#hylian soldiers

[aufi-creative-mind]

Hyrule Warriors - 10th Anniversay!

Here is my wallpaper piece for @hyrulewarriorszine

This is by far, my largest and most ambitious illustration that I was able to fully rendered and completed. And super happy with how it turned!

Please go check out the Hyrule Warriors 10th Anniversary zine: Denouement of War. It's a free digital zine filled with incredible fanworks by super awesome group of artists and writers.

[revali-is-a-narc]

[roaxes]

I wonder who's the main character?

[link-is-a-dork]

[brendathedoodler]

From @wilds-ponytail ‘s tags on this post

He deserved it

[rawliverandgoronspice]

Honestly for all the "am I pushing this too far? should I pull back?" moments I have working on Thralls' outline, I am often reminded that this is actually a pretty charitable interpretation of what may have happened between OoT and TP....

[chat-rivary]

So... I still haven't forgotten the ZToT AU I created, but I have a lot of wips in progress and I don't know which one to finish first so I'm drawing everything at once... Grhatgah ! ฅ(>ω<ฅ)

I'm currently doing the line art on a tablet, but it's still messy so... Here is the sketch of Soldier/Captain Construct! Moon (Don't mind to the fact that he's supposed to be holding a zonaite sword in his hand, but it's floating mysteriously beside him.) (⁠=•⁠ ⁠▽⁠ ⁠•⁠= ;⁠)

[weepingtalecowboy]

Doll shenanigans are creepy by default

Fanfic prompt : Legend but he accidentally lost his hylian body somewhere in hytopia after he got his two dolls

And never bothered with finding it again because he doesn’t feel any pain in his bones ,… if he simply doesn’t have any bones.

And the joints can always be fixed or oiled to keep working and even be replaced in worst case scenarios

He certainly has the money to repair magical things and stuff

After link between worlds he also had someone who had experience with magical artifacts and could potentially fix them ,

… if not he still has another doll in his basement somewhere

Ravio considered himself the luckiest man alive to be both able of studying such a genius construct …

And also a house with no rent ,

A hylian citizenship AND a life partner ,

An opportunity to set up a very close to illegal shop (his weapons are NOT overpriced he swears on link's right arm ‘that he can replace with no problem’)

A legal business on creating Prosthetic limbs (no way is he going to let his knowledge of Link breaking off legs for stupid reasons NOT turn into a new business … he has way too much experience)

And even the favor of the princess

His life can’t be better and all because Link has been breaking limbs enough to get a permanent 50% off deal from the sheer knowledge of building prosthetics that Ravio got from rebuilding him over and over again when he stumbles back with half his body missing and face torn off…

(It was a horrible first experience to say the least)

When Ravio went on to go join the war of ages he was the go to guy to get perfectly functional… but ungodly overpriced prosthetics

He was not at all ashamed about being in love with a doll (nobody quite got the sentiment of that)

Wars was very much ignoring that

Tune for odd reasons kept snickering when Ravio spoke about how great his (probably not real) husband was

During linked universe Warriors and legend still bickered until …

Warriors after his night watch: *goes to check the pulse of the person closest to him just to be sure*

Warriors realizing that legend has no pulse , no signs of breathing ,no body warmth , no movement or twitch implying any signs of life : *starts aggressively trying to resurrect him … chest compressions*

Warriors obviously failing at it : “cries*

Legend hearing it : *opens eyes just to realize his brother broke his non self repairing rib cage*

The entire chain (minus Sky) was awake and ready for a fight

Just to see Warriors crying in relief and holding Legend (bro was reliving trauma that moment)

Afterwards he was really having a bad time with his bent rib cage and unfortunately being examined by a field trained soldier, a healer and then dragged to a doctor in the nearest village

But obviously they would have never assumed that Legend is a doll with full body mobility ,a sense of self and metal joints

They concluded that legend is overachieving with every new breath he takes and probably is about to die because of his weak heart beat ,

His very cold and rough skin in some places (fake magic skin is expensive … he can’t replace it every single time)

His very minimal breathing

The sheer horror Warriors felt when he realized the dent in legend's chest is simply not healing from when he broke the ribs by accident

Means that now everyone is convinced that legend will evaporate if they turn their eyes away

And Hyrule and Warriors are feeling horrible because they can’t fix it… or just make it slightly more bearable

NOTHING WORKS on him (it’s twilight's injury all over again)

It only got worse when legend told the chain that he has been having such problems since his last three adventures already (telling people he is an object never turns out well)

The chain became overly affectionate

The sheer amount of relive they felt when Ravio somehow fixed the dent

And the most intense anger when they realized that they were worrying for literally nothing

The chain finding out that Ravio fixed the worst damage: …. : ) finally he good

The chain when they realized that Legend was Ravio's doll in question: >:(

The chain reaction when legend admits he lost his body somewhere as if it is something acceptable to say : :o

The chain : how did you lose your body

Legend : accient :) silly mstke

[pocketseizure]

This is the tunic that formally marks Link as a Champion of the Hyrulean royal family, now with added improvements well-suited for travel. When Zelda saw the wear and tear of Link’s old tunic, she ordered a new version enhanced with protective armor.

Designer’s Note: In Breath of the Wild, it was established that Zelda sewed the royal blue fabric worn by the Champions herself, imbuing this clothing with her prayers for their protection. This new version of the Champion’s Tunic similarly contains Zelda’s wishes; but, for good measure, she also ordered it to be fortified for Link’s protection. We wanted this design to convey the idea of Zelda commissioning master craftsmen to adapt facets of the armor worn by Hylian soldiers into the sort of high-quality equipment that would represent Hyrule’s technological recovery.

[blueskittlesart]

ok apologies for lurking but in 2022 (!!) you wrote an answer to a question about AOC and in it you wrote that in BOTW link does not choose zelda over his duty to the kingdom and in AOC he chooses her over his duty. iirc (I don't) the calamity stuff in botw is only through diary entries etc....... how do we know that in botw he doesn't choose zelda (genuine question my botw copy is not with me rn :( )

ok i don't remember saying that exactly, but what i DO remember saying and what i'd continue to argue today is that AOC link made the choice to favor zelda over his duty much EARLIER than botw link, and that is the reason he was able to subvert his fate and remain alive to defeat the calamity in his own time. before the calamity hits and the time-travel fuckery really starts in aoc, it's implied that what we're witnessing is near 1-to-1 with the events that happen pre-calamity in botw, with a few key differences. The major difference is, of course, the existence of terrako, which sort of has a butterfly effect. Most importantly, terrako's initial interest in Link has him and zelda interacting much more closely much earlier on in the story. at the time that link and zelda meet and interact in AOC, link is a simple hylian soldier. he has either no rank or a very low rank, he's taking orders from captains and engaging in battle on basically the same level as every other solider. the first battle in the game is implied to be one of the first times he really grabs his superiors' attention with his skills in combat, specifically by taking down those moblins basically on his own. because he is the first one to run across terrako, he and zelda are given a reason to interact before either of them know what is in store for them, so their relationship has a foundation that is not built on the baggage and animosity that comes with that. In botw, in contrast, it's implied that the two of them never interacted without that baggage. what we know of their past is admittedly scarce, and most of it comes from zelda's diary. the first page reads:

After meeting with the Champions, I left to research the ancient technology, but nothing of note came of my research. The return of Ganon looms—a dark force taunting us from afar. I must learn all I can about the relics so we can stop him. If the fortune-teller's prophecy is to be believed, there isn't much time left… Ah, but turning over these thoughts in my head puts me ill at ease. I suppose I should turn in for the night. P.S. Tomorrow my father is assigning HIM as my appointed knight…

already this timeline is incongruous with what we see in AOC--in the botw timeline, link is not assigned to be zelda's knight until AFTER the champions have all been found, whereas in AOC, he accompanies her to meet with each one of them:

Lamenting the kingdom's plight, King Rhoam sent his daughter to gather pilots for the Divine Beasts. Alongside Link--whose brave conduct had earned him a role as her knight--Zelda would meet with the four candidates.

In later pages of her BOTW diary, zelda makes repeated reference to link as wielding the sword that seals the darkness, and in link's own memories he never interacts with her without it on his back. I'd wager that in the BOTW timeline, he is not appointed her knight until AFTER he has the sword. (this also accounts for the way she talks about him being appointed in her diary--she'd have no reason to be upset about it if she didn't already see him as being ahead of her in terms of prophecy progress.) This is important because this percieved slight on zelda's part colors every bit of their interactions in botw--they both percieve the other as standoffish and haughty, and thus it takes them an INCREDIBLY long time to actually communicate healthily with each other. In fact, the only time we REALLY see them communicate receptively with one another in botw is during the sanidin park memory, which is days if not hours before the calamity actually strikes. In AOC, in contrast, link and zelda behave much more like equals if not friends from the very beginning. Their interactions are of course still colored by their respective ranks, and Link is still obviously suffering from the communication issues that come with his mutism, but they very clearly have a better understanding of each other from the getgo because the foundation of their relationship was built before they knew the extent of their destinies in connection to one another.

All of this lays the foundation for the climax of their story thus far--the night of the calamity. we know how this goes in botw--Link and zelda, woefully underprepared and miles from hyrule castle, race desperately to the sanctum. it's implied that they get all the way to actually fighting calamity ganon, and only when they realize that they can't win does link take zelda's hand and run. By the time they get to fort hateno, link is ALREADY majorly wounded from their failed attempt to quell the calamity, so when he turns to face those guardians, both he and zelda know that there's no way he'll win. It's important to note that the guardians at fort hateno never actually hit link, zelda stops them in their tracks before they're able to fire, but he collapses anyway due to his previous wounds. he was already mortally wounded going into that battle, and no matter what zelda did at that point, he was always going to fall there.

In AOC, however, the story is different. the calamity comes while link and zelda are in the castle, and rather than attempting to fight it, link makes the decision to take zelda to safety immediately. Because of that choice, when we get to AOC link's "grave danger" moment with the reanimated blights, he is able to survive. the major story beats still play out the same way--confronted by an ambush of incredibly powerful enemies (this time the reanimated blights) which he likely cannot defeat on his own, link attempts to fight anyway to protect zelda, despite her protests. Zelda, terrified for link's life, reaches out to him and her power instinctively activates to save him. the difference is that, while aoc link likely couldn't have survived that fight without zelda's interference, he had no pre-existing wounds because he was not coming straight from another impossible fight. So in AOC, when zelda's power destroys the blights, link is unwounded and able to remain standing. there is no impossible decision to make regarding his life, and, crucially, he remains alive to seal calamity ganon in his current time now that zelda's power has finally awakened. None of this would have been possible had he not chosen to flee the castle during the initial strike instead of attempting to fight a losing battle anyway, and THAT is a decision he was unable to make in BOTW because, at the time of the initial strike, his fear of failure still outweighed his love for zelda.

[im-totally-not-an-alien-2]

Halloween prompts year 2 day 15

Hood remained silent, even as he clenched the gun tightly in his hand. He hadn't even seen a hint of green portals or blond elfs but 200 witnesses couldn't all be wrong.

All of them had stated that a white haired meta with a gas mask was working with a blond elf with a leaf mask and that they had been the ones kidnapping the kids and teens of Gotham.

Jason had heard stories of fairies snatching kids and infants, sometimes swapping them out with a sickly one of thier own. But there were no trades that Jason knew of. Only missing kids.

Hell, all of the biggest child gangs around Crime Alley and the Narrows were gone.

As in gone gone. Not a single member was left nor any trace of where they could have been taken to. As much as he hated to admit it, he might need to ask for help from the Justice League Dark...

---

Link stared down at the kids from his rooftop perch.

They looked...cleaner. Happier. They had gained a healthy amount of weight, no longer stick thin and weak looking. They had season appropriate clothing without holes and others hidden away in chests and armours for the coming seasons far off from now.

His spirit friend, Phantom, had panicked a bit after he realized what they were doing was trafficking, but calmed down once he pointed out that these kids would have a much better life in Hyrule than they would have had in the rotting trashpit that was Gotham.

If they would have lived much longer at all

Still, thier presence here was mutually beneficial. Hyrule had lost over 80% of its population in the Great Calamity and they were no where close to regaining the population they once had. All of thier forts, training areas, ect were specifically targeted and destroyed in the attacks and gardians and monsters were left in the ruins to ensure they could not rebuild what was lost

Which led to the bigger issues at hand. All the empty occupations.

The castle, and thus castle town, were ground zero for the disaster that wiped out the Hylian peoples. With it many businesses and trades were lost. Hyrule had few soldiers and those they did have desperately needed armor, weapons and training.

That wasn't all. Hudson construction had attempted to repair Castle town and eventually the castle, but they were wood workers, not stone masons. They knew little of the craft that was needed.

There were lessons and information in the castle archives covering most of the jobs and trades, as well as how to proform them, but the princess didn't see it as a priority. They didn't have the people necessary to teach these crafts and the castle and town surrounding wasn't really a priority anyway. Not with all the people who still needed help around the kingdom.

Phantom helped a lot too. Other than helping them build towns for the kids (the child gangs actually really liked having a town all to themselves) he did a lot of other random jobs around the kingdom, much like Link himself.

Unfortunately, his next trip to Gotham lead to a run in with the "Red Hood" and the phrase, "Was that a fucking fruit grenade?!" Link did not know what the word "Fucking" meant but the Hood man would not tell him. He is learning a lot of new words from this guy, words that Phantom appearently didn't like cause he loudly scolded Red Hood like a naughty child the first time they met. It was hilarious to see this tiny 15 year old tell off a giant tank of a man.

Link couldn't see the mans expression due to the odd red helm the man wore, but he could tell he was cowed, even if just a bit. Then he began speaking to someone who wasn't there while pressing his finger to the side of his helm where his ear should be. Is Red Hood ill? Does he have a mind sickness like the ones Phantom told him of when describing his parents? Or is this something Link doesn't yet understand...either way he doesn't think he's getting more children for Hyrules future in this trip...or anytime soon if those ominous masked people landing on the rooftops around them had any say in the matter.

[gay-jesus-probably]

Let me just preface this by saying everyone is allowed to have their own opinions, TOTK is a really fun game, and I'm glad that other people have been able to enjoy the story as well.

...But I'm being dead serious with my complaints about the narrative being 100% imperialist propaganda. And I'm getting really tired of people replying to those posts by saying it can't be imperialist propaganda, because imperialism is bad and the game says that Hyrule is the good guys.

Like, guys. That's not the argument you think it is. Yes, I am aware that the game tells us Ganondorf is a flat, one dimensional character with no ambitions, interests or motivations beyond destroying the entire world for the hell of it, and also it's totally not racist because he's green, not brown like literally every other member of his race. Unfortunately literally all of these things are kind of the entire goddamn problem.

See, the thing is, everyone trying to make these arguments is accepting the game at face value. Hyrule is the perfect and almighty nation chosen by the demigod Zonai, and whose royal family has the right to rule due to their divine heritage. The other races exist to serve the glory of Hyrule, and they're happy to do it. Ganondorf is pure evil and must be stopped at any costs.

But that's not how anything works. The story informing me that Hyrule is the ultimate good that has done nothing wrong is the whole goddamn reason why I don't trust Hyrule at all. There's always more of a reason than that. And the game fucking suggests there was more going on! Ganondorf mentions Rauru has repeatedly 'invited' the Gerudo to become Rauru's subjects, and let's be clear here, it doesn't matter how peaceful those 'invitations' were, when the guy who owns every single magical nuclear missile in the world repeatedly demands you surrender to him, there's always going to be an implied threat of 'do it or get magically nuked'. Just that power difference alone shows us exactly why Ganon would feel threatened enough to invade. It's because Rauru was holding a gun to his head, and Ganon was expected to just trust that he'd never pull the trigger.

And yes, even if it wasn't intentional Hyrule was always threatening to wipe out the other nations, considering the entire royal family walked around openly wearing their magical nukes as cute accessories. If they couldn't be safely hidden away, there wouldn't be four other secret stones sitting untouched in a vault until the last second.

But that's never acknowledged. Of course Hyrule is the only nation with the right to the secret stones; even if other races get to touch them, they can only have them if they swear eternal blind loyalty and servitude to the glory of King Rauru and Princess Zelda. Ganon wanting to have one magical nuclear bomb out of a stockpile of eight of them is proof that he's dangerous and evil. I mean my god, what if he just walked around all day wearing a magical nuke and using its power for his own benefit, that would be terrifying. It's only okay when Hylian royalty does it.

And you can't argue that Ganon betrayed his own people, considering we don't get to know fucking anything about his relationship with his people. He's shows as the leader of the Gerudo, we're told he's a hero to his people, he has soldiers that loyally follow him into battle... and then oh nevermind, they all hate him and will spend eternity trying to atone for sharing a race with him. How did the entire race do a complete 180 in the span of at most a few months? Who cares, what's important is that now they accept they exist to serve Hyrule so they get to be the good guys now and we don't need to know why they were following Ganondorf, or why they stopped following him.

Basically my point is that yeah, I fucking know how the game insists everything went down. That's the entire reason I think it's imperialist propaganda, because the entire story feels like Hylian propaganda to conceal and justify some horrific atrocities that caused all of this. I literally do not believe that I'm getting the story through reliable narrators, especially considering that the only people allowed to actually tell me the story are all the characters that have the most reasons to be heavily biased in favour of Hyrule.

When the game shows me protagonists that have a massive amount of power and control over the entire world, then says the bad guy doesn't like that system just because he's evil, and literally nothing and nobody in the game says anything to oppose that take, I have some questions about what the fuck the story isn't telling me. And I'd really appreciate it if people would stop trying to argue with me just by telling me to stop asking those questions.

[revali-is-a-narc]

[roaxes]

Who is Hyrules Hero?! Zelda has decided! Will this hero be able to stop the evil forces that threaten everyone?

If you enjoy, please give it a like and/or comment on Youtube to help me out!

[link-is-a-dork]

[skyward-floored]

Happy appreciate a dragon day, more hdw au. This takes place sometime after this fic here, but beyond that I don't have the exact timing down. It doesn't matter too much though. (Injury/blood warning, also a bit of vomit)

This will have an eventual part two.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Link wakes up to his head pounding so intensely it feels like Darunia is stomping around inside of his skull.

He drags his eyes open with a groan, squinting against the pain, and tries to focus through the blurriness of his vision. Someone was talking, he thought, but the voice didn’t seem familiar. There was also a rag over his mouth, and Link grunts, wishing he could take a deep breath.

Where was he? What had happened?

He didn’t remember... much of anything, but he must have gotten here somehow. Wherever here, was.

Link focuses on trying to get the blurriness of his vision to fade, blinking and attempting to focus. It works somewhat, and his vision clears enough for him to see when a man walks up to him, a smirk on his face.

Uh oh.

“The glorious hero finally decides to grace us with his presence,” he says, and another blurry figure walks up, tearing the rag from his mouth.

Link winces, and someone laughs, and ice slips into his stomach. His vision focuses a little more, and Link looks around, taking in the dingy room, the group of men in soldier uniforms, the... tools on the table.

He can’t help but swallow at the sight of those.

“Where am I?” he demands, pulling at his tied wrists. They're already sore. “What do you want?”

“All kinds of things,” the man closest to him sneers. “Grant over there wants his hand back. Marc wants justice for his family. Me, I want to see a pretty scarfed traitor on his knees, screaming and begging before we kill him.”

Link’s stomach churns but he ignores it. “If you’re referring to me, I’m no traitor.”

The man laughs. “No? Bold words, considering who you are. Half beast. The son of the dragon that the sorceress had leading her army, a half-monstrous brat.”

Link pales.

“Who told you that?” he demands, still pulling at his wrists. A very small circle of people are aware of that secret, and he trusts all of them not to have spilled it. How does this man know?

The soldier merely crosses his arms, a smirk on his lips.

“Doesn’t matter. It’s obviously true though, one only has to look at you to know you’re not true Hylian,” he sneers, and Link bristles, ignoring the hurt the words ignite in him. “The son of the sorceress’s pet attack dog.”

“Volga did not join Cia willingly,” Link says coldly. “And his actions have no bearing on mine.”

“Don’t they?” the man says in a mocking tone, putting his face close to Link’s. “You’re the son of a murderer. I saw him burn men alive with his flames and then tear the corpses in half. He’s nothing but a scaly weapon that likes to pretend it’s a person.”

Link’s blood boils. His relationship with Volga is more than complicated, but that’s just wrong.

“Don’t talk about him like that!”

The man punches him in the face.

“You’re no better,” he scoffs as Link reels, pain throbbing across his face, warmth dripping from his nose. “Killing anyone who turns on you. Letting the sorceress use copies of you to kill your men. Letting a dragon fight at your side, knowing he’s a murderer.”

He draws his sword, and holds it near Link’s neck.

“You’re a beast, and you deserve to die like one.”

“Killing me won’t solve anything,” Link says quietly, resisting the urge to swallow. “Cia is dead. Hurting me won’t heal your scars. It won’t get your families back.“

“No. But your screams will be satisfying all the same,” the man sneers, and pulls his sword back. “Don’t worry, I’ll do it slowly. Shall we start with your hands? Maybe a finger or two...”

“How about we give him marks to match Caydin’s?” a voice says from further back, and the man with the sword grabs Link’s chin, tilting it to the side.

“Good idea. We’ll make his bigger though,” the man grins, and pulls a dagger out and sets it against Link’s cheek. “Maybe remove an eye while we’re at it.”

Jeers and laughs follow the comment, and Link takes a steady breath as the steel caresses his cheek, forcing himself not to react.

They’re looking for a reaction. And he won’t give it to them.

Even when the blade begins to drag down his cheek, Link bites his tongue and tries not to voice his pain. He won’t react. He won’t.

The blade just starts to flirt near his eye when a noise echoes somewhere outside of the room, distant but loud. Link is so startled that he forgets to force back a reaction, and he gasps as the blade digs into his cheek.

The man grins, dragging it down his face all the way to Link’s chin in a slow movement. A small whine escapes Link without his permission, and the man positions his weapon right beneath an eyebrow, eyes glinting maliciously. Link glares back at him, determined not to cower even though his cheek aches and throbs and there's blood tracing down his face and the blade is right over his eye and he’s trembling in anticipation of losing it.

Then a roar booms through the hall, and a dragon bursts into the room, half-destroying the doorway.

The man closest to him hisses with rage and snatches something off the table nearby, jabbing it into Link’s arm without any hesitation. Link feels a sharp prick even as relief hits him at the sight of Volga tearing his way into the room, and the man beside him looks...

...Smug?

The other men scatter with shouts and screams as the dragon leaps for them, blue eyes blazing. A single swing of his claws is enough to knock most of them out of commission, and the rest flee when he turns on them, the man who had been on the verge of removing Link’s eye narrowly escaping a blast of fire.

The room is quickly void of enemies, and Volga turns to Link, melting out of his dragon form and into a human one. He rushes over to him, and Link dazedly watches his eyes dart across his form, pausing on his bloodied face. Fury flickers in his gaze.

“Are you injured elsewhere?” Volga asks sharply, slicing away his bonds with a claw. Link is too stunned to speak, relieved and reeling from the events of the past several moments, and Volga takes his shoulders in his hands and gives him a shake. “Snap out of it Hero, are you hurt?”

“I don’t— I don’t think so?” Link says uncertainly, having finally found his voice. His arm hurts, and his face, and so do a few other parts of him, but he’s pretty sure he can walk. It’s nothing too serious. Hopefully.

Volga stares at him, then huffs and quickly removes his hands from his shoulders.

“Good. We need to move quickly if we’re going to get out of here. Follow me.”

Volga stands and turns, and Link gets to his feet, wobbling a little at the stiffness in his limbs. Volga starts moving though, so Link is forced to move to keep up with him, ignoring the pounding in his skull and aching legs.

He feels like someone got a rolling pin and went to town on him, aches all over his body, the pounding still keeping up behind his eyes. Link wipes some of the blood from his face, cheek stinging and throbbing, and he swallows. His chest feels tight as they move, and despite how he’d like to ask Volga exactly how he found him and got in here, he saves his breath for running.

His steps trail further and further behind Volga’s though, the odd tightness in his chest increasing, his legs wobbling the further they go. His arm starts to ache, then numb, and it hangs limply at his side. And as if that’s not worrying enough, his vision starts to wobble as well, especially when he turns corners. His more than certain concussion must be worse than he thought if he’s having this much trouble.

They reach some stairs and Link’s breath wheezes, and his steps drag more and more, despite how hard he tries to keep up through endless tunnels and passageways.

Finally, he can’t do it anymore.

“Volga,” Link coughs, leaning heavily against a wall, “V-Volga wait.”

The dragon stops and looks back at him, and concern flickers over his gaze as he strides back to his side.

“I-I just... need a second,” Link wheezes, and Volga leans down so he’s nose-to-nose with Link. He looks him over again, more slowly than the first examination he’d given, then breathes in long and slow. Link waits for him to say something, unsure of what he’s doing, and slightly afraid to ask. Is he... smelling him?

Volga’s expression suddenly darkens.

“...Safflina,” he growls, something flashing in his gaze. “They weren’t taking chances.”

Before Link can ask what that means, Volga lunges forward and pulls him into his arms, resuming his quick stride down the hallway. Link scrambles to hold on with only one working arm, head spinning from the sudden movement.

“Whoa, wh—”

“You’ve been poisoned, hero,” Volga says without looking at him, speeding his pace further. “Time is of the essence.”

“What? But... safflina isn’t poisonous,” Link says, blinking a little dizzily.

“There is a rare strain of it that is poisonous for dragons in high concentrations,” Volga says curtly. “But that knowledge isn’t well known. Those fools who captured you would have no method of obtaining such information.”

“So how did they..?”

“I don’t know,” Volga growls, his grip tightening just a little. “But it doesn’t bode well.”

Link frowns, then coughs, his breath a little tight in his throat. His stomach is churning now, and he goes a little more limp in Volga’s arms without meaning to.

Maybe it’s his imagination, but it feels like Volga holds him a little tighter.

Lantern light flickers off the walls as Volga’s steps pad rapidly through what Link guesses is an old outpost that got phased out of use. He’s not entirely sure, especially since his vision is being rather unreliable suddenly, but he can’t think of where else they’d be.

He wishes Proxi were here. She’d probably know.

“Hero, stay awake.”

Link blearily reopens his eyes, not even realizing he’d closed them, and sees Volga is looking at him rather intensely.

“You will not wake back up if you fall asleep, stay awake,” he repeats, and Link summons what strength he’s got left, trying to fight against the dizziness and darkness that threaten to pull him under. The torchlight flickering off the walls makes the space behind his eyes hurt, and keeping them open becomes a monumental task.

His arm stings and cold trickles into his chest, stealing his strength as it feeds. It’s merciless, and growing rapidly, and Link finds his eyelids falling no matter how hard he tries to stop them.

“Link,” Volga snaps, and if Link were more awake, he might pick up the fear in it. “Do not sleep.”

“F...ive minutes...” Link mumbles, and gets a shake for his trouble.

“No. Wake up right now,” Volga snarls. “I will not lose another to safflina, wake up.”

Link peels his eyes open again, dark blots clouding his vision. He can vaguely make out Volga’s face, see the horns on his helmet, but not... really. The blue of his eyes stands out, but that’s all he can truly see.

They look strangely panicked.

“Link your mother will kill me if you die, WAKE UP.”

Volga shakes him again and Link’s stomach revolts, bile rising in his throat. He gags, and the shaking immediately stops, a muttered curse flicking past his ears.

Link feels himself get tilted to the side as he vomits up what little is inside his stomach, weakly retching before falling limp with a pathetic whine.

Volga’s arms tilt him back the moment he’s finished, and hold him tight. Link thinks they might speed up after that, the sound of steps pounding in his ears. He feels dizzy and cold, throat burning, hurting deep inside. A twitch runs through him, and Volga shifts his grip, holding him even tighter, his arms radiating warmth.

And some long-forgotten instinct in Link’s mind recognizes the warmth Volga is giving off as safe, protection.

Maybe it’s the dragon in him. Maybe it’s the poison addling his brain, or the blood loss. Maybe it’s the way Volga is cradling him to his chest with a hand in his hair and still shouting for him to stay awake, even if the exact words aren’t really reaching Link.

But whatever it is, despite how horrible he feels overall, he also feels... safe.

So Link curls into Volga’s hold, and drifts.