. “Solid rock. I’ve never seen anything like this. The old stories mention petrification, but that was never something related to the Demon King, more the practice of the Dark Mage Vaati. I’m sure there’s a scientific way to fix it, but it’ll take time.”

Scorpis stood close to you. “Your majesty, you should be resting anyway. Let’s take you back to your bed.”

“Just one moment, please.” The world felt numb as you stood before Link’s stony body. “Link… Please hang on, I promise I’ll save you.” Link’s now rocky hair was loose, and in his hand was his well-worn hair band – the only thing unpetrified. You took his hair band, slipped it on a leather strap, and tied it to your wrist. You leaned in and kissed his cheek, wishing it would bring him back to life like some fairy tale. Sadly, his body remained cold and still. “I’ll be back soon.”

==============================

Night seemed to take forever to come, but with the endless blood moon overhead, it hardly seemed any darker. It was just lucky that Ganondorf seemed to be biding his time, as monsters had yet to swarm you or Lookout Landing. Finally, your opportunity came. You snuck out of the house in the quiet of night, dressed in your Sheikah armor. Sneaking out of the house past Scorpis was the easy part – sneaking over to the Tower was a bit harder. You squeezed past the guards, sticking to the few shadows. With most of the town asleep, it was a little better, but everyone was on edge. The slightest twig snap would likely send your guards into a panic. You hurried across the last bit, nearly to the edge of the tower.

“What do you think you’re doing?” You froze as Purah stood at the entrance. “I’m pretty sure you’re supposed to be under house guard.”

“Please Purah, I’m desperate. I need to get to the Great Sky Island.”

“You think I’m going to let the last hope of our kingdom run off alone? That’s crazy! And you’re not even fully rested yet!”

“I can’t rest if Ganondorf is still alive. I…” You swallowed hard. “I need to save Link.”

Purah stared you deep in the eyes, piercing you. “Alright,” she finally said. “What do you need from me?”

“What?”

“You don’t need to do everything yourself. We’re all here to support you, okay?” She flicked you on the forehead. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell, just please be safe.”

“Thanks Purah.” You looked down at the platform. “Can you pump some more power into this? A little extra height?”

“Say less,” she smirked.

Purah soon had her tools out and got to work making adjustments to the guardian arms. You hid in the shadow of the tower entrance, only visible to her. You passed her a wrench as you looked back up at the blood moon overhead. “Purah, promise me that if things get bad, you’ll evacuate everyone.”

“It won’t come to that-”

“Purah, promise me.”

She looked at you for a moment. “I promise. But promise me something, that you’ll be careful out there. You’re working yourself too hard. You’re no good to us dead.”

“I have to do something.”

“Yes, and you have. I know how it feels to be helpless. Remember, I lived through the Calamity, I had to help keep everyone safe when Ganon burned Hyrule for nights on end.” She fiddled with some of the gears. “I know you feel guilty, but it’s not your fault.”

“I practically handed him the tools to destroy us.”

“You’re saying that to the girl who helped rebuild the Divine Beasts and the Guardians.”

You winced. “I…”

She sat up and patted you on the back. “You may be our prince, but you can’t carry the weight of the world around forever. I trust you to do what you need to do, but don’t forget Hyrule is all of us – not just the prince and his knight. We aren’t going to let any Demon King destroy us without a fight. So, promise me, Prince [Y/n], you’re gonna come home safe – for me, for the kingdom, and most of all, for Link.”

“I promise.”

“Good!” She whacked the gears, and the terminal lit up again. “It’s ready to go.”

You tightened the belts on your armor, making sure you had your light pack secured. “Alright, Purah, I’ll be back as soon as I can.” The guardian arms spooled out, this time handing you a pair of goggles. The platform began to shake.

“You better. Good luck Princey.” She adjusted her glasses. “By the way, you have Link’s map data of the Great Sky Island. You could have just teleported there.”

“Wait, wha-” FOOOOM!

Wind whipped around as you flung skyward, higher and higher and higher. The air grew cold, reminding you of climbing to the Stormwind Ark with Tulin. You popped out your glider looking down at the specks of sky islands around you in the bloody light. If it wasn’t for Ganondorf’s influence, it would have been a beautiful night.

In the distance, Zelda glided through the air above Hateno. “I bet you’re checking in on your students,” you whispered to yourself. “You’ll see them soon, promise. Once I find the Shadow Temple and whatever Rauru wanted, I’m going to fix everything.”

You landed effortlessly at the edge of the Great Sky Island. Like Link had told you, there were Constructs everywhere, but they seemed to be asleep for the night. You checked your pack to make sure nothing had fallen out. You packed light, with clothes, your Royal Guard Armor as a second set, some arrows, a bow, lamp oil, rope, bombs, and some smaller blades to defend yourself. You turned one of the Eightfold Blades over in your hand. Link had fused a Blue Lynel’s horn to it for you, giving it a wicked edge that would make short work of most monsters.

You pulled up the map on your Purah Pad and looked at Link’s notes and travel history, trying to figure out where Rauru might have been thinking of. Then, you remembered the last dream and what Sheik said.

Rauru has secrets he doesn’t realize I know. The Temple of Time only needs the key.

Your eyes fell the Zonai Temple of Time. It was a far cry from the version you knew, but the unnatural swirl of light that rose from it called to you. You could practically feel the gears turning in your head as Rauru’s words came back to you.

Something that would give you the edge you need… more time in fact.

“Rauru… what did you have in mind?”

==============================

It took a bit to safely make your way to the Temple of Time, but soon you found yourself in the main atrium. Unfortunately, without the power of Rewind, climbing to the upper floor with the Goddess Statue took longer than you expected. You looked around but nothing seemed out of the ordinary at first. Then, you realized there had to be upper and lower floors, but no clear way to get to them. Furthermore, there was something causing a glowing light at the top, but when you had glided to the island, there didn’t appear to be anything there.

“Okay Rauru, what did you hide here then?” You pulled the Timeshift Stone from your pack as you wandered out the giant doors. You walked towards the collapsed balcony that Zelda had dropped you off on after Link pulled the Master Sword. You squeezed the stone, trying to summon any kind of vision, but there was nothing. “Would’ve been nice to just jump back in time to see Rauru or Zelda instead,” you grumbled, turning back to the Temple of Time.

As you walked back through the doors, the stone vibrated in your hand, softly starting to glow and pulse. You then heard the splash of footsteps. Below, you saw another echo of the past, but this time it was Sheik, dressed again in his robes reminiscent of Farosh as he strode through the cistern. You leaped down after him, but he disappeared as quickly as he came. Shimmying behind the waterwheel, you squeezed into the damp alcove to find a hidden door. It groaned on its hinges as you forced it open. You walked inside and followed the hidden staircase down into the darkness of the temple’s hidden levels.

It was a short walk to the lowest chamber, lit by a few dim Zonai lamps. The room had a small raised altar with a pillar made almost completely out of pewter. “So, are you the Shadow Temple?” you asked the open air. You wandered the room, not finding any other hints of hidden doors. Tapping the walls with your sword revealed nothing but solid rock. “Don’t suppose there are any torches for me to light either,” you muttered, before turning back to the conspicuous pillar. You climbed the altar, examining the strange object. It was cool to the touch, and lined with runes that were too faded to read in the dim light, even if you knew how to. There was, however, a notch in the center, just below a winged herald.

The Timeshift Stone leaped from your hand, as if magnetized and snapped into the pillar, leaving a smooth surface. For a second, nothing happened, but then all of the runes lit up with a blue light. A hum filled the room before the pillar burst into small blocks. A chill spread up your spine as the gravity suddenly dropped, and the blocks floated all around you. One by one, they spun and fit together into new shapes, slowly forming a giant circle. Then, with a burst of light, the shape smoothed into a giant gear, etched with the symbols of the goddesses and inscriptions that looked like music notes. The Triforce was proudly emblazoned in the center. Portals opened from the ceiling and two more gears dropped down, fitting into place perfectly. With a clunk, the gears began to turn.

An odd energy filled the room, making your skin tingle and your hair float. For a moment, you stared in awe but then it dawned on you. Your mother’s stories described it perfectly, as did some of the books you borrowed from Zelda. “The Gate of Time. Oh Hylia, the Gate of Time is real…”

You paced back and forth, mind racing. “Okay, not the Shadow Temple. Rauru, you weren’t kidding about more time.” You approached the gate, watching as the symbols faded away to reveal an endless tunnel of gears inside. “Yeah, this changes things. I can try to undo what Ganondorf did, but… where do I even go? Where do I start?” You tentatively pushed your hand into the tunnel, feeling the energy tingle. Slowly, you pushed a foot inside and entered the gate.

“Okay – not sure how to direct this exactly.” You wracked your brain. Then, a plan hatched in your mind. If you could ask Purah for help in the past, then Purah would have a hundred years to research a solution! She could unfreeze Link and then you could get Rauru’s help again. You could even ask the Champions for help, or maybe Sharpe could tell you what he meant by his five songs! “Please, take me back to before the Calamity!”

The tunnel pulsed with energy, acknowledging you. You started to run through the seemingly endless hall of gears, the light from the entrance fading, and a new light growing at the other end. Energy of the ages flowed by you, and you couldn’t help running faster and faster. The light grew brighter until it was nearly blinding…

==============================

“Oh, the poor dear, is he okay?”

“Such strange garb, he’s not a thief, is he?”

The voices shook you from your grogginess. You found yourself flat on your back, staring up at a picturesque blue sky.

“Oh, he’s getting up! Give him some space!”

You slowly sat up to see you were surrounded by people on a wide cobblestone street.

Wait, what?

You patted the ground, realizing the last time you saw well maintained cobblestone streets was before the Calamity. All the cobblestone roads left were near Castle Town, and none of them looked brand new like this. At first, you wanted to leap for joy – it worked! You had gone back in time! But then, you realized this town wasn’t like any other you had seen before the Calamity. You looked around the cozy but prosperous village. There was a nice plaza with a weathervane and a marketplace. You rubbed the back of your head. When and where exactly did you land?

“Okay everyone, let’s stop treating the poor man like a spectacle!” A rough voice said. An old man in yellow robes with a carved wooden staff walked up. He stroked his long white beard, looking you over. “Come now, can you stand?”

“I think so,” you said, getting up to your feet a bit shakily.

“Good, come with me.” You followed him up a hill to a large but plain home. He led you inside where an elderly woman was setting out some teacups.

“Please sit,” he said, pouring you a cup. “It’s not every day one falls out of the sky on our village – especially for someone wearing the mark of the Sheikah clan. You seem to have traveled quite a distance.” He set his staff down and sat across from you, removing his cap. “I am pleased to welcome you to Kakariko Village, traveler. My name is Sahasrahla. What is yours?”

[bambinella]

Sulking

A/N: I have, like probably everyone else, been obsessed with Tears of the Kingdom, and while brainstorming a little with @otomiyaa​ I thought of this cute idea! Enjoy!

Summary: Link is depressed after being separated from Zelda yet again, and Rauru wants to motivate him a little.

Word count: 2186

Link was sitting on the ground in front of the Temple of Time, and he was sulking. One moment he had been exploring the ruins underneath Hyrule Castle with Zelda, the next moment his entire world had turned upside down. Zelda was gone. The Master Sword was gone. Ganondorf – or rather, the Lich King??? – had returned after being imprisoned for who knows how long. He had almost died, again. But worst of all? His whole right arm was gone. His fighting arm. All his abilities, skills, everything he had trained for, all of it was gone. And it had taken zero effort for the Lich King to do so. So in the end, he was just weak. Link clenched his fist tightly and bit his lip. He looked down at his new arm, which Rauru, the very first King of Hyrule, had given to him after saving his life. It felt… foreign. And while it was supposed to be powerful, it seemed to have lost its power as well. Perfect.

Rauru noticed Link’s sour mood and sighed. He couldn’t exactly blame him for it, though. The boy had had one hell of a day. He sat himself down on a rock next to Link, not sure what to say. “Are you alright, Link?” He asked. He could tell that the Hylian was depressed.

“...” 

“... Right, that’s about the answer I expected,” Rauru said with another sigh, and Link let out a grunt. He should be more amazed that the literal ghost of the very first King of Hyrule was talking to him, but he couldn’t get himself to care right now. After finally being reunited with Zelda, he had lost her yet again. What kind of knight was he, as he had failed to protect her for a second time now. Rauru looked at Link for a long second, almost sensing his worries. “You shouldn’t beat yourself up like that. Zelda’s going to be alright, Link. She’s alive,” He said, causing Link’s head to snap up. 

“Are you sure?? How can you know?” He asked, looking straight into Rauru’s eyes. There was an ancient wisdom in those eyes, and secrecy. And for some reason it gave Link some hope. 

“I just know.” Rauru said with a smile, and Link felt like he had been holding his breath for far too long. He let out a sigh and mustered a small smile. If Rauru said Zelda was alive, then he was willing to believe him. He was willing to do anything at that point.

“... Thanks, Goat Man,” Link said, his smile growing a little wider as he saw Rauru’s eyebrow twitch.

“Goat ma– ahem, you’re welcome Link. Now you must focus on what’s in front of you. You need to strengthen your new arm, by visiting and conquering the Shrines to seek out the Sacred Light,” Rauru said, and a frown reappeared on Link’s face. He was about to face about a thousand trials again, he realized. 

“Right… no time to waste, then,” He said, standing up as he made his way towards the first Shrine. He had done something similar a few years ago, it couldn’t be that hard right? Apparently it was that hard. While easily mastering half of the shrines and gaining new abilities, Link hated the Sky Islands, and they seemed to hate him just as much. He had lost count of how many times he had almost fallen off the edge at this point. He had been climbing on boxes, and suddenly those boxes had turned into a giant monster. And he didn’t even want to think about all the times he had created items, to help him on his way, only for them to flow off the edge by a sudden gust of wind. Needless to say, by the time he had reached the third Shrine, his sour mood had returned. Rauru, who had been waiting for Link there, raised an eyebrow. “You really need to smile more, you know,” He casually said, earning another grunt from Link who just walked towards him. “Shut up Goat Man,” He grumbled, stopping next to Rauru. “You didn’t fall off a boat made of logs, to swim after it while it sails away, only to fall off of it again at least three times in the past ten minutes.”

“I understand what you’re going through, truly. But you’re going to be alright, you just need to gain a little more control over your new arm and become stronger,” The King assured. Link rolled his eyes.

“Not to be rude, but I don’t think you know what I’m going through right now, Goa–” Link started, only to be interrupted by Rauru.

“Call me a goat again, see what happens,” He said, and it made Link look up for the first time. There was a serious look in Rauru’s eyes, but there was also a smile on his lips and a hint of… playfulness in his voice. And it sparked something within Link, who was usually known for being a menace with his childlike behavior from time to time. While Link hadn’t had the best of days so far, he couldn’t resist the little challenge in that sentence as a smirk tugged at his lips.

“Or what? I don’t think there’s much you can do as a ghost, you know… Goat Man,” Link said while putting his hands on his hips. Rauru shook his head while giving him a once over. The boy in front of him was naked except for an old skirt and some wear-down sandals, and he decided to push his luck? He had to give it to Link, he was courageous.

“Well… I did warn you,” He said, before making a single move with his arm. Link immediately felt, and saw, his new arm react to it, and before he knew it he was laying down on his back, his new arm attached to a boulder. Wait what.

“H-hey! Wha– how did you do that?!” Link cried out in surprise, tugging at his arm to free himself. Nothing, it didn’t budge at all. Rauru chuckled at that, kneeling down next to him. “Did you, perhaps, forget that this arm once belonged to me? I may no longer have a physical body, but that doesn’t mean I no longer get to control it. At least, control it enough to do that,” He said, casually pointing to Link’s position.

“... And why exactly did you do ‘that’?” Link managed to ask, raising one eyebrow at the former King. This earned another chuckle.

“Because you dared to challenge me, and you really need to smile more,” Rauru said, before using both his ghostly hands to dig into Link’s sides. The Hylian let out a strangled gasp and tried to hold his laughter, one of his arms immediately reaching down to grab Rauru’s wrist, only for his hand to go straight through it. Oh that was so unfair.

“W-wait! No stop! Hohohohow?! You’re a damn ghohohost!” Link almost growled as he fought to hold back his frantic giggles, his free hand hitting the air where the ghost was sitting. And for the first time Rauru grinned widely at him.

“Who do you think you’re talking to, boy? I have been here for much longer than you can imagine, I do have some tricks up my sleeve. Besides, I was sitting on a stone earlier without falling through it, you really should have noticed,” He smiled, moving his large hands up and down Link’s flanks. The ghostly touch was feathery light, and it made Link’s skin tingle wherever it got touched. 

“Bwaahahaha! S-stohohop! Dohohon’t tihihihickle mehehehehe!” Link had no chance of holding back his laughter any longer. His skin was on fire because of the phantom tickles, and a blush spread on his cheeks. He had been ticklish for as long as he could remember, and while Zelda discovering this little fact had been one of the happiest moments of his life, right now it was biting him in the ass.

“Oh but I strongly feel like you need this,” Rauru countered, moving his hands under the swordsman’s arms. Link let out an undignified shriek and burst into loud laughter, his arm immediately wrapping around himself. This, however, did nothing to stop Rauru, although it felt weird to squish a ghost’s hand.

“NOHHOHOHOHO STOHOHOHOP! IHIHIHI’LL KIHIHIHILL YOU!” He cried out while thrashing on the ground, realizing a little too late it was probably a stupid thing to threaten him. How did one kill a ghost in the first place? None of his thoughts mattered as the ticklish sensations continued to bombard his brain, sending him into a helpless fit of renewed laughter.

“Oh? Kill me, hm? Did you also forget that I’m a ghost? And how exactly are you going to kill me if you can’t even get up from the ground, Sir Giggles?” Rauru asked with a teasing smile, scribbling his ghostly nails a little faster into his armpits. When Link couldn’t properly threaten him anymore due to laughing too fast, he pulled his hands away to grant the boy a break. “Ohoho fuck… ahaha… you suhuhuck!” Link whined with a giggle, panting slightly as he caught his breath. Stupid goat. The King let out a laugh at that and shook his head again.

“Even in this position you’re still throwing insults, huh? Guess you don’t know when to quit, although that seems to be a positive side of you,” Rauru said, earning another eye-roll of the Hylian. He took a moment to take another good look at the Hylian in front of him, especially his shoulder and chest. While it had only been a few hours, Link’s body had already completely absorbed and adjusted to the new arm, despite Link not having full control over it yet. Link didn’t look tall or strong or intimidating, but his ability to adapt and overcome was his true strength. Rauru was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of giggling, only then noticing that his claw was gently tracing the dark lines on his chest and ribs.

“Stohohop! Dahahamn you gohohohoat! Thahahahat tihihickles!” Link cried out in protest, embarrassed about the fact that a simple, light touch was enough to make him burst into giggles. Rauru noticed and smirked.

“My my, you really are ticklish, huh? This is enough to make you laugh? What if an enemy learned of your sensitivity, however would you survive?” Rauru teased, speeding up his fingers to really tickle him. Link cackled and threw his head back, attempting to wiggle his new arm side to side to try and dislodge himself from the boulder. However, whenever he got close to freedom, Rauru snuck his claws into his helpless underarm and tickled him until he lost concentration. The tips of his ears were red from both laughter and blushing at the teasing.

“Yohohou’re– AHAHAHA! You’re kihihihilling meehehehe! Lehehet me uuuuhuhuhup!!” He shrieked, once again reaching for one of Rauru’s hands with his free arm. Before he managed to do so, though, he felt his wrist being pinned.

“Hm, should I let you up? I might need to think about this for a while longer,” The King pretended to consider it, while raking his claw up and down Link’s taut stomach. If Link had been laughing and struggling before, it was nothing in comparison. The knight let out a roar of laughter while arching his back, kicking his legs wildly as he tugged at both his arms. Zelda loved to randomly tickle his stomach, since it was his most ticklish spot and it would send him into a giggle-fit if caught off guard. He usually never fought back, because he enjoyed being tickled, but now he was fighting for his life.

“PLEHEHEHEASE! I CAHAHAHAN’T! IHIHIHIT TIHIHICKLES!” Link howled with laughter, yet genuinely looked happy as he had a massive smile on his face. While Rauru was starting to feel a little sorry for him, he couldn’t help but smile at the expression and decided to keep going for a little while longer. When Link no longer had the energy to struggle and was simply laughing his heart out, Rauru finally pulled away.

“Now, I hope this taught you a little lesson. Are you done sulking?” Rauru asked with a smirk as he moved his hand, releasing Link from the boulder. The knight didn’t move and let out a huff, yet still smiled.

“I guess… thanks, Rauru,” He mumbled with a blush. The King blinked, before smirking a little wider.

“You take a minute to recover from this vicious attempt to kill you,” He playfully jabbed, earning another huff from the Hylian. “I’ll be waiting at the next Shrine for your arrival. Oh, and Link?” He said, turning around to face the knight, who had stood up.

“Hm?”

“I gave you that arm for a reason, you know. I truly believe you will manage.” He said with a smile, before vanishing. Link stood there for a moment, carefully considering those words, before moving on towards the next Shrine. Yet this time he wore a smile and a look of determination. 

[vampire-wizard-solidarity]

im thinking abt totk and skyward sword… in both games u have a beloved female character trapped in the past who needs to deliver a message to our hero in the future and so she makes a dire sacrifice in order to see this through… only when impa did it i actually felt something… AND they had the stones to make her sacrifice permanent (ie impa not only grows into an old woman but straight up dies at the end. or turns into dust at least. potato-potahto). there r just so many moments in totk that echo those in previous games without understanding why those story beats work. anyways the cringefail totk vs the chad skyward sword

so true!!

also part of the reason skyward sword works is it’s a much tighter story. it’s focused thematically and in terms of character, unlike totk which is all over the place with a ton of characters none of whom get any development despite supposedly playing large roles in the story and taking up enough screen time for you to be annoyed with the fact that you’re sitting through the same exact cutscene four times.

and on the topic of impa and zelda as parallel story beats in terms of time travel – impa’s sacrifice has something to say. she could technically just tell link everything he needs to know in the future, she could just time travel to said future and orchestrate events from there as her younger self (as she does), she could explain things to link directly – but she doesn’t, and that’s because of characterization. firstly, the reason she stays at the temple until she’s an old lady instead of just using time travel again is because she’s a devoted servant of the goddess: she’s not just there to wait for link (or zelda), she’s there to watch over the temple, too, she’s a religious servant not just for this one time, she doesn’t just serve link and zelda, she serves the goddess in all her forms.

secondly, the reason she doesn’t tell link everything is because she believes he needs to prove himself. this is another layered part of her characterization: we see her different relationships to other characters, with added complexity of the fact that we see two versions of her react to link: young impa at first regards him with derision, a distaste and harsh judgement of the fact that he’s not ready, he hasn’t proved himself as someone with enough power and skill to protect zelda. old impa similarly believes he isn’t ready yet, however her attitude in this belief is much more that of a wise old lady who kindly wants to see him mature, out of a belief in fate and worthiness coming with time. she won’t give him answers, however she will help him find them.

so, when these characterizations combine in her death it’s tragic but also beautiful: the reason she ultimately dies is because her duty has been fulfilled, and she believes that she is not fated to continue existing in this time, as her prime has passed and her jobs are done, she goes with the dignity of a wise servant.

zelda’s sacrifice, however. firstly it completely disregards one of her defining traits: her curiosity and love of research. rauru literally says that becoming a dragon is a last ditch effort and he believes that before that they must research and understand her power, at which zelda lights up, and yet we never actually see her attempt any of this research or mastering of her power. she seemingly becomes more powerful between cutscenes, yes, however there’s never a scene of her actually training, or trying to do any sort of research or brainstorming solutions. we were simply not shown that she’s exhausted every other option, we were not shown her use one of her strengths (her curiosity and intelligence) to solve the problem, she went with the first solution provided to her.

what does this do to her characterization? shows she’s devoted to link? she’s willing to sacrifice herself to save everyone? cool, nice. ignore all her complex characterization from botw to make her a typical perfect female character defined by her dedication to the male hero. thanks.

this kind of sacrifice could’ve worked hypothetically - if we were shown, for example, her trying and exhausting every other option it would’ve given this story beat a sense of desperation, tragedy (botw hits a similar beat). instead it’s just. underbaked.

it’s only made worse by the fact that the sacrifice is pointless in the grander scheme of things. you literally do not need the master sword to defeat ganon. skyward sword never had to encounter difficulties marrying its gameplay to its story because of its staunch linearity, and botw just? wasn’t stupid? like idk making zelda’s sacrifice be actually vital to the story and defeating the villain is such an easy task the only way i can explain this is the devs were dumb as rocks in trying to marry a more classic epic story with botw’s non-linear structure. like. the fact that you can just ignore all of that and defeat the villain anyway really undermines the story beat doesn’t it. in botw ignoring the main story and gunning it straight for the villain doesn’t really undermine the story, it just makes you see it through a different lens: zelda asks “do you really remember me?” and your genuine answer is “no”. isn’t that cool? isn’t that impactful in its own right?

totk just couldn’t reconcile any of its multitude of elements in a coherent manner. it’s just bad. it’s so shit i’m sorry i cannot write totk posts without devolving into a blubbering mess of “fuck shit fuck”

[phoenixcatch7]

Totk au idea, with ideas involving end game spoilers under the cut:

Link as the sage of forest! Like saria! A lot of totk revolves around exploring, sure, but it focuses a lot less on the untamed wilderness and Link’s relationship with it than botw, which has been his defining characteristic for the past six years (and generally for nearly forty). If Link was a sage, I’d like for him to go back to his roots and be something the grand scheme of hyrule wouldn’t consider as important anymore, but still is.

It’d be so cool to see what kind of powers that’d give him, it’d be a canon aligned way to give him all those cool nature magics I see a lot in fics! Maybe he could talk to animals, grow plants, purify running water, enhanced senses in the wild, animal empathy, all sorts!

When I was playing, I thought the secret stones were already assigned to their respective elements, and each sage just took up that mantle like in oot, tp, etc. However, in the wiki it said that each stone actually changed according to its wielder! Obviously I went looking for receipts in game, and I found them!

Each sage has their own ‘signature’, featuring a (sheikah?) eye and scribbles, which appears in the background of their sacred realm room, but most importantly here on their stones. Similarly, each signature has a colour associated with them. Rauru has white, sonia has a vivid yellow. Zelda gets her stone from rauru, and guess what colour it has? Yellow. Zelda and sonia have identical stones, down to the signature. It has an eye on the left, and a few curved lines branching off roughly the tear duct.

When ganon steals sonias stone, not only does it grow to fit him as the stones did noticeably for the goron sage, but it gains a new colour (that I previously thought to be general ‘corrupting evil’) and a new signature, one with a figure 8 on the right.

Now, at the very end of the game, Link drives the master sword into ganons secret stone (why or how it was on a dragon instead of fusing with it I have no idea), in theory destroying it, blowing it up and saving the world, yada yada (there certainly was a detonation). However, we could assume enough of the stone survived intact, or it got rewound at the same time Link and Zelda did, or that it reformed later so as not to upset the balance or smth (sages are famous for their reincarnation/spiritual successors, after all), which leaves us with one free secret stone of phenomenal power. Literally who else would zelda give it to?

Thing is, Link isnt very... Light and time magic are very much more zeldas thing. Link is more the wildcard, the child of the forest, the knight, the hero of the sword that seals the darkness. His job is practically to fade back into the summer mist once the world is saved, you can very much see that in totk with him refusing to associate with the champion title on his travels, and pre AND post game with him happiest vibing in zeldas shadow, not bringing attention to himself. 

There is a precedent to a forest sage of course, saria, his best friend in a past life. In fact, the oot forest sage was originally intended to be the wind sage - it was in early screenshots of the game before it was released! There’s no reason at all that Link wouldn’t become a forest sage upon taking up the stone. Zelda has enough magic light in her for them both, with a kingdoms worth to spare XD.

I wonder what it would appear as? Necklace, gauntlet, anklet, earring, glove, belt, chest piece, circlet? A sheath? A bracelet? A hair ornament? 

[smilesrobotlover]

I need to know about your Link OCs! Can you give me a brief summary of them all? Or a fun fact for each? Who’s the cinnamon rolls vs the ones who would kill you in a heartbeat? I must know 👀

Hehe since you asked… UwU I’ll explain top to bottom from that one image

Fluffy is the predecessor to Cursed. It’s no secret anymore cuz it was sorta revealed in the comic already if you remember what he looks like but he’s also Cursed’s grandfather :) Idk what he did specifically I’m still tryna figure it out but I know some major things he did was that he rescued the young prince since some evil (possibly Vaati) kidnapped him for his divine magic. Typically it’s a princess with the goddesses blood in her veins but I’m like… there had to be a dude right? It would be exceptionally rare but that prince had the power of the goddesses :) and fluffy also tried to protect Ordon from the tyrant king who tried to force Ordonians to submit to his will. There would’ve been some intense bloodshed but there was a bright light and all the Ordonians disappeared. So ordon is a ghost town. Where’d they go? 🤔 when his oldest son Taril was like, 10-14 he left mysteriously and never returned.

Then Cursed I can’t talk about much cuz his story is being explored in @thecurseofdemisecomic which I haven’t worked on in a hot second and I need motivation again cuz it’s kinda dying unfortunately. I’m not even done with arc one 😭😭 but you can read some of it there. If ya want :) the main premise is that Ganondorf is actively hunting down the hero of Hyrule. Only issue, the hero always appears from the most random spots ever. So he’s hard to find

Malakan is… confusing to me. He’s Cursed’s successor and idk what to do anymore with it. It was gonna be called the Curse of Hylia but truthfully the lore for that doesn’t fit the lore I had anymore. I feel like Hylia is truly gone, living on through Zelda, so idk what’s going on there. But the art I made was cute lol. Anyways yeah idk what to do with him, he’s just hangin out. He’s also Cursed’s like, great grandson? Mayhaps? But yeah, he was like, bffs with Ganondorf and Zelda. It was one of those ;)

Moon is my son and my baby. His whole story I almost made a comic for but nothing has happened yet. Basically hes from the dark timeline to TCOD where the hero was murdered and the master sword gone. The world fought back for a long while, but without the master sword, the world inevitably was nearly destroyed, with Demise winning (in this Demise and Ganondorf started working together). The world was a barren wasteland and slavery was common. Moon was a slave and he was thrown into a pit after he fought back against the slavers to protect someone. The golden three returned to Hyrule to salvage what they could, Farore, being the goddess of the life, wanting to save it entirely. Because of Moon’s courage, she sent him the Triforce of course before being cursed into a little bunny. Demise couldn’t kill her but he sure as heck humiliated her with that form. Moon finds a zelda and after discovering his Triforce of courage (zelda having the Triforce of wisdom), she sent him to find the shards of the Triforce of power, which was shattered when she tried to defeat the evil. Moon finds Farore and they search for the shards, eventually restoring Hyrule with the Triforce. Idk what specifically happens after that but he meets Groose, he gets magic, and it’s fun :) Moon is deaf but he never learned how to communicate, like ever, so it was a rocky road for him until he learned sign language. He’s also Skord Link’s direct ancestor UwU idk why but that happened. That’s why Sky kinda looks like him! It was an accident but I leaned into it!

Then Real. He’s a fun kiddo. Basically his story is that he’s some kid who moved to Hyrule after his father passed away, and the supposed hero of Hyrule went searching for the master sword with his help. But Real ended up being the one to draw the sword and having the hero’s spirit. The fake hero did not like this and was raised to believe he was the true hero, so let’s just say he did some bad things. He took Real to try to steal his Triforce of courage cuz he believed that would get him the master sword, and Real was able to escape. He meets Beck (or Linebeck the 87th ;)) and is able to convince him to help him. They run away from “Fake” despite the many tricks he throws their way ( he pretends he’s Real’s father at some point but Beck knew that his father died. Also Fake is like, 18 years old lmao). Idk what happens after that. Beck has a son that supposedly died by a creature that steals force (but he doesn’t) and it possibly takes Beck and there’s this whole thing. Idk the ending is messy but that’s the gist of it! I actually did a whumptober with Beck and Real! Fun times! Also Real loses his eye 😔

And then Flower… oh my baby Flower. He’s such a good boy and has such a gentle soul. This is in Moon’s timeline. Because the death of the hero caused so much destruction, the royal family started searching for the hero to protect him. But it got a little extreme and Flower was forcefully taken as a baby (this leads into Real’s story with the royal family taking the wrong baby). He was raised by the sages, specifically the Sage of light named Kaeru, who is a terrible and abusive person. Flower loves animals and has a blue cuccoo named Nitrogen thanks to the folks on discord and he meets a friendly Moblin too. Zelda in this is really pushed by Kaeru and he’s noticeably exhausted. There’s no big plot, it’s just Flower hangin out. I also have a whumptober fic with him and Zelda lol. I love him

And then they’re not here but there’s also Rayne and Mushroom!

Rayne is the hero in the villain squad au! He has an older brother and is seen as a failure :D And Mushroom is a random child who was raised by a Goron! Idk how else to explain them, mushroom is so silly.

[dutifulsilence]

Clouds surround him as Link sits atop the Temple of Time on the Great Sky Island, where his real quest had begun. Find Zelda, he'd been told. Save the world. Be the Hero. A task he'd fulfilled once, when the Calamity was defeated, a role he'd shed after to try to live a normal life for the past five years until the Upheaval.

A mask he'd worn for the last several months.

The mask had been chipped, cracked, and finally broken clean in half as everything came to crushing climax. Link was exhausted to a true breaking point, worn out from following the same steps as before - a downfall, starting anew, and slowly regaining his strength. It had been difficult the first time and was proving impossible to him now. He'd struggled through challenges, seen his friends suffer, and while he'd been able to work with them to save their homes, it made him realize a truth he'd never wanted to admit.

He couldn't save his and he'd never been able to.

Home had been lost to him a hundred years ago - his life, his past, almost everyone that had mattered to him had been lost the moment he'd fallen on the Blatchery Plain. He had no home to return to - not his childhood home, full of the ghosts of memories and an aching sense of not belonging, nor the house built near Tarrey Town, memory-less and little more than a base camp.

Home for him had been lost when Zelda had fallen into that chasm, swallowed by magic and thrown into the ancient past, and was far out of his reach as Zelda was now. He'd seen the memories in the tears, knew the fate she'd chosen - out of faith in him.

A faith placed mistakenly.

Link sighed and brought his hand up to rub at his shoulder, where soft Zonai scales met smooth Hylian skin. It burned, as it had when the gloom had taken his arm. It ached with phantom pain. Strange, he thought, as this normally only occurred when the Blood Moon approached, but that had passed only a couple of days ago.

Idly, he kept rubbing at his shoulder as he caught sight of the Light dragon drifting in the distance, her white scales glittering in the sunlight cast down from above. Link's heart clenched at the sight, tears forming in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Zelda - I was never good enough, was I? This is twice I've let you down." Throat constricting, Link swallowed a choked sob. "I'm not a hero like the others. Any other Hero would have kept you safe, made sure you never had to sacrifice so much. You'd still be home, with our friends, and not alone."

A twinge of pain in his shoulder spread up towards his neck, and while Link could not see it, his skin burned with new markings - tinged a pale blue-violet like a light bruise, but stretching out towards his heart. Link ignored the pain.

"I won't be able to save you. Hylia yn h've, the Master Sword chose the wrong wielder." As Link spoke, the bruising continued to cross his skin. Link poured out all the pain he felt, choking out words of guilt and self-loathing, of failing and not being enough, and with each syllable, the bruising spread. It reached his hair line and wheat-blond locks stained purple from root to tip.

"I'm afraid, Zelda. I'm scared to death to face the Demon King. I can't do it. I'm not strong enough and I never was."

Tears fell, rolling down his cheeks in streams. Link squeezed his eyes shut, overwhelmed by his own emotions, all walls tumbling down. The black geometric scars from his shoulder crossed his chest, ran up his neck and just below his jawline. His arms curled around himself, Link all but screamed out to the heavens.

"I can't save anyone anymore!"

Link dropped his head against his knees, heartbroken and soul-shattered. For what felt like ages, he cried - like a small child, lost in the world alone. That was the feeling he'd carried for years, since he'd woken up in the Shrine of Resurrection with nothing but his name. It was the feeling of knowing he didn't belong, that he had died and been brought back a stranger to himself.

Worst of all, it was the feeling of fear, a terror so great he'd never voiced it before, burying it deep inside himself to show the world a dedicated soldier, a young man chosen for a great duty, a Champion and Hero. All of it masking the truth of a scared young boy who'd never been ready for any of it.

Link raised his head, a moon-pale palm brushing tears away and lashes parting to reveal a glow of red eyes.

"I can't even save myself."

[baileys-writing-desk]

His life depends on you

The Thunder Dragon’s condition has deteriorated rapidly, and Link must hurry to save him.

drawing | AO3

Master Link, please hurry…Lanayru’s life is in your hands.

The chimes of Fi echo through Link’s mind as he rides his Loftwing through the sky, the fruit from the Tree of Life tucked safely into his magical pouch. He keeps his eyes on the yellow beam of light cutting through the sky, opening the path to Lanayru Desert.

Faster, Crimson. Faster.

The bird squawks as Link whistles, performing its spiral charge to propel the two forward, and Link’s head spins from flipping through the air. They need to get to the desert, and fast. Lanayru is weak, so weak…Link isn’t sure how much time the Thunder Dragon has left.

He must not fail. He must revive Lanayru. For if not…he doesn’t even dare to think about what would happen.

Finally they reach the yellow beam, the light nearly blinding Link’s eyes, and he throws himself off the Loftwing, spreading his arms and legs out as he freefalls through the cloud barrier.

Fi pops out of the sword and floats in front of him. Normally she would ask him where he desired to land, but this time Link’s mind fades to white as magic encircles him. She knows to take him to Lanayru Gorge; he has no other choice. Going the long way would take so much time, precious time that Lanayru may not have.

Seconds later, he finds himself floating over the grassy plain of the time-shifted gorge, and he quickly pulls out his Sailcloth for a smooth descent. As soon as his feet touch the ground, he looks ahead where the dragon resides…

Oh fuck. Oh Hylia.

Link’s heart nearly stops in his chest.

The mighty Thunder Dragon, who once had his head up with his arm resting on a small circular ledge, is now lying flat on his back, too weak to hold himself up any longer. His arm lies limp by the ledge, he's not moving, he's not moving-

SHIT SHIT SHIT.

“LANAYRU!!” Link shouts with all his might, letting the Sailcloth drop to the ground and making a mad dash across the gorge. No no no this can’t be happening this can’t be happening this can’t be-

The dragon still lies there, unresponsive, and from this distance Link can’t tell if he’s even breathing.

I was too late.

GOD DAMNIT, I was TOO LATE!

He had failed them all. He failed Lanayru, he failed to complete the Song of the Hero, now he just lost his last chance of finding the Triforce, and he won’t be able to defeat Demise and the wretched beast will kill Zelda, he’ll kill them all and-

Tears threaten to spill from Link’s eyes as he moves closer to the dragon.

“Lanayru…” he tries, nearly out of breath from the running.

…No response.

“LANAYRU?!?”

Wake up Lanayru please PLEASE wake up-

Now he can see a couple LD-301 robots, one of them standing by Lanayru’s arm, his back to Link. They don’t even seem to acknowledge the hero’s presence.

“Hey, Lanayru? Thunder Dragon, can you hear me?”

…Oh Hylia, Oh Zelda, I’m so sorry…I failed you, I did everything I could and it still wasn’t enough-

He sinks to his knees as Zelda’s beautiful face comes to mind…fast asleep in her crystallized slumber, and now she may never wake up. All because Link wasn’t fast enough to get this fucking piece of fruit to a fucking dragon-

“He’s still alive, voo-weep.”

Link slowly raises his head. “…Huh?”

The robot has turned to face him now, and he gestures to the dragon’s large belly. And now Link sees it, he sees the rise and fall of Lanayru’s chest he had failed to notice before in his panic, the dragon is breathing.

“Oh, thank Hylia…” Link chokes out, wiping the tears from his eyes. “Thank the Golden Three…”

Lanayru’s alive. Incredibly exhausted, and sick to the point of near-delirium…but alive nonetheless.

Link hadn’t been too late after all.

“Nggghhhh….mmph?” Lanayru groans, eyes fluttering open. His chest heaves and he hacks up a cough, the booming sound nearly hurting the small hero’s ears.

“I’m here, it’s me, Link! I have the fruit…you’re gonna be okay!”

“Wh…wha…?”

“Yeah, I’m gonna save you! Fucking Hylia, Lanayru, you scared the living shit out of me!”

Slowly, the dragon turns his head to meet Link’s eyes, and the hero reaches into his pouch, summoning the magic to hold the large, heavy piece of Life Fruit in his hands. He grunts from the effort, but manages a smile as he holds the fruit close, making sure nothing happens to it.

“Is-is that…the…” Lanayru wheezes, in between dry coughs. “You…brought that…f-for me?”

“Of course! I just need you to eat this, ok? You’ll feel so much better, I promise.”

Ever so slightly, a glimmer of hope shines in Lanayru’s bleary eyes. And Link lets out a sigh of relief. You did it…you really did it.

Once the dragon eats the fruit, he will be back to his energetic self, and the Song of the Hero will soon be complete.

Don’t worry Zelda, I’m coming.

[undercityrezident]

I just had a thought about an AU for TotK that involve the fates of Sonia and Rauru, and how it could impact the game at large.

Spoilers below the cut:

Imagine an AU where it's Rauru who is murdered by Ganondorf instead of Sonia in Memory 9. Instead of Sonia's stone, it's Rauru's he claims as his own.

Sonia and Zelda would be the ones to escape with Rauru's body instead, and events would continue to play out as normal for the most part, though Zelda tells Sonia, rather than Rauru, about how Ganondorf would only be sealed and not defeated.

Everything else continues similarly up until the final confrontation with Ganondorf in the sealing chamber. At that point, Sonia would assume a similar role to Rauru, where she'd lead the sages against him in their fight. The end result would be the same: they'd have to seal him rather than defeat him. But this time, it takes a different form.

This time, Sonia uses a different time power: one that freezes time entirely within the chamber. In a manner similar to Rauru she'll bind herself into this effect to ensure that she can hold the time-freeze, keeping herself and the demon king bound for millennia to come.

If one would ask about the existence of such a power, I feel that Sonia is likely capable of far more than just the recall power. The Secret Stones amplify all users' abilities within a specific domain (i.e. time, water, light, etc.). And it's demonstrated that the time power can be used in more than just a static reversal of a particular object. It can send objects through time, as seen with the Master Sword. While similar, it is different, and leaves the doors open for a multitude of different applications of time powers.

Of course, the application of such a power over so long to hold a being so powerful as The Demon King Ganondorf would be immensely taxing. It would perhaps be a stroke of brilliance on her part to seal herself in the time stop spell along with Ganondorf, as it would help to preserve her over the ages to ensure the spell holds for as long as it did. Sonia has been shown to be exceedingly clever, and this feels like something she could easily dream up.

But everything has limits: Sonia's power included.

So when Link and Zelda arrive, instead of an arm holding an emaciated Ganondorf at bay, they find two beings linked in a strange bubble of space devoid of colour. Leaking ever so slowly, the only thing in colour in the whole room, is the steady ooze of red gloom from Ganondorf's body, evidence of the weakening of Sonia's spell against Ganondorf's immense power and will. Also, there is the barely visible sparkle of green at the far end of the room that Link and Zelda both miss with this sight in front of them.

Otherwise still frozen in time, Sonia has just enough awareness to recognize the presence of Zelda and her own powers approaching. She knows from their conversations that she'll be bringing Link with him, and believes that this is when she can finally release the spell that's put her under tremendous strain.

She does, only to realize that this Link and Zelda are not ready to face the demon king as he immediately resumes his fury in full form, not having decayed over the ages as he did in proper canon. The sword is destroyed just as it was before, and Zelda falls once Ganondorf unleashes his magic to collapse the room and thrust the castle upward.

Sonia knows that Zelda must travel to the past, as she's witnessed it already, and she rips her stone from her neck and throws it to Zelda as the young woman plummets, while Link goes after her without hesitation as he did in canon.

Zelda catches the stone, and winks back into the past, while Link is caught in a strange spell that reverses him back to where he jumped. It's Sonia who saves his life in this version of events... mostly.

The last vestiges of the sealing chamber's floor collapse as Sonia casting the recall spell, and she begins to fall. Link catches her, but he begins to fall again as the recall spell ends. That is, until a strange green glow descends upon them. A strange green arm wrests them from their fate and pulls them away from the sealing chamber and into the sky where the game's adventure would begin properly with Link being armless, but Sonia present as his guide and companion. She helps him gain the powers of the Great Sky Island until they're greeted by a face familiar to Sonia.

Rauru appears to them and has a touching reunion with Sonia after all these years. He'll tell her that he's kept a vigil over her as she kept the Demon King locked away, trying to bolster her power with his own as much as he could.

Link will find that he can't use the Zonai powers as effectively as Sonia recalls them being used in the past. Rauru's reveals to them that Link needs a conduit to invoke them properly, and guides them to his grave in the Forgotten Temple where he grants Link his preserved arm.

It's at this point that the world becomes far more dangerous, as Ganondorf has returned having lost far less of his power due to having been preserved, mostly, by the time stop spell compared to how he'd degraded in canon. Sonia, drained of her power completely from her efforts, and now without her Secret Stone, is the pseudo-guide/companion for Link during the remainder of the game, with one of her main roles being to help to help direct Link to the dragons' tears to learn the fate of Zelda, since Zelda remained active in the past after Sonia imprisoned Ganondorf with the time-freeze.

And of course, we'll get to see her heart break when she learns of Zelda's draconification, a sacrifice of the highest order.

And you could most certainly return to Rauru's tomb on the Great Sky Island to see or even promote further interactions between Rauru's spirit and Sonia, now ripped from her own time as much as Zelda has been from hers. This will include dialogue that changes as Link progresses through the game, including discussions on how to find a way to try and bring Zelda back from her draconic form.

Of course, Ganondorf won't get as much mileage out of his puppet Zelda going around Hyrule to cause trouble with Sonia around, but Ganondorf still believes it to be a lure for Sonia to come to Hyrule Castle once he triggers puppet Zelda's appearance there. Sonia sends Link in her stead with the new sages, seeing it as an obvious trap for her. She does worry for Link, knowing the depth of his feelings for Zelda.

After a heartfelt reunion between Mineru and Sonia, the pair glad they're not the only beings stranded in a time far from their own, the game proceeds towards its conclusion as normal.

If Link was able to find all the memories from the dragon's tears and trigger dialogue between Rauru and Sonia (and maybe even a side mission to delve into some ruins in The Depths for research to give more hints of what they have in mind), the ending of the game will play out much as it does in canon, but this time with a living Sonia and spiritual Rauru helping to bring Zelda back to her original form.

If not, Zelda will remain a dragon at the end of the game.

In the ending where Zelda is returned to her Hylian form, Sonia ends up giving a bittersweet farewell to both Rauru and Mineru's spirits, and acts as a mother towards Zelda for the remainder of their days as they all rebuild Hyrule.

In the ending where Zelda remains a dragon, she has that same farewell, though she regrets never finding out how they could return Zelda to her original form. She lives out her days trying to help bring Zelda's dream of rebuilding Hyrule to fruition. Sadly, it's still something of a lonely life in her off-hours, with no family and with only semi-regular visits from Link, who is similarly distraught from Zelda's continued fate.

[legofanguy]

ToTK: A princess left behind

This is my entry for @zelinkcommunity Zelink week 2023 day 2 forbidden. The forbidden comes from this being a AU ending of Tears of the Kingdom in which Link kill Ganondorf before he turn into the Demon Dragon and swallow his secret stone. Spoliers for Tears of the Kingdom. Also, Link and Zelda's daughter Charlotte is named after her grandmother.

It has been months since both Charlotte's mother Princess Zelda and her father Link has disappeared and the Demon King has been defeated by the team work of Link and the new Sages. Right now, the four years old princess is on a sky island with her parents' close friends the Sages and Purah the Shiekah scientist. The Sages has last saw Link take a Secret Stone, a Zonai artifact that amplify the powers of the one whose wear it, from the Demon King dead body and strangely request that the Sages guide Charlotte in her duties as heir to the Kingdom of Hyrule and he is sorry for not saving Zelda from a fate. Weeks later, there begins sighting of a green dragon that sudden appear above Hyrule Castle before flying off to the clouds, where the mysterious Light Dragon was waiting for it, and there is no secrets that begin rumors of how the dragons are somehow connected to Princess Zelda and Link disappeared. Among the Sages is the spirit of Mineru, the Sage of Spirit and Charlotte's ancient aunt.

Mineru explains to Charlotte, "Long ago, when your mother end up in my time, in the begining era of Hyrule, I hold Princess Zelda about stories of a forbidden act called draconification. The story goes that 'to swallow a Secret Stone is to be become an immortal dragon... one blessed with eternal life. To become a immortal dragon is to lose oneself.' That is why it is forbidden. After my brother Rauru seal the Demon King at the cost of his life, the broken Master Sword appear in our time and your mother, Charlotte, decided..." and Mineru become sadly, "so that Link could get the sword in time for the final battle..."

Everyone realized what Mineru is hinting at with Purah saying in disbelief, "T-That's nonsense... Zelda would never turn herself into a dragon!" which the Zonai call out, "Maybe that why Link didn't tell any of you when he found out about Zelda's fate! You would have call him mad with grief, when Link was losing his will except to destroy the Demon King as Zelda wanted, just like my brother when his wife Sonia was murdered in cold blood by the Demon King for her Secret Stone! Beside, both he and Zelda suffered a crushing defeat by the Demon King's evil you called Calamity Ganon 100 years ago and it affected their minds!" Purah and the Sages understand that Mineru was right about their possible doubts as Charlotte ask, "What about daddy?" and the Zonia close her eyes and said to the little girl as she open them, "I am... I am sorry, little one... I told you about your mother's fate, because I tragically have a theory about what happen to Link, as he has saw Zelda's memories of me telling her about draconification and her transformation. I see in his face that Link was desperate to defeat the Demon King for something only than protecting Hyrule..."

Sidon made a horrible conclusion and ask, "Please... Don't tell us... Did you believe Link truely swallow the Secret Stone of..." Just then, two roars full the skies and everyone look up to see the Light Dragon and the Green Dragon, both has mane of blonde fur, which are proof of their identities. Riju speak out, "That Light Dragon... she must be Zelda. That mean that other dragon is truly..." and Charlotte speak this terrible realization as well, "Daddy..."

The two dragon sit down to the platform before the gathered group and lower their heads so that their Hylian daughter would touch their fur, just like she would feel their hands. As she does, a glowing light came from Charlotte's hands and spiritual avatars of Link and Zelda appear. Zelda's avatar happily, "Charlotte... oh, my Charlotte..." before she notice Link and realized, "Link... you are here.... but, did you..." and Link reply, "Yes, my love. I defeat the Demon King, with the Master Sword you keep safe for me, and swallow his Secret Stone to be with you."

A few weeks back, Link hold the Secret Stone he took from the beheaded body of the Demon King, seeing that it does amplify the recall ability as he hope, so he is left with his other option to be with Zelda, even if it means forshaking what make Link himself and leaving his daughter and his friends. Link has saw that he has become like Rhoam and Rauru when he learn Zelda fate 10,000 years ago of become a father and king of Hyrule whose lost his wife.

Just like the memoires of Zelda, Link put the Secret Stone and swallow it, which he feel everything fading away as a glow comes from his body before his blue eyes become the eyes of dragon and his Hylian body become a long green dragon with a mindset of finding his mate, the Light Dragon, roaring as it fly from above Hyrule Castle and into the skies of clouds where she waited him.

Link said to his friends with one last look, "Please... protect Charlotte... make her happy... ensure that the Hyrule she will lead will never face another evil like Ganon again." and both Zelda and him said to their daughter as their avatars fade away, "We love you, Charlotte... with all of our hearts." Soon, the two dragons fly out to explore and protect this land, together in eternal union. Mineru sigh and said, "It's a bettersweet ending. My brother and the wife he loved... their Secret Stones has made two lover forshake their mortal lives to be immortal dragons that wouldn't remember their past lives."

In a attempt to cheer Charlotte up, the Sages speak, trying to do so together, "Those of us... gathered here... swear on our lives... to support Princess Charlotte and...." They stop for a brief moment which cause Charlotte to giggle before the Sages try what Link told them before his transformation again, "to support Princess Charlotte Zelda Hannah Hyrule and safeguard the land of Hyrule."

After Mineru's spirit fade away, and Charlotte see that the Secret Stone that is now hers has become the mix of white and yellow to symbol her light and time powers, which her powers and her ancestors has.

[bluesdesk]

I've had a story in my drafts for a really long time.

I have so many things to do for university, projects, exams and so on, and I don't have time to do anything else, but once the session has ended, I'll surely complete it! Do you remember this post?

The story I have is going to be the full plot of this concept! I have the first part ready, here's a snippet!

Link and Zelda had just found some ruins under the castle. Zelda suggested to investigate, as always. She really loved doing researches, being a scholar, and now that she was a teacher too, for all those kids, she was really, and seriously, happy. He often found himself thinking about their own possible future kids, but didn't tell her, they had just gotten together. When she asked him if they could share the house, he couldn't and of course wouldn't ever want to say no. Maybe it was a bit small for them, Zela needed a study room for all her stuff, and he surely needed more space for his weapons and shields. He should find a better one. Maybe he could ask Hudson and Rhodson. He had to have a trip to Tarrey once this research under the castle was finished! The walls were covered in murals, depicting various eras. People descending from the sky, people during what looked like a ceremony, a mural depicting a festivity and tiny beings, the first appearance of Ganondorf, the era of the shadows, and the era of the huge war. Where the walls didn't have murals, statues almost as tall as the ceiling decorated the rooms and corridors. They depicted a man with mustaches and a long tunic, and a woman with a dress and tattoos. They also found one different statue, too damaged to be recognizable, but it surely wasn't that man or that woman. Both Link and Zelda guessed it must have been destroyed on purpose by their ancestors. Maybe, it was the menace of their time, like Calamity Ganon for them.

A set of stairs and a really narrow corridor made them go even further down. They found themselves on a balcony thing in a room with a huge green light the shape of a hand, gripped in what looked like a really old dead body, skin and bones, but with long hair. Zelda wanted to take some photos, get a sample of hair from the body maybe to know how old it really was, and mostly she wanted to know if the hand was pure light magic or maybe it was physical too. Link told her it was dangerous, she didn't listen. He, while reaching for her, shouted the phrase again. "I SENSE DANGER! DON'T GO!" It was too late. The dead body was somehow revived, the light hand disappeared and... she was falling. He hadn't saved her, he had jumped off to the void in which his princess, scholar, other half, fell, and the hand appeared right behind him and brought him back to the surface. The Master Sword was broken, and he had lost an arm in the process thanks to what looked like an enhanced malice Zelda had called "gloom". Link woke up and found himself in what looked like a temple. It was just a room, a huge round room with tall walls. There was a pedestal there, that looked pretty much like the one for the Master Sword, but older. Though, there was nothing there, other than some torches around the pedestal. Feeling lost, he impulsively tried to wield the broken sword, but as soon as he looked at himself for the first time, he noticed he had only his underwear on, and his right arm was gone. Instead, he had what looked like a prosthesis, but filled with the same light magic of the hand. He tried to move it and it worked. It looked like an old sheikah tech but it wasn't even a bit rusty, and he could sense it was made to contain more power than what it actually had. What was that? Who did that? Who saved him and literally replaced his injured and hopeless arm with an old but new sheikah tech?

Suddenly, a voice sounding like an old man got his attention. He had seen spirits before, but this... he couldn't see anyone. The voice presented itself as Rauru, and Link knew he had read about someone named Rauru somewhere... right! Zelda said he was the first king of Hyrule! Rauru informed Link that place was once adored and praised by every population. There, the first hero, chosen by the goddess Hylia, had wielded the Goddess Sword for the first time, and forged her into the Master Sword, the sword that banishes evil. During the eras, the original temple, as well as another huge one, the Sealed Temple, got buried and later the temple of Time was built over them. Now, Link was in the Depths, under the Great Plateau. Rauru invited him to go out and look at the magnificence of the temple. A huge statue of the goddess, that, while not having any power source, emanated a celestial light, enough to see the building perfectly, and even clear a portion of ground around it. The Sealed Temple was in front of it, the light of the goddess temple illuminated it too. There was grass, there were flowers around both the temples, but where the light didn't reach, there were only cold stones and dirt. All around, in the distance, he could see gloom encrusted to tall stone and dirt walls that seemed to reach the top, the "ceiling". And probably monsters, but he wasn't in shape to fight. He wasn't still acquainted with the hand, and arm of course, and his only weapon was the decayed sword. As Link could see, there was no exit from there. The entrances to the depths, as he had had time to see before the research, were huge chasms covered in gloom, too high to be reached by anyone, and even if he did manage to reach them, the gloom would have killed him in few seconds. One of the chasms was about in the centre of the enclosed area.

Right there, standing on the floor, was a strange-looking smaller statue. This one, unlike the temples, was rusty and some pieces were clearly missing. The bottom of the statue looked kind of like a stand for something, but the subject was missing, and Rauru instructed Link to go find a stone bird. After finding the stone bird, he had to put it back on the stand. Link couldn't do anything but accept. The bird statue was restored, but still old and without any sign of power. Rauru's voice instructed him to find 3 stone tablets. they were once used by the very first hero to create beams of light, capable of breaking the cloud barrier and activate the statues. Now, their power had surely faded out, but maybe the power of the 3 of them combined could at least make him go back to the surface. Link finally had to fight some monsters with the broken sword and with what he could find around the area. It felt like the beginning of his first adventure, like if he was still unexperienced, goofy, and so damn tired. He had to do it. It was an enclosed space, but big enough to host one huge Goddes Statue Temple and the Sealed Temple, and a vast space around. Some enemies had decayed but still functional weapons, he stole them. The 3 tablets were found in different spots. When he found them all, Rauru told him to go put them in the Goddess Temple. A stone panel with a missing rectangular piece emerged from the ground. The tablets were put together and they fitted. Outside, a blue light beam had appeared right in the middle of the chasm, bathing the bird statue with holy light, it was now as good as new and ready to be used. A treasure chest appeared there, with his paraglider, sewed and taped with white and sky blue pieces of cloth and sewing threads. That style was surely from another culture.

Link couldn't imagine the power of that light beam was still strong enough to launch him right to the sky. With the help of his paraglider, he landed safely on a floating island. There, he saw the source of Rauru's voice. The first king's ghost was exactly like one of the statues he and Zelda had seen under the castle. The white mustache, the long orange vest, the wise face. He was now standing before him. He could see a huge palace on another island. Somehow, he knew he had to go there. Rauru nodded. That palace was once the home of a sky tribe that refused to go to the surface when Hylia told them to, and now it was a temple, to remember those who gave their life to protect the land and what's good, from the depths to the sky. Link had to go there, in that temple as old as the kingdom itself. Someone was waiting for him in there. Though, the sky islands weren't reachable with a simple jump, he had to build devices. Rauru informed him that the construct hand was in fact able to hold more power, and increase its abilities. It wasn't just a hand. The sheikah, with the help of the Hylians and some familiar robots, the scrappers or, as they renamed them, the constructs, had built devices infused with Hylia's holy power. They had no equals, because Hylia herself had given them her power time ago, in her mortal form. Only the sages could restore his new hand, as Hylia had transferred each facet of her powers to them, chosen by herself and the 3 goddesses. Rauru told Link he could restore one power, being the original sage of light, and moreover, her son.

[jarino]

Ghost Towns: Chapter 20 (Together Again)

After taking on Calamity Ganon, Link and Zelda reunite.

AO3 Link

After sneaking his way through the castle, Link ultimately made his way to the throne room. He took a careful look around and his eyes landed on a massive, bulging mound attached to the ceiling. It pulsed as though it had a heartbeat, and a shiver ran down Link’s spine.

Before he could think about what to do, Zelda’s voice entered his head once more.

“Link…” she said weakly, “I’m sorry, but my power isn’t strong enough…I can’t hold him.”

She hadn’t even finished her sentence; a laser was already slicing through the fleshy cocoon, firing aimlessly around the room.

Link held his arms above his head to shield himself from the flying debris.

He watched as steam escaped the mass in the ceiling, before a hulking body fell from its clutches, smashing into the ground. The floor had already been sliced into pieces from the laser, so it was no wonder it came tumbling down after the heavy body crashed into it. Both Link and Ganon toppled through the floor, into a cavern below.

Quickly, Link pulled out his glider, saving himself from the enormous fall that awaited him.

As he gently sailed down, the monstrous beast rose to its feet. It had a wretched spider-like body, with a mishmash of guardian parts embedded in its malice-coated flesh. As Link landed, he quickly folded his glider and stowed it in one swift motion, facing Ganon in a battle-ready stance.

The creature slowly turned to face him, and he drew the Master Sword, which was gleaming with sacred power.

Ganon reared back on its hind legs and let out a bellowing roar.

That was when a massive blast came funneling through the ceiling. It scorched Ganon where it stood, forcing loud screeches of pain from its throat.

It must have been the divine beasts, Link decided. Nothing else could have had that kind of power.

The monster shakily stood up, blood dripping down its sides. It seemed hurt, but it still had plenty of strength left.

Ganon aimed a laser at him, similar to a guardian, and Link held up his shield. Right when the laser would have hit him, he parried, sending it right back at the malicious beast. It let out a cry, before it dropped to the ground, stunned.

Quickly, Link ran up to it and began tearing into it with his sword. The creature didn’t stay down for long, so he rapidly backed up out of its melee range, just in time to avoid an attack.

He began firing bomb arrows at the beast, trying to do as much damage as he could. Slowly, but surely, he seemed to be whittling away its health.

It tried aiming a laser at him again, and he repeated his earlier tactic, managing to stun it again and get in a few more hits.

When Ganon rose again, it was enraged. A red, fiery aura encompassed its body and it let out a roar. Link remained on guard, anticipating its next set of attacks. Unfortunately, the creature had the same powers as the Blights, which put him on the defensive for a bit.

He dodged small tornadoes and fireballs, waiting for an opportunity to attack.

Eventually, he got his chance. The beast had yet to learn its lesson, and aimed a laser once more. Link used the opportunity to parry the blast, and laid into it with his sword, again and again.

Ganon stumbled back with a loud screech, malice shooting from its body like fountains.

Link stood on guard, waiting to see if it would fall, but instead, it transformed into wisps of smoke, shooting into the ceiling to escape.

Link took a few steps forward, trying to figure out how to follow it, when a golden light began twinkling from his chest. Within moments, he was teleported elsewhere.

The light dropped him in Hyrule Field, right next to where he’d left his horse.

The smoky malice had coalesced into a boar-like beast. Magenta flames arced down its back and its bright beady eyes glared at Link.

Zelda’s voice entered his head once more, explaining that Ganon had taken on its pure, enraged form; so desperate for revenge that it was willing to risk its reincarnation. She entrusted him a bow, which was emanating with sacred light. Hopping on Lilac, Link quickly grabbed the bow as he dashed towards the giant boar.

Zelda directed him to attack the weak spots on Ganon’s body, and he did so, avoiding the beast’s massive blasts as he rode around it.

After a while, its true weak spot appeared; a grotesque eyeball bulging from the center of its forehead. Riding the updrafts of the flames, Link rose to the sky, and with a determined shout, fired an arrow directly in the eye.

As the beast writhed in pain, a golden light shot out from its body.

Zelda.

The creature seemed to look at her in fear as she descended to the ground before him.

She held her hands together in prayer, gazing at Ganon with determination.

It collapsed to the ground, staring at her wide eyed. As her light intensified, it let out a groaning sound, seemingly crying out in terror. It tried to flee, returning to its smoky form, but Zelda kept her eyes on it the whole way.

Calmly, she held out her hand, an enormous blast of light expanding from where she stood. It completely surrounded Ganon, swallowing its darkness whole.

Just as soon as it had appeared, the ball of light vanished, leaving nothing in its wake.

Link stood there in awe, unsure how to react.

Slowly, the ominous red clouds that had surrounded them began to dissipate, leaving behind a clear, blue sky.

Not facing him, Zelda spoke. “I always thought – no, I always believed that you would find a way to defeat Ganon. I never lost faith in you over these many years.”

She turned to him then, holding her hands to her chest delicately and gazing at him warmly. “Thank you, Link…the hero of Hyrule.”

He stood there silently, not knowing what to say.

“May I ask…Do you really remember me?” She had a hopeful smile on her face, which utterly crushed him.

Link bit his lip and glanced to the side. He’d only gathered a handful of memories…He may have developed an understanding of the struggles she’d endured, but he didn’t know her. Not truly.

Sadly, he met her gaze and shook his head.

Her face immediately fell. “Oh…” she said softly. “I see…”

She was clearly trying to keep up a strong image, but it didn’t last long. Her lip wobbled and tears began streaming down her cheeks. She covered her face, turning around so he wouldn’t see her, but he could still hear her crying.

He wanted to reach out to her, to offer comfort, but he wasn’t sure if that was the right thing to do. So instead, he just stood there awkwardly.

Link had spent so long seeing her in memories, thinking he knew her, but in reality, she still felt like a stranger to him.

Eventually, her tears stopped and she quickly wiped her face. Link searched through the Sheikah Slate, pulling out a blanket, and gently laid it across her shoulders. She flinched upon feeling his touch, but soon relaxed. Sniffling, she uttered a quiet, “Thank you,” and tugged the blanket tighter.

Once he was sure she was looking at him, he signed, ‘We should go.’

Staring ahead blankly, Zelda nodded, following along silently.

Link figured Kakariko would be the best place for her to heal. Impa would be able to help her, and would be thrilled to see her friend again.

Slowly, they made their way east.

-----

The pair stopped walking after a few hours.

‘It’s getting dark,’ Link signed. ‘We’ll camp here.’

Slowly, Zelda nodded, pulling her blanket tighter.

She had been watching him ever since they left the castle, and though he outwardly seemed just like the knight she remembered, it was clear that he had changed.

He told her to wait while he set up camp, so she just stood there stiffly, unsure what to do.

Link worked efficiently, putting out the bedrolls and getting a campfire ready with ease.

Eventually, he waved her over, telling her it was ready.

“Thank you,” she said quietly.

He just nodded, not meeting her gaze.

Tentatively, she sat down on her bedroll, smoothing out her dirty dress. Right now, she really wanted to change more than anything…she’d been wearing this filthy robe for a century, after all. But she figured it would have to wait until they got to Kakariko.

Link began cooking a meal for them, his focus directed on the cooking pot.

Zelda desperately wanted to break the silence, but she wasn’t sure where to start. She settled for, “What are you making?”

‘Pumpkin stew. Is that okay?’

“Oh, yes. That sounds lovely. Thank you.”

She fiddled with her hands as she waited. Why couldn’t she say anything more substantial?

A little while later, he wordlessly handed her a bowl of stew, which she thanked him for. They both ate in silence, neither knowing how to break the awkward tension between them.

After she’d finished her bowl, her eyes landed on the Sheikah Slate. She’d entrusted it to Link to help him on his journey, but it still felt strange seeing it in his possession.

“Um…” she said tentatively, “If it’s not too much trouble, may I see the slate?”

He looked up quickly, then glanced down at his hip. He rapidly unhooked it and handed it to her.

Curiously, she began scrolling through its functions, eager to see what had he had deemed important. There were several sets of armor and weapons in its storage, which made sense. But there were also a few trinkets that he’d seemingly collected along the way.

She pivoted to the camera function and began swiping through the images. There were a few landscape and nature shots, which she admired. Link really had an eye for photography. After a few images, she came upon a picture of Link posing with a red zora.

He seemed familiar…She focused on the image for a while before recognition hit her. Was that little Sidon? He’d grown so big!

She smiled, staring at the picture for a bit longer. Link seemed so happy in this one. She’d never seen the knight smile before. Interested, she began scrolling again, expecting more shots of nature, but instead, she found another picture of Sidon. And another. And another.

Eventually, the camera began showing other subjects, but every so often, shots of the prince were sprinkled in.

She raised her hand to her mouth. If she didn’t know any better, she’d swear Link had feelings for Sidon.

Hesitantly, she chanced a glance at Link. He was staring out at the wilderness, his hands fiddling together anxiously.

Well, she wasn’t going to bother him about it. Scooting closer, she handed back the slate. “Here you are. Thank you for indulging me.”

He looked at her in mild confusion. ‘It’s yours, right?’

She paused at that. “I mean, it was originally, but I think it’s yours now.”

He didn’t seem to know what to say in response, so he just bowed his head as he took it back.

“How is Prince Sidon?” she asked after a bit. “It has been so long since I’ve seen him. It looks like he’s all grown up now.”

Link flinched slightly before looking in her direction. ‘He’s…very boisterous. Has a lot of energy.’

Zelda smiled in amusement. “Are we talking about the same person? He was so shy before…”

A chuckle escaped him. ‘It’s true. I’ve never met anyone quite like him.’

A warm smile graced his lips and he seemed to be gazing off in the direction of Zora’s Domain. Her suspicions intensified.

“I’m glad you were able to make a friend like him,” she said.

He looked at his lap before responding, ‘Me, too.’

A few moments of silence passed between them before Zelda spoke again.

“Link…I know things must seem…odd between us. Neither of us truly knows the other, but…I think we actually have a lot in common.”

He tilted his head, his expression questioning.

“We’ve both been displaced from our original time. We both carry wounds from the Calamity, and…even though we’re basically strangers right now, I think we can be friends. We’re the only people in Hyrule who have this shared experience, after all.”

He frowned, looking downward for a moment. ‘You aren’t mad at me?’

“Mad?” she asked in confusion. “Why would I be mad?”

‘I failed you. Back then. And I took so long to save you.’

“Oh, Link….” she said sadly. “No, you didn’t fail me. Nor anyone else.”

His lower lip trembled and he looked away.

Gently, she laid her hand on his forearm. “You’ve worked harder than anyone. You’re only human. If anyone failed, it was me.”

His head whipped toward her, his mouth open as though he were going to speak.

“But…” she added, “I’ve done a lot of thinking the last hundred years, and…I’m done feeling like a failure. There isn’t much point dwelling on what could have happened. The past is the past and we have to accept it. All we can do is move forward…”

Tears pricked his eyes and he looked at his lap.

She looked at him softly, and said, “Come here.”

Link looked at her in uncertainty, before he ultimately leaned toward her, arms outstretched. She pulled him into an embrace, holding him tightly.

It was the first time they had truly hugged, and she cherished every moment of it.

Her feelings may not be reciprocated, but it didn’t matter. She still cared for him greatly. And despite everything, they were both alive and well, together once more.