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linkedspirit-fanartfunart · 16 days ago

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Seeking New Land

Wind backstory! Post Phantom Hourglass, Link and Tetra gain a new (old?) Companion to the search for New Hyrule, and eventually (or inevitably) find a strange place.

(Link is HoH and the Pirate Charm is his hearing aid)

He came out slowly from his daze. Link looked curiously down at the Phantom Hourglass in his hands. It had carried over from that other world, unlike everything else. The rest of his pockets were empty. He tilted the glass around carefully. Golden sands shifted smoothly. It wasn't a cool sword anymore, though. …Dang. He loved that sword.

He looked up. Over the horizon, a boat chugging along in the distance. The SS Linebeck. Link rushed to the other side of the boat while Tetra talked to the crew. The Pirate Charm allowed him to hear it regardless of if he was paying attention. Slightly annoying, but it was helpful more often than not.

“I swear, if you say it was a dream one more time, I'm gonna throttle you!” Tetra exclaimed. “It was some spirit world! There were fairies and a white whale-”

Link leaned against the rail of the ship and grinned wide. Linebeck's ship was chugging along on the sea. A steam plume twirling in the winds. Clear as day. He climbed up onto the rail of the pirate ship and leaped into the cool sea with a splash.

“Oh! Link overboard!” Mako called, “Where's he think he's going?”

“Ack! Link!?” Tetra shouted, bright and clear over the wash of water. She must have been talking directly through the Pirate Charm, “Link get back up here!”

He kept swimming. He was about 80% sure he could make it to Linebeck's ship. Probably. If not, Tetra would grab him out of the sea before he drowned.

Linebeck's boat was moving away from them, so Link had to swim fast. He barely paused to look where he was going, just raced against the tides. Pushing and pushing against ribbons of water.

He had to take a gasp for breath eventually though. He treaded water, looking over to see how far he had to go. Dang it, he was so close, but it'd still be too far.

The SS Linebeck's salvage arm craned over him. It dragged him out of the water, dangling by the back of his shirt like a wet cat. Linebeck stood on the deck. He folded his arms. He looked at the grinning kid. His face was lined with exhaustion.

“You look too damn happy for a kid who just jumped off a pirate ship.”

Link laughed. Linebeck sighed, dragging Link in and dropping him on deck. Link scrambled to a stand and tackled Linebeck into a hug.

Linebeck fumbled his steps to brace against Link's tackle. He gave Link an awkward pat on the head, chest rising and falling with a sigh. It took Linebeck a long moment, but eventually, he wrapped his arms around Link's shoulders and squeezed.

He frowned at the pirate ship heading their way. “I'm trying to make a getaway from the world of pirates, ya know. Been trapped with them plaguing me for who knows how long. If you don't mind-” Linebeck began struggling his way out of Link's hug “I'd like to start sailing out of range again.”

Link blinked. He shook his head frantically.

“No? Why in the blue skies not?” Linkebeck hissed urgently.

“That's Tetra's ship!” Link exclaimed, pointing.

“Oh.” Linebeck said, brows furrowed. He gasped “OH! Well of course it is, I knew that. Yes indeed.”

Link giggled and wormed his way back into hugging Linebeck. Linebeck sighed, resting a hand on Link's head. “Yeah, yeah, glad to see we both made it out of that alright,” he chuckled.

Tetra's ship caught up quickly. The pirate captain swung down from the ship and stared as she thudded onto the deck of the steamship. “Linebeck... You're real!”

“A- why wouldn't I be real?!”

“I don't know, I thought maybe you'd be like a spirit or something too. Or a seagull.”

Linebeck squinted at her. He grabbed Link by the shoulders and extracted him from the hug. Linebeck set him down beside him. He shook his head, gesturing, “A seagull? If I was an animal why would I have a boat? You kids are absolutely crazy, you know that, right? I can't believe it. A seagull. Ya know, you can just say “hoy there Linebeck! I'm glad to see you made it out from the Ghost Ship!” Or something or other.”

“Glad to see you made it out from the Ghost Ship. Or something or other.” Tetra echoed with a grin.

Linebeck rolled his eyes, smiling softly despite himself.

“Miss Tetra? Who is that?”

“A friend! He helped us on the Ghost Ship!” Tetra called back.

“Woah!” Niko exclaimed, “Are you a ghost then?”

Linebeck groaned, shaking his head.

Link watched the sea roll by as the sky grew dark. Linebeck had been thoroughly harassed for the past hour or so by both friends and crew. Link was starting to get tired from all the talking and noise. He looked at the Pirate charm in his hands. He placed it beside himself, the now overwhelming noise from the sea vanishing with it. He sighed with a small smile.

Link watched the ocean rise and fall for a while, soft light of the moon reflecting and chopped on the water. His mind began to wander to what might lay below the ocean. He wondered if it was part of Old Hyrule, before. Or if they were already well past the old coast. His sea charts were becoming long stretches of ocean and ocean. If Link didn't have the Wind Waker, he would've been scared of losing his way home to the endless waters.

Linebeck's footsteps vibrated on the deck. Vaugely Link could catch a muffled voice of complaint. Likely saying Link had abandoned him to the Pirates or something. He sat down next to him, glancing at the pendant on the deck. He didn't try to talk to him after that, only looked out at the sea beside him.

Link smiled, leaning back against his shoulder. Regardless of his desire to enjoy silence for a moment longer, Link's mind quickly wandered to more present thoughts. He picked the pendant back up. “Do you want… to travel with us?” Link asked, slow and careful with the words. They were important words. They needed to be clear. To sound right.

“Ah… I don't know where you kids are going.”

“We donno!” Link cheered, looking up with a grin. “New land.”

Linkbeck hummed, miming thinking about it. “Oh, you kids were a handful. Who knows how long I'd be stuck with you rascals-”

Link shifted to look at him with big pleading eyes.

Linebeck sighed, “Oh it’s not like I've got much else going for me. Of course I'll go with you.” He ruffled Link's hair, smiling. “Don't you dare think I'll be hopping on a pirate ship, though.”

“You can woosh-” Link mimed a ship speeding off into the distance with his hands, “Get stuff.”

Linebeck scoffed playfully, “Ah-HUH. You're coming with me on whatever supply runs you lot beg me to do.”

Link laughed and nodded excitedly, hands moving quickly as he signed, “You can go with me to my home island! Meet my grandma and sister! It's awesome! You'd love it and-”

“Kid you're moving way too fast again.” Linebeck laughed.

Link whined dramatically, and tackled Linebeck with another hug instead. He grunted and patted Link on the shoulder with a lightly huffed smile.

Years later:

“OY, Link!”

Link groaned and turned to bury his better ear and his face into his pillow. …It didn't work. Tetra’s voice was still magically clear. “Link get your scrawny butt up or I'll throw you off the boat.”

He fumbled to take off the Pirate Charm and threw it lazily at Tetra. Then returned to nuzzling into his very nice, very soft blanket.

Tetra continued talking regardless of how well Link could hear her. Something Something bam cat…Something. She was probably still threatening him.

Her hands wrapped around his legs. Tetra hauled him up by the legs, head thunking against the frame of the bunk. She said something that Link HOPED was an apology about the integrity of his head, and continued on regardless, with his knees hooked over her shoulder. Link took in a heaved breath and allowed himself to be dragged along the deck. Tetra was tall enough now his head wouldn't hit anything else… until she did it on purpose.

So he kept his eyes closed, allowing himself another few minutes of sleepy haze. The lulling rock of the boat, the smooth texture of the wooden deck sliding along his dragging arms, the dim morning light behind his eyelids. A certain rush of blood to his head and the resulting woozy feeling really only made him sleepier.

Tetra dropped him just as he felt he could probably fall back asleep like that.

“WAUgh” He yelped, limbs flailing. He opened his eyes at the sky. It was barely even dawn. He scrunched his nose in a pout.

Tetra dropped the Pirate Charm back on top of his chest. Sound digging back into his mind with the magic of the charm. He grunted at the sensation.

“Well, get to your feet, Sailor. Tell me what cha see.”

Link glared. He pulled the Charm over his neck again. He wouldn't get away with throwing it twice… With a low grumble that vibrated from his chest, he stood up. He propped himself up on the edge of the ship, looking over the gray wash of water, and the gray skies. He turned to Tetra and raised an eyebrow.

Tetra rolled her eyes and grabbed Link by the shoulders to direct him at the slowly approaching view of an island. Distant. Its shore seemed long… now that he could trace it across the horizon. His brows pinched. Really long.

“Well!? What do you think?!” Tetra said, practically vibrating his shoulders as she shook him. Link's mouth opened. And stuck there.

Tetra shook him bodily. “It's gotta be a whole continent, I'm sure of it! I've never seen anywhere with such a long coast!” She laughed, grinning at him.

Link felt his own giggle bubble out of his chest. He spun himself from Tetra's grip on his shoulders and hugged her. She squeezed him tightly. Then abruptly socked him in the shoulder, “Can you get Linebeck and get closer to the shoreline to see if there's somewhere good to dock?”

Link nodded, rushing across the deck and scrambling inside again. Linebeck snored away, his arm dangling over the side of the bed. Link shook him.

“Eh? Whazzit? Do you know what time it is?”

Link leaned over and grinned at him.

Linebeck grunted, “Too early for that much excitement. That's what.”

Link shook his head and yanked the man up. He yelped, stumbling as he regained his bearings. “A man my age needs his beauty rest, you know. This is elder abuse.”

He rolled his eyes laughing. “We found land. A big one.”

His gaze snapped to Link's, wide and curious. “Alright, Alright, lets see it.”

Link whooped onto the air. He practically skidded out the door, rushing to get the SS Linebeck prepared as her namesake prepared himself for the day.

Linebeck chuckled lightly. “It ain't going to vanish! Unless of course it's that place again…. So! Don't rush it!” he called after him.

Link's feet danced across the boards of the ship. Linebeck strolled onto the ship as Link cleared off the windows with sweeping movements. He twirled on his toes, undoing the knots latching Linebeck’s ship to Tetra’s. “Ready to sail!” Link cheered.

“Annd we’re off!” Linebeck announced in confirmation.

The spray of water was cool against his face. Link smiled as the wind sang across his skin and hair. They chugged up to the shore. Linebeck approached cautiously to the uncharted edge of the land. Link jumped off the ship, swimming to shore. Linebeck was used to his impatience by now, simply laying anchor when Link rushed ahead.

Seagulls cawed over his head as he rushed up the beach. Not far from the sandy line was flowing grass taller than him. Palm trees stretched high, fronds shading from the warmth of the sun. Short cliffs lined the edges of the grassy view.

It felt eerily like Home for a place so huge. Link half expected to feel children brushing past him, racing up the beach. He nearly expected to see houses dotting the smoother edges of the hills.

He hummed, soft, and made his way forward. He held his hands out to brush against the tall fronds of grass, looking around. He climbed a short cliff, rushing up to a higher vantage point. The sky stretched out beyond him, but he couldn't see a pale blue line like he usually did on islands. Tall mountains stretched over the horizon, far far far from the shore. Link drifted forward, awed with the sheer scale. Could a Rito even fly above those? Could a seagull?

His foot hit metal. Link blinked, glancing down. A dull grey line cut the greenery and ran down an endless path forward. Link hopped up onto the metal track. It almost rumbled lowly under his feet. The vibration felt like a low hum or snore. He heard nothing. Link leaned down and brushed his fingers against it. It was warm to the touch, sun-heated and smooth.

He stared. Something about it thrummed in the back of his mind. He couldn't tell if it felt like danger or like safety.

“Oi, Link!” Tetra's voice chimed. He jolted, and pulled the Pirate Charm up into view.

“eh?” He called back.

“When are you going to give us a good docking spot!? Report sailor!”

Link sighed, rolling his eyes, and stood. He glanced back at the Great Sea, stretching endlessly blue. “It's safe. The beach is like Outset.” He wandered back along toward the beach line, looking over the sands. “No rocks I can see.”

“Finally, thank you!”

Link nodded to nobody. He glanced back at the line of metal, he stepped forward, warm metal against his boot. He followed it.

"Link? We're at the shore." Tetra called through the charm. He didn't know how far she was anymore. The grass kept going for ages and ages. Link wondered if he'd gotten trapped in somewhere beyond reality again.

"...Where are you?"

Link paused, looking around. "On a track... I think."

"Link you impulsive bastard I- HEY" there was a sound of wind and a crackle buzz that made Link wince. He was half compelled to toss the offending noise maker, but he suffered through.

Linebeck's voice rumbled through the charm "Link, get off the track. There's a binding magic to it, get off."

Link yelped and jumped off of it, fumbling backward a few steps, "I'm off!"

A sigh of relief and exasperation came through the charm, "Follow it back."

He blew a sigh of his own, and started back, trudging through the grass along the line of the track. He looked at it. Smooth metal and rhythmically pattered edges. ...Binding magic...

Linebeck stood at the edge that Link had first found. Tetra glared at Linebeck, hands wrapped possessively over her Pirate Charm.

Link waved with a smile. Tetra ran up to him, dropping an arm heavy on his shoulder, "Thoughts?"

"I wanna see where it leads. It has to go somewhere important."

"Hm." Tetra nodded. "Oy! Gonzo, pick some people to go find some food, everybody else, figure out as much of a map as you can and Niko!"

"Am I going with you?" Niko cheered, leaning forward on his toes.

"No, make sure the ship is safe for us when everybody gets back."

"Ughhh" Niko sighed.

"It's the single most important job," Linebeck said, "Now. You kids enjoy the adventure. I have to tell ya, though, this looks like very old magic."

"It's strange, that's certain." Tetra huffed.

"You tell us if you see any people, alright?" Niko said, leaning against the bow of the ship. The boat creaked, leaning with the push. Niko nearly lost his balance, pinwheeling his arms to stay upright.

"There has to be." Link said with a giggle, "somewhere this big and this green?"

Tetra nodded, "Alright. Let's set off."

"To the great unknown!" Link cheered. He rushed forward at a dash.

"Oy! Rude!" Tetra called, running after him.

"I already saw this part!" Link complained back, "It's known now!"

Tetra tackled him barely 10 paces away from where they started.

They had seen the tall endless tower far before they reached it. The crew eventually came with, the ships being cared for by Nudge and Mako. Niko chattered along the way over the weeks of travel, cheerfully explaining how he was now an expert of the area the ship had landed in. Niko and Linebeck had been the ones to first meet people, and he had been quite happy about that fact, despite not understanding the language at all.

They had figured they had one day's left of travel before they'd reach the tower, so the crew settled in for a rest in their tents among the great endless plain of grass.

Tetra gently shook Link up when the moon was high and bright in the sky and the ever familiar stars twinkled above. He squinted at her, leaning up on his elbows. She glanced at the rest of her crew, and offered her hand to pull Link to a stand. He took her hand, picking up the Pirate Charm from beside him. Tetra led him away, toward the Tower, tall grass practically parting for her. He followed her, feeling the wind tug and pull at them, closer and closer to the Tower.

"Someone's calling me." Tetra whispered eventually as they walked.

Even with the charm, Link strained to hear her.

"She wants to meet me."

"Who?" Link signed, the hand symbols feeling more appropriate for the tone.

"...I don't know."

He frowned lightly, and they kept walking. The tower was tall, made with a similar material as the tracks. Link could feel it in the soft vibrating energy of it.

Tetra glanced over the building's arching doorway, far larger than any human would need.

"Locked" Link signed, pressing his hands against then doorway.

She placed her hand against the seam of the door next to his, and light stretched across the line, and spider-webbed out. Warm and sharp. The doors rumbled open, light pouring out into the night.

The light faded, and an elderly woman smiled at them from the center of the room.

"Hello young princess, it's nice to finally meet you."

"I'm not a Princess. I'm Tetra," she said, arms crossed. "Who are you?"

"Anjean, guardian of the Tower of Spirits."

Link wandered as Tetra and Anjean talked, exploring the patterns and symbols.

"Why did you call to me...?"

Anjean laughed softly, "I could sense a familiar form of magic known to Hyrule, I thought I'd reach out to a family friend."

Link glanced up a darkend stairwell.

"Family friend," Tetra echoed, tone stiff.

A hiss of steam. A metallic arm grabbed Link by the chest of his shirt. Link shrieked, and a hulking figure stepped out of the dark. The young man grumbled, "Who is this?"

Tetra's sword slid between them, the curve of the blade aimed toward the man's neck.

"Let Link go."

"Byrne, please be kind to our guests." Anjean sighed.

Link smiled and waved awkwardly.

Byrne, apparently as his name was, leaned back. He released Link with a hiss of metal and steam. His dangling feet dropped to the ground. "I didn't invite them," he hissed.

"He's all bark no bite" Anjean soothed with a light chuckle. "Tetra here is Hyrule's newest daughter."

"And this nosy creature?" He asked, gesturing at Link.

"He's my friend," Tetra said, stepping forward to size the tall man up. She managed very well. "Don't touch him."

"What's up there?" Link asked.

"The Tower." Byrne huffed, turning to pace around the circular room, glaring toward Link and Tetra.

"It's the lock. It must remain undisturbed."

"Then why call us here?" Tetra asked,

"I wished to see what brought you to us."

Tetra sighed, "We were looking for a new continent. This is the first one we found."

"But why?" Anjean said with a curious smile, "What inspired this adventure?"

She glanced at Link. Link glanced at her.

"The King of Red Lions. He asked us to find our future," Link said softly.

"Interesting," Anjean hummed, "Enjoy finding it. New Hyrule is open to you."

"...New Hyrule? There's no way this land is actually called that." Tetra laughed.

Anjean smiled, "You'll find it has many names, but most of them variations upon "Home," feel free to choose as you will, but a New Hyrule for the future seems fitting to call it for you."

Tetra squinted, "Come on, Link. We should go back to the Crew."

He nodded, following her toward the doors. Link glanced at Byrne and Anjean one more time. "...How do you know we'll stay?" Link asked.

"Because you shouldn't." Byrne said.

Anjean wacked his side lightly, "I don't. But it can be a home while you explore what your future may be, too."

Link pocketed his hands, feeling the smooth glass of the Hourglass in his pocket. He followed Tetra out into the light of the sunrise.

#linked spirit #loz au #legend of zelda #loz #linked spirit au #ls wind #ls tetra #ls linebeck #ls anjean #ls byrne #ls writing #the long awaited and very long story because wind is lowkey hard to write

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