#links read all about the past heros and the history of hyrule and the history of these temples and ruins

[runecatwrites]

Hello! Your LU analyses are delightful to read, thanks for sharing them! I had a fun question for consideration, if that's okay! Previously, we've examined and gushed over the Links' bonds with each other and who gets along best with who. We know that each of them are brothers and would die for each other. But I was curious: What's your take on which Links get along the *least*? E.g. If you were to list out each of the nine, which Links don't tend to click as well with each, and why? (At least at this point we're at in the comics.) Love to hear your insights about that if you're up for it! :D

Oooooh! Thank you for the ask, this is a really fun thing to think about! Here are my takes…

Sky: Time

Four: Wild

Time: Legend

Legend: Sky

Hyrule: Wild

Wind: Wild

Twilight: Warriors

Warriors: Wild

Wild: Warriors

Explanations under the cut!

Disclaimer: I do not hate Wild! In fact, he’s probably my favorite Link. Wild is a compelling character and I love him very much. Read the whole post for elaboration on him.

Second disclaimer: I truly don’t think that any of the members of the chain strongly dislike any other members (even though they may have spats from time to time). Just because one person might not get along with another as well as they do with everyone else, that doesn’t mean they hate that person.

And now for the explanations!

Sky: this guy is so sweet that it’s hard to see him not getting along with someone. The obvious answer here would be Legend, but as we’ve seen, Sky doesn’t seem to mind Lege’s “bullying” at all and actually seems to think it’s kind of endearing. I bet he’s used to that kind of behavior from Groose and therefore easily looks past it. No, as weird as it may sound on the surface, I think the person Sky would have the most trouble getting along with would actually be Time. I don’t think he’d have a hard time getting along with him in a professional sense (they work and fight well together) but rather in a personal sense. Sky and Time have very different histories with the Master Sword and with the whole “call of the hero” experience. Whereas Sky has a very close and positive relationship with Fi and willingly went on his adventure to save his beloved, Time got thrown into his first adventure, yanked around, and aged up pretty much without his consent. Lacking the perspective to understand this, I think Sky might be offended by Time’s complicated feelings towards Fi.

Four: this guy holds practically everyone in the group at arm’s length, so this one’s difficult too. But based on what we’ve seen in LU, I’m going with Wild. These two have clashed several times, most notably over Wild’s supposed impulsiveness. I think the underlying cause is that their brains work so differently at a fundamental level. Wild is a black-and-white thinker, while Four has a much more colorful (heh) mindscape. He views the world around him as a complex one that should be met with open-mindedness, and strives to understand it using his critical thinking skills. Even while merged, his colors probably play into this way of thinking. Wild, on the other hand, has a very narrow worldview and becomes distressed - sometimes even angry - when something doesn’t fit into it. Four sometimes seems to get frustrated by that rigid thinking of Wild’s.

Time: now this is an interesting one. Time is the oldest of the group and regarded as one of the most if not the most mature. Legend on the other hand, while not the youngest, is still an immature kid. Now there’s some nuance there and there are a lot of factors that feed into that immaturity (like the fact that he’s dealt with a lot of trauma and hasn’t had a parental figure since he was like 10) but the point still stands. In recent updates especially, we see that Time appears to have a short temper when it comes to Legend’s behavior. Why? Well if you look past the obvious reasoning of the group being in a dangerous situation and Legend’s antics being ill-suited for that, personally I think that Legend is a lot like Time was in his younger days. You know how sometimes parents say “my kid got their attitude from me and now I’ve gotta argue with a younger version of myself every day!” That’s exactly what’s going on here. Time was an absolute menace as a kid and teenager, and now he’s being faced with the exact same energy and has a hard time dealing with it.

Legend: as explained above, Legend has a bit of a reputation for immaturity and an attitude to go with it. Sky, on the other hand, is the one of the most easygoing, self-assured, approachable people you’ll ever meet. Legend is used to eliciting strong and/or definitive reactions by his behavior. People get angry with him (Time), match his energy (Warriors), or redirect him/calm him down (Hyrule). But Sky? Sky just… doesn’t seem to have much of a reaction at all. He might respond with some light teasing or a halfhearted protest, but nothing beyond that. That confuses Legend, and that confusion leads to anger. No matter what he does, he can’t get a good read on Sky, and that’s very frustrating for Legend.

Hyrule: I think this is going to surprise a lot of people, because Hyrule and Wild are often depicted as twin chaos gremlins by the fandom. But if you actually go through the LU canon (both main story and bonus material), you’ll see that these two actually rarely interact with each other, and on one of those rare occasions, they argue to the point of blows and have to be broken up. Much later, Wild describes Hyrule as “stubborn”, albeit in a positive way. Now, this is where I think the fandom seeing these two as twin chaos gremlins does bear some merit: the two are so alike in many aspects of their personality, notably their stubbornness, that they struggle to get along. A similar situation as with Time and Legend, but in this situation, they’re about the same age and with the same level of maturity. Hyrule and Wild even think the same way, too. During the battle with the Iron Knuckle, Hyrule wanted to rush right in and attack the big guy head on too, but was held back by Legend. Among his companions, though, Hyrule is reputably non-confrontational, which makes the fact that he got in a fight with Wild surprising. Wild is more used to getting into disagreements, so I think that fight would have affected Hyrule emotionally a lot more than Wild.

Wind: I had the hardest time with this little guy. Despite being the youngest, he’s surprisingly emotionally stable and mature, and he gets along with everyone! Literally the only reason I chose Wild is because Wind has snapped at him a few times, examples being for treating him like a kid and for not following his advice for how to take on the Iron Knuckle. That’s literally it. Wind is a perfect ray of sunshine.

Twilight: our rancher is gregarious and gets along with everyone pretty well, but he’s not shy about calling out things that tick him off about others. He rebukes Legend for his immaturity, challenges Time on his overbearing nature, and tries his darnedest to instill some self-restraint in Wild. He’s also very protective, though, especially of Wild. He’s well aware that Wild often has difficulties getting along with others (more on that later), but since he knows Wild better than all the others, he understands why Wild has those difficulties. And right now especially, he very obviously thinks that Warriors is being way too hard on Wild. This is a tricky situation. These Links are all notoriously bad at communication, and with extremely different backgrounds, Twilight and Warriors have even more of a disadvantage. Twilight doesn’t understand Wars’ motives in this situation and thinks he’s being unfair, when in reality Wars is just trying really hard to understand Wild better (explained in my analyses). Despite that, Twi and Wars are still good friends; they were just rubbing shoulders and bantering at each other a few parts ago after all. Twilight just isn’t afraid to openly disagree with one of his friends.

Warriors: yeah, if you’re familiar with my analyses (here and here) you know it’s Wild! I won’t rehash it in this post since I’ve pretty much said everything I can think of on Wars’ point of view in the situation lol

Wild: and conversely, Wild is having a really hard time with Wars specifically right now. That situation is outlined in my previous analyses too. But for this post, I wanted to elaborate more on Wild. Although all of his fellow Links obviously love and accept him, the poor guy has drawn the ire of practically every member of the chain at some point in time. In fact, personally I think that if not for his close bond with Twilight, Wild would have an extremely hard time getting along with the group as a whole. That doesn’t mean he’s a bad person. No, he’s a character with a very unique and compelling past, and that past makes it very difficult for him to successfully engage in teamwork. He’s also dealing with amnesia, imposter syndrome, and an inferiority complex, all of which take a huge toll on his mental health. When your mental health isn’t so great, you often have a short fuse and it can also be hard to maintain healthy relationships. Trust me, I know - I’ve been on medication for depression for 15 years. It’s a real struggle. In spite of this, we have seen significant character growth from Wild recently. He’s begun acknowledging his difficulties and owning up to his transgressions, which shows that he really does want to make things work with everyone. He feels bad for clashing with people and wants to do better, but unfortunately he appears to have very low confidence in himself. His current mindset seems to be “I’m trying really hard not to mess things up, but I’m probably just going to mess it all up anyway.” The thing that matters, though, is that he is trying. Ah, I love Wild so much. My precious blorbo. If he can rid himself of that crippling self-doubt, he can make even bigger strides in improving his relationship with everyone!

[parasolladyansy]

I have a question about your LoZ AU.

LoZ as a series has a bit of a weird depiction of humans. Hylians are almost always portrayed with pointed ears, although humans with rounded ears do show up sometimes (notable example is Wind Waker, where it's an actual plot point). I know this is a weird question, but would Ingo's, and by extension Ansy's, round ears be a point of interest to the inhabitants of Hyrule? I don't remember if BotW or Totk ever mentioned any area outside of Hyrule, and since everyone there have pointed ears, no one would have any idea as to where those humans came from.

Also, if I remember correctly, I think that pointed ears are a sign of a connection to the goddess Hylia. And given the generally polytheistic society in (most) Zelda games, then that could be another odd thing about Ingo and Ansy.

At the very least, their round ears would be a very clear indicator that both of them are not from Hyrule.

I know this is a weird question, but for some reason this topic has always been an interesting one for me. Especially since I remember my first reaction to Totk Ganondorf being that he's the only character in Totk and Botw with round ears. (Me : yeah sure his character design looks cool and he looks swoll, but LOOK AT HIS EARS-)

Pardon me, a flood of Zelda lore just rushed into my head lol - I’ve been a Zelda fan EVEN LONGER than I’ve been a Pokémon fan.

Okay, so round ears, our isekai-ed friends in Hero of Bombs / Isekai-ed Artist, & Ganondorf! (Lore dump ahead!)

It’s as you said - round ears have been a minor topic of interest in Hylian history, regardless of the timeline. I remember reading the booklet that came with A Link to the Past when I was little, about the creation of Hyrule & the Triforce. In there, they talked about how Hylians heard messages from the gods with their elven ears. One of the townsfolk in Ocarina of Time says the same thing.

Meanwhile, the earliest instance of round ears I can remember appearing is Ocarina of Time: ALL of the Gerudo (including OoT Ganondorf) had round ears - more on that in a bit. Another example came a little later in the Oracle games with the inhabitants of the other countries Oracle of Seasons / Ages Link visited (Holodrum & Labrynna), then again in Twilight Princess with the residents of Ordon Village (technically just outside Hyrule’s border).

(OoT Nabooru to the left, OoA Bippin & Blossom in the middle, & TP Colin to the right)

“Oh, okay. Gerudo & these folks from neighboring countries / villages just have round ears - easy!…Right?”

Until Breath of the Wild happened, reintroducing the Gerudo people after all these years with pointed ears like Hylians (not to mention different skin tones).

The Gerudo being an all female race (except for a male born every 100 years, often some incarnation of Ganondorf), they reproduce via men from other races (Hylian, Sheikah, etc). Stands to reason they would get traits from their fathers. Why, then, didn’t they have pointed ears back in OoT? Maybe round ears & darker skin used to be a stronger gene? I couldn’t tell you.

Why TotK Ganondorf has round ears might be an example of that gene coming back in the rarely born male, though honestly I just feel like they were just making a design choice to refer back to OoT Ganondorf, the very first depiction of him we saw in the games (though he was mentioned by name in A Link To the Past) as a love letter to us older fans.

(OoT Ganondorf to the left, TotK Ganondorf to the right)

I don’t think Nintendo wanted us to think too hard on it, or why some versions of Ganondorf actually does have pointed ears, even when it was the same Ganondorf (eg. OoT Ganondorf > WW Ganondorf / TP Ganondorf). All I know is that when ToTK Ganondorf stepped into the frame, my inner 10yo saw the villain from her nightmares (in the very best sense! 878)

As for Ingo & isekai-ed me (lol), the Hylians would probably just think of us as foreign visitors, maybe from Labyrnna / Holodrum. Link & probably some other key characters would know the truth, either by being told straight out, or intuition.

Side note: as Ingo muddles with his memories & ends up spending time with isekai-ed me, he wonders if we come from the same country / world (not quite, Ingo!)

—

(Editing to add maybe it was also a symbolic thing - pointed ears symbolizing communication with the divine, maybe it’s to say “he refuses to listen to heaven”? Who knows.)

[loz-untold-myths]

Masterpost ࿐

Event Information

Create for your original legend: a TLoZ AU story that follows an original incarnation of Link, Zelda, Ganon, or another character (OCs included)!

[ These can reference previous games, but this does not include AUs of pre-existing games. (The Expanding Hyrule archive currently has very similar rules - check it out if you are seeking further specification). ]

This event is meant only for fun. You could do all the prompts, half the prompts, or only one of them! If you have more than one original legend, you could even rotate between them. There is no expectation for something big; this is just here to throw out inspiration. Think vignettes and sketches! (Of course, no one can stop you from doing full art)!

Show off your creativity! ^^

#untold myths event: light & time

UntoldMyths_LightTimeEvent collection on ao3

Event Guidelines & Warnings

Posts go up on the corresponding days or the days after, but not sooner (unless you're doing a combination of one day and a later day). WIPs can be posted in the Untold Myths Discord Server or in a small thread of the Expanding Hyrule Discord server.

Feel like participating but don't have a story? You can gift works to a creator with one who is accepting fanwork!

Be sure to tag this blog in your post, whether it's art, writing, or something else! That way I can find it to reblog. ^^ I will be compiling writing entries on Ao3 as well!

NSFW content will not be put in the archive or reblogged, but if you create some PLEASE tag it accordingly anyway! NSFW mostly refers to graphic content and extreme gore. Be sure to tag for content warnings! Reblogged content will mostly be anything that would be rated G to PG-13 in a movie theatre.

Milder depictions of violence are fine! Anything canontypical is fine.

The inclusion of ships is fine, so long as there's nothing that could be considered problematic. (Problematic here referring to the obvious: don't ship siblings. I won't be accepting entries with ships between an adult and a child, either).

You may post on the day as soon as it's that date in your timezone. You may also use this post's banner!

Event Entries [2025]

◇ 2025 Prompts

◇ Ao3 Collection

Light

◇ The Glow of the Lantern's Light by @karama9 [ATHU]

◇ Continue by @louwhose [BoA]

◇ Legend by @louwhose [BoA]

◇ Before the Legend by @spicymcbean [WH]

Time

◇ Time by @doomed-era [Various]

◇ Quiet by @louwhose [BoA]

◇ War by @louwhose [BoA]

◇ Time by @louwhose [BoA]

Light & Time

◇ Falling Stars by me [TPH]

◇ On Your Mark - Nearly Beginning by @amelias-zelda-calamity-quintet [MoaH]

◇ This is the History of Hyrule... by @louwhose [BoA]

◇ Memories/Glow by @dream-puppeteer [FMN]

◇ Children of the Crown by me [TPH]

◇ The Lies Before the Truth by @karama9 [Hero]

◇ Truth & Lie by @louwhose [BoA]

◇ On Your Mark - Confessions by @amelias-zelda-calamity-quintet [MoaH]

◇ Lie/Truth by @dream-puppeteer [FMN]

◇ Final Hours by me [TPH]

◇ On Your Mark - The Path Before Us by @amelias-zelda-calamity-quintet [MoaH]

◇ Reversal/Continue by @dream-puppeteer [FMN]

◇ Faster. Better. by @karama9 [LLAU]

◇ Near Our Secret Spot by me [TPH]

◇ A Cold Resolve by @karama9 [NM]

◇ On Your Mark - A Moment's Peace by @amelias-zelda-calamity-quintet [MoaH]

◇ Tranquil/Quiet by @dream-puppeteer [FMN]

◇ Tapestry of Threats by me [TPH]

◇ The Birth of the Rogue by @karama9 [TMR]

◇ On Your Mark - Turned the Tide by @amelias-zelda-calamity-quintet [MoaH]

◇ War/Rebellion by @dream-puppeteer [FMN]

◇ Old Storybook by me [TPH]

◇ Guided by the Past by @karama9 [ATHU]

◇ On Your Mark - You'll Read About Me One Day by @amelias-zelda-calamity-quintet [MoaH]

◇ Legend/History by @dream-puppeteer [TCS]

◇ End of Ganon by me [TPH]

◇ On Your Mark - Dawn of the Final Day by @amelias-zelda-calamity-quintet [MoAH]

◇ Time Well Spent by @karama9 [ATHU]

◇ Light/Time by @dream-puppeteer [TCS]

Other Events?

◇ (WIP) Triforce Event

[a-bit-too-much-of-a-zelda-fan]

Guys. Why is there even a debate here. Some of the games were explicitly written to be connected, some of them weren't. Not everything has to fit into one cohesive timeline. As a matter of fact, they can't. Now, there is some more nuance to it. Read below for my explanation (infodump) plus a more nuanced chart.

Red and blue lines are canon within the games' text. Ambiguities are filled in with green. I'll get more into that later. Let's first explain the two completely separate mini timelines.

The Four Swords miniseries stands mostly alone. The Master Sword and the Triforce are present in every other game or (mostly--looking at you, Master Sword in LoZ and AoL) have a good reason not to be, but they are not present at all in these three games. Instead, we have the Four Sword and Light Force. The only wrinkle is that Ganondorf shows up in FSA... so I don't know about that one. I don't think anyone does.

As for BotW and TotK. Oh brother. What do we do with these. Skyward Sword is intended to take place seemingly millennia, or at least several centuries before Ocarina. We see the founding of Hyrule with the first monarch and her chosen knight, the cycle of recurring evil and heroism being established, and the forging of the Master Sword

Wait. What about Rauru and Sonia? I thought they were the first rulers of Hyrule. And if the Zonai were around long before Hyrule, where is any of their presence in Skyward Sword? Huh. Alright. We don't know how much time passed between the first Calamity and the second, but from the past era of TotK to its present, we can account for at least 10,105 years of history. We don't even need to get into how Zora and Rito coexist or anything smaller like that. There's just no fucking way these two games fit with any of the others. Fine, that's fine. Moving on.

There's also a little hiccup around the Oracles. Nintendo seems to go back and force on whether the Oracles feature the same Link as in ALttP and LA, but if they do, it probably makes more sense that Oracles happen before LA (the linked Oracle game ends with Link boarding sailing off on a small ship and LA starts with him on one). So like... I guess they fit there?

Either way, let's take a second to look back at where this idea of a timeline split happened. Remember that WW and TP both clearly take place after OoT. That isn't theorizing, that's in the actual text of each game. The thing is, they're mutually exclusive. TP has Ganondorf being executed, as he would have been after the Hero of Time goes back to his original era and warns Zelda that her plan to get to the Triforce first isn't going to work (which is implied to be what happens at the "The End" screen of OoT). WW has Ganondorf coming back by breaking the seal put on him, and the Hero of Time didn't appear to stop him again (as would happen if Link was sent back in time). Fans started theorizing way back in 2006 that OoT created separate timelines, with WW and TP being mutually exclusive sequels to it as the evidence.

Some fans have asserted that Nintendo just "took" the fan theory. But come on, put everything together here. The texts of OoT, WW, and TP HEAVILY imply the timeline split. The only reason we called it a theory is because the writers didn't literally say "And then the timeline split in two". The texts are pretty clear though. It's the only thing that makes sense. That isn't to say that there needs to be a cohesive timeline, and that the split is the only way to fit it together. No, OoT is connected to both WW and TP no matter what. That was the intent. It's just that the explanation for OoT to have mutually exclusive sequels actually fits neatly into the texts of the games.

And now we come to the tricky part. Put yourself back into the 90s real quick. ALttP seems to have been written as a prequel to Zelda 1, showing Hyrule before its period of decline. Alright, let's just accept that because it may as well be true. The lore at that point was so thin that it made enough sense. I kinda slapped Zelda 1 and 2 at the end there to show it, because we do have a cohesive timeline from ALttP to TFH. That's fine, all well and good.

Likewise, OoT seems to be written as a prequel to ALttP. We see conflict over the Triforce, the origin of Ganon, the seven sages, and an earlier iteration of the Master Sword. Back in 1998, we had no reason to not believe it. These are tenuous connections that are not explicit in the games' text, so I've paired them with green lines to show it.

But wait. ALttP is ALSO mutually exclusive to TP and WW. Oh brother. What do we do about this? Even after figuring out the timeline split in 2006, fans didn't know what the fuck to do with the first four games of this franchise. They could go after TP, but that's even messier than putting them right after OoT. Yuck. This doesn't feel good at all. Oh yeah, and then there's the Four Swords games that don't fit anywhere.

Now you can imagine the position the writers of Hyrule Historia found themselves in when they were tasked with creating an official timeline. Some of the games have certain explicit connections, as detailed in my first chart. But they had to cram everything into one timeline. Well. They knew they had a timeline split in OoT, because that's what the texts of OoT, WW, and TP collectively say. The lore of ALttP also mentions seven sages (or wise men, but let's call them sages), but not a legendary hero. So... if you really stretch your brain out here... it kinda makes sense that there's a timeline where the Hero of Time died fighting Ganon. Maybe. Kinda. Not really, but kinda. And then there's the Four Swords miniseries. Fuck it, throw them in randomly.

The two-way split doesn't disagree with OoT's text at all, which said that Link won. The three-way split does disagree with it by asserting that Link lost. But if we're really trying to fit everything into one timeline, that is the cleanest place to put them. Some people really hate this, but it does seem that those are the same people that demanded that there be an official timeline in the first place. ie the same people who were gonna be pissed off with anything Nintendo gave them that wasn't exactly their own theory being confirmed.

Alright, real talk. The producers of the Zelda series have said time and time again that they think of what would make a fun game then write a story that fits around it. The Wind Waker devs wanted you to sail around the ocean. Then the writers decided "oh, we could put this after Ocarina! After all, weren't they left without a hero? What if Ganon came back with no one to stop him? How would that problem resolve itself? What if the gods just flooded the world?" Then the Twilight Princess devs wanted a spiritual successor to Ocarina, with an epic adventure on horseback across the traditional Zelda kingdom setting. So the writers went "hey, in Ocarina, Link warned Zelda about Ganon, right? What if he was executed then, and then the world was never flooded?"

We have to realize that trying to put games with this design philosophy into a neat little timeline is a futile effort. It's never gonna work because it wasn't designed to. More so than any other storytelling medium, video games take so many approaches to continuity. The Halo games were all meant to be sequential and fit neatly into a strict timeline. Pokemon is all canon within itself but the ties between games are less important than the stories of each game. Mario essentially has no canon except for recurring characters and settings. Zelda is gameplay first, canon second. That's why the two most recent mainline games don't even try to fit in the canon of the previous eighteen. That's just how it works and we're gonna have to accept that.

[valancedbreakfast]

the more i think about the story of totk the more the whole thing reads as propaganda

but like, not even "the memories link sees and the stories rauru told link and zelda are fake to secure his power and legitimacy" but like "even the actions we see link and zelda take in this story are part of the lie being told to US the viewer"

the GAME ITSELF is imperialist propaganda designed to legitimize rauru's rule

and the bits and pieces of it that let us see it as a lie are the cracks in the story. the ways it contradicts itself and the established history that we do know from botw

the fact that when faced with an attack on his life by princess zelda, the zora king hid himself away fearing that she could and would do far worse to him and his people despite all other parts of the story saying how perfect and wonderful she is

"link and especially zelda are absolutely complicit. it actively undermines them as characters"

no no no. i'm saying the actions we see them take are also lies

the entire game is a fallacy

look at the zelda from botw. there is nothing of her real personality present in totk. instead she's been replaced with a perfect queen who is self sacrificing and acts with dignity and poise

how the fuck is that the autistic girl we saw trying to get link to eat a frog? how is that the girl we saw abused and terrorized by the weight of the monarchy?

oh really? according to this legend about the great and amazing past of hyrule she was transported back to hyrule's founding where the benevolent rauru took her in as his own because he's so caring and kind. oh after rauru's wife was ruthlessly murdered by the very evil dark skinned man from a far away land, zelda sacrificed herself to give the hero the ability to defeat that evil once and for all? oh and then her great personal sacrifice was rewarded by being returned to her original form in the present day? how convenient

good thing our wise brave and perfect princess SAW the founder of hyrule with her own eyes and can assure us of his legitimacy. it would be silly to doubt the monarchy when we know this

like the whole thing reads like a lie told purely to convince us that rauru is the true ruler of hyrule instead of some schmuck who came from "the sky" with his people who mined all the resources from the lands and then fucked off with them, leaving behind just rauru who has an uncontrollable fascination and love for humans

oh, the whole game being propaganda and rauru just being some guy who took over also makes the timeline make sense again.

all the timeline we understand is still the same. but in the tens of thousands of years since those timeline, the zonai show up, subjugate everyone, mine all the zonaite and fuck off, but rauru encounters the hylians, becomes fascinated by them and stays behind, inserts himself into their existing mythology by renaming himself rauru (the sage of light from legend), meddling in the existing cycle of reincarnation between ganon, zelda, and link by sealing ganondorf in a way that disrupts the cycle and then long after he's gone and relegated to myth, his meddling results in the calamity because an infinity stone empowered ganondorf is chilling in the basement pouring malice into the world

what follows then is a cycle of fighting the recurring calamity aided by the shiekah tech, 10k years pass, the calamity happens again and then botw happens

link and zelda did explore under the castle and accidentally unsealed ganondorf, but where the propaganda that is the game says "oh and they saved the world with the help of rauru from the past!" in actuality, it's just a really typical loz story and they defeat ganon. zelda never actually went back in time or became a dragon, link never lost his arm and had it replaced with rauru's arm. They literally just didn't do basically any of the shit in the game. they just did a really normal post apocalyptic world saving like every reincarnation of them that came before

which is why when we see them after defeating ganondorf, they're just as they were before going under the castle

what the upheaval actually revealed was the proof of the zonai's existence and clues about how they subjugated the peoples of the past

[occasionallyprosie]

"Too Much Like Hell"

Link was more well-acquainted with death than anyone else, and it was not because he witnessed it so many times. It was because he experienced it more than any other and he still came back.

Febuwhump 2024 | Alt Prompt 6: Immortality

Read on AO3 Warnings: None (Barely even counts as angst tbh...)

He had been eight and wielding his uncle's blade naturally. He had been trained since he could walk to be a warrior after all. It didn't matter much against the lynels on Death Mountain though, he still was burned alive.

He had been twelve and drained of all life by Onyx. Din had nothing to do with his survival.

He had been fifteen when he drowned.

That was the last time he died.

He was nineteen when he met the heroes of past, adjacent, and future, and he was twenty when he said his goodbyes to them and went back to his era.

He had lost track of his age when he saw them again.

"Hey! Pikango!"

He looked over and saw a large group of warriors--men and boys--approaching his vantage point, one waving at him.

"Ah, Link," he slid his paintbrush behind his ear, "welcome back to Hyrule."

"Back--I'm not even asking how you know," Link laughed.

"Who's this, Champion?" Asked one of the men.

"Oh--This is Pikango, an artist from Kakariko. He's a great artist, better than the vet even!"

"Oh," one of the boys breathed.

'Pikango' met the boy's eyes and he just smiled.

As the heroes chattered and moved to go on, Link waving back at 'Pikango' as they did, the hero in red lingered.

"So old age isn't an option?" He asked. There was a ripple around the other and there stood what had to be a copy of the hero, only in traditional Sheikah garb.

"No," the Sheikah said.

"Goddesses." The Hero of Legend looked exhausted as he raised his eyes to the bright sky. "Why? I don’t want to be immortal."

The Kakariko painter just smiled. "Nobody does. It's a far more terrible fate than any I've seen before… and there is a certain point when they will deem your journey as finished but you'll still be here… just to watch the world go by."

"That sounds like hell."

"It is, in a way, but we're always meeting new people, making new friends, and exploring new lands."

"And watching them die, losing them, and seeing it be destroyed?"

"More often than I'd prefer. Once, Ganondorf came back, and there was no hero. I tried to step up, but they were clear." Two sets of crimson eyes met again. "I'm a story now, little more than a legend, but so long as that story is told I remain and so will you."

"Hey Veteran!" One of the other heroes called back. "Leave the elder alone!"

"Jump off a bridge, Captain!" the hero yelled back. He turned back to the painter. "No rest for the wicked then?"

The painter chuckled. "I'd say that the idiom 'Legends never die' is a tad more accurate."

He hummed, then looked back at the other heroes. "Do you want to talk to them? Drop the illusion?"

"I'll be alright." A ripple accompanied him retaking the form of a Sheikah elder. "It was good enough just to see them again."

The hero nodded before jogging after the group.

"What was that, collector?" Wild asked.

Legend shook his head. "Nothing. Just seeing if art changed over history, Nayru knows I can't talk to any of you about that."

Wild laughed. "Fair enough. Pikango is the best artist in all of Hyrule, no offense. He just is."

"If you say so," Legend hummed.

He glanced back and saw an old wolf joining the painter at the setting sun. The painter pet the old wolf and continued painting the sunset behind Satori Mountain.

"Hey Rancher," he called forward and Twilight looked back. "What's your thoughts on immortality? A blessing or a curse?"

The topic drew the attention of the group, confusing Twilight as well, but he thought about it.

"I don' think I'd like t'a outlive everyone," the rancher decided. "It sounds like an awful thing, t'be honest wit'ya, Vet."

"But you'd live forever!" Wind argued. "What if someday there were ships that could fly without magic?"

"Doubt it," Hyrule teased.

Legend looked up at the colorful sky and could see one of Wild's dragons flying overhead, the electric one. "I agree," he said, partially to Twilight, partially to all of them, and partially to the goddesses who made him. "It sounds just a little too much like hell."

Event Masterlist

[amelias-calamity-quintet]

The Convergence & Magic w/ Princess Zelda

Zelda: "You haven't heard of the Convergence? Ah, well, documenting Hyrule's past has been...difficult to say the least. We're fortune to live in a time where we have access to a good deal of our history, no small part to due to the events of the Convergence and the allies of Hyrule from that period.

"To put it simply, the Convergence was a cosmological event roughly a thousand years ago that occurred in response to the Divergence in eras past. This event remerged the split in time that the Divergence created, reinforced by a Wish made by the Hero and the Princess of that era to heal time. In the process, three timelines worth of magic were pushed into our singular one. Which has created a good deal of influx for magic.

"In the past, only a handful of people had regular access to magic: the Royal Family, Sages, and the like. However, since the Convergence, the appearance of Sages have almost vanished in the traditional sense. Instead, we've seen influx of mages, or more common magic users. There are still individuals suspected to be Sages, of course, but arcanely inclined lineages have also seen an increase in ability. It's why where previously individuals from my family tree who would only have access to divine magics now have had the opportunity to study the elemental schools of magic as well.

"It also means that there is more access to magic than ever before. Previously, most people could only use magic through divinely crafted relics, like those left behind for the Heroes. Now, research has allowed for mages to create their own enchanted items. Nothing on caliber of the creations of the Goddesses, but still a considerable step forward to the understanding of arcanum."

Marela: "I like the enchanted bags we invented the most, those are incredibly useful."

Zelda: "There are certainly a few creations I'm partial to myself. And our beginning research into teleportation has been incredibly fruitful. (L: "Beginning?") Much like with the Goddesses though, most people share a magical affinity that will determine the school of magic they're most easily able to work with. But that's of course a topic for another time."

Marela: "But it means there are all kinds of magic users now! Witches, priestesses, mages, not to mention the cultural practices that have developed. I hear the Gerudo have a practice for igniting their blades with the elements, that sounds awfully exciting. And of course, the Zora had been able to expand the tradition of armor crafting to include real magical enchantments, not just symbolic gestures."

Zelda: "It's allowed for several international advancements as well. Access to magic as allowed for the postal system and for banks to operate on scales never before possible, between nations. Not to mention the more local achievements made possible by using magic as an energy source, like the invention of the most recent model of pictobox."

Marela: "I've seen those, they can make the picture right there, you don't have to take them to the shops anymore to develop."

Zelda: "But on the matter of the Convergence and so much of modern advancement, we owe significant thanks to the documentation by the Dreeka. Their libraries have cataloged so much of our history, across the timelines, allowing all of this to be possible."

Marela: "I've heard they even have a full account of the Convergence, written by the Princess of the era. And that the translation took over a decade to complete."

Zelda: "I've read a part of it, it recently was returned for revision to the Dreeka enclave here in Hyrule. Perhaps that could be more elucidating for you on the particulars of the past."

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

Mark of a Hero (Updates on Tuesdays & Fridays, 1 of 9)

Hyrule is at peace, or so the Royal Family would have its people believe. Something is afoot in the kingdom, and someone needs to do something about it. Least likely would be Marksmen Link Sayre- a mercenary and monster hunter doing his best to get by. Until a job goes wrong, and he gets roped into the secret plans of Hyrule's princess. Now Link must play the part of the Hero to dive deeper into the mystery, and maybe stumble into a legend of his own.

AO3 - Wattpad

[gale-gentlepenguin]

Gale’s Theories: Ganondorf is not the same Ganondorf

Now if you have read that statement, you are probably VERY confused

What do I mean by that?

Well buckle up kiddos, I’m about to drop my theory on you.

Demon king Ganondorf from tears of the kingdom

Is not the same as Calamity Ganon

In fact he isn’t connected to the other Ganondorfs in the Zelda Timeline.

So Spoilers for tears of the kingdom.

The Demon King Ganondorf came to be 10000 years before the events of Tears of the kingdom. Around the founding of Hyrule, in the Age of King Rauru and Queen Sonia.

He killed the queen and stole her sage stone to become the monster that he is. The demon king

With his power, he nearly destroyed Hyrule. But he was sealed away by Rauru.

And eventually the seal gets undone. That results in the Gloom leaking out and Link and Zelda going to investigate, thus beginning the events of the game.

Now how can I say for sure that this Ganondorf isn’t the same as the Calamity Ganon, or that Calamity Ganon is not just a manifestation of THIS Ganondorf’s hatred.

Well it’s actually quite simple.

It revolves around Demise.

Demise, the Demon king that made the cycle that always has his hatred follow the blood of the princess and spirit of the hero.

Whenever that incarnation of Hate appears to cause trouble, it’s because Link and Zelda are both around or are coming.

This is the case in each game, EXCEPT for Tears of the kingdom.

Ganondorf didn’t manifest, the DK Ganondorf was sealed away by another person for 10000 years. There was no hero to confront and fight this Ganondorf back then. In fact, Zelda only shows up in that past AFTER they met him in the depths, altering history and causing her appearance as a dragon in the game. Zelda and Link wondered into this Demon King’s whole agenda, his beef wasn’t with Link or Zelda. If it was, Ganondorf, who would have had the memories of his previous lives would have KNOWN Zelda and Link prior to meeting them. He would have probably gone after them first.

But he didn’t, this Ganondorf arrogantly fought Link not as a nemesis he clashed with before like with his other iterations, but as some sort of annoyance that his true enemy warned him about.

And there is an important piece of dialogue that was in breath of the wild.

“He has Given up on Reincarnation.”

This form is no longer human or any sort of mortal. Calamity Ganon was the incarnation of Demise’s hate and the evil being that the hero of hyrule and princess were bound to fight.

The Demon king Ganondorf and Calamity Ganon are not the same.

If we even want to go further. The evil miasma that DK Ganondorf is responsible for is called Gloom,

While the Dark miasma that Calamity Ganon makes is called Malice. Both treated as different things in the Zelda universe

But before you all say

“But Gale, in Botw, it mentions Calamity Ganon appeared 10,000 years ago and Demon King Ganondorf appeared back then.”

Both can be correct, because, Calamity Ganon, appeared before Ganondorf.

Totk took place 5-7 years after BOTW.

Meaning, that Calamity Ganon appeared and was defeated by the Link and Zelda of that time with the Shiekah tech.

It’s likely the fight decimated hyrule but was stated as a success since Ganon was defeated.

Then the Zonai appeared likely seeing the aftermath and brought their tech, resulting in the Refounding of hyrule.

Ganondorf appears and pulls his bulls*** and bam. The imprisoning war.

After Mineru vanishes there were no more Zonai to help with the tech and thus useless and likely the ancient sheikah tech was lost to time. Thus 100 years prior to botw, the rediscovery of that Sheikah tech. Which was less complicated so it was easier to rediscover.

And that tech was eventually scrapped After Calamity Ganon was defeated so the guardians and Beasts could not be taken advantage of again.

[legofanguy1999]

This is a entry for @zelinktines24 event day 20: Diary. I was going to use Zelda’s Diary from Breath of the Wild, but I realized that it would be unoriginal, so I made a diary of Link and Zelda learning of the struggle of past heroes which Zelda write down.

HYRULE DAY 2/19....

‘Bit by bit, I’ve gotten Link to open up to me, and he tell me why he so quiet when he was a bit of a chatterbox in her youth. Since he pull the sword out when he was twelve years old and the ceremony in the castle that was hold in his honor, Link was put through training to be at his peak and he was discouraged in seeing his destiny as a soft of childish game, and he couldn’t make any friends among the knights, whose look at him with envy, not respect or kindness as he thought he would have just like the heroes of the past. It could be those knights wanted to be the one with the glory of being the hero and be praise by all of Hyrule. On some nights, Link would hear a voice in his sleep that he thought he was thinking up because of his stress as it sound like a woman voice, maybe his own mother, trying to comfort him that the heroes went through things similar to what he going through. Our talk about the sword made Link realized that the voice he has been hearing is the sword itself. In the meantime, Link feels it necessary to be silent and never show any emotion and I realized that he was cursed with the burden of saving Hyrule just like I have. I always believed him to be simply a gifted person who had never faced a day of hardship, but I realized how wrong I was and I put his childish anger out at him, which end up making things wrong for Link’s mindset as it made him wonder why most of Hyrule Knights and princess hate him.’

‘Link told me of what the sword told him about its, or rather her, past masters and their struggles, which the legends didn’t show. The sword first master struggles with Hylia putting her faith on him and a childhood friend he loved to defeat a powerful demon king when he was a newly graduated knight. The Hero of Time, one of the most famous hero in Hyrule legends, lost a father figure when he was nine years old and accidentally open a door to great power to a king of evil, brining a decade of darkness to Hyrule until he come to save it, but he was mentally scar for the horrors that the king of evil did on Hyrule. The successors of the Hero of Time, the Hero of the Wind and the Hero of Twilight, worry about being the legend that he was while they only started their quest to rescue a younger sibling whose was taken from them by monsters, and a woman they loved risk their life to help save him from the king of evil, whose first see them as weak copies of the Hero of Time. A hero saved the princess of his era from a corrupted noble whose made him a outlaw in Hyrule, which made his quest to stop the evil noble harder and give him some self doubt about other people that he left Hyrule after his quest. A hero whose raise in the aftermath of the Imprisoning War struggles with his destiny and his growing feelings for Princess Zelda as they bond over the lost of their parents. Even the hero whose fought Calamity Ganon centuries ago with the Guardians that are being unearthed now struggles with the demons of the king to make him and his daughter, the Princess Zelda of that time, read to face Ganon. It was thanks to the Guardians and the champions at that era which allow both the hero and Princess Zelda to seal Calamity Ganon away, but I wonder if history is going to repeat itself when our battle against Calamity Ganon come.’

‘Anyway, I was so absorbed with my own problems that I failed to see his problems. I start to feel a soul similar to mine, one whose was rob of a childhood just so Hyrule would have a figure to defend itself. I wish for us to share our demons more, and maybe we will have a happy ending when all of this is over with.’

[justapixelthing]

OFFICIAL TITLE AND PLOT REVEAL: The Legend of Zelda - Remnants of the Past

I've teased my original Zelda story for a bit and now I'm finally revealing what it is about! It'll be a mixture of writing and game-like pixel art. I wanted to reveal this right before Linktober, as I might show more concepts during the month.

Chapter 1 Release Date: TBA

Read the plot on the second picture, or down below:

"Set on a 4th timeline split from Ocarina of Time, the King and Queen of the past (who are in fact Link, the Hero of Time and Zelda, the Princess of Destiny from the events of Ocarina of Time) prophesied the return of Ganon, who had once brutally taken over Hyrule until being defeated by them. As Ganon was not to return in their lifetime, they ended up leaving several clues and remnants of their knowledge, in hope to one day guide potential successors from beyond the afterlife.

Generations passed by and since in this timeline the hero of time had not been sent back in time to relive his childhood, his spirit was eventually reborn into the body of a new young hero, also named Link. Fate brought him to be present at the birthday celebration of the young princess of Hyrule, also named Zelda. Like her ancestor, she had a bit of an idea of what was to come. Paired with strange occurrences all over Hyrule, Zelda felt that the dawn of Ganon’s return was upon them, although not everyone was willing to believe the teenage princess yet. After all Hyrule had seen a pleasant and strong era of peace that seemed almost endless.

Luckily Link was on her side and willing to help her plan out a way to convince everyone, especially the King of Hyrule. And they would not be alone. While Zelda would research the history of her ancestors, Link would gain the support of the Oracles of Courage, Wisdom and Power, but also the descendants of people who had once aided the Hero of Time in the past.

Yet once Ganon did return, something happened that no one could have expected…

In another timeline, one without a hero, Hyrule ended up being destroyed forever. Would history repeat itself, or could the fate of Hyrule be changed? It was in the hands of the hero of hope, the princess of the present and their allies."

[cafecourage]

The Tree of Legacy - Chapter 2

Previous chapter - Next Chapter

There are many stories passed through the generations of Hyrule, of heroes and of gods. The first ever dated legend happened many era’s after the Calamity in the time of myth. While historians do debate on the legitimacy of these stories, none can argue with the story of the Creation of Hyrule. When humans return to the surface.

As Hyrule grew, information became muddled together. One could wish that a better system would have been implemented to keep things organized. At last, that’s not the world that Link lives in annoyingly so.

Hands lowered down as green eyes scanned the classroom. Students hurried away writing what notes their professor just wrote on the board and signed to them. It was a class of fifteen in a small cozy room, bookshelves lined the cobblestone walls, the biggest light source was in the front of the room behind the teacher’s desk, the light from this giant window filtered through. Link leaned over to look at some notes he wrote for this class. His shadow made it easier to read against the dark oak table.

It was the homeroom for his class. Link’s class topic was simply ‘the Heroes of Hyrule.’ It was a topic that most youths training to be knights love to talk about. ‘Though talking isn’t the same as learning about them.’ Link thought to himself with an exasperated sigh as he closed a leather-bound notebook, hoping that this class's lecture came across well enough. Even with the knowledge given to the people of Hyrule, information has been lost and what was kept are stories about nameless knights saving nameless princesses. In the common person's head these debatably real individuals were only wife’s tales that didn’t need to be complex. Stories to scare children into behaving or to give them hope in the world.

Noticing a figure in the corner of his eyes, Link could only hold back a sigh as he turned back towards his class. ‘It’s the scarred one again’ they all have scars to an extent, but this spirit’s scar was the first thing he always noticed about him. It was unlike the Champions where it’s the entire right side of his body, this one was different.

This man appears differently each time he shows up in the corner of Link’s vision. When Link first met him when he was ten and the hero was of the same age. Then when growing up he has seen him as a young adult and now as a fully grown man around his 50’s. No matter what the age was he always had a scar on his right eye that kept it permanently closed.

“Professor!” Link’s train of thought paused as a young Lurelian girl had her hand raised. “I have a question about the final paper.” Aryll Lynde, she was someone that Link grew up with as he went to class with one of her brothers. Link gestures for her to continue. “Can we add on to our last year's paper?”

‘As I wrote on the board,’ He walks to the chalkboard with their class assignment. A lot of teachers would argue that his teaching wasn’t the best. There are no tests and no true homework. However at the end of the class the students are to construct an essay about a portion of Hyrule’s vast history with research to back up their statement. He only asks for them to hand in something for periodic check-ins. ‘Hero’s aren’t the only thing in Hyrule’s history. Instead of limiting you to one topic, if something in this class or classes in the past year catches your eye then go for it. So yes Aryll you can research the minish forest and the inhabitants.’ He signs smiling.

A knock rang out. He looks up to see a familiar looking blonde woman in a blue turtleneck and a lab coat. Zelda. A fellow teacher of the academy and the Princess of Hyrule. She had her arms crossed as she leaned on the arch, gesturing her head towards the grandfather clock.

It read Eleven o’clock.

Link stiffens, pales and shoots an apologetic look to Zelda. She shakes her head laughing softly pushing off of the arch. Clapping gets the students attention. “Alright everyone. Your professor has torture you enough about curses and hero’s tales.” She finally arrives at the front of the class, stopping and turning around. “It’s time for class to be over.” Link quickly flipped through his notebook and nudged Zelda showing her the homework the students had to do. “And be sure to have your final paper topic’s in for the check up next week!” She yells after the students who were packing up, giggling and whispering at their professor’s flustered expression.

After the last students, Oha and Buiell, thanked him for the class and hurried out. Link braced for impact. ‘I’m sorry’ he signed.

Zelda gave out another airy laugh, “I figured much. So, I came to help those poor souls.” She holds out her hand. “Come on. We have to catch this train if we want to have enough time at the temple. Do you have your stuff ready?”

Link rolled his eyes and took her hand after throwing his bag over his shoulder.

The streets of Hyrule’s Castle Town was as busy as ever. The pair held hands while weaving through crowds, Zelda was on a small rectangular slate that was a family heirloom from the Hero of Wild. From what she told him it was called the Sheikah Slate adding her two cents right after on how it wasn’t the best name for it. Either way it played a vital role in the last Hero’s adventure, and since it still works all the same Zelda is now using it to document and compare the ancient tech to the new. The small device also contained a lot of documentation from the Hero of the Wilds Era. Which caused this interest into the Forgotten Temple in the first place.

The dream is still in the back of his mind though and going to the Forgotten Temple made his stomach drop. It’s not like he didn’t want to go. He would have loved to do some personal research on the heroes without the feeling of existential dread.

“-Ether way, I just want to make sure everything is ok.” Ah. He zoned out on Zelda’s briefing. She looks over her shoulder. “Are you feeling good?” Link nods, lying about the bubbling anxiety he was feeling. “It will be quick, then we can come back for the start of the Festival of Farore.”

‘That’s today?’ He totally forgot. ‘I thought Claus was just coming home.’

“He is. But it’s also the Festival.” She turned back to her slate. “Which is also why Vita and Iris couldn’t come with us.” He just hums in acknowledgment. They fall into a comfortable silence as Zelda subconsciously swings their locked hands together gently. Occasionally the Princess would show him some old pictures from the past. Annotating with musings on how things changed in 500 years. Which was true, it was interesting and is why the Forgotten Temple would be nice to examine.

The Forgotten Temple.

As the name implies was an abandoned ruin that the people of Hyrule could only assume was a temple at one point. Due to its architecture and how it housed the oldest Goddess Statue in all of Hyrule. A lot of the scholars of Hyrule couldn’t date it and theorized that the ruins were here after Hylian’s settled down in the area. There wasn’t much to it after the Hero of Wilds got rid of the remaining guardians for the last time.

Even then there wasn’t much here to begin with. The Goddess statue wasn’t anything special. There were journals talking about the shrine that lay under the ground after the calamity was defeated but that would be almost impossible to dig up without ruining the structure.

However, that was not what Zelda wanted to come here for. Shockingly. Link really thought it was with how obsessed his friend was with ancient tech. If he was honest, he still had no clue on why they were there in the first place. The Doctor said that something was bothering her for a while now about this place and that was it. He was brought along because of his knowledge of the history of Hyrule’s past.

A green haze started to form in his vision, subconsciously Link rubs his eyes. “I guess I was wrong.” Zelda lowered the old slate in her hands.

‘Was there something here in the first place?’ Link looks around at the limestone structures. ‘The whole place looks like it’s been flipped upside down.’ An offhand comment since the ceiling really did look like the flooring to the place and vice versa.

A lightbulb almost physically lit up in her head and she looked up, then to the flooring. “Goddess your right.” Now with new found inspirations he watched as she bounced around the room to taking pictures. He rolls his eyes and looks up observing the walls. There was truly nothing here.

A blue glow from above caught his eye as he faced the back wall of the temple. There was a hole in the wall it was coming from. There was scaffolding leading up from a previous venture inside and was left so others could get through. He turns and whistles for Zelda’s attention. She faces him confused at first but seeing what he was pointing at her eyes widens. “Just as I thought.” She bolted towards him. “Come on.”

‘Just as you thought?’ He signed quickly catching up to her.

“I had this feeling something weird was happening here.” She admitted as they climbed up the wooden structure. “It’s not dangerous obviously. However, I knew I couldn’t ignore it.”

They walked to the edge of the crack facing the other side of the temple. The blue glow was in the last room where the goddess statue stood tall. Green haze came back into Link's vision making him shut it. Anxiety bubbled up. He didn’t want to see anymore. No more spirits. No more memories that weren’t his. No more dissociative episodes. He took a deep breath when he opened his eyes again. Ignoring the questioning gaze of Zelda and continued forward.

The hollow corpses of guardians always put him on edge but seeing them in this second room was unnerving. There was so much damage to the temple and it was clear that most of it was from the automated tanks. It was a shame really.

“Hey Link?” Zelda stopped before the goddess statue room where the blue glow was. He turned to her concern writing on his face. “I…” She desperately tried to look for the right words to say. But instead, just shook her head. “Let’s hope that we find something interesting.” Link stared blankly at her as she walked past. There was no doubt in his mind that she wanted to say something different at that moment, but confronting her about it wasn’t something he wanted to do.

So, he just followed her in.

The statue room was the smallest room in the temple. There was an indentation in the ground where the shrine used to be and was subsequently covered up due to the 500 years that have passed since then. But in its spot were 3 dark blue rectangular crystals. It wasn’t a luminous stone or sapphire, but something that Link had never seen before. There were markings that reminded him of the markings on the few shrines he saw in pictures. The light blue glow disappears when they get closer.

“Do you recognize this?” He shook his head. “Same.” Zelda bent down as Link hovered around her, not sure how to help. Looking around there was much to the surrounding area that was new. Until he stopped to look at the base of the goddess statue to see a small golden harp resting at the base. However, when he turns to let Zelda know, she was in the process of tapping the gem with her knuckle.

One hit made the room explode in light and color as a blue bubble formed around them. Everything that was in the case inside the orb had time turned on it. What once was a yellow stone walkway turned into a marbled garden path up to the statue. The ceiling became open and sunlight shined through. Everything outside was what it was in their present. “A time-shift stone…” Zelda whispers as a soft harp melody slowly fills the room. They both stared up here and turned to the base of the goddess statue.

There was a sandy blonde-haired man standing at the base holding the harp. He couldn’t be older than 45, wearing a cream knit sweater, brown pants and a soft white cape with an old version of the Hylian crest embroidered in. He pauses and turns around.

“It’s nice to see you again Professor” the older man wore a gentle smile towards Link. Gears started to turn in his head.

“Who…how...” Zelda was as speechless as Link.

“My Queen had a vision that we would meet again, Hero of Legacy.”

There was a pause as the two started to process the information. Link and Zelda shared a glance as the same thought ran through their heads as the Queen's Prophecy.

“The Hero will awaken with the blessings of the Goddess. He, who had already befriended my daughter, will help in their fight with the darkness.”

The dots slowly connect. The dreams and spirits were a blessing. A blessing from a goddess. This man was an early King of Hyrule. The King must have picked up the confusion as he continued. “Link you are the Hero of this generation,” it wasn’t a question to the situation. “Your journey will have you travel throughout time and space-”

“Hold on” Zelda was the first to cut in, “who are you and what do you mean to travel time and space?”

“Time travel.” The King replied quickly “I don’t have all the answers but I know he would need to time travel back and to help the heroes of Hyrule’s history.”

“So, to be transparent here. You don’t actually know what he needs to do to get back in time.” Zelda’s statement caught the King of guard. His expression turned bashful as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“I only know one way to time travel and I can assure you he didn’t use that.”

Zelda sighs and faces Link “This isn’t my forte. What do you think Link?”

Link wanted to sass her but kept his hands to his side. There were a lot of items that can theoretically time travel. The Harp of Ages and the Ocarina of Time were the top two that came to mind. However, both are lost to the ages. The Gate of time was a myth and the War of Era had the help of the Guardians of Time. Help is a strong word to use. Link paused his train of thought.

He was the hero of this Era.

‘Wait are you sure I’m the hero?’ He signed.

“We can only assume you are,” Zelda said exasperated. “We’ll get to it, when we get to it.”

“It was you Professor.” The King said with confidence. “You were the one who, I met on my adventure.”

“Adventure?”

Alarms triggered in Link’s mind.

‘Are you the first King of Hyrule?’ His hands were shaking as he panicked, but the King just stared at him.

“I- uh… can’t understand you.” The king was back to being sheepish. “You had someone else acting as your voice, and when they weren’t there, I had a companion who learned that translation for me.”

Zelda fills in, “he asked if you were the First King of Hyrule.”

“Ah. Yes, that’s me- well kind of.” King paused to think about it. “Hyrule isn’t established yet on the surface.”

He tugged on Zelda’s lab sleeves ‘He’s The Hero of the Skies.’ Link added the context. ‘He was the reincarnation of a Hylian knight that fought alongside Hylia here during the war against the demon god Demise.’ His signs were messy and quickly, Zelda grabbed his hands and lowered them.

“I didn’t come here for a history lesson, Link.” She said pinching the bridge of her nose “and what I’m getting from this whole conversation. Is that Link is the next iteration of the hero and we need to figure out how to time travel back to meet the other heroes?”

“I don’t know about the others. From what my wife has spoken to me about. Yes.”

‘Then the question is how, I’m assuming your way was the gate of time?’

“He asked about the Gate of Time.”

“That is no more, but I know this.” The King holds up to play a short song on the harp. A part of Link screamed with recognition as he was pushed into a green haze.

Ocarina notes flow around him as he hears a child’s voice “If something should happen to you, remember this song...” it almost sounded like Zelda when they were children. “The Goddess of Time is protecting you. If you play the Song of Time, she will aid you..."

Was that it? The Song of Time?

Link feels the presence of the Hero from the Dream again as he stares into the hazy void. There were others there as well, but he didn’t know which was who.

He was asked to focus on something but he couldn’t pinpoint the voice. But the hand he was holding was warm. He closed his eyes and focused on that warmth trying to steady his breath.

“Jus- … ld- end” the voice slowly dissipates the fog. His breath was steadying out.

“Lin…” Zelda. It was Zelda. He opened his eyes as he was facing down to the floor. “There we go.”

Link lifts his head and relaxes his shoulders. ‘Sorry.’ He was shaking, ‘that was the Song of Time, correct?”

“Link-“Zelda wanted to argue but he put a hand up.

‘We might not have enough time to keep talking about this.’

Her lip tightened and sighs. “Right. Fine. But we can’t ignore this.” There is a threatening tone in her voice that made him flinch when attention was off of him. “He asked if that song was the Song of Time.”

“Yes, I think?” The King also was startled now that he was under Zelda’s harsh gaze. “Zel- Er, my wife taught it to me.” The bubble began to shrink slowly as they were running out of time. Noticing this the King held out the Harp smiling. “Though it won’t help you please take the Goddess Harp.”

The duo stared at it for a second. Link took a breath and nudged Zelda to her ancestor. ‘It’s your family's instrument not mine.’

She scoffs and rolls her eyes. “You’re the apparent Hero, you should have the honor.” The tone was teasing as she stepped forward to take the golden harp. “Thank you for meeting with us.”

“I’m still shocked that I got a chance to meet you both.” The King smiled “but I’m happy we did,” as the bubble quickly shrunken down and he disappeared.

There was a pause between the pair now that they were truly alone. Zelda slowly turned around with a smile that gave Link a shiver down his spine. “You got a lot of explaining to do, mister.”

[sapientiiae]

“Twice? No. The correct answer would be thrice,” came her quick and sarcastic retort as she once again bat her lashes at the male and offered a saccharine smile. In truth, she did attempt to keep the peace. When she had butted heads with people in the past, it had been her father and the Royal Court more than anyone else. But she had a kingdom and its people to protect, which meant occasionally having to put her foot down when an outside force threatened one of the two (or both).

Her golden brows furrow as she gives an uncertain shake of her head, mulling over his question. “I cannot say for certain. But based off the information we received from Lana, her…counterpart…she seemed to exist outside of space and time. My assumption is centuries back…perhaps to the start of it all?” Not that Lana had ever confirmed or given exact details, but she’d confessed to having seen enough to understand the reincarnation cycle and know the hero and the princess were destined to always fight alongside each other.

Thinking back on it, the story might sound a bit ridiculous if Hyrule wasn’t known for suffering such unique plights. At least Link didn’t seem to think her mad from such an unusual story.

Instead, he was…complimenting her — in a round about sort of way. She might have snorted in response, were it not for the fact that such a reaction was not princess-like and might only draw attention to them in their less than favorable situation. “You seem to think I wanted Cia to mark a target over my head,” she scoffed, giving an exaggerated roll of her eyes at the hero; though she knew she could not recall ever reading such a bizarre story when studying Hyrule’s history. “Also, we did still find ourselves tangled in battle against Ganondorf. I am certain you will not be surprised to learn that he played a hand in the corruption of the sorceress.”

She had little time to prepare before his hand was clutched around her own and he launched himself forward, tugging her with him. The princess made quick work of the minor adjustments that would be needed to land, ideally without injury. Her own grasp on his hand was tight to keep them from separating as she forced the rest of her muscles in her body to relax in preparation of the impact, knowing staying loose would help her body to absorb the shock.

Well. He had only known this Zelda for all of half an hour, and already Link linked her -- as well as could tell she truly was the descendent of Hylia. He couldn't help but grin at her answer. "I see you haven't thought twice about butting heads with people who don't agree with, then." How else would she have a list of enemies near a mile wide?

While Link was more than certain that whoever considered her an enemy was probably not a person worth caring about, he also couldn't help but feel that maybe she could benefit from a little bit of extra... tact in her approach.

Her story, at least, was a new one. "I wonder how far back this sorceress looked." The involvement between the Princess and the Hero could be traced back to his own relationship with Hylia, though there had never been a direct connection between the two. More just -- a parallel, one that had been endlessly repeated with each incarnation.

Of course, not all of them found themselves romantically intwined with the other. Plenty of princesses had married others, and most Heroes had just left after helping to save Hyrule, going on to find their future elsewhere. But enough had found themselves drawn to one another that Link could imagine it causing more than a few hurt feelings if this sorceress had really become... hyperfocused.

"I have to give you points on ingenuity. Most other Zeldas simply find themselves stuck in the battle against Ganondorf time and again. IT's a little refreshing to hear something new."

Another glance confirmed that the way forward was clear, or at least seemed to be. No point in hesitation - he reached back to grasp her hand before straightening and jumping to the ground.

[fatefulfaerie]

Hello Fate! Congrats on that awesome milestone!!! I'd like to request some soft fluffy TP Zelink please :)

This took so dang long and like not even for writing reasons I just have trouble committing to writing these days (I still love it I'm just a mess). I'm becoming so scatterbrained! Here is exactly 1,000 words:

Zelda sat on her throne, in likely a more unceremonious and improper way than ever before. Her rear end was cushioned not by specially-made fabrics but by the lap of the man she married, her arms looped around his neck like a loose shawl.

“You’re in my seat,” she said playfully, with the elegant and yet childlike hook of a question that needed no answer.

Link snaked his arms around her waist to hold her closer, and Zelda shifted willingly, draping her bent knees over an arm of the throne and snuggling into his warm chest.

“Okay,” was all Link said in response.

“Link,” Zelda said with a giggle, withdrawing slightly to find his eyes when his fingers had begun to drift to places meant for private interactions. “Suppose someone comes in to talk to the King and Queen of Hyrule. What will they think?”

Link was absolutely enamored by her, Zelda’s blue eyes putting him in some sort of trance. Soon, Zelda too, was swimming in his eyes. Her forehead tipped to meet his.

Link never answered her question, breathing life not into words but into the kiss she began. Although to them, the ensuing, prolonged kisses seemed to freeze time, like the whole world could collapse around them and nothing would change, their guest was less lucky. The ten seconds Shad stood there simple watching them kiss seemed like minutes, awkward minutes that ticked slowly as he held himself in regret.

It was twice he breathed to interrupt them before Zelda noticed his presence, clearing her throat, composing herself, and sitting down on Link’s throne.

“Apologies for the interruption,” Shad said politely and meekly, as if he had walked into their private chambers. “But the texts you’ve me to look over…to translate…”

His words ebbed off in hesitation as he timidly reworked his grasp on the loosely bound tome he held.

“It isn’t the language of the Oocoo, it’s ages older,” Shad explained. “I think it may be the language of their ancestors.”

“Well that’s no surprise,” Zelda argued. “Their city alone is indicative of great age and decay. Surely, there were beings there perhaps even before Hyrule was established.”

Shad nodded.

“Yes, Your Highness,” Shad agreed. “That is why the content of the tome is so…unsettling.”

Zelda’s brow knitted.

“What do you mean ‘unsettling’?” Link asked.

Shad stammered as he looked down at the book.

“Hyrule has had its share of prophets and of course it’s lean on the details, but close enough to give one pause…”

He looked at the King and Queen as if they could read his mind, before he remembered he often had to elaborate more when he saw that kind of look on a person’s face.

“It’s history,” he explained, partly enthused, partly terrified. “Hyrule’s history, the kingdom being built, the Hyrulean Civil War, the Hero of Time, Ganondorf’s execution, even the invasion of Twilight, all written about in a language that’s so old that I wouldn’t even know how to begin to speak it. Someone in the past either knew everything or was really lucky on guessing because…”

He faltered again, almost laughing at how ridiculously accurate it was until he looked up to see Link and Zelda having a silent conversation of shared confused glances.

“The Temple of Time is evidence enough of the possibility,” Link said, as if picking up the ability to speak somewhere in the middle of their interaction. “But even then time travel doesn’t need to be in play for us to receive a warning like this. Hylia herself could have forged these words.”

“But why?” Zelda asked. “To warn us? Granted our victory against Zant and Ganondorf was no small feat but it wasn’t anything Hyrule didn’t handle in the end.”

Link’s mouth was leaning into his hands as he parsed through what was being said.

“It’s a show of faith,” he finally said after a moment. “We’ll have more reason to believe what is predicted to happen after us if whoever wrote it correctly wrote of everything else before us.”

“Is there anything after the Invasion of Twilight?” Zelda asked Shad, who nodded.

“My translation is rough,” he said. “And I don’t have all of it certain but…”

Shad leafed through several pages.

“Before the last sun sets on the…golden land…Hyrule will…fall like sinking sand,” Shad read slowly, before hesitating and looking up. “I-I can get more with more time with the language.”

“How long does it say we have?” Zelda asked, her hand placed on Link’s.

“Uhh” Shad said as he flipped back to the beginning. “Based on how they formatted our early history I’d say…several thousand years, give or take a hundred.”

Zelda and Link both breathed a sigh of relief. 

“Retranslate it into current Hylian and put it in the archives.”

“Are you sure?” Shad asked. “In our current Hylian it will read like any historical document. The prophecy will look like conjecture.”

Shad looked as if he wanted to object further, but he wasn’t one to argue with royalty any more than he already had. If the years turned back and Link was an Ordonian swordsman and Zelda was a not-yet-coronated princess, he might suggest that they weren’t understanding the full significance of this find because they would rather get back to sitting in the same throne.

He pursed his lips nonetheless and nodded.

“But I will do as you ask,” he spoke sincerely, stepping back into a bow. “Your Majesties.”

“Thank you, Shad,” Zelda said with kindness. “Your wisdom is appreciated, as always.”

Shad left them, obviously still uncomfortable, and Link and Zelda both silently decided that was enough of the affectionate touches for the day. First Auru, and now Shad had awkwardly walked in and out of the throne room that was supposed to be a welcoming and safe environment.

“I’m still in your throne,” Link said, voicing the only issue with going about the rest of the day normally.

“I know,” Zelda voiced with a bashful smirk.

[skyloftian-nutcase]

Breath of the Sky Ch5 v2 (Skyward Sword fanfic)

Hey all, so like I said I combined chapters a little bit on Ao3, so this is technically the new chapter 5.

Summary: When Princess Zelda goes to the Spring of Courage to pray,  accompanied by her appointed knight, a giant magical cog spitting out a  goddess is the last thing she expects, but it is what she gets.  Meanwhile, the Spirit Maiden Zelda is trying to figure out what the  heck is happening and where her missing husband/chosen hero is.  

First chapter

<<Previous chapter // Next chapter>>

Click here to read on Ao3

Chapter 5 (v2): Link and Zelda

“Did you know that Hylia is, in fact, in the flesh because she is from the past?”

Zelda watched her father in amazement. “The past?”

She had to admit, the thought hadn’t crossed her mind. It seemed more like Hylia coming from the heavens to express her disappointment in Zelda’s lack of ability to awaken her powers, but this was a far more logical and preferable explanation. It made so much sense that she felt like an idiot for not considering it – the flesh-bound goddess had no inkling of who Zelda or Link were, only her own Hero. Of course they were both from the same time – Hylia had spoken of Link being her husband, and legend claimed that the first king of Hyrule could have been the Hero himself.

The crushing dread that had been weighing her down disappeared, and the void was instead filled with excitement. Zelda had so many questions, and she wished it was polite to ask them of the goddess and the Hero. Without the thought of the goddess demanding Zelda fulfill her duty, this was absolutely fascinating.

“Yes,” her father continued with a sage nod, though his eyes sparkled with excitement. Zelda hadn’t seen this much life in him for many years. “We will have a celebration for them. Can you believe it, Zelda? The first King and Queen of Hyrule, Hylia herself and the original legendary Hero! This is destiny!”

Hearing her father speak the word destiny made it feel like a rock just dropped into her stomach. Zelda had to admit, it was certainly something. Shaking her head to rid it of any thought of anybody’s destinies, she instead wished she could speak to them and learn their wisdom, learn of the past and how Hyrule was founded (the history annals did not go back that far – their era was relegated to myth). But at the moment both were sequestered in the quarters her father had provided them so the Hero could properly recover. She supposed she would have to wait.

As the princess left her father to make preparations for the party, she wandered aimlessly through the castle. She glanced out the window and saw knights training, and she stopped dead in her tracks.

 Link! Oh, I must talk to him about this.

The princess searched high and low around the castle. Link was likely outside practicing his swordsmanship, as he often did when he had nothing pressing. When she searched the common training areas, however, she had little luck finding him. Growing curious, she wondered if he’d left the castle and gone into town. There was only one other place to look before jumping to that conclusion.

Gathering her courage, she headed for Link’s room in the knights’ barracks. She paused at the door, her heart fluttering. This was a little unbecoming of a princess, going to the barracks at all, but she wanted to talk to him. She probably should have sent a servant to retrieve him, though.

Zelda shook her head. It didn’t matter. Link was one of the few people she could actually confide in and trust. After the Yiga incident, she’d been opening up to him more and he’d seemed receptive to it. Her previous assumptions about him thinking little of her didn’t hold water, and she’d actually gotten him to speak just last week.

Taking a deep breath, the princess knocked on the door. She was about to knock again when it opened to reveal her missing knight.

“May I… may I come in?” she asked, still feeling very out of place and just a little frazzled at the circumstances.

Link stepped aside, looking tired but attentive. Zelda noticed the dark circles under his eyes as she passed. When she was inside, he faced her, back straight, hands clasped behind him.

“Close the door, please.” Zelda requested. She knew this would make their predicament even more inappropriate, but she didn’t want everyone listening in on their conversation.

She really should have just sent for him.

Link did as he was told and then watched her again.

“So,” Princess Zelda started awkwardly. She fiddled with her long sleeves and then smoothed her dress. Then she noticed he hadn’t moved. “Oh—um, you can sit down, you know, and—”

To make him more comfortable with the idea, she sat down so they’d be at eye level. She immediately realized she’d sat down on his bed, and she hopped to her feet just as Link reached for a chair, her face flaming red.

“U-um, but I—no, no, please still sit, Link I—oh, this is just—” Zelda continued to stammer, completely flustered. Her knight’s face, though still neutral, seemed to soften, and his eyes sparkled in the dim light. Her heart raced even more.

 For heaven’s sake, you are the Princess of Hyrule, pull yourself together! What is wrong with me?!

Snapping her mouth shut so tightly it was audible, Zelda forced herself to sit on Link’s bed. Slowly, Link pulled out the chair he had grabbed and seated himself across from her.

And then they stared at each other.

Groaning internally, Zelda tried to just restart the conversation in order to forget the entire embarrassing ordeal.

“I wanted to talk about yesterday.” She started. Link, usually unreadable, shifted slightly, his fingers briefly fiddling with his tunic. “I wanted to share my thoughts about it, and what I’ve just learned from my father.”

Link stilled, waiting attentively.

Zelda cleared her throat uncomfortably. She used to ramble on occasion to Impa, but that girl was so put together that Zelda felt like a fool for doing so. Since deciding that, she’d kept her anxieties to herself until recently, until she’d realized Link was in the same predicament. It felt… good to talk about it with someone, but it didn’t make it any less awkward sometimes.

“Well, I… you know, at first I thought she had to have been here for me,” she started uneasily, looking at her hands fiddling with her dress in her lap. “I wondered if… if she was here to guide me or, more likely, if she was here to rebuke me. But… Link, I just learned—” here she looked up to make eye contact with him, “that she’s from the past.”

Link blinked. Then it clicked, Zelda could practically see the lantern light in his eyes. His eyebrows rose a little.

“Don’t you see?” Zelda pressed excitedly, her nerves dissolving. “She doesn’t know about us! That’s why she was so hostile, Link – she was looking for her Hero, she knows nothing about us! She wasn’t here for me, or for you – she’s here for him!”

Link crinkled his brow for a moment before relaxing. Zelda, keen on watching his reactions after realizing why he tried so desperately to maintain a neutral façade, asked, “What is it?”

Link bit his lip. His voice was soft and unsure when he spoke. “Begging your pardon for my ignorance, Your Highness, but… isn’t Hylia also known as the Goddess of Time?”

Zelda eyed him confusedly. “Yes.”

“So, then… wouldn’t she be able to see into the future and know us anyway?”

Zelda opened her mouth, ready to explain, a finger in the air, and then paused.

Wait, could she…? But then… what?

“Well, I…” she tried, putting her hand to her chin in thought. “I don’t actually know. Maybe? But she clearly didn’t recognize us.”

“Is Your Highness certain she is the goddess Hylia?” Link asked softly, eyes discerning. He clearly had been thinking about this for a while.

Zelda lowered her hand as she nodded with certainty. “Absolutely. She told my father as much.”

Link’s gaze fell to his lap briefly before he returned his attention to her.

“It’s… I don’t really know, Link,” Zelda said, rising and hugging herself, filled with energy. Link rose as well, and she didn’t bother telling him to sit. “I thought… well, I thought things made sense for a moment. I’ll have to research this more thoroughly. Perhaps the library will have information on the matter.”

Yes. Yes, that was exactly what she needed. She needed information, not her own thoughts buzzing around in her mind. She could figure this out. She would.

The princess headed for the door, filled with purpose, when she paused as her hand touched the doorknob. Turning, she looked at Link. “Are… are you okay?”

Link swallowed, saying nothing. When Zelda continued to watch him, he finally relented. “It’s… a lot to take in.”

“But it’s the Hero!” Princess Zelda said helpfully with a smile. “He… I mean…”

Well, she wasn’t really sure what she meant by that. She wasn’t really sure what was to happen. She wasn’t sure what any of this meant.

“Something good must come of it, right?” she asked hopefully.

Link took a slow, measured breath, and tried to give her a little smile. “Yes, Your Highness.”

XXX

Zelda sighed as she gazed outside the window. There sadly wasn’t much to see at the moment. The day was foggy and gray, reminding her of all the days she had spent on the Surface before Demise’s defeat. With the cloud barrier firmly in place to protect people on Skyloft, the sun was a fabled light to those on the Surface, burning enough to heat the land without ever being seen. She shuddered at the thought of a life without its warm embrace. Her time on the Surface had been so disorienting and fascinating and exciting and terrifying…

And now…

Shaking her head, she shifted and looked to her right from where she sat. Link was finally sleeping peacefully. He had been tossing and turning most of last night and this morning from what she could remember, short of breath and in too much pain to really rest. However, after the healers had adjusted some herbs and potions, it seemed like he was at last at peace. The healer had insisted that he get as much rest as possible and should stay in bed until his breathing was no longer labored. The irony was practically palpable: the only time Link got permission to sleep in was the only time he struggled to enjoy the sleep in the first place. It made Zelda’s heart ache a little, but the worry was growing ever distant as her husband’s face grew even more peaceful in slumber.

Zelda smiled, rising and tucking her best friend in a little better. He let out a little sigh, which sounded like a soft cooing noise, as he shifted a little, and then he settled back to sleep. Zelda had to giggle at it. Her sweet little dove was too much sometimes.

Little? Ha! He is pretty tiny.

Groose’s remark and Link’s indignant little huff of a response from when she first addressed him as such reverberated in her head. At the time she had laughed at his silly pouting, but when she’d reflected on it later, she’d been a bit bemused at her own nickname for him. Link was short compared to other men, it was true, but he was still taller than her. Except... he wasn’t. Her memories as Hylia yielded a different perspective, a Surface ablaze with sunlight, teeming with life, and so very… small. She had been so tall. She looked at her reflection in the window. She herself seemed too little now.

Zelda groaned, rubbing a hand down her face. It had been almost a year since her restored memories and yet she still could barely piece the two lives together. She felt ancient and young, timeless and so confined and mortal her bones would ache. Sometimes she didn’t know who she was anymore. And this new predicament was not helping.

What she did know, however, was that Link would always be there for her. He’d been nothing but patient and understanding the past ten months as she’d struggled to figure out how her two lives could coincide. He was her grounding force, her own personal hero, and she would never forget that.

“Mmm…”

The small noise made her jump, and she was at the bed in an instant. “Link?”

Her husband’s eyelids fluttered, his brow furrowing. Under the blanket she saw one of his hands shift to his stomach, and he groaned.

“Are you in pain?” she asked, feeling stupid asking what seemed to be an obvious question, but feeling lost as to what else she could say or do.

Slowly, Link opened his eyes, his gaze unfocused, though not glazed with fever as they’d been last time. He let out a small moan and moved to sit up in the bed. Zelda gently put her hands on his shoulders. “Link, wait.”

At her voice, he blew out a breath and practically collapsed under the touch as if she had pushed him. He looked at her, fully awake now, and gave his best pout he could muster in his exhausted state. “I’m hungry.”

Zelda let out a laugh, relieved. By the Three it was good to hear him speak a coherent sentence. Her Link was back, and that complaint was one she could address. “I’ll see if I can go to the kitchen and get something.”

“I’m sore.”

“Don’t worry, Dove, I’ll get the healer.”

“No,” Link shook his head and tried to sit up again. Zelda pressed against him once more, giving him a firm look. His pout returned. “Zel… I’m sore because I’m stiff. Can I please get up?”

She stared at him incredulously. “Did… did you just ask to get out of bed?”

Link’s pout turned into a scowl. “Ha. Yes. Don’t get used to it.”

Zelda laughed again, hard. But she quickly grew serious, shaking her head. “I hate to break it to you, sleepyhead, but you’re on strict bedrest. Besides, it’s evening.”

“But Zelda—”

“No, Link. You need to rest and heal.” Zelda insisted sternly. “Also, you’ve still got Surface Sickness to deal with too.”

“I’m… on the Surface?” Link asked confusedly, looking around.

“Yes…” Zelda answered slowly, watching him. “How much do you remember?”

“I…” Link squinted at nothing, focusing. “The mines—Groose!”

Zelda pushed on his shoulders before he even had a chance to shoot up off the bed. “He’s fine, Link. He’s safe.”

“But then where…?”

Zelda sighed. “I wish I could say. Somewhere different, but we’re still on the Surface. Don’t worry about it right now, worry about resting.”

Link took a moment to process her words before shaking his head. “I’m still on the Surface, right? So I’ve been on the Surface for a few days by now? Sickness should’ve worn off. I’m feeling fine now, Zel—”

“Link you have pneumonia. Not to mention the fatigue from Surface Sickness tends to linger, especially for you. Combining the two, you should probably be in bed for the next few days.”

Link sighed heavily, growing more frustrated. Zelda watched him worriedly. He usually wasn’t this antsy – the only times she’d known him to be stubbornly insistent on getting motivated were when fears and demons from the past were driving him forward. He’d literally fallen off the goddess statue after Demise’s defeat because he had insisted (lied) that he was fine. It had scared her to death and made her ever watchful of when he would get into spells of frantic and enduring activity.

She tried appeasing him. “I’ll ask for some food. I’ll be right back, okay?”

Something strange flashed across her hero’s face, and he cocked his head to the side. She was about to ask him when his breath hitched for a moment and he coughed, groaning and clutching his chest. Zelda stiffened, ready to help him sit up or get more steamed potion, but he settled fairly quickly.

Link looked down, defeated. She felt bad for him, and reached a physical and proverbial hand out, touching his cheek and making him look at her. “What’s wrong, Link?”

He shrank inward a little, shivering. Zelda paused. He looked so small in bed. He glanced around the room, his eyebrows curling together in confusion, and then he closed his eyes. He wasn’t just in pain, there was more.

Of course there was more. Link was somewhere he didn’t recognize. He never felt safe if he was somewhere foreign. And he didn’t even know how he’d gotten here, nor did he know the full severity of the situation.

Zelda was the explorer of the two, she was the one who didn’t mind new environments. Link followed her to the Surface to protect her, to rescue her, to be with her…

 To be used by you.

Zelda shook her head sharply at the familiar self-rebuke. Not now. The issue now was that he was uncomfortable and scared. Link liked comfort and familiarity. Being hungry, weak, sick, and hurting in a completely foreign environment was overwhelming him. Which meant Zelda shouldn’t leave him alone.

Biting her lip, she looked over to the door exiting the room. Was there a way she could send for someone? She knew this place had servants.

A bitter taste entered her mouth. It was so odd – she’d first heard the word servant when she’d met Impa, who called herself a “servant of the goddess.” After regaining her memories she understood the meaning of the word more, but to see it utilized here for things as trivial as bringing food and clothes… Zelda didn’t need someone to defile the name over such vain things. Servants didn’t spoil someone, they helped them, they protected them.

Gazing back down at Link, Zelda then knew what she needed to do. She pulled the covers back, slipped off her boots, and slid in beside him, snuggling close. She could be a better servant for him than anyone else in the palace. His pain was causing him discomfort, but his fear was driving him to thoughts and actions that were not helpful for healing. The healer would be back soon. Zelda would take care of him in the meantime.

Link’s stiffening muscles relaxed, and he sighed through his nose, letting her rest her arm across his stomach. She felt him nuzzle his head into her hair, and his hand rested over hers. The two didn’t say a word; they didn’t have to. Zelda knew what Link needed, and he knew what she was doing. They breathed together, his chest rattling a little, huddled in warmth and comfort, and she eventually listened as her husband’s breathing evened out, his body becoming dead weight in the bed. His hand eventually slipped off hers and he let out a soft sigh. Zelda smiled.

 Sleep well, my little dove.

[thefinnishcap]

This is how the series has always been intended to be read. Hence why -like you said- almost every game in the series starts with them recounting an ancient story. It’s also why the official timeline has changed so many times. Nintendo has been very clear that the timeline is malleable. Hyrule Historia says that the timeline is based on “information that is believed to be true at this time” and that “As the stories and storytellers of Hyrule change, so too does its history.”

This paragraph is a tangent, but If I get a single comment on this about Hyrule historia’s canonicity I will rip your kneecaps off. If an officially licensed lore book is non-canon because of a few inconsistencies then literally none of this series is canon. (This is also how I feel about age of calamity)

A link to the past’s manual tells you that the game you’re about to play is telling you the next chapter in the legend of the hero of Hyrule. It then goes on to tell you about multiple other legends that came prior. Like the imprisoning war, and the creation myth. It repeatedly says that these legends have likely been heavily distorted over the centuries. So why is it any different for the legend you’re being told over the course of the game?

This is why I’m so tired of timeline discourse because like, it literally doesn’t fucking matter and it never has. It’s a big part of why I’m so tired of (in the words of Nayru on YouTube) the carcinisation of all Zelda discourse into “does Nintendo even care about the lore of the other games”

No.

The answer is no.

They literally never have, and that’s not a bad thing. Because not every single fucking game series needs to be fnaf. Zelda works because of the lack of solid continuity. Not in spite of it. A world like this could never work in another medium and that’s fucking beautiful. Trying to force it into this linear form of storytelling so it can easily be followed, is antithetical to what makes it The Legend of Zelda.

Anyways, thanks for listening to this idiot who’s very autistic about Zelda ramble for a bit.

I'm sure this has been proposed before but I think one of the most fun ways to read the Zelda Timeline and Zelda in general is to really lean on the fact that it's called The Legend of Zelda and think of all of the stories you play through as tales passed down over ages and eons rather than an exact recounting of events

it's right there in most if not all of the games (I haven't played all of them), it often starts with one of the characters telling a Legend from long long ago and stating a prophecy of what the future holds. a lot of the times, these myths resemble one of the other games, but it's not always exact. does that mean what happened in the game is wrong? or that the story is being misremembered? it could be either, or both.

i think it's also fun and interesting to try to make it make some sense, too, or at least to explore the ways the lore contradicts and doesn't add up and conflicts directly with other things we saw happen. but if these are all an oral history told again and again, it makes sense things get put out of place from time to time. Things might even be purposefully obscured, for all we know, by the politics of Hyrule, although it's just as likely that details get lost in time.

[earthnashes]

Alllrighty, here they are! The Gerudo, with Nabooru, Urbosa, and Ganon reppin' their folks. :3 Link is there for height purposes: the average height of the Hylian is 5ft tall, so the Gerudo are typically well over 8ft in height. uwu

Now then! Have some headcanons for the Gerudo and the characters present! ------------------ -Urbosa is the chieftan of the Gerudo and is well loved by her people. She's as fierce as she is caring, a beacon of strength and compassion and wisdom among the Gerudo and all across Hyrule. Being as influential as she is, Urbosa has many a myth tailing after her: how she once defeated an army of evil spirits all by her lonesome, how she once tamed a Molduga, or how she commands sacred divine power gifted by the gods (her lightning magic, one of the most notoriously difficult magic schools to master). A recent rumor is that she's even eloped with the Queen of Hyrule once, charming her socks off, and it resulted in the birth of Riju. If asked directly Urbosa will say that the rumors surrounding her are only half-true. She's too concerned by the brewing trouble all across the kingdom to worry about gossip. -Nabooru is the mortal form of the Gerudo patron deity, Ordona. Still undecided if the Gerudo outright know that she's their patron deity or if it's a mystery to them, but regardless of that she is a trusted source of wisdom to Urbosa and acts as her personal advisor, as well as having a seat on the council. It's because of her and Urbosa that Ganon wasn't culled when he was first born after he was taken away from his mother. She's curious of how he'll develop now that he's no longer under the influence of Demise, and is having thoughts of suggesting him as the Gerudo Champion. -Ganon as seen here is completely free of corruption. When the Calamity rejected reincarnation for the sake of raw power in its attempt to kill the heroes in BotW, it unknowingly released its host from its grasp. Without keeping hold of its host, Ganon is free from the curse that is Demise’s unfiltered hatred and malice, and as such when he reincarnates again in this cycle he's a mostly normal Gerudo, with only a birthmark on his chest serving as a physical reminder of his past life. Despite this the elders of his people are very wary of him, so much so that they originally opted to outright kill him when he was born. Thanks to Urbosa and Nabooru that decision was rejected, but the compromise was that he was raised elsewhere, outside of the borders, and be kept a close eye on at all times. That "elsewhere" ended up being in the temple dedicated to Ordona, and his ever-watchful eye ended up being Twinrova, a highly renowned priestess and keeper of Ordona's temple. Ganon himself is confident, almost to the point of being boastful. He often puts on airs of being uncaring of what someone thinks of him, but that's very untrue; he'll do almost anything to prove himself to his people. It's why he works hard at any tasks given to him, even if its as small as fetching water. Outside of that, he is curious and wants to know more about the world around him, and often reacts to anything new with enthusiasm. -------- -The Gerudo as a race are characterized by their impressive height and equally impressive stature; they're known to be some of the strongest warriors in Hyrule. Typical characteristics in Gerudo are their red hair and dark skin, and their eyes are usually a shade of green or yellow. Brown and blue eyes are especially rare. They all have the innate ability to transform into what is known as a "Boartusk", a large boar-like beast, hence their tusks even in human form. -The Gerudo's population is largely made of women with a smaller male population in comparison, and as such they've developed a unique ability to be able to mate, and bear children with, any sapient race of any gender. The child will always be the race of their birth mother. More in-depth info on that can be read HERE. -Outside of the Hylians, the Gerudo are the most capable of magical feats. They contrast the Hylians by mixing their magic power with their physical prowess, making them rather diverse warriors. As a fun fact, the Gerudo typically don't have steeds both due to their ability to transform and an average Gerudo is able to keep pace with a horse on foot even in human form.-The Gerudo capitol is located in the desert as a thriving oasis. -The Gerudo are fairly popular among the other races, but there's always an underlying tension present due to the history of The Calamity. After the defeat of Demise, its hatred and thirst for destruction lived on through its possessed vessel (Ganon), using it to reincarnate itself and to wreck havoc on Hyrule in an endless cycle. Given the chosen vessel was Gerudo, there was a time where the default thought was that Gerudo in general were in league with The Calamity. That belief has since been trampled out, but there is still remnants of that mistrust in some of the races, Hylians and Rito in particular, and all the Gerudo wants is to be entirely rid of it. This is why they, as a whole, reacted so poorly when Ganon was rebirthed, despite finally being free of the possession.

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AAAANNNDDD that’s all for now! The Rito will be seen sometime next week, though if you wanna see them now as well as the Zora much sooner than that, they’re both already available on my Patreon! owo Until then keep your eyes open for more content and feel free to ask any questions if ya have any! Thank you thank ya! uwu