#also little detail: Hyrule is wearing his Zora tunic

[brendathedoodler]

This is why Sky thinks he’s the only normal person in this group (he’s not)

[r95irth]

Finished Hyrule warrior age of calamity...

And i loved it so much, but if my heart (read : biggest crush on zelda) is satisfied, my brain can’t help but think of a way to improve it (as always) so here are my thought under spoilers x) Feel free to ignore me, it is purely to play with scenario in my head !

First thing first : the base story ; while i do love the idea of time travel (it would be hypocrite of me to say otherwise as 80% of my fics plays with it) I do think it could be played on better in this story. For me the biggest flaw is that they don’t play on the “will they, won’t they?” that comes with time travel fix it, by stating immediately that Terrako (tiny eggrobot) comes from the future and is changing the future by its mere presence.

How to fix that -> This is probably the change that would take most of the work. First thing first, i would make the jump back in time further in the past ; enough for terrako to be seen as the “seer” that predicted the Calamity ganon’s return. Which happens i think (if i recall the lore right, when Zelda is around 7 years old, right after her mother’s passing). I think it would be interesting for 1 small prologue chapter to be about this. It will change the “twist” in the story endgame but the twist is, in my opinion, less important than the tension we couldget from the “will they/ won’t they” throughout the whole game. 

In my mind it would go like this : we play King of Hyrule + Urbosa, background character Zelda’s mother and Hyrule’s chancelor (Astor but not you know, nt corrupted yet) as background characters not-playable (or maybe Zelda’s mother to show what it looks like to fight with the power?)/ probably having to protect them is the mission + maybe Link’s parents as PNJ solider battling alongside the characters and Cass’s master the Sheikah that sings balad in the Hyrule castle. 

1rst battle (somewhere in hyrule) : The chapter starts with the reports of monsters becoming more and more frequent, and so the royal family investigates it. As it could be a sign of the calamity ganon returning (says the queen) the chancellor is doubtful : how many monsters is a sign? Do they have records about it? How can they know? Won’t they just put themselves in danger for nothing? Of course his prediction rings true and the monsters surround the place. They have to evacuate the town and organize strongholds around the town to protect it. (Introduction to Link's parents as hylian captains in charge) + King asking the Sheikah to go ask for reinforcement Zelda’s mother saying Urbosa is close. Then once the stronghold are in place, the purpose is to hold it until the time limit ends, when Urbosa arrives with her troops as reinforcement and they eliminate the monsters completely. Demo at the end of the battle shows the queen is looking around the place and finds terrako lying on the ground / in the ruins + the sheikah plate. The king and her decide to bring it to inspect it / offer it to her daughter as toys (to make the King of Hyrule a little bit more likeable through his relationship with his wife and daughter first in between battle), against the chancellor’s wishes. 

2nd Battle (in the hyrule castle + castle town) : The Queen is teaching Zelda how to repair terrako with the help of the Sheikah chief (and maybe Purrah as kid and Impa?). Like in the story, Zelda repairs terrako and shows it to her mother, which says she is very proud of her. Terrako however runs away as soon as it can, and the battle is to catch it as it runs around the castle and causes havoc. Urbosa (who is here for a visit) has to catch it before the King of Hyrule notices it. Once the battle is over, the Sheikah can finally analyze the data within terrako. It brings the information that the calamity is indeed coming back. 

3rd battle : The chancellor advises the king and queen to be careful, as sheikah technology had been buried deep for a reason (maybe bring up the lore of the Hyrule family betraying the sheikah and so the birth fo the Yiga clan). He says he believes in the common way to predict the future and asks to use a ritual to confirm the queen + terrak + sheikah’s prediction. He says it could be a trap from the Yiga clan. To prove him wrong, Urbosa goes spying the Yiga clan. (Idk what it could be, a mix of infiltration, kind of mission and battles? To capture a Yiga?) Anyways it’s Urbosa again with one Hyrule captain as a guest. In the meantime we are on another battlefield, where the king assists the chancellor in his ritual in the time temple on the great plateau. He has to protect him until the end of the ritual? (With the other hylian captain) At the end of the battle, baby!Zelda is lead to the battlefield because of terrako, when he reaches the temple of time some corruption seeks in during the ritual, while the chancellor gives of the prophecy that beasts are buried beneath the ground and that could help fight the calamity. It is unclear what caused an explosion : terrako’s presence or the corruption, or the ritual, or maybe even a yiga? Anyways something happens the queen protects Zelda and the king with her power. We skip places : Urbosa gets the news that the Queen and the chancellor has been killed.

End of the prologue chapter with a funeral demo. Adding Zelda acting dignified through the funeral. Someone in the crowd says it is sad, as the princess is young, and will probably not remember her mother at all. (To justify Zelda forgetting Terrako) Maybe a scene with young Link (with baby mipha here near to show they’re friend, among the zora delegation) being told by his remaining parents that he has to protect the hyrule family like the parents that were as a temple (and implied that died too) did. 

Another addition i would put in the game is the possibility to go on inside the map without enemies in between battles (to look for korogu but not chest) ; and be able to purchase things here once the markets are opened/unlocked. It would allow people like me who like to see the landscape / comparison between breath of the wild and age of calamity to be satisfied. Of course it is optional you can go inside the map or purchase directly on the menu like you do today. 

Let’s go back to the game. 

So now after we go through the first chapter that is not changed one bit, Terrako appears like usual. The only difference is that during the first half of the battle, there’s a discussion between the King and an unknown soldier who says an old storage of the queen’s has been touched by the canon’s fire by accident (or maybe make a monster reaches the canon and adds a art where Link has to defend the canon from a monster waves). The soldier also says the magistrate impa went to check on the damage done and retrieve what can be salvaged (which explains Impa’s presence and her holding the sheikah plate) Which explains why terrako is lying on the ground later. You have access to missions in the hyrule castle. 

Another change i would do for missions : some of them lead to small demos as a reward that deepens the information you get on the characters. Each character has at least ONE serie of missions that leads to demos. Also, there’s two series of missions that leads to the retelling of breath of the wild + ballad of the champion dlc demos. I mean it it’s very important. Once you complete these missions you get to see again the memories you had in those two games, with almost no difference (except some alteration you can notice oly when your rewatch it, like not wearing the champion tunic yet / not carrying the master sword yet, or terrako being behind from afar, providing the outside pov we had in there (like seeing Link and Zelda’s backs). Also some mission are accessible within a certain time range. (and it’s showed on the map, terrako icon is up and saying until which chapter you have to complete).

Anyways the first missions you get are : 

(Epona serie) The king of Hyrule requesting says Zelda’s new horse is ready and to retrieve it to Malon’s ranch. >Later> Leads to Zelda having trouble with her horse and Link giving her advices (maybe leads to special mission where you are on horses’ backs, only being able to use Link and Zelda on horse’s back and later Revali, flying, and Riju with mme Patricia) >later> Leads to the demo of BOTW where zelda explains she will go pray to the wisdom source. 

Other missions you could get : 

(Link’s past serie) Adding a new quest for Link and his remaining parents to show the pressure he is under too.

(Zelda’s training) Adding new quest showing Zelda praying/meditating to show she tries. It makes Zelda prays in the temple of time, or other divine places (like the one in BOTW where there’s a giant goddess statue, or to ancient gods like Naryu..ect...), it ends at localizing the spring of strength.

(Romance serie optional) Adding a serie where the player can choose who Links ends up with. (Link has choices between Zelda, Mipha, Sidon) ; (Zelda can end up with Link or Impa -yes i’m sorry not urbosa, since urbosa knew her mom i think it’s for the best ><).

I have no idea for the champions, but you’re welcome to add/imagine one serie for them. Here are some other missions that could be added :

(Astor) -> This serie of missions is used to learn that astor = chancellor that has disappeared in the ritual on the great plateau. He was saved by the calamity ganon’s corruption. 

(Sheikah’s ballad) -> This serie of missions is about Kass’s master and his unrequired crush on Zelda / hatred toward Link. You would have missions like  helping him find inspiration for his songs, or protecting him while he travels with you. 

Other details/alteration : 

-OUTFITS are easier to get throughout the story and every character gets one. You cannot play the character in the zone until you get the right outfit for them and wear it (winter clothes for Zelda/Link/Impa in the Rito for example). That way people can customize their characters earlier. (For example Revali and Mipha need a special outfit in the field with lightning?) 

-Also in the gerudo town map, only female characters can enters the town, you’re automatically switched off the male characters if you do venture in. 

SO THIS CHANGE : the first half of the game is longer and makes sure the player wonders if the future of breath of the wild is going to happen still like it did. 

For that here is the order of the previous games memories put in order (and modification added) :

1)Memory of Zelda snapping at Link for following her by king’s order. (Change is Link does not carry the master sword and is in his knight’s outfit).

2) Memory of Urbosa being requested to help through by Zelda/ King of Hyrule at the end of her recruitement chapter + scene at the end of it. 

3) Memory of Darruk talking to Link at the end of his recruitment chapter (changes are Link does not carry the master sword and is in his knight’s outfit)

→ After Darruk’s recruitment there’s a quest that leads to Zelda’s discussion with Darruk featuring in the champion’s ballad. 

4) Memory of Zelda’s meeting with Revali at the end of the chapter of his recruitment (needs ; everyone’s snow outfit, zelda’s horse quest completed - no change)

5) MIpha’s memory with Link happens after her recruitement.

6) Mipha’s conversation with Zelda in the champion ballad is held after her recruitement battle and Link’s awakening of the master sword. (no change) after a mission. 

7) After Link gets the master sword, there’s a serie missions where zelda needs the ingredients to make the champion’s outfit. (You need to unlock the ability to dye armors too, and the blue color). it leads to two memories : the informal ceremony requested by darruk in BOTW, and the Ballad of champion demo where you are intronized by the king and later have a picture taken of the group. (Only alteration is that line where they say they have yet to unlock the other abilities of the sheikah plate, and you can see terrako looking at Impa taking the picture).

8) Revali’s memory with Link (botw) happens once Link has the master sword too.

9) The memory where Zelda asks if links hears the master’s sword voice happens in a serie where you improved the divine beasts + after a first mission with darruk driving his divine beast. 

10) I suppose the memory with Yiga pursuing Zelda can happens during the chapter we fight Yiga / infiltrates them. 

11) Same with Zelda’s sleeping next to urbosa. It happens once you’ve improved the divine beast + did the first operation with Urbosa using her divine beast. 

12) The silent princess memory is here with a serie of mission dedicated to save it, like there is in the game already and the frog mission. You also have to complete all the previous memories stated before this one. 

13) The Zelda’s training mission serie leads to localize the strength source and ends up with the memory where Zelda prays there. 

14) The memory of Link and Zelda having a heart to heart under the rain happens during Link’s personal serie of mission. 

15) The memory of Zelda helping Link after a hard battle on death mountains happens once you completed the serie of extreme fire missions that is already in the game. 

16) The memory of Zelda having a fight with her father happens after the spring of courage disastrous mission and a series of missions that started after the 2nd battle of chapter 1 (where you fist fight a guardian) that had the goal to be able to use guardians. Once you have this memory you cannot do the mission about sheikah technology for a while. 

Finally the last memory you have in this first half of the game is the one with the horse riding, right before the chapter where calamity ganon awakes. Where Zelda says she will go to the spring of wisdom tomorrow for her birthday. It is the end of the serie mission about epona and her white horse. (no alteration except terrako being seen at the end and maybe a skip to evil!terrako so we know why Calamity ganon is awakened sooner, because Astor saw this through him and so acted upon it)

Now that the first half is done, the game can continue like it had, with going full canon!divergence and the game is almost the same as it. The only changes i would do are : 

-Adding a serie of missions WAY BEFORE (like in the first half of the story) where they find the shrine of resurrection, maybe even a battle mission on it before where someone is injured and you have to carry them there to test it. 

-Altering Zelda and the King’s reconciliation :

1)When the castle is attacked, and the King is left behind : adds Link’s remaining parent by the king’s side and telling him to protect the princess at all cost to add a bit of emotion to Link too.  

2)Then making the runs outside the castle another battle mission leading to the memory where Zelda breaks down in Link’s arm like in BOTW but ends up with Impa and terrako finding them, out of the forest and the scene we had where terrako sing the song to Zelda (+ seeing Revali’s divine beast in the sky) at the end. 

3) Akkala’s fortress retaking takes place in the same way as before, once you rescued all the champions. But the reunion with the king happens right before the Hateno fort battle. He has been brought wounded there and you meet him mid battle while protecting the place. So the scene where the kind is already proud of his daughter BEFORE she gets her sealing power. The flash back scene happens here explaining he got saved by the metal part + adds a little bit of him saying he was afraid he would lose her to the sheikah technology the same way he lost her mother/ the chancellor...He is surprised by her leading the troop so well and retaking Akkala. Also it’s not sure he will survive yet it is said, and when she asks about Link’s parents he says they got separated and doesnt’ know if they made it. So the scene where Zelda panicks when Link is about to die and thinks of her father (and maybe adding Link’s parents) still happens. She unlocks her sealing power. 

4) After the Hateno battle a little bit more is expanded by Yiga’s chief recruitment, and we can see the king is better but sees his daughter leading the battle proud. The great plateau battle happens, and instead of a reveal of the king being okay, he saves zelda from an attack at the end of the great plateau (and same scene, with him saying he is proud of her). 

Here it is a satisfying reconciliation for me. The one we got suffers from the crappy redemptions arc tropes we always have “yeah now i’m okay since you got exactly where i wanted you to be and so i have little to change about my mindset” so nope. Nope. Big nope.

The rest i would change almost nothing, to the rest of the game. (Except maybe as i said missions quests where you learn more about Astor / About Kass’s old sheikah mentor who had a crush on Zelda / and a little bit about every character’s past, but that’s optional). The explanation for Zelda forgetting Terrako is the same as she doesn’t remember being called little bird or her mother’s face in te memories we have of her, as stated in the funeral scene.

And i’m done with “what i would improve in the age of calamity game” thanks for reading xD See you for the next game ! 

[scatterpatter]

Breath of the Wild (and Hyrule Warriors) take place in the Child Timeline [Theory]

This is 100% Theory and I could be Totally Wrong but hear me out, because this makes perfect sense from my perspective and all it involves is considering Hyrule Warriors as a “main game”, talking about it under the cut cuz this is a long one

Okay so everyone knows that the Zelda timeline is a bit wonky, and should be taken with a grain of salt, but ever since Breath of the Wild came out the biggest question is “What timeline does it fall under?” And at first it seems like it should be an easy answer... except not. Ritos and Zoras co-exist, locations are named after characters that reside in any of the three timelines(even TERMINA), so on and so forth, it seems like it somehow dips into every timeline, which should be impossible... until I blow your mind.

Well one big thing we know is that wherever Breath of the Wild takes place, it takes place at the end of its timeline. So for BotW to have references to each timeline, it seems like there was some sort of... timeline convergence? Except that’s not how time works. Timelines can be split, but not thrown back together.

Here’s where I blow your mind, just roll with me because this’ll make sense once I explain: Breath of the Wild takes place in whatever timeline Hyrule Warriors takes place. I’ll go into detail why I’m convinced of this in a short bit.

First, I just want to throw the canon timeline from the Zelda Encyclopedia on here so we’ve got all our other games into one basket:

The only inconsistency note I’ll make is that Hyrule Historia places Oracles of Ages+Seasons before Link’s Awakening, though I believe this was retconned later on, and since Zelda Encyclopedia came out well after Hyrule Historia, we should believe this version more. But that’s a moot point anyways since that won’t affect my theory, just thought I’d mention regardless

So if we’re going to follow my theory on the fact that BotW is the same timeline as Hyrule Warriors, we need to find out which timeline Hyrule Warriors falls under.

First off, we know that Hyrule Warriors takes place sometime after Ocarina of Time, because Impa recognizes the name “Ruto”, so the events of OoT already happened. Therefore, HW has to take place in one of the three split timelines

I’m convinced that Hyrule Warriors does not take place in the Adult Timeline for the following reasons: 

We don’t see much of the land of HW’s Hyrule, but it seems like a solid continent and not a series of islands, so this likely cannot take place before Spirit Tracks

The Triforce, Ganon, and the Master Sword are not seen since Wind Waker in the Adult Timeline, so this likely does not take place after Wind Waker

While Spirit Tracks is a new continent and a new Hyrule is established, Spirit Tracks introduces a new insignia, which involves a Force Gem, but everywhere in Hyrule of Hyrule Warriors we see the “traditional” insignia with the Triforce. 

So with the Adult Timeline rendered nearly impossible, this leaves the Fallen Timeline and the Child Timeline, and I’m about to explain why HW most likely takes place in the Child Timeline

You see, Hyrule Warriors is an... interesting plot. In that the main antagonist, Cia, opens what’s called the “Gate of Souls”, or “the doorway to time itself”. With her powers, she essentially opens rifts in time and space so that areas such as Skyloft, Death Mountain(OoT’s), and Twilight Field(Hyrule Field from TP) are now within Hyrule Warrior’s world

So we have worlds from Skyward Sword, Ocarina of Time, and Twilight Princess opened. The reason why these worlds specifically are because of Ganon. Before the events of Hyrule Warriors, in one of Link’s lifetimes we haven’t seen in any Zelda game(yet), after Ganon was defeated, he was split into four pieces. 3 pieces were scattered across time and space, the fourth sealed away with the master sword that Link eventually uses in Hyrule Warriors. Now let’s take a look at where each piece of Ganon was sealed:

Lake Hylia(Ocarina of Time)

Sealed Grounds(Skyward Sword)

Palace of Twilight(Twilight Princess)

Master Sword(Hyrule Warriors)

What’s VERY important to note here is that while, yes, Skyward Sword and Ocarina of Time exist in every timeline, Twilight Princess only occurs in the Child Timeline. It was at this point I realized: the main story of Hyrule Warriors only covers these settings/characters, and makes a Majora’s Moon reference one time, but all other instances of characters from other timelines occur as DLC. And we’ll get to the DLC stuff shortly, but let’s focus on the “main” story first.

It’s quite possible that this Link before Hyrule Warriors, when splitting Ganon into 4 pieces, only had access to his own timeline to seal Ganon away. It isn’t until we get the powerful sorceresses Lana and Cia do we start opening rifts to other timelines. This makes me believe that Hyrule Warriors takes place in the Child Timeline

Side note: Goron Forces appear to be a mix of OoT Gorons with TP Gorons, judging by their tattoos

Also, no Sheikah appear in any of the games of the Fallen Timeline, whereas we have Sheik and Impa(who are both Sheikah) in Hyrule Warriors. This still lines up because even though not-explicit, Impaz from Twilight Princess is implied to be a Sheikah, implying Sheikah traditions are passed down through the Child Timeline and eventually to HW

“But Scatter!” You cry out, frustration setting in “What the hizzity heck does this have anything to do with Breath of the Wild?!”

*Leans in close to you and grabs you by the collar*

~This is the part where I blow your mind~

So now that we’ve established Hyrule Warriors most likely takes place during the Child Timeline, yeah? And I said earlier we’d get to the DLC?

Let’s talk about the DLC.

So we now know that Cia and Lana are capable of opening and closing rifts to other times, even other timelines. Let’s look at some of the DLC characters that are playable in HW as a result:

Marin(Link’s Awakening- Fallen Timeline)

Ravio and Yuga(A Link Between Worlds- Fallen Timeline)

Toon Link, Tetra, King Daphnes, Medli(Wind Waker- Adult Timeline)

Toon Zelda(Spirit Tracks- Adult Timeline)

Skull Kid, Tingle, Young Link(Majora’s Mask- Child Timeline)

These, combined with the SS+OoT+TP characters from the main game, and we have access to settings and characters from all three timelines. 

Now we could assume that after the events of Hyrule Warriors, the main characters never open a portal to another timeline again... but we could also assume the opposite. It could be entirely possible that the people of Hyrule Warriors regularly looked into these other timelines to learn from them. To study their past and alternate timelines really isn’t a farfetched idea when you have the power to do so. 

With these portals opening, it’s quite possible that yes, Zoras and Ritos began living in the Hyrule Warriors world, explaining the co-existing of both races by BotW. With the technology that Spirit Tracks provides, the people of Hyrule Warriors could have eventually learned to build their own vehicles and machines, eventually leading to the Guardians and Divine Beasts. The ancient robots of Skyward Sword could have also contributed to these, alongside possibly paving the way for Sheikah technology, such as the Sheikah Slate, to be developed. Twili technology could also contribute to this, as well as whatever the heck is going on with Ganon in the BotW2 trailer. 

With knowledge and access to other timelines, it makes perfect sense that the Child Timeline would face an immense industrial/technological boom in a very short time, leading to the Sheikah Towers, the Sheikah Slate, the Divine Beasts, the Pillars under the Castle, the Guardians, the Shrines, and more to be made for the battle 10,000 years before the events of Breath of the Wild. Sometime between then and the Great Calamity this technology was mostly lost(Zelda Wiki says this was due to fear over the power of such technology leading the Sheikah to hide their tech away, though I’m not sure where exactly in-game this info is revealed), paving the way for Breath of the Wild to occur.

There is no timeline convergence. Breath of the Wild takes place in a Child Timeline that obtained the ability to open rifts to other timelines.

Also one last little detail- this isn’t solid enough to be “evidence” but doesn’t hurt my theory either: Hyrule Warriors Link is the first Link to wear blue, meanwhile Breath of the Wild Link wears an entirely blue tunic

While this can’t be concrete evidence that the 2 are linked(HAH GET IT BECAUSE LI-), it could be possible that HW-Link started the trend of heroes wearing blue accessories. Again, a bit more of a stretch, but doesn’t hurt my theory either

So there you have it! I firmly believe that Hyrule Warriors and Breath of the Wild are both in the Child Timeline due to this evidence! And I’m so mad that of all games, Hyrule Warriors was the one to tie it all together XD

[heartofhryule]

Heart of Wisdom - Chapter 6

Chapter 6 - It has begun!

WARNINGS: Possibly Teen+ - Contains suggestive themes. Contains Hyrule Warriors spoilers and story items. I highly recommend playing the game if you haven’t! It’s complete fluff, but fun fluff…. minus Lana. ______________________________

Heart of Wisdom - a Tale after Hyrule Warriors | Chapter 6 - Fear’s Icy Grip

Well, it was official, Link despised the North.

Not the North-ish, where Volga was from. No, that had been lovely with a few inches of snow, and green pines surrounding the roads and buildings, were warm fires and pumpkin soup chased away the chill. Snowpeak had been beautiful, and the night they’d stayed to rest on the journey had been spent under a pile of warm furs with a beautiful princess cuddled to him for warmth. Really he would always think fondly of his time there for that alone.

This however, The Outlands and their ice covered rocks, where no trees grew and the wind was made of frozen daggers was some kind of hell.

Of all their travelling companions, Volga and Epona seemed to mind it the least. Volga, his nature as a warlock-knight, seemed to have the internal furnace his alternate form of the dragon wore on the outside. The sideways snow melted before it hit him, puffs of steam radiating from the warmth of his armor. His horse was far less pleased, but seemed warm where her rider touched. Epona, Link’s faithful horse, bore both he and Zelda with determination. He could tell the harsh and extreme conditions had an effect on her, but his sweet mare refused to let it conquer her. She trudged forward, head down into the wind, refusing to give up as if she had to prove to nature itself she would not give in.

Zelda fared far less well, yet no less stubbornly. She had been shivering for hours against his back despite her fur lined cloak and heavy winter clothing. He’d asked her a dozen times if she wanted to stop for a little while to build a fire and warm up since they’d set out that morning, but she’d refused. Even Volga was keeping an eye on her, and he and Link shared concerned glances every now and then.

But their destination was in sight. The Mountain hall in which the Warlord had taken residence loomed barely visible through the snow storm ahead of them, the orange light through the windows like strange stars in the gray distance. Volga said that from here it would only be half a day’s ride if the wind let up, though it was a steep climb. Fearing them to be late due to weather, Zelda begged them to press on without harming the animals. Her own comfort seemed not in her concern.

As it stood, Volga and his magic, the ability to breath fire, cleared a path to make it far easier for the horses to make better time. Perilous and steep thought the mountain was, the three Hyrulean diplomats made it in time for the supper before the next day’s Summit.

To Link’s irritation, but not his surprise, there wasn’t much of a welcome - it seemed all horses were being kept in the foyer outside of the main hall but out of the blizzard… but being groomed and watched over by moblins. He detested them so much… They were also lead by a bobkin with a non-verbal grunt to the main hall, set with table and a feast of boar, berries, and other winter vegetables where the other diplomats were already gathered.

Filled with orange red light from the many fireplaces around the room, the hall was echoic with the clamour of conversation. There were many folk gather - the blue-skinned and scale Zora of the Western lands, who favored the old merfolk of lore, to the tanned and elegant Rito of the east with their long, straight hair on men and women alike ranging from black to brown and shock white who were believed to be descended of the birds of the Goddess, or so the legends said. It seemed they were not the last to arrive, as there was not a Goron in sight, but at the far end of the table, and from whence the most of the noise came, were the Gerudans who had passed through Hyrule Castle.

Zelda was wrapped in her cloak under his arm. Link rubbed her shoulders to try and get the blood flowing to warm her, and a few of the Diplomats nodded to them as they entered. Link nodded back, but found his eyes drawn down to the far end of the room. At first he wasn’t sure what he was looking for, but when he met eyes with one man in particular, he knew - and knew they were no longer safe. Pushing Zelda slightly behind him, he ignored her protest and motioned to Volga without taking his eyes away from the Gerudan Warlord - because it could be no one else.

“Hero?” Volga asked quietly, looking around to make their discourse seem less suspicious.

“We can’t stay.”

“We have to,” Zelda said softly. “Or there will be war for certain.”

“There will be anyway,” Link said as she watched the warlord, who still held his gaze, stand slowly. “It’s Ganon.”

***

The moment she walked in the room with her two escorts, Griffin knew. He knew who she was, what she could become, and he felt something roiling inside him. Lust, Anger, respect, desire... hatred. At first, he wondered if she too felt it. The more dreams that plagued him, the more Griffin believed that he had once been Ganon of legend and that this divinely beautiful creature who’d just walked through his doors was the Goddess reborn. She was at least the angel who’d haunted his dreams of late. What he’d not realized was that it was the same woman who had once, long ago condemned him to this frozen hell - the Princess Zelda herself.

He stared, his old friends from Gerudo continuing to talk but he heard none of it, nor could he have described her companions. Yet burned into his memory was every detail of her existence, down to the very last thread of her clothing.

“Griff?” Baqi, his friend the representative from the Gerudo deserts said trying to get his attention. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost...”

“Not a ghost,” he said softly, “A

Goddess.” Handing off his goblet, he started to take a step forward, but her guard, who looked no more than a boy, wearing his green tunic and cloak against the cold with sword and board on his back, caught eyes with him and Griffin stopped. There was something about that icy blue stare...

Whatever it was, both their attentions were drawn when a shrill greeting of happiness broke the moment. Princess Ruto of the Zora kingdom squealed and greeted the Princess-goddess, who he assumed was the Diplomat from that region. The Guard followed as the mermaid swept the angel off, and Griffin felt his fist clench. He would speak with her later. They were all on his time now.

***

“Princess Ruto,” Zelda said warmly with a respectful nod, relieved to have the strange tingling between her shoulders lifted by the Zoran girl’s welcome. “It has been quite some time. We were only what, six summers? Seven? When last we met?” Zelda fought the urge to grab Link’s hand at her uneasiness, but Ruto truly was a blessed and welcome distraction. She was not like the Ruto with whom Zelda and Link had spent time recently - no Ruto from the Era of the Hero of Time was safely where she belonged. This Ruto, from the Western Oceanic Kingdom, was covered in beautiful blue and coral scales, the fins atop her head giving the illusion of hair as they fell to her shoulders, and he eyes were the most lovely shade of green that lit up when she was smiling as she was now.

“Something like that, yes,” the blue skinned Zora said happily. “I hate to do this, but could you please come to the side of that tub? We’ve been freezing and without salt water for too long and I don’t feel well. I want to catch up!” As the Zoran princess didn’t wait for an answer, tucking Zelda’s arm in hers and tugging her towards a large wooden tub near one of the fireplaces and away from the Gerudan Warlord. Zelda reached back and grabbed for Link without looking, hooking fingers in his belt rather than getting his tunic to pull him along.

Glancing back, she noticed her Hero blush despite his eyes never leaving the opposite end of the room. She too had seen him and knew. She felt the Triforce in her possession thrum faintly even from this distance. If she knew, and Link knew, Griffin no doubt had to know, whether he understood it or not.

Ruto slipped into the tub with a grateful sigh, but kept her grip on Zelda’s hand. “So, how have you been? What’s the news from Hyrule Castle? Tell me everything!”

Zelda thanked a serf who brought she and her companions chairs. “Princess Ruto, allow me to introduce the Hero of Hyrule, Link, and our dear ally Baron Volga, the Dragonknight,” she said. She had told Ruto about dreams of a boy named Link when she was young, but she was hoping Ruto didn’t remember.

Ruto blinked, but she didn’t otherwise indicate whether or not she remembered the childhood incident. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both. I hope your journey wasn’t too difficult. Ours was an absolute misery I tell you! We got lost in that dreadful storm and wound up miles from where we were supposed to be. It was simply awful. I just wanted to die. And then we almost did! We’d been out of the water so long all our gills were getting dry despite wetting them with melted snow-water. Oh, heavens, I don’t even like to think about it.”

“We were also lambasted by the storm-” Volga started, but Ruto was eager to interject.

“Oh, it was! It was! Oh, you poor dears. Have you eaten? Griffin said to make ourselves at home.”

“You’re... on a first name basis with him?” Zelda asked quietly in disbelief.

Ruto blinked again. “Well what would you have me call him, dear?”

Zelda shrugged. “Lord Griffin? Warlord Griffin?”

“Oh please,” Ruto said waving a dismissive hand where she leaned over the edge of the tub, “Warlord is so gauche. It’s the name the nasty little goblin-kin gave him. And he’s not my Lord, nor is he yet a king or a prince or a baron or anything of the like, and well there’s not much to be even a Mayor of here, is there, dear?”

“I suppose not,” Zelda sighed.

“Well what are you going to call him?” she asked.

“I don’t know, Ruto. Sir maybe?”

“Well you’d better decide,” Ruto said nodding behind the three friends.”Because he’s coming this way.” With that she sank beneath the warm water and the surface moved where she swam around. The wooden tub really was huge, almost like a man made pool.

Zelda turned to look just as Griffin stepped around Link’s chair and took her hand with a smile. “Charmed, my lady,” he purred in a thick southern accent. Surprised and upset that she’d not felt him coming, she was confused that the Triforce was not thrumming more powerfully and Zelda knew her face paled quite a bit in spite of herself. There was no denying the feeling of Darkness’s spirit… albeit a bit weak. Nor was there denying those sharp, gold eyes. It was Ganondorf reborn… but he didn’t seem to yet fully be aware of that.

“Allow me to introduce myself. I am Warlord Griffin and your host. But then, I assume you would recall such, your highness?”

The way he stood over her impeded her ability to stand and feel less… trapped. She maintained her cool and collected demeanor giving him a nod. “I do, Warlord Griffin,” she said choosing the name he’d introduced himself by. She did not need to tip her hand if there was still room for them to escape this and prepare for what was coming. “I see you have made quite the stronghold for yourself.”

��One does what one must in the Outlands,” he rumbled, and the way his eyes traced over her left Zelda feeling in need of a bath. His lust radiated from him clear as the fire’s warmth around them. Her mind raced like a rabbit from the wolf looking for any excuse to duck away from him.

“Sir, if I might introduce my companions,” she said ducking up and around Griffin to Link’s side - Link who was glaring and fuming and not at all even trying to hide it. Taking his hand and hiding it between them so it was not seen, she smiled, trying to lend him some of her composure. “May I introduce Link, Knight of the Realm and Captain of my personal guard.” No reason to mention the Hero and risk awakening Griffin more than he might already be. “And you have met the Baron Volga of Snowpeak.”

She thought she saw his lip twitch in the beginning of a scowl when Griffin looked over Link, but could not be sure as he turned and gave Volga a slightly tighter grin, taking the Dragonknight’s hand instead and shaking it politely. “A pleasure. I know the journey was hard on everyone, and you are all my honored guests. Please, make yourself at home and should you need anything, do not hesitate to ask.”

He was enormous, standing hadn’t helped the intimidation factor the reincarnation of Ganon had achieved. His fiery red hair fell in dreadlocks adorned with golden trinkets around his shoulders not unlike a lion’s mane - similar to the Ganondorf they’d fought recently, but remarkably different. His neatly trimmed beard was groomed and completed the mane appearance around his dark and in places scarred skin.

His hands came up rapidly and clapped, causing Zelda to startle and Link to twitch and reach for his sword, but the Warlord's booming laughter accompanied his words, “Minstrels! A song!” His eyes returned to rest on her, and Zelda forced herself to relax… since Link wasn’t and looked as if he might try and take the man’s head then and there. “Would you like to dance, your Highness?”

Zelda shook her head politely, trying to swallow the lump in her throat that was trying to get her to run from the building or at the least hide behind Link. “No we’re quite exhausted. Thank you anyway, but I think she would.” Zelda nodded politely to the Gerudan lady who’d threatened her in the throne room of Hyrule, Naburoo, who was currently leaning against an opposite wall glaring daggers in their direction.

Griffin looked and chuckled. “Ahh yes, my second in command. Well,” he said and bowed to them shortly. “Another time then.” and with that he went to pull the woman into a dance.

“Are you sure we can’t leave now? Link asked through clenched teeth, tugged zelda behind him slightly, his eyes never leaving Griffin as the Warlord began to dance.

“He doesn’t recall everything,” Zelda said softly, hoping Volga could hear as well, not daring to raise her voice more. “We must play this out, and hope he does not ever recall.”

Link’s teeth ground together so hard, Zelda could hear it. She squeezed his hand and tried to urge him to look at her, but the Hero would not release Griffin from his eagle-eyed gaze with a dangerous growl.

“He can’t remember anything if he’s dead.”