#when they are not Hylians. the Sheikah are a distinct people

[sage-nebula]

@sharpidiot — making a new post since the other one is super long, but yeah, considering the position of the Sheikah at this point in Hyrule's history, and how they got there and the existence of the Yiga Clan? It's a big problem.

It's not mentioned in BotW itself, but the entire reason why the Yiga Clan exist is because 10,100 years ago, after the Sheikah helped save Hyrule from the Calamity by building the Divine Beasts and Guardians, the King of Hyrule felt threatened by them and basically attempted a genocide on the Sheikah. All Sheikah tech was ordered to be destroyed, Sheikah were forced out of the main parts of Hyrule, and Sheikah were banned from doing anything more with science on punishment of imprisonment at the least. The Sheikah who survived all this dealt with it in one of two ways: they either went on to found Kakariko Village and live in secret, or they formed the Yiga Clan and swore revenge on the royals (and more importantly the goddesses) that betrayed them.

All of this is in the Creating a Champion book, scattered throughout the history section and in detail on page 368. It casts the Yiga Clan in an entirely new light. While they can't exactly be excused for wanting to kill those that had nothing to do with the paranoid king's decision and destroy the world, we also can't say they're just bonkers or that they formed for no reason. The Sheikah were sworn to the goddesses (and Hylia in specific) to protect the royal family of Hyrule (Hylia's descendents). This was their divine duty. And then they were punished for it, exiled and had their culture destroyed and were oppressed and imprisoned. Their goddesses did nothing to help them. The king and people they had protected were the ones doing this to them. Can we blame them for turning the way they did? I can't.

But now, a huge chunk of that just seems . . . gone, from TotK. If the Sheikah tech didn't exist, then the king from 10,100 years ago wouldn't have done what he did to the Sheikah. And if he didn't do that, the Yiga Clan wouldn't exist. It makes zero sense. What's worse is there are parts of the Zonai things that are very reminiscent of Sheikah things, such as the orbs in the shrines. We could say perhaps the Sheikah inherited those things from the Zonai, but . . . that's plot putty to try to spackle the holes.

I'm still early in the game (I have only finished the Rito portion) so I do not want any spoilers for anything that comes later. Maybe this will be fixed. I hope it is. But if it isn't, then I will probably consider TotK to be yet another video game fanfic, a la Age of Calamity (albeit one that is higher quality at least).

[ordon-shield]

The Writing Systems of Hyrule

We start at the beginning, with the writing of the Surface prior to the war with Demise. Following the theory laid out in this post, let’s assume that this is Mudoran writing, written by the people of Mudora. Like many real examples of early writing systems, it is pictographic.

Once Hylians moved up into the sky, we see a change in the writing system used by the events of Skyward Sword, with the adoption of a phonetic alphabet. The shapes of the letters used in this alphabet suggest it was mostly written on paper or cloth (likely due to the scarcity of trees and stone on Skyloft) with a pen or ink brush. This form of writing still has similarities to Mudoran however, such as the letter for U. We will call this form of writing Old Hylian.

Once Hylians descended to the surface once more, the way they wrote changed once more. By the time of The Minish Cap, a new system of writing had developed. This new way of writing used straight lines and corners, suggesting a shift away from writing with ink on paper or cloth, the average person opting to write by carving letters into the cheaper and more widely available wood of the Surface. There was also a shift to a syllabary rather than an alphabet, possibly to make it easier for words to be carved quickly. We will call this form of writing Traditional Hylian.

By the era of the Hero of Time, another form of writing, this one a simplified form of Traditional Hylian. This form of writing abandoned punctuation and certain other nuances of Traditional Hylian, reducing the amount of characters one had to learn to read and write, while also simplifying the characters themselves. This form of writing became especially common in the aftermath of the Hyrulean Civil War, with rates of literacy dropping. We will call this form of writing Simplified Hylian.

During the era of the Hero of Time, the history of Hyrule split into three branches, with each taking different routes when it came to writing. In the timeline where the Hero of Time became an adult before returning to his childhood, Hyrule was eventually flooded, leaving a handful of survivors that had fled to the mountaintops. The majority of those survivors were those with more education, who had lived in and around the Castle, along with those they had met as they fled, leading to a resurgence in Traditional Hylian. However, despite keeping the writing system of Hyrule, the people of the Great Sea would eventually develop their own dialect of speech to the point that it became it’s own language, distinct from that of the past.

In the timeline the Hero of Time returned to, Simplified and Traditional Hylian continued being used. However, at some point there was a drastic shift in how people wrote, shifting from the straight lined syllabary of the past to a new alphabet with curved lines and circles. The origin of this script is unknown, but some theorise that it was brought to Hyrule by an influx of non-Hylian humans, while other theories suggest that it was based on an old Sheikah script (due to the eye iconography). The curved lines of the script have even led to theories that it was related to the Gerudo script somehow, which is also an alphabet. We will refer to this writing system as Post-Hylian.

In the timeline where the Hero of Time fell in battle, Hyrule was consumed by the Imprisoning War, causing literacy rates to plummet, as well as the destruction of many texts and records. In the wake of this chaos, after the war was over the Royal Family chose to reform the writing system which had split into various regional variants during the decades-long conflict. Basing their new script on that of the first era of Hyrule, they created the New Hylian script, which would continue to be used up to the era of the Great Calamity.

With the Hylian script explained, I would like to quickly turn to one of the more fascinating writing systems in the history of Hyrule — that of the Ancient Sheikah who built the Divine Beasts. What makes this writing system so distinct is the fact that it was clearly deliberately designed to be used for technology rather than being written, possibly being created specifically as a secret script or programming language to prevent the secrets of Sheikah technology from being stolen by others.

[amelias-zelda-calamity-quintet]

MoaH Races/Species/Lineages Quick Notes

Another quick notes (yes, this is the quick notes, I know), I'm planning to do full cards for these once y'all have met some more characters within these lineages in MoaH.

Existing Lineages

Humans - Humans are generally considered the original species that the Goddesses created. From there, different clans petitioned the Goddesses for certain blessings that would then do magic evolution and create the other species. Chiefly, this applies to the human-like peoples (Hylians, Sheikah, Gerudo, & Dreeka). Humans don't have a whole lot of special blessings, but they are far more adaptable to changes. Unlike other lineages, humans can very easily change their material affinities.

Hylians - Blessed by proximity to the Sacred Realm at the beginning of time, Hylians are generally very similar to humans. They do have improved natural senses, visible by their elongated pointed ears, but aren't quite full blessing recipients compared to other lineages like the Gerudo. Mechanically for Zelda & Link's D&D character sheets, I used half-elf instead of elf, if that helps quantify the level of blessing that Hylians have in setting. Their ears are long enough to be partially emotive. Not full range like the Keaton or Folmir, but they do move up and down more than normal human range to reflect emotion.

Sheikah - No one knows who gave the Sheikah their blessing, and the clan hasn't been forthcoming on sharing that knowledge. There are two identifiable traits for the Sheikah, their eye color, which ranges in reds, and their pointed ears (though not elongated). Other than that, the Sheikah had a natural talent for a number of illusion based magics, even the ability for shapechanging in some cases.

Gerudo - Din's blessed peoples, the Gerudo get some expansion in MoaH that will be saved for more detail in the book set in Rahaal. Most notable for their height and pointed ears, most people will conflate the Hyrulean Gerudo traits for amber eyes and red hair as a common trait as well. Due to, let's say historical tension, with the Gerudo, most Hyruleans aren't familiar with the exceptions.

Gorons - The Gorons in MoaH are largely unchanged from expectation. Generally masc, stone giants, though the composition of that stone does vary by region. Hyrulean Gorons for example have the tan-brown clay coloration we're familiar with, but Gorons from Naydrana have ranges of blue-gray stone reflective of their mountains and Gorons in Teromac have a brighter red common trait, to include some striation like banded stone.

Rito - Rito vary widely on their avian traits based on their heritage. Hyrulean Rito are most often within the predator birds like hawks and owls, though there is some variety. More coastal lineage Rito may take on traits from tropical birds like parrots and seagulls where moving into more mountainous regions see more heavy plumage like grouse and turkeys. The leader of Rito Cleft, Taro, has the plumage of a rock ptarmigan as an example. Their commonalities are chiefly in that they are bipedal with taloned legs and that their wings have a small degree of articulation at the ends to use as hands when not in flight.

Zora - In the time of MoaH, the Sea and River Zora distinctions have blurred a little, chiefly in that they are not limited to Sea and River Zora. Like the Rito, Zora also have a much wider range of traits based on many types of fish. Marela for example draws her traits from jellyfish and beta fish, where the steward of Lake Town and his son, Kije and Kaju, have traits resembling arowana. Commonality here falls in the presence of a tail fin on the head and webbing on the hands and feet. I've mentioned it before, but the height range also is not influenced by gender, there are short and tall Zora of all genders.

Koroks - Koroks in MoaH do take on their more familiar Wind Waker and Wild duo appearances, but they also have some variance based on the forests that they're home to. Most people will be familiar with Hyrulean Koroks and the traits they draw from the Deku Tree. But in Farona, where the most prominent forest entity is the Maru Tree, Koroks have a darker wooden bark and often wear masks in gold and red. There are also Koroks in both places who rather than wearing leaf masks will instead adorn themselves with fungi, like Rephi.

Keaton - Keaton have two forms: a bipedal anthropomorphic fox form and then their full fox forms. The change does alter their size somewhat. Keaton have natural shapechanging abilities and are adapts at illusion magics. Most Keaton will only have one tail, but powerful Keaton mages will develop additional tails. They do not become more human-like or taller. They also will vary in the type of fox they resemble. Hyrulean Keaton most often resemble red and silver foxes, where in somewhere like Farona or Naydrana you'll see more arctic fox traits, and in somewhere like Rahaal you'd likely see traits similar to a Fennec fox.

New Lineages

Dreeka - The Dreeka are a group that departed from the Sheikah way back at the beginning of time, and are now being partially remerged to the Sheikah due to distrust towards Dreeka practices. The Dreeka worship the Horned Goddess as though She is on equal standing to the main Three. As part of this worship, they maintain a series of libraries around the world, with a thorough documentation that spans timelines. It's no small part thanks to the Dreeka that Hyrule has been able to thrive post the Convergence instead of being swallowed by the influx of magic and how that would have shaped society. For folks who read GoS, you might recognize them as the Drex. They are largely the same biologically as the Sheikah, though they have purple irises as a shared trait like the Sheikah have crimson ones, and there's some rumors that they know how to teleport short distances.

Folmir - The Folmir are a shorter species, like Keatons, though their traits vary broadly across the Mustelidae family (ferrets, otters, badgers, polecats, martens, etc). Like the Keaton, they are bipedal, though they do not have transformative magics. They do have semi-prehensile tails that they can train to have more range. They appeared after the Convergence when the influx of magic "awakened" a number of creatures for which they share their primary traits. Because of how the magic expanded, there are very few Folmir living in Hyrule, they've largely settled in other regions like Farona, Lyberic, and Teromac.

Jynird - The Jynird were originally mistaken as a new lineage under the human umbrella, though their distinction quickly became apparent. Like the Folmir, the Jynird were created in the wake of the Convergence, though without anything to bind to, magic made life out of the elements. These became the Jynird, elemental beings as abstract and diverse as magic itself. Very often Jynird will have names representing the concept of the magic they're made of, like Starlight From the First Summer's Eve or Breath Between the Rivers. As I'm not a linguist and am only delving in a very limited scope into linguist research for MoaH, there is not an elemental language that the Jynird can more easily communicate these concepts. Also like the Folmir, the Jynird largely do not live in Hyrule, more populous in other countries like Rahaal, Naydrana, and Holan.

Definitely, definitely no secret fourth option.

[matriarchsdevotee-archive]

Twinrova theory:

Okay so the promised twinrova conspiracy theory. This comes with the standard caveat of I don't expect this to be played out on here and it seldom comes up anyway, but the jist of it is that, when I was beginning the Gerudo historia project, I made peace with the fact that Ganondorf probably wasn't going to be consistent with tribal trends and it was in my better interest to push it away and leave it to the gan stans to worry about. The Gerudo are one of the very few self-consistent tribes in Zelda, it's part of what attracts me to them as a writer, so I was decidedly unbothered if I found discrepancy with Gan's philosophy/customs/religious foundations, and so on.

The thing is, though... He's really not terribly inconsistent with them. Physically, he is of course very different than his sisters, but he does functionally look like what a male Gerudo would be expected to look like - extremely well--muscled, broad shouldered, red hair and yellow eyes (which, while uncommon, are seen among other Gerudo across games - it's essentially the human equivalent of Blue or green eyes). If Nintendo canon heights are to be believed, he's shorter than his countrywomen, but given that there's in-game flavor text that suggests Gerudo men tend to be sickly or weaker than their counterparts, that also tracks. He wears the same makeup that a Gerudo chieftain does across all his appearances as a man and even some of his later appearances as his monstrous form, Ganon (Red eyeshadow, black garb, and golden lipstick, gold being the color of religious figures amongst the Gerudo (see also Maike in botw and Nabooru)). He's certainly an extremist amongst his people, but it's not like the Gerudo are pro-Hyrule. Even Nabooru seems to be in the camp of "get Ganondorf out but so help me god if Hyrule tries to colonize us." Realistically, the most out of character trait that Ganondorf has as a Gerudo is his massive magical capabilities. Some Gerudo are minor prophets and they're often seen with magical weapons, but trust me when I say I have scoured the source material and Ganondorf is the only one who can wield traditional magic...

Except for his mothers. His white-haired, magical, extremely long-lived, surrogate mothers who have names that are intensely un-Gerudo, both at the time (Koume and Kotake don't share any phonetic similarities with Nabooru, Ganondorf or Aveil, and are blatantly just. Japanese names) and with the help of the Gerudo phonetics in Four Swords Adventures and Breath of the Wild (And acompannying breath of the wild companion games). His mothers, who have an even greater animosity for Hyrule than the rest of the Gerudo put together. Who have a distinct hatred for the royal family.

Anyway, what I'm alluding to is that the Twinrova are Sheikah.

I say this because, as consistent as Ganondorf is with his people, Koume and Kotake simply aren't. As we discussed, magical ability is very uncommon amongst the Gerudo, and their names share much more in common with Sheikah phonetics than they do (as the Sheikah names in botw often borrow Japanese phonetics) than they do Gerudo or even Hylian names. There are no other Gerudos with white hair. Very old Gerudo in Botw go pink and Ashai, who we can reasonably assume has a melanin issue of some kind due to her very light eyes and skin, has pink hair instead of red or white. In Four Swords Adventures, the Gerudo chief is pictured in her character art with red hair, though she's clearly aged elsewhere.  Even when they transform during their bossfight, they don't have red hair, as their youthful form would suggest. (This is weaker evidence, as it's pretty clear their design was more meant to mirror the fire/ice archetype, but the fact that the only Gerudo trait their son retains consistently when he transforms is his red hair leads me to believe this isn't entirely invalid).

Speaking of the transformation, that's something of an odd power, isn't it? Ganon doesn't transform as a disguise, but you know who does? Explicitly into a Gerudo?

This motherfucker.

During the Age of Calamity mission in which you recruit Urbosa, Kogha distracts the chieftain and is able to slip into Gerudo town in magical disguise in order to try to kill Zelda (Frankly, even if Urbosa hadn't arrived when she did, this wasn't going to end well as the Gerudo were already becoming suspicious, but I digress).

In conclusion, we have a pair of sisters with little relation to the tribe they allegedly belong to who raised a child specifically to violently despise Hyrule's royal family and train his power so he can destroy them, who phonetically, canonically, and in terms of design share much more in common with the Sheikah tribe than they do the Gerudo. Was this the intent? I'm willing to bet money that it absolutely was not, but you can pry it from my cold dead hands.

[transskywardsword]

Dawning

the prologue for Heroes' Gate, an 'all links meet' au. Learn more about Lana's chosen at the main page for Heroes' Gate here!

The world Link found himself in was too vivid to be anything other than a vision. He stood in the center of a battlefield, the ground slick with rain and blood, his body somehow both solid and vaporous. Hylian soldiers dressed in gray and blue swarmed around him, fighting beside Gorons, Sheikah, and other races that Link had never seen before, some with fins and scales and others with markings etched in neon across their bodies. The sheer numbers astounded him—there had to be more soldiers here than people in Skyloft. Link didn’t recognize every monster the soldiers fought, but he could feel Demise’s touch on each of them regardless. Wherever, whenever, this was, Demise’s influence was strong; the thought filled Link with a thickening unease.

This couldn’t be the future to come. Link had lost too much to let that happen.

Demise’s curse echoed in his ears, laughing at Link for his naivety—lost too much, it scoffed, as if that mattered.

(My hate never perishes, Demise rumbled deep in his brain, my hate never perishes, my hate—)

There was a shout as a moblin hit a soldier in the ribs with a spiked two-handed club. The soldier stumbled back and managed to take off the creature’s head before almost collapsing; Link ran to his side, cursing when his hands phased threw him. The man needed help and he needed it now. Link was beginning to panic, watching blood pour from the holes in the person’s side, when Link saw her. The woman rushed to the soldier’s side and took his hand, squeezing it before kneeling and laying a hand on the soldier’s bloody side. Her hand lit up a cobalt blue and the soldier’s eyes fluttered shut. A sorceress. She had to be one, with the way she exuded magic and divinity. He could taste the same electricity as the Gates of Time, and feel the touch of the divine radiating off her skin. She was slight in stature, with dark skin and blue hair tied atop her head, the flyaways plastered to her face from the frigid rain. Her white skirt was soaked with mud and blood, though not her own, and her face was set with determination.

“It will only hold for so long,” she said. Her voice was higher than he thought it would be, more a girl than a woman. “You need proper medical attention. Fall back—it is better you retreat than be dead.” She wiped the soldier’ blood on her thighs and stood, extending a hand to the soldier who gladly took it.

The soldier scampered off and the woman straightened, flipping open the book Link hadn’t noticed hanging from her waist. The tome was unlike any book Link had ever seen: large, leather-bound, thicker than a brick but elegantly decorated with arcane symbols and lettering in the script of the Gods. Link had only seen that lettering in the oldest and most sacred of places in his journey. The thought of a mere mortal girl, sorceress or not, knowing the language was impossible. The book dripped with so much magic that it practically glowed. Looking at it reminded Link of timeshift stones; he was never the best when it came to identifying magic, not like Zelda, but he could feel the distinct pulsing he associated with the Gates of Time. The book’s wielder felt touched by the cosmos and the movement of time itself. Whoever this woman was, she was more powerful than her bright hair and soft, high voice made her seem.

Her hands roamed around the pages as she scanned the battlefield before looking to the largest Time Gate Link had ever seen. It was almost the size of Skyloft’s Goddess statue, spinning with golden and blue light, so fast it seemed to sing. The sorceress was too distracted to notice the stalfos until it barreled into her. She stumbled back, spell book flying into the crowd, and caught herself in a deft roll. Her curls fell from their tie and her hair whipped around in the storm’s violent wind. She stood and flung out a hand; walls of blue light circled around the stalfos and with immeasurable grace, she bounded from wall to wall before they exploded in a shower of light and electricity. The bones dissolved, but more creatures rose to take their place. Link ran to her, forgetting for a moment that in this world he was as useful in a fight as a wet remlit, but suddenly the vision took fast hold of him, gripping his chin and yanking his attention from the sorceress to her abandoned tome.

The book lay open in the mud a few yards away, the pages untouched by rain and glowing slightly, as three monsters approached. They certainly seemed more intelligent than the ones Link knew as they flipped quickly between spells before squealing in excitement at a certain section. They babbled to each other for a moment before coming to some sort of agreement, the leader moving quickly and efficiently as they hid the book in the folds of their cloak.

“No!” The sorceress bolted towards them, other monsters forgotten, and flung out her hands, summoning a giant cube of light and sending it rolling toward the creatures. Two were caught under the electrified light but the leader escaped the attack and sprinted further into the brawling. The sorceress took off after them, face twisted with alarm, until they reached the Time Gate. The woman let out a wordless cry of furious despair as the monster ran into the rift in time-space, taking the spell book with them. The woman stood horrified, perfectly still in a battlefield, and around her, the world faded to black.

It took Link a moment to realize he wasn’t breathing; his lungs had stopped, as had his heart, as if in this dark plane his body was frozen in time. He blinked, eyelids sluggish and the sorceress suddenly stood before him, short layered skirt replaced with ornated white and purple robes, her hair hidden beneath a two-pronged cap. Whoever this woman was, there was no way she was mortal.

“I’m sorry for invading your sleep. There isn’t much time for us to talk; I have a lot of dreams to visit tonight.” She gave a nervous smile; under her full attention, the pressure of magic was almost unbearable. “I am the Guardian of Time, a devotee of the Goddess of Time. It is my duty to watch over this realm and ensure the safety of the timeline from a place of pure neutrality—though, I suppose I haven’t exactly been very neutral lately. Sorry about that. That battle you saw is from the War of Ages. It is many, many millennia from where you stand now.”

“Demise,” Link said, cutting to the most important part. “I felt him.”

The devotee’s smile turned sad. “I’m afraid his curse proves successful, Link. Centuries after you die, his hatred will be resurrected through Ganon, a beast determined to lay claim to the Triforce. I’m—I’m sorry.”

Link balled his fists. He wanted to scream, wanted to yell until his lungs shattered, wanted to smash and cut and break. Demise may not be back, but a creature of his making was. Nothing. An entire quest for nothing. The devotee reached forward as if to cup his face, then decided better and brushed a flyaway behind his ear.

“I’m really sorry. I truly am. But my tome—in it is a collection of the most powerful time spells known to practically anybody, even some of the Gods. The creation of Time Gates, dimensional magic, the resurrection of the dead—that and more. With the power Ganon’s followers stole… they could open Time Gates to every spot in the timeline where a Ganon has been defeated and resurrect him. They could destroy the timeline as we know it and eradicate everything. As we speak, I can feel Gate after Gate opening; soon, who knows what will be left of the timeline. I need a Champion, a bearer of the Hero’s Spirit, to stop them and close each gate before Goddess knows how many Ganons are freed to be let loose on the world.”

“Can’t be any harder than killing Demise,” Link said, tilting his chin up. “I’ve done it once, I can do it again.”

“I appreciate your dedication, but I’m afraid this is more than you alone can do, even with the Hero’s Spirit. The scope of time and space is simply too vast—”

 “What? No, I’m Hylia’s Chosen, this is my—”

Lana held up a hand. “We don’t have the time to argue. With those Gates, these monsters can revive every incarnation of Ganon to have existed. Every single one from every single timeline. How many do you think you could fight before you fall? One? Seven? Twelve? Not many, I can promise you that.”

“So, what, you came here to tell me my efforts to build Hyrule are over before they even started because hundreds of sequels to Demise are going to pour out of space-time while I sit and twiddle my thumbs? I’m going to help, regardless of what you think.”

The devotee’s smile was insultingly large. “I knew you’d be determined to help, Link. You always are. You just need a little help this time. If Ganon’s minions want to travel through time then darn it, we will too! Twelve heroes, all coming from different times and lands, brought together now to prevent Ganon’s infinite revival. I’m going to send eleven heroes from the future to you; all of you bear the same Spirit, same Triforce, and same Courage. Together, I know you will succeed. I’m sorry, but I can’t stay any longer. The Goddess of Time grows impatient; while she has blessed my plan, she is unhappy with my continued insistence to interfere in Hylia’s world.” She did cup his face this time, and her hand was brilliantly warm in the way all the divine were. “Be safe, Link, Hero of the Skies. I know you and my chosen will do great things.”

There was a clap of thunder and then the blackness was gone, replaced by the ceiling of Link’s bedroom. The devotee was gone, leaving just him in his blankets, the roaring of a thunderstorm outside, and Zelda beside him in bed, snuggled around her pillow and looking perfect even in sleep. Her beaded braids were a tangled halo around her head, and her soft snores were drowned out by the sound of rain on the roof.

“Zelda,” he whispered into the gloom. It was swallowed by the rain. He gently shook her shoulder. “Zelda, sunbeam, I need you to wake up.” She groaned and swatted at him, then rolled over, taking the covers with her.

“I had a vision.”

Her eyes opened immediately. She knew that tone. Even six years after their return from sealing Demise, she would never forget it. It spoke of determination and destiny and courage, as well as an omen of bad things to come. Divinely ordained things to come.

“Are you sure?” She said, all traces of sleep gone from her face.

“Do you doubt me?”

“Never.”

“Yes. I’m sure. I was on a battlefield, Hylians fighting against creatures of Demise. There was a woman, a sorceress who called herself the Guardian of Time. Her weapon, a magic book, was taken by some kind of creature. She told me with that book, they could resurrect every iteration of Demise’s future incarnations to ever exist.”

“Demise’s future incarnations… so his curse will come to fruition,” Zelda said bitterly. She bit her lip and Link gently pulled it free with his thumb. “All that pain, all your suffering… everything you did for Hylia—all for nothing.”

“I did it for you, not Hylia.” He said. Zelda smiled softly, a sad, small thing, and Link rolled on top of her and kissed her gently. Zelda pushed him back and rested the pads of her fingertips on his face. Thunder exploded, lightning casting deep shadows on their faces.

“You defeated Demise once before. You can do it again,” she said with complete confidence. Warmth bloomed in Link’s gut. She trusted him, and had such unwavering faith, unlike anyone else ever had. It was impossible not to love her when she looked at him like this, eyes shining and strong, the corners crinkled, mouth turned up and proud. He had to stop himself from kissing her again.

“According to the Guardian of Time, I can’t. Not this time. If these minions succeed, who knows how many different versions of Ganon—Demise’s creature of choice— with rise. No one man can stop that. The Guardian said she’s sending eleven others, all ‘heroes.’ My spiritual successors.” Link said. The ones I damned, he couldn’t help himself from adding now that he knew for sure Demise would get the last word in. As if she could see the thought behind his eyes, Zelda pulled him down, hands hot on his cheeks, and kissed him again, harder this time. Her hands crept up to his hair and she slotted her fingers behind his head.

“When are you leaving?” She asked against his mouth. Link sat up, untangled her fingers from his hair, and brought them to his mouth.

“Tonight, I assume,” he said, his breath tickling her knuckles. “I think I’m going to draw the Master Sword. It seems right to bring Fi along.”

“Tonight!?” Zelda ripped back her hands and sat up so fast she almost smacked his head with her own. “We’re not ready! We have to pack, and buy potions, and I need my sword sharpened and shield reinforced, and father—”

“We? Zelda—”

“Yes, we, I’m not letting you go on another Gods' damned mission alone.”

“Sunbeam—”

“Don’t ‘sunbeam’ me—”

“The Guardian already said the Goddess of Time was unhappy with her sending the heroes here—”

“So, this Guardian is acting against the wishes of her own Goddess!?”

Link gave her an unamused look. “How many times have I acted against Hylia’s wishes?”

“Not as much as you should.”

Link slid out of bed and Zelda followed. “If you think this is too dangerous for me—” She said, voice rising.

“I think we don’t know what we’re up against—”

“So endangering yourself is okay—”

“Yes! Yes, it is! I am Hylia’s knight reborn; it is expected that I endanger myself for the good of the world no matter what. But even if I wasn't, someone needs to protect the Surface while I am gone, and I only trust you to do so.”

Zelda glowered at him and Link moved out of the bedroom to the den, sliding his boots onto his feet and throwing on the coat lying on the floor.

“Link—”

But he was already out the door, stomping through the dark corridors of their small makeshift home on the Surface and throwing open the front door, stepping into the night. Rain pelted him as he made his way through the trees of Faron. The vision of monsters with time magic in their claws filled his mind, and Link made the walk to the Sealed Grounds in a haze. He was grateful when he finally made it to the descent to the seal, now the Goddess statue’s resting place. The statue towered, beautiful and ominous as lightning lit up Hylia’s delicately carved face. Her fat rolls were chiseled with care, the feathers of her wings dripping with detail, and every fold of her dress seemed to flutter despite being stone. The statue spoke of love, of adoration. It looked nothing like Zelda. It looked exactly like Zelda.

Link breathed out a prayer, mostly on instinct, and moved forward towards the entrance of the Goddess statue's base, but before he could get far the world seemed to freeze, the rain hovering in the sky and the thunder stopping mid-rumble. There was a buzzing in the air—Link recognized it as time magic, recognized the feel of Time Gates and timestones and summoning spells. There was a crack and the world trembled for just a moment, then seemed to shatter. A Time Gate flickered to life, just for a moment, enough to see the blue and purple of its power, and then it was gone, leaving in its place a gasping man. Link desperately wished he’d been given the time to draw Fi before all this shit started.

The man straightened—he was clearly a soldier, dressed in chain mail with a sword on his back and a blue scarf tied around his throat. His pale blue eyes were piercing in the gloom of the night, and his face was silver with burns. Link raised his fists; he may not have a sword, but he could still fight. The soldier held up his hands in peace. He moved his hands upward and gently wiggled his fingers.

‘Friendly.’ He signed again, wiggling his fingers and repeating the sign a third time. ‘Friendly. Do you know sign?’

Link nodded, lowering his fists. “Hylian sign, some Sheikah.”

The man seemed spurred on by that. ‘Is your name L-I-N-K?’

Link nodded. “Is it yours?”

‘I had a vision. Did you?’

“A woman with blue hair calling herself a Time Guardian—”

‘Lana,’ the soldier signed with a sigh of relief. ‘Her name is Lana. Good, so her spell worked. She sent me here to meet the Hero of the Skies—is that you?’

Link debated not answering, but finally nodded.

The soldier smiled. ‘I’m Link, Hero of Ages.’ He signed, then extended a hand. Link took it. The man—Link?—‘s hand vibrated with lingering magic.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Hero of Ages.”

---

Link-the-soldier warmed himself by the fireplace in the den as the sky emptied itself outside, the other Link sitting at the table behind him while Zelda paced from wall to wall.

“You’re going to burn a trail into the floor pacing like that,” Link said, watching his fiancé move with nervous energy.

“I didn’t expect it all to start so soon,” She mumbled, chewing on her lip. Link longed to reach forward and gently pull her lip free. “Link—” Both men looked expectantly toward her. Link-the-soldier ran a hand through his damp hair.

‘Obviously, we can’t keep doing this.’ Link-the-soldier signed, ‘We’re both Link, and ten more are coming. It’ll be ridiculous trying to talk to each other like this. We need new names.’

Link brow furrowed. He rather liked his name, thank you very much, but Link-the-soldier had a point. He couldn’t be Link-the-soldier forever. Link knew next to nothing about the other man, but he did know who he was—a Hero dedicated to protecting the Sky and the Surface, heaven and earth. The Hero of the Sky, as dubbed by the Goddess Herself.

“I’m called the Hero of the Skies here,” Link said, “so perhaps Sky?”

The soldier slowly nodded. ‘Where I’m from, I grained the Triforce in the War of Ages. Ages sounds... stupid— maybe Era then?’ He signed

Sky snorted, and Zelda’s glum expression finally started to shift.

“Yes! Sky and Era, that will work perfectly.” Zelda said. Her smile was tight.

“So, this Time Guardian—”

‘—Lana, that’s her name—’

“Lana; you know her?”

Era felt his scarf from where it hung by the flames, checking to see if it had dried. It hadn’t.

‘We served together during the War of Ages.’

“I thought she said Time Guardians were supposed to remain neutral?”

Era laughed a bright, hardy thing. ‘Oh, they are, but Gods forbid she not stick her nose into everything. During the war… another…’ Era’s hands rose and fell, clearing thinking hard on what his next words should be. ‘Originally, there was a Time Guardian named Cia. She was… manipulated, exploited by Ganondorf, and expelled the light left in her so she could carry out his bidding without the interference of the Goddess of Time. That light became Lana. Cia opened major Time Gates to gain followers and almost destroyed the timeline in the process. So, unfortunately, I have a bit of experience in the timeline destruction part of adventures.’

“So you’re just left in the middle of a war?” Sky spluttered. Lana had been mid-battle in the vision—Hyrule needed Era! How could she pull him from his place as Hero when he was most needed?

Era shook his head. ‘It’s been three months since I sealed Ganondorf. Lana… time doesn’t work in a linear way for her. There is no straightforward line—honestly, it’s impossible for anyone but a fellow follower of the Goddess of Time to understand how she thinks—’

“Ganondorf.” Zelda interrupted. “Is that the same creature as Ganon that Lana mentioned?”

Era blinked at her. ‘You don’t know who Ganondorf is?’

“Obviously,” Zelda said, and only Sky could pick up the self-consciousness hiding in her voice. “Lana mentioned Ganon, but we’ve never…”

“We’ve never faced such a creature. Just Demise.” Sky finished for her. Era’s eyes went wide.

‘Of course-- you, you’re that Hero of the Sky,’ he signed, hands soft. ‘I—it’s an honor to meet you.’

“Honor--?”

‘You’re the first of us. The best of us.’

Sky flushed. “I’m just as mortal as anyone else.” Era shook his head.

‘When Cia opened the Time Gates, one opened to Skyloft and parts of the Surface—I saw the world you saved, the creatures you faced. I heard of your victory against Demise from Fi herself.’

“I…” Sky forced himself to swallow. “You met Fi?”

‘Served beside her.’

Sky felt Zelda’s hands on his shoulder, warm and grounding. Fi, Fi, Fi.

“Was she alright? Did she…”

‘She spoke highly of you. She seemed to miss you dearly.’

Sky’s hands trembled under the table. Zelda squeezed his shoulders. Of course, she noticed his subtle pained longing; she was Zelda. Warm, brilliant, blinding Zelda, his Goddess incarnate. The talk of Fi was waking up something sentimental in him, and he was thankful when Zelda shifted the subject.

“Did Lana say anything to you? She didn’t say much to Link—to Sky.”

‘She said she was bringing together twelve of us, and opened a Time Gate instead of answering questions. Just like her.’ Era answered, lip quirked. There was a fondness there that Sky wasn’t being given access to.

“So, what, we just wait out in the rain? Search around the Goddess statue where I found you all night for another hero to appear?”

Era raised his hands to answer, but suddenly the fire stopped, froze mid-flicker, still as sand, and the pressure in the room grew with the presence of magic. There was a crack, the flash of blue of a Time Gate, and a thud as a figure fell from the ceiling straight onto the table.

It yelped as it slammed into the wood and Sky jumped back as the figure tumbled off his table. Era’s sword was in hand in an instant, pointed at the lump of… teenager? on the floor. The teen stood with a groan, rubbing the red mark on his face that would surely be a bruise in a few hours.

“No swords please?” He said, holding up his hands. “Not my fault I got shoved through that thing.”

‘L-I-N-K?’ Era signed. The teen—Link—nodded.

‘Link,’ Era pointed to himself, ‘Link,’ and to Sky.

“Well great. Now there’s six of us.” The kid shook out his limbs. His colorful leather doublet was covered in pockets and pouches, and his vitiligo turned his face into an elegant patchwork quilt.

“Link, Link, nice to meet you. Now whose table did I land on?”

Sky raised his hand. “Mine.”

"The boys have been discussing names," Zelda said, looking at this Link's height-- or lack thereof. This... this was a child.

Era nodded. "We chose nicknames. Since, you know, we are up to three Links and potentially twelve."

The new Link grinned. One of his teeth was chipped, giving his smile a mischievous slant. “I’ve been told I’m terribly unoriginal at nicknames. This will be fun.”

“Sky,” Sky said, holding out a hand. “as in Hero of the Skies.”

Link’s grin grew. His handshake was on the weaker side. “The Chosen Hero himself. An honor, sir.”

‘Era,’ Era signed. ‘I served in the War of Ages.’

Link bit his lip, twirling a strand of hair as he thought. “So, names… Quartet. Because I’m a quartet.” He finally decided. Both older men looked at him, curiosity piqued. “Wait till it’s not raining and I’ll show you. It would be a little cramped in here.” He patted the hilt of the sword at his waist. “Four Sword. Useful in combat and puzzle solving.” He said, as if that answered everything.

Zelda sighed. “Since it seems like I might be getting visitors all night, I might as well put on a pot for tea. Or coffee, if you’d prefer. Hot chocolate? Juice?”

‘Tea is fine, ma’am.’ Era signed. ‘Thank you. And some ice for Quartet’s cheek.’

Quartet nodded with a scowl, poking his darkening cheek. “Damn dimensional travel. Never gets any easier.” Zelda pressed a kiss to Sky’s hair before leaving the living room for the kitchen. Outside, it continued to pour.

---

The sky would have been lightening by now if not for the onslaught coming from above. It never rained like this on Skyloft with so many of the clouds below them. Here though, in the settlements scattered through the Faron region, storm clouds were present more often than not. No wonder the forest was so lush.

Much of Skyloft had settled in Faron, building close-knit settlements whose buildings had to be rebuilt two or three times as the Skylofitians and their architecture adjusted to the new climate. Architecture, agriculture, weather, even the cloud cover… adjusting to life below the clouds had not been easy, but it had been worth it. Only Link and Zelda’s home was so far from Faron and so close to the Sealed Grounds. The brick walls were just a brisk walk from the Goddess statue’s final resting place; Sky said it was because he wanted to be close to Fi—really it was because he couldn’t bear to let the Imprisoned’s old seal out of his sight. Not that any of it mattered, apparently. Demise won in the end; this Ganon will be destroying his land for millennia, all because Sky hadn’t cut out Demise’s damn heart before he could utter those horrible words.

My hate never perishes. An incarnation of my hatred shall ever follow your kind, dooming them to wander a blood-soaked sea of darkness for all time!

Sky had doomed Hyrule before it even had the chance to live.

The four of them had been tossing back ideas on their next steps once the heroes arrived, if they even did, when the knock came. Era and Sky both stood; Quartet just took a loud slurp of his juice before following the older men from the den to the home’s entrance. Era reached the door before Sky and slowly opened it, hand on his sword hilt. Sky rolled his eyes. Dramatic. On the other side of the door stood two youths, one a small child and the second in his young twenties. The eldest was sopping wet, mostly because he was holding most of his short cloak over the child. In the morning light, the scarring creeping out from his shirt collar and across his cheeks was clear, along with his missing ear. But most noticeable was his arm, or lack thereof. Instead of flesh was a glowing prosthetic, unlike anything Sky had seen before. The child was one of the shortest eleven-year-olds Sky had ever seen, and he was glad to see them wearing their own cape and a leather apron—at least they must be somewhat warm in the cold rain.

‘L-I-N-K?’ Era signed.

‘L-I-N-K’ The teen signed back. Era ushered them out of the rain.  

“Let me guess,” Sky started once the two shook out their hair, “you had a vision and then were—”

The young man slipped a strange, glowing slate off his hip and it chirped as it lit up a cobalt blue. His fingers flew across the screen before a bright, feminine, robotic voice said from the slate:

‘Shoved unceremoniously through some portal? Yeah.’ A text-to-speech machine? Sky had never seen anything like it, used to those who didn't speak utilizing signs or the written word. It reminded him of the robotic Sheikah creations he'd seen in the Surface's past. The child tried to hide a giggle at the young man's unimpressed huff and failed. Sky was already enamored with them. Sky loved children, always had, and daydreamed of his own, of pressing his hand on Zelda’s stomach to feel for a kick, of pressing a kiss to his child’s forehead as they climbed onto a loftwing for the first time, of smothering them with all the love a father could give. He didn’t know if Zelda felt the same; despite all his divine courage, he was terrified to start the conversation. What if she disagreed? What if she didn’t see a future with small hands and grubby smiles? He didn’t think he could recover from that.

‘That’s Lana for you,’ Era signed, ushering them into the den. The heroes sat, scattered about the crowded room. ‘Never good at patience or explanations. This is Sky and Quartet, and I’m Era. We've been playing around with nicknames; multiple Links get confusing very quickly.’

Era quickly explained the details behind each name, and the child’s eyes brightened when they heard who Sky was—did every hero know him? Did they know what he’d done to them? How he had damned them all? Sleep was starting to pull at Sky’s eyes. It had been late when the vision came to him and he’d lost hours of sleep, and with the lack of rest, yesterday’s pain was beginning to return too fast for his liking.

‘Minish’ the child signed, fingers slow.

“Minish?” Quartet asked, wiping away a juice mustache.

‘Minish. Small, mousey creatures. Leave rupees in grass, hide kinstones for children to find. Helped me on adventure.’

Quartet laughed. “Minish—Mini! Because you’re tiny!” Era swatted him on the back of the head and Minish flushed, sneaking behind Sky, but they didn’t seem genuinely upset by his comment.

The soaking scarred man leaned against the wall, chewing on his cuticles.

“What about you,” Quartet asked, and the man examined his raw fingers thoughtfully. Apparently, the chewing was a frequent habit. “Any ideas?”

For a moment the only sound was the tapping of his fingers on the screen, and then, ‘The monks… they called me the Hero of the Wild.' Sky’s brow furrowed thoughtfully. Monks… like his dragons, perhaps? Or Impa?

“Wilds.” Quartet said, leaning back in his chair. “Easy enough.”

The man—Wilds—seemed unsure, but nodded. Suddenly, Sky noticed a quiet that hadn’t been present for hours. He let out a relieved sigh.

“It’s stopped raining.”

‘Thank the Goddess,’ Era signed, moving to the window and looking out at the glittering dampness that clung to everything. The rain was gone, and it seemed right to start an adventure with the end of a storm.

Era grabbed his scarf, now dry and warm, and wrapped it around his neck, sticking the ends in his belt.

“Where are you going?” Sky asked.

‘Quartet said he’d show off his sword, didn’t he?’

All the heroes looked to Quartet, whose smile was impish and crooked, his chipped tooth right there for all to see. “Well, the sun is coming out.”

He stood, stretched, and once they piled in the entryway to Sky’s quickly becoming too-small home, held the door for them, dipping into a bow. Wilds rolled his eyes but followed anyway. Outside, the grass was damp, and Sky’s gardens had been turned to mud. Quartet gestured for them to circle around and placed a hand on the hilt of the sword at his side. His smile was blinding.

“Stand back, sometimes we come out a little scattered.”

He drew the sword. The world seemed to vibrate, the air shimmering and spotted, like one had pressed the heels of their hands into their closed eyes for a tad too long, conjuring up dancing colors and starbursts. The sensation lasted only a few seconds before fading, and where Quartet had stood there were—four Quartets?

Each seemed identical at first glance, but with a closer observation small differences came to light: the discoloring on his skin was just the littlest bit different between faces, moving from over an eyebrow to over an eye, or switching the corner of a mouth. His hair, originally deeply curly and pulled into a tight ponytail at the nape of his neck, was different from boy to boy, braided on one head or hanging free on another. Instead of Quartet’s colorful doublet, each boy’s leather doublet was a single color: red, blue, green, and violet.

“Good sirs,” the green Quartet said with a cheeky smile and an exaggerated flourish, “the power of the Four Sword!”

The violet Quartet rolled his eyes. “The Four Sword splits the soul of whoever wields it. Please, call me Vio. This is Red, Green, and Blue—easy enough to remember.”

“We’re quite skilled in nicknaming, as you can see,” Blue said, and Red laughed.

“Just wonderful,” Red echoed, the joke obviously holding history between the four of them. Vio jabbed him in the side.

‘So the four in Four Sword is quite literal,’ Era signed. Blue nodded enthusiastically.

“It took a long time to learn how to work together, but when we do, we’re unstoppable!” He said with a wide grin, and Green clapped him on the back.

“No one is a match for the Four Sword,” he agreed.

‘Is it confusing?’ Wilds slate chirped, ‘When you become one again, I mean.’

“It took some getting used to,” Red admitted, “All four different memories of your adventure being shoved into your head at once… it’s…”

“Debilitating,” Vio finished for him. The other three nodded.

“Our Zelda, Goddesses bless her, helped more than I think she knows,” Green said. The look on his face was almost wistful. “Zelda, she was the first to notice something was wrong when we fused after sealing Ganon. Shoved us in a broom closet and demanded an explanation.” He laughed. “The look on her face when we unfused and let her see all four of us…”

Vio cleared his throat. “Alright, we’ve had our fun. There are more important things going on than this sword right now,” He said “like the five potentially remaining heroes waiting to darken our doorstep. And my colors can get annoying quickly—” the three other boys shouted in disagreement—“we should meld before someone else shows up.”

Vio took the sword in his hand and pointed it towards the others, who begrudgingly followed suit with their own blades; they all joined the tips of their blade, and the starbursts and vibrations were back for a fraction of a moment before Quartet, and just Quartet, stood before them.

‘Quartet indeed,’ Era signed, and Quartet laughed, face bright.

“My colors can be a bit much to handle—trust me, you can only put up with Blue for so long before you want to punch him in the face. And Vio can be… abrasive. And Red is emotional to the point of being exhausting, and Green is just a tad too full of himself.”

“You don’t seem to like ‘your colors’ very much,” Sky said.

Quartet smiled, all chipped teeth and crooked corners. “Of course I like them—there me! I’m just self-aware enough to know they’re all asses too. They’re unbalanced and overly simplified. They have no depth, and that can make them a pain to deal with.”

‘Who do you think will be next?’ Wilds said with his slate. ‘I don’t know much history.’

‘I spent most of the war in the times of the Hero of Twilight, Hero of Time, and Hero of the Sky, though Cia and Lana’s gates were open in far more places along the timeline. My bet is on the Hero of Twilight.’ Era said, face upturned to the sun. He looked less chiseled in the sunlight, less like a soldier and more like a young man. Sky had the urge to paint him like this, sunlight glittering off his chainmail, his scarf a beautiful sapphire blue. His eyes were less piercing, gentler, and without the chill of the rain, lip stain was visible on his lips. He was beautiful in a way Sky rarely saw men. Era turned, noticing Sky staring, and Sky looked away, feeling rather rude. Era’s barest smile still managed to light up the man’s face. Yes, Sky wanted to paint him desperately.

“There’s no point standing around on my front doorstep,” Sky said. “Come, let me show you the Goddess statue. I have an old friend waiting for me inside.”

He turned to the house—it would be nice to change out of pajamas before he left—to find Zelda outside leaning against the edge of the front door’s frame. She looked divine in the rain-soaked dawn—literally. Even barefoot, with dark circles under her eyes and her braids unstyled, piled atop her head, still wearing her sleep clothes, she gave off the aura of something distinctly otherworldly. Something worth venerating, worth protecting— worth dying for. When Sky descended to the Surface it wasn’t for Hylia. When he fought Ghirahim, when he sealed Demise, when he fought the Imprisoned over and over… it wasn’t for Hylia. It was for her. The headmaster’s daughter with the blood of the Goddess. His Zelda.

“Leaving?” She asked. “I suppose someone should wait here in case any other heroes come knocking.” Sky moved to her and took her hand, pressing the back of it to his lips. She smirked.

“Okay, okay, sleepyhead. Go ogle your pretty sword.”

Sky nodded and watched her move back inside before turning back to the group. They already seemed raring to go; day clothes later then.

“It’s a short hike—no match for a couple of seasoned adventurers!”

Wilds, who had been mostly quiet so far, smiled. It was surprisingly bright. Sky decided that there was someone equally bright under Wilds’ quiet exterior, and he was excited to find him.

‘Lead the way,’ he typed.

Walking far slower than he normally would to help the heroes keep up, Sky took them out of view of the house, deeper into the jungles of Faron to the remains of the temple that guarded the Sealed Grounds. Faron was alive after the rain, blessed butterflies fluttering through the air, green squishing underfoot. Wilds ran a hand down the trunk of a tree as they walked, brow thoughtful.

‘These trees… they’re old, older than what you’d see even in well-established forests. Wherever we are, I wouldn’t be surprised if this forest has been around a millennium, maybe more.’ Wilds said. He rubbed a pinch of moss between his fingers, staining his fingertips green. He licked a small piece, then nodded. ‘Some of these you can only find at the Spring of Courage.’

“The Sealing Grounds are some of the oldest and most sacred places on the Surface outside of a purification spring. These forests have been along longer than Skyloft has been in the air.” Sky said in reply, pretending he didn’t just see this stranger stick an unknown plant in his mouth.

“My birthplace,” Sky supplied at the one or two confused faces when he mentioned Skyloft, “It was an island in the sky.”

Wilds eyes brightened. 'In the sky? Where? How high? Why move below to the surface?'

--Which led to Sky explaining in simple, vague terms his childhood above the clouds, Wilds listening with an unsettling intensity.

It took little time to reach the temple ruins, though, with Faron’s already present humidity and the fresh rainstorm, they were slick through with sweat. Only Wilds seemed unaffected by the hike. Sky felt an ache begin to grow between his shoulder blades. He was going to regret not getting enough sleep.

Era whistled as Sky pushed open the towering stone doors of the temple. Groose had been working to restore the crumbled building to its former glory, or at least a fraction of it. The walls had been braced, the ceiling gaps filled, and the whole place rigorously cleaned, as well as a memorial for Impa added that both Groose and Zelda had agreed was absolutely necessary. Wilds' eyes were bright as he took in the ruins, and Minish squatted down to watch some of the beetles crawling through the floor mosaics with glee, occasionally poking one and lighting up as it rolled into a ball. Adorable. Quartet wandered away from the group, Wilds following after, and Era seemed content to just soak in the heroes’ excitement. His face clouded over in a way Sky didn’t quite understand once he noticed the memorial. He stepped carefully towards it then kneeled, running gentle, hesitant fingers over the gifts left by Groose.

‘I have an Impa too.’ He signed. He looked almost… shaken. ‘She was the general I served under during the war, and a close friend of Princess Zelda. Lovers even. She was a perfect soldier if there ever was one.’ He looked over his shoulder to Sky. ‘All these Links and Zeldas I can understand, can accept, but two Impas? Is there any part of our life that is original? Is everything just recycled, over and over?’

Sky opened his mouth to try and find a way to answer when a crack echoed through the air, followed by a thunderous crash. The two men bolted toward the rest of the heroes.

“Found one!” Quartet shouted. There, on top of a pile of bricks being used to patch a hole in the ceiling, was a teenager. Quartet grimaced. “He hit the bricks pretty hard when he dropped outta the portal. Hey, hey kid, are you okay?” He knelt down to the teen's side and shook his shoulder. The kid groaned, eyelids fluttering. He looked to be 19 and was covered in scars, missing two and a half fingers, with clothes made for warm humid weather. He was tatted up his entire left arm, shoulder to fingertips, but the most noticeable thing was the simple, wooden prosthetic where his right leg should be. The kid mumbled something before finally opening his eyes and squinting up at them.

“Come on, big guy, up you go,” Quartet said, pulling the kid up by his armpit.

“Fuuuck,” he finally managed to slur and blinked a few times before reaching up to feel the back of his head. “That hurt like a bitch.”

Sky clapped his hands over Minish’s ears; Minish promptly ducked out from in between them.

“Links?” The teen asked, squinting between the five of them. Quartet nodded.

“Yup. You one too?”

The kid nodded, then groaned, instantly regretting the movement.

“I’m Quartet—well, I’m Link, but twelve Links will get confusing fast, so Sky and Era (those two) decided on nicknames. So, Quartet—me— Sky, Era, and Wilds, and that little one there is Minish. We've just kinda been winging it with nicknames; Wilds and Sky used their hero title, Mini’s is from an ally on their adventure, Era chose the name of some war, and I sort of have four souls, so Quartet!”

The kid took the information in stride. He ran a hand through his hair, feeling for bumps. “Technically I’m the Hero of Winds, but nobody uses that other than old dead boats. Waker, maybe?”

“Waker sounds wonderful,” Sky said, giving what he hoped was a disarming smile. Quartet threw an arm over Waker’s shoulders.

“Good to meet you, Waker. Welcome to the courage club.”

Wilds snorted. ‘Courage club?’

“I think it’s catchy,” Waker said. He shot Quartet a crooked grin. “Has some snazz to it.”

“See? Waker thinks it has snazz.”

‘Waker is already proving to have bad taste.’

“Hey!”

The three continued to bicker, all in light spirits, as Sky led them through the temple to the beginning of the descent to the Goddess statue. Wilds eyes went wide as a full moon as he took in her towering majesty.

‘She’s…’ His typing seemed to fail him, and Sky laughed.

“Beautiful. I know.”

They moved down the spiral pathway, and if anyone noticed Sky stop to grab a stamina fruit off the ground and take a small bite, no one said anything. Hell, they had all seen Wilds eat moss. His shoulder ached. Cure quests and their bad timing. Still, Sky smiled as they reached the base of the Goddess statue. Coming here felt like coming home, almost as much as holding Zelda did. But then, Hylia and Zelda were one and the same, so it shouldn’t be too surprising. Towering above them, the Goddess statue promised the Master Sword—promised Fi—should Sky just be brave enough to draw her from her pedestal. He’d visited the sword often, but actually taking it in hand had seemed like a bad idea. Now though, it seemed like a vital one.

He walked quickly inside (his shoulder hurt, his left arm dragged, his lungs weighted on his spine like iron blocks, he was so tired, couldn’t Lana have let him sleep) and the sight of Fi there, resting elegantly in her pedestal, filled him with joy.

“Hello, friend.” He said, walking closer. He had reached out a hand to take her hilt when Waker called out.

“Hey! Hey kid!”

The heroes all turned. Creeping out of the Goddess statue was a kid—no, wait. While he was short enough to be a kid at first glance, he was actually a teen, nineteen at the oldest. Something about his body didn’t look right, even covered by his oversized green sweater, only the tips of his fingers visible under the sleeves. Two things stood out instantly—the leather eyepatch covering his left eye, and the scaring across his face. Sky had thought the colorful markings were tattoos at first, but no, they had to be scars, two that curled under each eye and one that curved across his forehead.

The kid’s eye went wide, and then he bolted. With surprising speed, Quartet tackled him. The kid bit his wrist hard enough to draw blood and Quartet swore. Up the kid popped, this time drawing an elegant sword dripping with fairy magic.

Era held up his hands, gesturing for the kid to sheath the weapon.

‘We mean no harm.’ He signed. ‘I’m sorry for my friend’s impulsiveness.’

“No harm? He bit me!”

‘We’re looking for some people. Have you seen anyone named Link?’

The kid stiffened and Waker sighed. “You’re named Link, aren’t you.”

The kid seemed to realize he couldn’t sign and hold a sword and warily tucked it under his arm.

‘What does it matter if I am?’ he signed with a sneer. The heroes exchanged a look. Yup. Definitely a Link.

‘If you are Link, then you know we’ve been called on a quest.’ Era signed, slowly stepping forward as if facing a cornered animal. At the sight of Era, Link’s eyes went wide. Huh.

‘Do—do I know you?’ Era signed, studying Link’s face.

Link shook his head. Era looked unconvinced.

"Regardless, we need you," Quartet said, nursing his wrist. "The Goddess of Time needs you. Hyrule needs you.’

‘I don’t want anything to do with a deity as fickle as the Goddess of Time,’ Link signed.

‘If you know anything about time, then you must understand the importance of this quest.’ Era replied. If Sky didn’t know any better, he’d say Era looked almost pained. Huh.

‘I’m done with quests.’

“So, you’d let people suffer?” Quartet cried, looking thoroughly disgusted with Link. Sky slapped a hand over his mouth; Quartet licked his palm. That comment at least seemed to make Link slightly more hesitant about leaving.

‘If you are Link,’ Era signed, ‘then you won’t let people die. You have a chance to save lives. Please. Use it.’

Link swallowed before finally slumping in reluctant acceptance.

‘So, I take it you are all the Links Lana mentioned?’ He signed. Era twitched at the mention of her name. How could the kid possibly know her name? None of the others had.… but Link had already moved on, and no one else seemed to draw attention to Link’s slip-up.

‘Yes; using Link for all of us gets confusing quickly, so we’ve been using nicknames. My name is Era. This is Sky, Quartet, Minish, Wilds, and Waker. It’s a pleasure to meet you.’

Link snorted. ‘I’m sure it is.’

‘We’ve been using—’

‘Mask.’ Link signed before Era could even finish. Era flinched, and Link—Mask—looked away. Huh. Obviously, something else was happening here, but Sky wasn’t going to pry. Everyone had secrets, especially heroes. Era prattled on in a way Sky had never seen before, hands almost nervous, explaining which hero was which, and Mask’s eyes never left his face.

“Which one are you?” Quartet asked. “Pretty sure I’m early in the timeline.”

Mask straightened, face unreadable. His facial scars seemed to glow in the dim light of the inside of the Goddess statue.

‘I’m the Hero of Time.’

The words ‘Hero of Time’ meant nothing to Sky—unsurprising given he was the first of all of them—but they clearly did to Era. For a moment he looked like he’d been struck between the eyes before he drew himself to his full height, face going stiff and blank. Sky wondered if this was what he looked like on the battlefield.

Mask leaned against an ornate stone pillar, done humoring Era with conversation, and Sky turned his attention to the real reason they were here. Fi.

She sat, elegant and silent, in her pedestal, and Wilds eyed her warily. Had all of them wielded her? Quartet fought with the Four Sword, not the Master Sword, but had the rest of them held her with a reverent grip as he had?

Sky took her hilt in hand and lifted the sword from the pedestal in one smooth, clean motion. She sang in his hand, glad to be held by her master again.

‘It is beautiful sword.’ Minish signed. So, they hadn’t all seen her before then. ‘Well crafted. Made with care.’ The leather apron they wore looked like something a blacksmith apprentice would wear—the little one probably knew what a well-crafted sword looked like, and Sky preened under the praise. The Master Sword had been forged in divine flame, and Sky had tempered it with more care than he’d given to anything in his life other than Zelda herself. Minish reached forward to examine the blade, only to have their wrist snatched and arm yanked away.

“Don’t!” Mask shouted. It was the first word Sky had heard him say. He hadn’t thought the hero had been able to talk. “Don’t touch that.”

“It’s fine,” Sky said with a calming smile. “I won’t let them cut themselves.”

“Not. Safe.” Mask growled. “They’re too young. Who knows what the damn thing will do.”

Sky bristled. “The Master Sword is not some ‘damn thing’—”

Mask scoffed. Minish squirreled out of his grip, stuck their tongue out at him, and stomped behind Sky, peering out at Mask from between Sky’s legs.

“You know nothing about this sword, nothing—” Sky said, struggling to keep his voice level

‘I know enough!’ Mask signed with a sneer.

“Guys, guys,” Waker said, stepping between them, hands out in a placating manner. “It’s just a sword. There’s no need to fight over a sword.”

“It’s not just a sword!” Sky shouted just as Mask signed the same thing.

“It’s divine,” Sky said Waker.

‘It’s dangerous,’ Mask signed at the same time. Sky fought the urge to glare at him. He would not glare at the nineteen-year-old. He was too old for that. He opened his mouth again when he heard someone calling out from the entry of the statue’s interior.

“Hello? Heroes of all sorts of ages?” the man at the entryway called. “I heard yelling and let myself in. Hope you don’t mind.”

He was young, wearing clothes far more fashionable than what Sky thought of when he thought of the Heroes’ Spirit, with purple accents and a plush, hand-knit scarf of deep green and gold.

“I’m Link—I’m assuming the seven of you are too?” He said, one hand on his hip. “It’s been a while since I’ve jumped dimensions and portals always give me heartburn; forgive me if I’m a bit blunt.”

This Link seemed entirely unphased by the time-hopping and ‘multiple Links’ situation, even more so than Era, who had known Lana personally. Link blew his bangs out of his face and grinned. “Savior of Lorule. Pleased to meet you all.”

‘Not pleased to meet him.’ Minish signed, pouting, before pointing at Mask. The teen rolled his eyes. Link let out a low whistle.

“Never thought I’d see that blade again,” he said. He stepped closer and gestured to Sky.

“May I?”

“Sure,” Sky said, noting the warmth in Link’s voice.

“Hello, old friend,” Link said, taking the Master Sword in hand. “Never thought I would see you again.” He tossed the hilt a few times, fingers spry, and turned back to Sky with a good-natured smile. Sky decided he liked this hero.

“So—who am I working with? I’m not much of a history fan, so I’m rather lacking in the ‘knowing heroes’ department, but I ought to at least know some of you.”

The growing number of Links listed off their names and titles, Link’s perfectly sculpted eyebrows raising at a few of those titles, particularly Mask’s.

“I suppose I get a name now, don’t I?” Link said, smiling. “Alright, Hue.”

“Hugh?” Quartet said incredulously. “Like the old man’s name?”

Link laughed, eyes bright. “No, dummy. Hue. Like paint colors.”

“What, is your Master Sword a paintbrush or something?” Quartet asked, and Hue fingered the old-looking gold bracelet on his wrist.

“Something like that.”

“We should get back to your beau,” Quartet said to Sky. “Now that you’ve got your fancy sword.”

‘Maybe somebody turned up while we were away,’ Wilds echoed. The look of pained nostalgia and—confusion?— that had come across his face when he first saw the Fi had finally faded.

The group seemed to agree to that and, Master Sword on his back, Sky led them out of the Goddess statue and into the muggy greenery of Faron’s forest.

---

Someone had, indeed, showed up in their absence, and had been promptly ushered into Sky’s home by his fiancé, deposited in front of the fire, and forced to accept a mug of tea. Zelda’s form of hospitality was… aggressive. The younger one sat happily on the sofa, nursing some black tea with far too much sugar, Zelda’s specialty. Her posture was perfect, her face polite, and she was getting motor grease all over Sky’s couch. She was dressed in some sort of uniform, maybe a mechanic's or an engineer’s, with dirty goggles perched on her forehead.  Beside her was a man, the eldest hero Sky had seen so far, maybe just a year or two younger than him. His clothes were the green of the Hero, but a comfortable country cut instead of that iconic tunic Sky had worn, and stuffed into his belt was a pelt of some kind. Wolf, maybe?

The elder stood when the others entered and extended a hand. “Link, Hero of Twilight. Miss Zelda has been filling us in.”

Sky shook his hand; he had a firm, firm grip. “This young person is Link, Hero of the Spirit Tracks. We’ve decided on Twilight and Spirit for nicknames. Simple and self-explanatory.” He smiled, exposing crooked teeth that seemed just a little too pointed. Sky decided he liked him. Quickly he introduced the rest of the party.

“I’ll put on some eggs or something,” Zelda said, giving Sky a peck on the cheek. “It’s still breakfast time for a few more hours and I’m starving.”

‘Oh, ma’am, let me.’ Wilds said, brightening. ‘You’ve been such a wonderful host, you deserve to sit down and relax.’

“I couldn’t make a guest cook—”

‘I’m a hero; I’m never a guest.’

Not waiting for a reply or rebuttal, Wilds pushed his way into the kitchen, and with a sigh, Zelda led them all after him. The dining table in the corner of the kitchen was usually used by just the two of them, occasionally Groose as well, and right now the thought of all of them fitting there was laughable.

“I’ll go find seats!” Quartet said, and Waker darted after him, laughing.

Slowly, with much chaos, the kitchen table (and the bedroom end table, and the living room coffee table, and…) gained enough mix match of chairs to seat thirteen.

‘I’ll be sure to make extra for the two left.’ Wilds typed out, then pulled off his gloves and rolled up his sleeves. The kitchen was well loved and well stocked; after settling down on the Surface, Sky spent much of his time baking to help with the late-night nightmares, and while he had turned to mostly painting now as a coping mechanism, the kitchen was still a safe space for Sky. Wilds washed his hands and the group watched as the man pulled the black and blue glowing slate off from his hip. He tapped it a few times and the heroes all watched, eyes wide, as blue light poured out. Dozen of eggs, truffles, honey, still warm bread… the materials kept coming and coming until there was a sizable pile of ingredients spilling across the counter.

‘How’s omelets sound?’

Shaking himself out of his awe, Sky nodded. “Omelets sound delicious.”

Wilds smiled brightly and went to work, moving with efficient yet graceful motions. Sky was proud of his cooking and baking. He knew he was good in the kitchen. In that moment, he was positive Wilds was great.

“So,” Twilight said after taking a sip of tea, “while we wait for our lovely chef and two other Links, anyone up for a game of cards?”

Era grinned. ‘A soldier’s favorite pastime.’

Twilight pulled out a deck of cards and began to deal for a game of candyman. Waker groaned.

“Candyman? That’s for kids! You can’t bet in candyman.”

“Who said anything about betting?” Twilight said with a raised eyebrow.

“I did. It ain’t a card game without betting. Deal us out for bullshit.”

“Waker! There are children present!” Twilight said.

‘Oh please,’ Mask signed, ‘everyone knows kids curse when grownups aren’t around.’

Grownups. Sky bit back a small smile. The term seemed awfully childish for a nineteen-year-old. Sky accepted his seven cards—so they were playing bullshit, after all—and watched Mask over the edge of them. Mask’s tongue peeked out as he counted his cards painfully slowly; at first glance, Sky assumed the teen was being extra thorough with his cards, but now that Sky was paying closer attention… was Mask struggling to read his cards? Era seemed to be watching Mask too, and the longing on his face was painful to see. There was something there between these two. There had to be.

Wilds began to hum to himself as Waker put down an outrageous amount of rupees for a kid his age. He was what, eighteen? Nineteen at most? Where did he get that kind of cash?

“Go big or go home,” he said with a shit-eating grin and cackled when Minish subtly tried to swipe a red rupee. “A pirate in the making! You’ll do just fine, kid. Does everyone know the rules?” There was a chorus of yeses and Waker nodded, putting an ace down face up.

“So,” Quartet said, leaning back in his chair and keeping his cards close to his chest. “Goddess knows how long we’ll all be together—we should get to know each other. Go around the circle and introduce ourselves or something. Or say something about our adventure. Or something like that; I think I’m fairly early in the timeline because I consider myself quite the history buff and Sky and Mini are the only heroes I’ve heard of.”

“My country flooded and everyone drowned and our history disappeared,” Waker said nonchalantly, putting down a card. “So frankly, I’ve got no idea who any of you people are. Seven.”

“Well, I’m the Hero of the Four Sword. Vaati, a wind mage, busted out of this sword and teamed up with Ganon to wreak havoc. I drew the sword to battle him and the magic in it split my soul, and technically body? into four. Some of y’all have met them: Red, the emotional core of my soul, Blue, the moral core, Green, a core of leadership, and Vio, the logical core. Pricks, all of them. Very useful in battle—after all, four swords are better than one. The next time we find a bokoblin I’ll split for you guys and you can meet my colors properly. Nine.”

‘Hero of Minish.’ Minish signed. They put down a card. ‘Ten. I sealed Vaati in your sword. I guess I didn’t do good enough. Sorry.’

“No, no no no, sweetheart, don’t be sorry! The seal had been weakened by a combination of a century of negligence and Ganon’s influence. It’s impossible to be your fault— you knew Vaati?”

‘Sealed him. Turned Zelda to stone to take Light Force in her. Me and Ezlo—Minish friend—forged Four Sword and sealed him away. Vaati was a sad, sad creature. Desperate and lonely.’

Quartet scoffed. “Lonely. Sure.”

“Did most of you wield the Master Sword?” Sky asked. He put down a two. “Queen.”

“BS!” Twilight called, and Mask rolled his eyes.

‘It doesn’t count if you don’t say bullshit.’

“I’m not saying that, there are children present—”

‘I’m not a kid! Eleven! And Ezlo said bullshit all the time.’ Minish said, turning their nose up at Twilight. Sky couldn’t help but smile as he took the card pile, shuffling it into his own pile. Drat.

“Eleven is very much still a kid,” Twilight said, putting down a card. “This one is actually a queen, Sky.”

“I was drinking at twelve, I wouldn’t call eleven a kid,” Waker said.

“You were what?!” Twilight cried as Minish enthusiastically nodded.

‘Not a kid!’ They signed with a grin, cards bleeding.

“Drinking at twelve—”

‘Childhood is subjective,’ Mask signed, and Era rolled his eyes. Twilight continued to rant, Minish now on their feet with excitement while Waker cackled.

“Ace” Spirit called, breaking the three up. Twilight rubbed his temples, and Minish’s smile was positively devilish.

Hue had just put down a card when the air seemed to freeze. The fly in the kitchen froze in the air and the flame under Wilds’ pan stopped crackling. There was a crack, a flash of blue Time Gate, and then in the center of the kitchen stood a person who looked as if she had just bit into a raw onion.

“What the fuck is this?” She said, and while there was no doubt in Sky’s mind that she was a Link, she wasn't the Link Sky expected. She looked normal enough, with pink hair, red mail, and pegasus boots, but looked older, maybe even close to thirty, and felt deeply of magic, something not a single other Link did.

‘Omelets. It’s omelets.’ Mask signed as Wilds began putting plates in front of all of them. There was movement from behind her and Sky realized she was hiding a person. The person stuck their head out—not just a person, but a child. They looked to be a small fourteen, with olive skin covered in freckles, and as they pushed free of Link, Sky noted skinned knees and a pink shoulder cloak lined with white fur, dirty but obviously cared for.

‘I saved you both some.’ Wilds said.

“They’re really fucking good,” Waker said around the eggs in his mouth, and Wilds flushed with pride just as Twilight flicked Waker’s ear.

“Hey!”

“Children. Present.”

Sky stood and offered a hand. “You must be our last two Links. I am also Link. Obviously. Hero of the Sky. Come, sit, Wilds made omelets and if the noises Waker is making are anything to go by, they’re delicious.”

Link just stared at Sky’s offered hand. “I’m retired.”

‘Unfortunately, Gods don’t care about that,’ Mask signed. The pros of sign language were being able to talk with your mouth full. ‘Especially time gods.’

“This is Mask,” Twilight said, giving a disarming smile. “And that is Waker, Quartet, Minish, Hue, Era, and Spirit, and Wilds is the one over there. Come, sit, Wilds made plenty.”

Link didn’t move but the teen did, eagerly sitting and stuffing their mouth with egg with their bare, unwashed hands. And unwashed they were—the kid was covered with a thin layer of dirt.

“Careful, or you’ll choke. Slower, that’s it.” Twilight said, and the kid slowly swallowed. “What’s your name?”

Link, Sky guessed.

“Link,” Link said.

‘Listen, all I’m saying, as someone with a great dislike of the Goddess of Time, once they start throwing you in portals, you’re screwed.’ Mask signed. He held up a plate to bigger Link. ‘Eat.’

Warily, older Link sat. A plate was put in front of her, then a fork and napkin. Scowling, she took a bite.

“I’m retired,” she said, “I haven’t been on an adventure since I was seventeen. I’m a scholar and a magician, not an adventurer. There isn’t any use for me here,” Mask shrugged.

‘Tough shit.’

‘I know the Time Guardian who sent us on this quest,’ Era signed. ‘Her name is Lana. If she says things are dire, then I promise you they are. Please. We can’t do this without you.”

Link scoffed. “There are ten of you. You clearly can.”

Little Link looked up from their eggs. “The blue lady was kind, and very scared. I know what it’s like to be kind and very scared. I’m going to make Hyrule a place where no one is scared ever again, and if these followers of Ganon try to stop that from happening then I will crawl through every portal and gate I need to and rip them apart with my bare hands.”

The room was silent. Finally, older Link sighed. “Retire, Zelda said, it will make life easier, Zelda said.” She mumbled under her breath. Era began to explain names and titles, and little Link wiped their mouth on their sleeve.

“Well, I don’t really have a title back at home. Sometimes the Hero of Hyrule, but only the princesses call me that. I guess the Old Man by my cave who gave me my sword used to call me ‘little bramble’. So, Bramble would be nice.”

“Bramble it is,” Waker kindly. He ruffled the kid’s hair. The other Link frowned.

“They… well, in the few countries I’ve been to I am called the Hero of Legend—”

“Legend as a name? I see, reaaal self-absorbed.” Quartet said with a grin. Legend flushed.

“I am not calling myself a legend—”

“It’s cool, it’s cool, I get it. Some people just know their worth.”

“I am NOT calling myself a legend!”

Quartet cackled, Waker and Wilds quickly joining in. Legend’s cheeks were the color of an apple. As the four of them went around in circles, Zelda took Sky’s hand.

“So, if this is all twelve, then I bet we’ll be leaving soon.” She said. “We better start packing.”

“Zelda…” Sky said softly.

“Don’t you dare say you’re going to leave without me.”

“Zelda—”

“Don’t you dare leave me down here alone on this hunk of rock again, don’t you dare.”

‘Ma’am… Zelda. If I may—I served with Lana in the War of Eras. I know what her Time Gates are like; they are highly specialized, unlike any Time Gate you might have seen before. She is the right hand of the Goddess of Time, after all. Nothing she doesn’t explicitly want to be there will be let through. Including…’ Era trailed off, but Zelda knew what he meant.

“I just don’t want you to be alone again,” Zelda whispered. “You were already alone for so long. I don’t want you to be alone ever again.”

Sky took her face in his hands. “There are twelve of us,” he said softly, kindly. “I won’t be alone.”

Zelda kissed him hard, and suddenly everyone was looking everywhere but the two of them. “Stay safe. Come back.” Zelda mumbled against his lips.

“I promise,” Sky said back. Zelda stepped back and blinked the wetness from her eyes.

“Then I guess I have to help you heroes pack.” Sky knew what Zelda sounded like when she wanted to be alone. He let her flee the kitchen and kept an ear open for her as the group dealt Legend and Bramble in. They didn’t know when Lana’s gate would be coming, or where the Time Guardian wanted them next—Sky didn’t know what an adventure based in so much time travel would even look like, let alone what the twelve of them would be expected to do. But until then they had omelets and bullshit. Hue called Spirit’s bluff and failed, grumbling as he took the card pile, and for the first time, Spirit replied with something brighter than a polite smile. Sky wasn’t sure if you could be friends with your own soul, wasn’t sure if the other heroes would want anything to do with him if they knew how he’d let Demise curse them all, but right now he just had to focus on calling the next card.

He hoped the rest of the Lana’s chosen were content to do the same.

[trixiwritesfanfic]

We'll Do It Right This Time

Chapter 3: Sheikah Tech

There were precious few occasions when any part of the castle was open to the public, but the Sheikah tech presentations were always among them. In the queen’s view, her people deserved to understand the measures that were being taken to protect them, and therefore it was imperative that communications remained transparent. In any event, any weaponry that was developed was defended by the clan of trained professionals – there really was no safer place for them, other than perhaps by the side of the hero, wherever he was. As a result, the great hall was thronging with the Hylian commonfolk and conversation bubbled from every corner.

At length, a sharp crack announced the beginning of the presentation. Three individuals stood on a dais at the front of the hall; Lea was among them, adjusting dials on the side of a large slate affixed to the wall.

‘Good evening, people of Hyrule.’ The man who spoke first was taller than his companions; he had the distinctive red eyes of the Sheikah, though his hair was streaked with brown, the result of a mixed heritage. ‘First, a progress report on the Depths expeditions.’ The woman to his left, older, slightly bent, and wearing the complete garb of the tribe, flicked at the wall slate. An image rippled to life, depicting the chasm in Kakariko village.

‘The rate of deterioration of the chasms appears to have stabilised for the time being, and we have re-marked the boundaries for your safety. Please adhere to new regulations and do not interfere with the guard posts at each site. In relation to these changes, I can also report that we have sent construction teams into the Depths themselves with the intent of investigating whether a support system can be constructed. I am informed they are working on the reactivation of the Construct creatures to aid this process.’

Scattered murmurs filled the air when he paused, gesturing Lea forwards and taking a step back himself.

‘Regarding the situation on the surface,’ Lea began, swiping sideways on the wall slate. The chasm was replaced by the strange glowing shrines that had emerged so long ago. ‘The restructure of the shrines is mostly completed at this point. Given repeated concerns which were raised in the past two decades—’ It was difficult not to see her gaze flitting towards the group of Gerudo, sitting at a table that didn’t quite fit them. ’—access is currently limited, and therefore safety protocols will be drawn up and distributed to the populace. If you are interested in helping with cultivation at your emergency shelter point, please leave your thumb imprint on Noni’s slate on your way out of this meeting.’ A brief wave towards the older woman, who was now holding the small pad up in demonstration.

‘Finally, we have officially begun the construction of a restorative apparatus based off the blueprints we found in the ancient Hateno laboratory. If this venture is successful, it may be able to mitigate the ill-effects of the gloom residue in the deepest parts of the Depths and enable us to fully eradicate the threat underground.’

A ripple of enthusiasm spread through the room in the aftermath of those words, for it was the first mostly positive progress report they’d heard in quite some time. Relief and elation were written in many of the faces, interspersed with the occasional eager or determined expression.

Many of those eager, determined individuals were carving their way towards Noni as they began to file from the hall.

‘Y’know, I expected more prattling, incoherent jargon from a group you called the “Sheikah Technology Division”,’ Ganz remarked to the queen, leaning casually against the side of her throne. He had been looming over her almost the entire meeting. ‘That was pretty understandable, and we don’t deal in anything fancy out in Gerudo Town.’

‘I have requested that the people of the Sheikah tribe present their information in a way that is comprehensible for the commonfolk. Occasionally, there are some things which cannot be simplified this way, but they’re the nitty gritty details that the populace doesn’t need to know about.’ Zelda paused, sighed, and then glanced up at the hulking redhead. ‘Were you aware of the chasm collapses or the shrine restructures? I am aware news travels slowly through the desert.’

‘We knew about the structural problems with the one at Birida Lookout, but only because the quake from one of the walls breaking down managed to rattle all the way down to the icehouse. Makute reckons the last major one swallowed up the abandoned Yiga den. Hadn’t heard about the shrine restructures.’ There was a brief pause as he considered that prospect, then… ‘It’s important that any shrines within Gerudo territory are restructured and cultivated by those who respect our law and understand the necessary balance of our climate.’

‘I take it you would prefer an all-woman construction crew exclusively consulting with the Gerudo?’

‘If possible. Exemptions for Voe are very rare, and many of my kin would rather not have a shelter than allow them any influence.’

‘I’ll see what I can do. Excuse me for a moment, I need a word with Cadoc.’

The crowd had thinned somewhat already, but those who remained quickly parted for the queen as she strode from her throne to the dais. Ganz watched her go, noting the natural fluidity of her gait and the slow, sensual sway of her hair.

It wasn’t often that he had to restrain thoughts of that nature; back home, his presence in any bed was welcomed, and his affections were highly desirable. Normally, he could take what he pleased. It wasn’t so in this odd little town, where the people felt the need to restrain themselves to the detriment of their own pleasure. It was frustrating, certainly, but if he wished to receive respect, he knew he must give it in kind.

He watched Zelda’s back as she finally paused alongside the man with the streaked hair, unable to hear her words or read her lips. Payu emerged at his side as he focused, trying without success to listen over the bubble of voices.

‘The young one, the girl.’

‘Mm? What about her?’

‘She distrusts us. She thinks that the queen’s caution is well-founded. And she’s part of the technology development team. She could be trouble.’ Ganz heard the air popping in Payu’s joints as her hands balled into fists.

‘It’s okay, Payu. Look, I don’t blame them for pattern recognition – it’s not like there have been many decent Voe in our history. And the point is that we’re proving that pattern wrong anyway. We knew folk were going to think I’m just another ratbag demon king, at least until they know me.’ The few remaining commonfolk were proving that point, too; he could feel several pairs of eyes on him, and a vague undercurrent of tension. ‘These folk are still traumatised, you know. We got told tales of Makeela Riju and her lightning, and the hero who helped her direct it – they got told about the demon king and his army of monsters. Even if you look at the calamity records, we got off lightly.’

‘Well, I just hope their love of their queen outstrips their desire to act on their trauma.’

In fact, the love of their queen was very much a deciding factor in the actions of the people. Ganz could see the adoration written in the eyes of those around her as she spoke with the research team. True, it was a more subtle and reverent affection than he was used to – the Gerudo as a people were very physical and predisposed to expressing their emotions accordingly – but if you watched carefully, it was clear as water.

‘It won’t be a problem,’ he rumbled after a few moments of silent observation.

If he had to marry someone for the sake of his reputation, at least it was someone like her. Quiet dignity, a love of her people, and a drive to try and better the world.

He’d still miss the celebratory orgies, though.

‘Cadoc, have you come to an arrangement with the Gorons regarding the exploration of the Death Mountain chasm?’ Zelda was doing her best to ignore the tableful of Gerudo behind her; it was imperative that she displayed trust and respect so her people would do the same.

‘Yes, your Majesty; several young Gorons have volunteered for the task. It seems they’re a tad bored with the mining operations and would rather support the exploration in other ways.’

‘Good; I’ll leave the logistics with you. I trust you’ll continue the good work. Now, has Lea taken over the coordination of the surface teams, or is Noni still handling those?’

‘They’ve taken to sharing the load, your Majesty. Lea has the energy for doing a lot of the physical stuff, but not the experience to back it up. I’d speak to Noni if you want to issue instructions.’

‘Thank you, Cadoc.’ Zelda nodded to him before stepping away, walking gracefully around the last trickle of her subjects to join the women by the door. The elder of the two seemed unphased by the development, simply pressing down harder on the thumb of a man who looked as though he’d grown up with Tabantha wheat in his mouth. The younger, on the other hand, promptly dropped the slate she’d been using with a devastating cracking sound. Everyone in the vicinity flinched.

Queen Zelda collected the fallen slate with surprising elegance and took a few moments to examine the screen. A hairline fracture ran through the centre now, but it still worked.

‘Please make a backup of the information from your slate, Lea. I doubt it will withstand more imprints this evening.’ There was a gentle rebuke in there, though her eyes and lips still smiled as she spoke to the Sheikah girl. A flurry of nodding followed, enough almost to dislodge the thick-rimmed glasses atop Lea’s nose, and then the girl was fleeing from the room, clutching tight to the device. The elderly woman sighed, releasing the farmer’s thumb and beckoning forward the next volunteer, a teenager who looked like he might faint being in such close proximity to the queen.

‘Noni, it has come to my attention that we did not make allowances for the law of Gerudo Town when considering the specifics of cultivation and restructuring. The king of the Gerudo has requested there be no men in the teams assigned to the desert.’

‘Ah, that’s easily fixed, Ma’am, I can make the alterations when I finish up here.’

‘He also requests that the team cooperate with the Gerudo regarding climate-specific crop growth, so we shall need an experienced botanist if possible.’

‘Very well. I may be able to persuade Terese to transfer there rather than the Zoran quadrant.’ It was quite apparent that Noni had lived long enough to be unbothered by, well, pretty much anything, for those were rather specific requests, one of which might even necessitate the training of a new party. Yet they were taken fully in stride, with barely even a pause in the pressing, releasing, and swiping of thumbs across the greyish slate with its bright little screen.

‘I appreciate it, thank you.’

‘So do you have any space for folk who aren’t about three feet tall?’ Ganz was wandering alongside Zelda once more. He had resumed casually clasping his hands behind his head.

‘The height of the average Hylian is between five and six feet, for your information,’ she responded coolly. She was precisely an inch shorter than the average Hylian woman, squarely in the middle of that range. It wasn’t her fault the Gerudo were a towering race. ‘There were some rooms designed specifically for taller individuals, though they have a rather aquatic theme. King Sidon says they were made to accommodate him and his kin following the Upheaval.’

‘I’ve never actually met that giant fish; heard a lot about him though. He really as buff and friendly as they say?’

‘I don’t know who “they” are, but he’s even moreso. He says he takes after his father; still growing more and more every year. Soon he’ll be too large for any of our rooms.’ There was little point in worrying about that, however, as the Zora king had little motivation to leave the Domain of late, too busy maintaining the state of his realm and monitoring the chasm.

‘Mm. Hey, Nalani, will you figure out what the Zora like and get some of it ready to go? We for sure need to invite King Sidon to the wedding.’

The casual mention caused the queen’s mind to grind to a sudden halt and she felt as though she’d just been choked. They were still to discuss expectations and see if an equitable agreement could be reached!

‘Makeela Ganz, kindly rescind that instruction. We are not yet betrothed, and I would not discuss the matter tonight. If we come to an accord, then we will discuss wedding plans, but not before!’

‘For the love of Hylia,’ came the vague rumbling. ‘Does it need to be so strict? Where’s your sense of adventure, Zelda? Spontaneity is the spice of life and it’s you who wants the insurance anyway, not me, so where’s the problem?’

‘We are not a traditional couple, sire. Our union is not one of passion, but one of political necessity. Spontaneity in a political alliance would be disastrous for us both. I am protecting your interests as well as my own.’ There was a moment of awkward silence, punctuated only by the smart tap of boots on the polished floor and the occasional click of armour, and then Zelda sighed and spoke once more. ‘You and your retinue may stay in this wing of the castle. If you require anything, there are small service bells in your chambers. I shall take my leave for the night.’

‘Well, alright. Until tomorrow, then. Archery?’

‘Archery. Two o’clock, sharp.’

Part 1 Part 2

[waffliesinyoface]

thinking about Zelda Lore again and i’m annoyed with how so many concepts have been excised from the series as time has gone on

in OOT, the gerudo are presented as villains and thieves, and ganondorf’s actions are kind of blatantly Evil™ (a lot of what he does seems to be evil for evil’s sake)... but even so, there’s justification for it? They can’t really leave the desert (because hyrule won’t let them) and the desert is incredibly hostile to life. (Also hyrule literally has secret torture dungeons sitting around so it’s like. PROBABLY NOT GREAT.)

the events of OOT happen, Ganondorf goes a little off the deep end and becomes Ganon, and eventually time gets rewound and everything is undone. Sort of. Time breaks a little bit.

In the past timeline, zelda goes back and manages to convince the king that ganondorf will fuck shit over so... twilight princess happens! ...Which means that Ganondorf is set up to be executed without trial (technically, this version of him hasn’t actually done anything yet) and the gerudo tribe is treated similarly. The gerudo desert is, in the time of twilight princess, devoid of gerudo. But hey, there’s a big ol’ torture dungeon bearing the royal family’s seal, so it’s safe to assume that they were all universally killed and/or banished to the twilight realm!!! Great job, team. Sure, the twili in the future are mostly fine (until ganon returns, is pissed off, and is willing to fuck over his descendants in the name of revenge) but being banished to the twilight realm was essentially a death sentence in all but name. Swapping out one desert for another.

In the future timeline, ganondorf is sealed, link leaves... and then ganondorf breaks the seal, and link’s nowhere to be found. So, what does hyrule do? Rather than cede to him, they choose to destroy the world. They use the triforce to cause an apocalypse. Sure, some of the hylians are spared because they got enough advance warning to flee to the mountaintops, but hey, uh, fun fact? There aren’t any mountains in the desert. In the wind waker timeline, every gerudo is dead and at the bottom of the ocean. I’m sure nabooru was super happy with that outcome, right!!!? When ganondorf manages to (mostly) break his seal again, he’s devastated, and a bit more introspective. He's got depth, babey. But it’s all for naught because while he’s grown into the role of king and managed to distance himself from the urge to rampage as ganon... his people are all dead.

...and then in skyward sword, all of the complexity of the gerudo from TP is ignored, and all of ganondorf’s acquired depth is replaced with Demise, whose motivations begin and end with “Is Evil”. Ganon is evil because he’s the inheritor of Demise’s will, and Demise was evil therefore ganon does evil. Justification for ganon’s initial actions? Feelings of guilt and sorrow and rage? Nah, he’s just Evil™. (also the triforce is notably absent, and though power/wisdom/courage are brought up, din/nayru/farore aren’t, replaced by hylia. Was the kingdom of hyrule kind of shitty under the surface? Well it doesn’t matter, because they’ve now been retconned into literally ruling by divine right) 

We now have somehow less moral complexity than we started with. Good job.

Then in BotW, there’s even less going on. Ganon is no longer a man, is no longer even just the shadow of an angry demon, it’s just malice incarnate. It fucks things up because it’s a virus on the world. But hey, the gerudo are here! ...and they, uh. Don’t really have anything going on anymore. They live in the desert because they are The Desert People™ and they get along just fine. Most of their complexity got relegated to the sheikah/yiga clans, with the yiga being comically, mustache-twirlingly evil.

How are the gerudo alive, when the game clearly takes place after OOT (Urbosa references ganondorf in her speech, though she makes no distinction between the man and the writhing mass of malevolent energy that is The Calamity) and both timelines end with the hylians actually literally genociding them? Don’t worry about it. That’s in the past. It doesn’t matter anymore. Shut up. Stop thinking about it. Ganon is just The Thing You Kill now. The gerudo are very fond of hylians and their royal family, and the fact that male gerudo aren’t born is simply a fun quirk, don’t think about it.

[fatefulfaerie]

Hell Hath No Fury

Been a while since I dropped 3k and ran. Let’s see how this goes.

“Of all the people to survive the calamity, it should have been him.”

“And yet here you stand with not only the sword that seals the darkness, but the power of the goddess who you once claimed abandoned you. Is all hope truly lost?”

Yes.

The conversation with Impa still remained in her mind as she left Kakariko holding the Master Sword, wrapped in rags and bounded by rope. She still held it like something foreign, similarly to how she held her powers.

Sahasra Slope was one Zelda had descended just yesterday, Link’s hand tugging her so fast she feared they would tumble down the hill. Back then, the fires were raw and newly burning, rising and crackling with excitement and fury.  Now, Hyrule was in ashes, ridded of screams and cries, of life and structure. But for a few lucky havens, the kingdom of Hyrule was no more.

Guardians littered this hill. Zelda knew of Kakariko’s tactical advantage, but it seemed her surge of light came just at the right time, for the Sheikah in Kakariko, not to mention the citizens of Hateno and Lurelin. Southeast Hyrule was spared the tragedies of Central Hyrule, which should have brought Zelda solace.

But she was a selfish princess, thinking more of the few people she knew than the several people she didn’t, thinking more of those who were no more than those who have a life to live because of her.

Her shoulders had risen towards her ears as she looked out onto the horizon to her right. Vah Ruta was illuminated in a distinct magenta light and it glowed like northern lights against a backdrop of stars, slowly shifting as if it were any other night.

A trio of Hylians raced past her panting as they ascended they hill, seeking shelter and sanctuary in Kakariko. They didn’t acknowledge her but for the question she heard when they were barely still in earshot.

“Was that the princess?”

She could only imagine what the kingdom thought of her now, every single one of their doubts in her confirmed as they watched their loved ones burn alongside a once safe kingdom. Her father likely cursed her name as he fell, and his people likely prayed to the goddess Hylia to please, please save them, spare them, let them go as painlessly as possible.

Zelda stopped herself from the selfish thought that then, they would know how it feels. I was uncouth to think of the dead in such a manner. It was filthy, and it made her loathe herself more.

Zelda took fledgling steps down the grassy hill, charred unevenly by the fires of war. Ash freckled her blonde hair as she continued. The distant forest looked farther than anything ever had. She had no horse, no carriage, no detail of soldiers, not even a knight attendant to spout encouragements no one would believe he actually employed his vocal chords to say. It was a long, lonely road as she stepped onto the path next to the Millennio Sandbar.

She didn’t dare look to her right too closely, for she could smell the smoke and rotting flesh that emanated from what was once Goponga Village. The lack of screams, the absolute quiet, they told her everything she needed to know. It was as if the goddess Hylia shushed her people, and they listened. A kingdom-wide game of silence.

And she won.

Calamity Ganon had the last laugh. Occasionally in her trek she would hear him growl in the distance and it made her blood boil, just like the red moons of legend. But he was gloating and it was rude.

The castle in the distance was now his sty, not her home nor her future, but his place to grow and gorge and steep and stew and Hylia, it made her stomach churn. If she wished away reality well enough as she stood leaning on this tree, she could see everything, she could see victory, honor, respect, prosperity, the smiles of her people, Link’s hand in hers and everything that came with it, old age and stupid, stupid things like that. Zelda’s throat constricted as she forgot her lungs, her eyes stinging and her even her breathing unsure of itself. She fell to her knees as she hiccuped to breathe again, looking at the now warped castle. WIth shaky breaths her tears became angry. She seethed, seethed like she never had before, ired like no princess had ever had the freedom to. And when a Lizalfos advertised their jumping attack on her with a screech, she turned around on a whim and blasted it with just the palm of her hand.

Eyes puffy and red around the green, her eyebrows furrowed, no mercy, no hesitation as more monsters followed. Did they not learn? Did they not comprehend? Throwing themselves at an obstacle so clearly marked as impassable? Her hate for herself cascaded into the monsters that had such reminiscent idiocy as she let the Master Sword go completely and threw down her fists, two waves of light brutally halving each and every Lizalfos in the ambush.

Zelda denied herself the pleasure of sobbing and scanned the area cautiously as she picked up the Master Sword, ears penned for any noise that disrupted her silent kingdom. An arrow lodged into the ground next to her feet. She turned around but it wasn’t meant for her.

It was a silver Bokoblin on a resisting peach and white horse, and thus it had terrible aim. It was chasing a couple surviving Hylians, who looked as if they escaped the carnage of Hyrule Field only to be chased by a Bokoblin straggler. Afraid she would accidentally hurt the horse, Zelda elected to throw the Master Sword instead. Although she aimed for the Bokoblin’s chest and threw it with a distinct impassioned scream of effort, like Link often did, the sword clattered pathetically two feet in front of her.

The pair of Hylians were far too busy running for their lives to notice Zelda’s embarrassing attempt to rescue them. She spared no second to dwell on it either, picking up the bounded Master Sword and the fallen arrow and running after the Bokoblin.

She scanned her surroundings for a reasonable bow left behind in a former battle, hoping for a knight’s bow or a phrenic bow, yet all she spotted was a couple twigs roped together terribly, likely by another bokoblin archer.

It was crude, but it would have to suffice.

She scooped it up as she ran, preparing her one shot as she remembered her grand total of three archery lessons. The first was from a knight named Derrin, told to entertain the seven year old princess somehow while the King attended to other matters. Impa gave her a lesson when she was twelve. The Master Sword had just been pulled by a thirteen year old boy and Zelda began to panic. Properly learning how to shoot a bow eased her worries for a time. The last lesson she had was about a month ago, Link showing her how to better her aim as well as making her heart flutter when he got closer than he technically needed to.

Zelda channeled it all as she aimed for the spherical head of the Bokoblin, General Derrin’s manufactured surprise, Impa’s genuine frustration, Link’s unwavering support. With a distinct wail, the Bokoblin was shot off the horse. Zelda breathed a sigh of relief as the horse ran from the corpse, and as the pair of Hylians ceased running.

They turned around to see Zelda, who picked up the bounded Master Sword and treaded towards them.

“Are you all right?” She asked them, the couple catching their breaths. The woman nodded as the man jogged off to grab the wayward horse.

“Yeah,” the woman said with a nod and a clear fatigue straining her throat. “We were able to get away from the guardians because we were one of the few with a horse, but that Bokoblin nabbed it when the Guardians were deactivated. We are indebted to your heroism...”

“Zelda,” the princess replied.

“Zelda?” the Hylian woman asked, in partial disbelief. “As in princess Zelda?”

Zelda winced, preparing herself for terrible words flung her way.

Oh so now you have the sealing power.

Great timing, Your Highness.

But the woman took Zelda’s hand, encapsulated it in hers and made sure Zelda’s eyes met hers, hazel and entreating.

“Thank Hylia you survived,” she said. “We feared the worst for everyone.”

“You don’t hate me?”

The woman looked at Zelda as if she were crazy.

“Of course not,” she said. “You inherited a doomed kingdom. The past is gone and our goal now is to survive. There’s nothing more to it now. Perhaps with your powers awakened you can save lives like you did ours.”

Zelda blinked as she registered those words, thinking of the eternity of survival guaranteed for her people. If only she could just hold Ganon back for a bit, making it easier for Hyrule to survive. Maybe, just maybe. Could this sealing power work like that?

The sword she held seemed to whisper in agreement, but Zelda told herself not to jump to conclusions. The breath of the wild could be taunting her.

The man returned, leading the horse by the reins.

“Carmel is soothed and ready to take us up the hill,” he said, but the woman shook her head.

“We can walk,” she said. “Princess Zelda needs him more than we do.”

“A-are you sure?” Zelda stammered, taking the reins she was offered.

“It’s the least we can do for Hyrule’s last hope.”

The pair of Hylians were as raggedly beaten as her, covered in splotches of both mud and blood. Their eyes oozed with loss that they did not dare advertise, and Zelda withheld the apology she knew they wouldn’t take and nodded. The safety Kakariko offered would soothe them in ways she never could, she figured as she watched what was probably the last of the survivors run up the hill.

“Come along Carmel,” Zelda urged the horse. “Our journey will not be an easy one.”

Zelda knew that her surge of sealing power in Blatchery Plains had a limit, that soon Guardians would not be so easy to pass. Sure enough, as she reached Thims Bridge, a guardian scuttled past. Knowing how lucky she was that the guardian didn’t look her way, Zelda quickly got off her horse and guided it to hide within one of the large oak husks of Crenel Hills.

“How will I ever get past?” She asked herself as she peered at Korok Forest in the distance. She longed for Link’s opinion, or even his silence. She longed to be able to look behind her and ask ‘what do you think?’, yet behind her was a horse grazing on green grass. Zelda couldn’t blame the animal, as such a luxury was in short supply amidst a kingdom of charred fields.

Zelda looked down at the Master Sword she held, the one that needed to return to the pedestal from whence it came. It was damaged and battered from corrosive malice, and even the voice Zelda had heard when Link collapsed was spotty and incomplete in places. As much as Link needed healing, so did the sword that chose him.

Zelda closed her eyes and breathed. Even though she wasn’t sure who it was she called upon for aid, nor who would answer, she did so nonetheless.

“Give me an ounce of the bravery that almost killed him,” she said. “So that I may perhaps live to see this sword safe.”

The sword chimed and brightened, which made Zelda open her eyes and look down with a soft gasp.

Even through the wrappings, Zelda was worried the light would give away her position, it was so bright. With a deep breath, she untied the ropes and wiped away the brown rags, allowing the Master Sword to shine in its full splendor. She furrowed her brow with a newfound determination, thinking perhaps the sword was boasting its confidence in her. It may have been, but a red targeting laser out of the corner of Zelda’s eye made her immediately regret her moment of calm. The sword was warning her.

Zelda looked up to see a Guardian perched over the rim of the hollow oak stump like a vulture eyeing its prey. She stumbled to stand up and run out of the way of the blast radius, but the explosion still hurled her down the hill, tumbling with ears ringing and practically thrown barely conscious onto the shores of Hylia River.

She felt a quite distinct soreness in one of her left ribs as she pushed herself to her knees and elbows, wincing as she tried to logic away a headache. Where was that guardian? She wouldn’t know. She couldn’t hear a damn thing past the ringing in her ears. Where was the Master Sword? Certainly still not yet in Korok Forest. Was it still up there with the guardian? Had it fallen down the hill with her? Was Carmel okay? Did he stay and die? Did he run and live? Either way he was gone as she dared a glance up the hill. It was probably for the better that he ran, she figured, seeing no corpse.

The Master Sword was only a couple feet from her, and the Guardian was nowhere in sight, probably having thought her dead. Her ears ceased ringing slowly but her injuries and her fatigue kept her down.

“Link,” she breathed, speaking to the pebbles and grains of sand below her. It wasn’t the blow that disheartened her, not even the guardians, those she knew she could destroy. It was the weight of the world, heavier than ever. She never realized how much Link eased the burden before her shoulder ached with such ferocity, before she buckled with every step, before the wild she once saw as sanctuary became riddled with all the traps and falls of a once-stalwart castle.

Impa once told Zelda that soldiers of Hyrule were taught to cope with loss, so that when one is struck down in battle, the judgment of the others is kept intact. Soldiers are forewarned against attachment between the arms among them, and told that sacrifice in battle was an honorable and celebrated way to die. Death happens so that those who remain can live. In a sense, soldiers are meant to be expendable. Link was always meant, in the worst case scenario that was now reality, to die for Zelda. And Zelda was not meant to care, at least not as much as she did. She was meant to carry on with appreciation of that sacrifice, yet instead she used her pain to stand up, her anger, her sadness. She picked up the Master Sword by the hilt, and it was so heavy it dragged on the ground as she limped to Thims Bridge.

Mipha wasn’t there to heal her, nor was Urbosa there to support her weight as she walked. Daruk wasn’t there to inspire her with strong words of perseverance, nor was Revali there to offer his prowess in battle to aid her along her way. Her father wasn’t there. Link wasn’t there and it hurt.

She was conscious and alive and remembered everything and it hurt. The tears she shed as she limped across the bridge had a golden sheen, and her eyes too began to shine angrily with the same resplendent hue as every bit of the riches Hyrule used to boast. But this was not a proud gold. This was an angry gold, a fear-inducing gold. The ebbing sheen that burned like smoke off her skin even scared away Guardians as she walked with ghosts she couldn’t see. Across Trilby Plains and Pico Pond and Minshi Woods she limped with uneven steps. She passed the Military Training Camp and only shaky breaths and small gazes could be given in the mourning of the corpses she saw there. Ganon wanted her to stop and be upset and horrified, so she blinked away more tears as she tread along, subduing the anger in her heart.

With this sword safe, they will be avenged.

Once she got to the pedestal, she fell to her knees, and braced the remainder of the weight on her left hand, holding her side with her right. The sword had clattered, and Zelda let the Koroks who ran to it in intrigue peer and poke at it. Their innocence, though not enough to soothe her grief, was slightly uplifting.

“Great Deku Tree,” she said, not even daring to look up at the entity. “I trust you know of Hyrule’s many failures, the losing battles that even now are fading away for the worst.”

“I do, child,” she heard from above, the deep voice evoking and calm and rest she felt guilty for letting drip into her bones. As if by some unspoken command, Zelda felt healing fairies land upon her, not just to heal her but to express their own grief. Hyrule bore a great wound, and so their small hands imparted support onto Zelda, as if paying their respects to everything that was lost, before spiraling away into the beyond.

“I assume you mean to store the sword here under my protection,” the Great Deku Tree continued. “For the next hero.”

Zelda looked up quickly to object.

“No,” she insisted far too swiftly to not be backed by emotion, standing up. “For Link. He heals in the Shrine of Resurrection as we speak. He will return, I know it.”

The Great Deku Tree smiled and closed his eyes, letting out a thick hum.

“Indeed,” he spoke, with such confidence that Zelda felt assured. Perhaps Hyrule had hope after all.

She knelt again before the sword, sat on her heels, and, for the first time in her life, could feel her prayers were going somewhere.

“Your master will come for you,” Zelda told the sword, somehow feeling that it was listening. “Until then, you shall rest safely here. Although the Slumber of Restoration will mostly certainly deprive him of his memories, please trust me when I say that I know he will arrive before you yet again.”

“If I may be so bold…what is it you are planning to do next, Princess?”

The question caught her attention.

Next, she pondered as she stood up.

All her life, next was something so unsure, the next prayer, the next day and whether it would bring Calamity. Even now she was unsure as to the extent of her powers, and the way her doubt trembled made her certain of only one thing concerning her future.

Holding Ganon back the way she planned on attempting may be the last thing she does.

“The Master Sword…I heard it speak to me,” Zelda fibbed, knowing the Deku Tree would not approve such a drastic plan if not for the agreement of the goddess. “It seems that my role is unfinished. There is still something I must do.”

“I sense there is great strength in your dedication,” he said in reply. It seemed her fear was well hidden. The powers of a goddess did not make her impervious to Ganon’s strength, if her powers should wane…

“Great Deku Tree…” she began, thinking and hesitating upon her lasting words, what she wanted to say, who was left to hear them. “I ask of you…when he returns, can you please relay this message…” She stepped forward and let her arms fall to her sides. “Tell him I-”

“Now, then…” he interrupted. “Words intended for him would sound much…better in the tones of your voice, don’t you think?”

“Yes,” Zelda said with a nod, the notion filling her heart. Perhaps she could make it through. Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps, she thought as she plunged the sword in the pedestal. Perhaps all this loss will not be for naught.

Perhaps.

Her nerves were still unsettled and her anger still raw as she walked to the castle. But every corpse she passed gave her steps just that much more of a newfound determination, Zelda glowing brighter and brighter as she prayed to Hylia to bargain these deaths for hers, as she mourned the families that held each other cold, as her grief was accepted and denied, reality accepted and denied again and again until she was angry all over again that she once walked these grounds in peace and complacency and all those stupid things that came with being a damned princess of Hyrule.

She stood at the ruins of the Sacred Grounds, where she once wished upon Link all the things that almost killed him, courage, strength, competence. Her eyes burned with fury as Calamity Ganon swirled to meet her, laughing in her face with a snarling growl. With all her heart, Zelda wished Calamity Ganon deep pain and devastating failure, weakness beyond the most fragile glass. She employed her own snarl, lips curled in disgust and brows furrowed in determination. She held out her hand, her palm facing the scarlet-swirling swine. A wild gale whipped her blonde hair and yet she’d never felt less protected.

“No more,” she said, the last thing spoken before a century-long battle between two calamities. A new day dawned upon Hyrule with grace, and the golden ghost faded into legend.

[radioactivepeasant]

Fic Prompts: Free Day Thursday

(So in Breath of the Wild, since Calamity Ganon botched his regeneration and is all goobly and whatnot, would that mean there were a couple generations of boys descended from Gerudo who were just totally free of evil magic shenanigans? This is a little idea inspired by the thought)

The beach was surprisingly clean after the storm as Link left the path. After the gale that had left him and Epona sheltering in a stable all night, he would have expected driftwood and seaweed to be strewn across the sand. As he climbed down the dunes, Link realized that there were people actively clearing the sand, previously hidden by the dune.

They were primarily children from Lurelin, carrying baskets filled with seaweed. Some were elders, using rakes to clear away larger debris. Periodically, the children brought their baskets to an old Gerudo woman sitting in the shade of a palm tree. She dumped the seaweed into a pot in front of her, then handed the children back their baskets.

Just as Link approached the woman, a small girl ran up. "Vaba!" she hollered, "Midona ate a crab!"

The woman grimaced. "Aryll, you know you and Tetra are supposed to watch your baby sister!"

The girl pouted and crossed her arms. "I did! Only she's really fast and I couldn't even save that poor crab!"

Link stifled a chuckle, which caught the girl's attention.

"I'm Aryll! You look weird!"

"Aryll!" the grandmother scolded, but Aryll had already run back to her sisters.

"I apologize for Aryll. Those girls can be a handful when their father is at sea." The old woman shook her head. "And we don't see that many visitors from so far inland."

For a moment, Link was astonished. Then, just as quickly, a tinge of embarrassment colored his cheeks when he realized he was still wearing rather distinctive Sheikah clothing.

"I'm just passing through," he signed, "Do you know if there are any Shrines nearby?"

"A Shrine, eh?" The woman leaned back against the tree. "There's one north a bit from the village if you don't mind a hike. I'd stay away if I were you, though. Word is there's a Bokoblin camp up there that's been giving travelers trouble."

With a slightly grim smile, Link answered, "If you want, I could go give them some trouble."

That startled a chuckle out of the woman. "Well you're a bold young voe, aren't you? You sound like my son with talk like that!"

She lifted her hand to shake Link's. "I am called Koume. What do they call you, traveler?"

"Sav'aaq, Koume," Link replied politely, "I'm called Link."

Koume's eyes lit up. "I have met few Hylians who learned to speak my language correctly! The accent in your gestures is almost perfect. You must bring pride to your mother."

Link had heard the phrase before, in the desert, but had no idea how to respond when it was directed at him.

"I hope that I do?"

Koume patted the woven blanket beside her. "Sit, help an old woman clean this seaweed so it can be cooked later. When my son returns with the fishermen, he can show you the way to the Shrine."

Link sat, separating strands of seaweed until his fingers wrinkled. At Koume's request, he periodically stopped to tell her news of the Gerudo, and the calming of Vah Naboris. She seemed particularly pleased to hear that the little granddaughter of Urbosa had inherited the Lightning Helm and used it well.

"I left the city with my sister long ago, when Ganno was born," Koume remarked wistfully. "I always meant to go back and visit, especially after Koutake passed away. But my old bones aren't up for such a journey anymore. And my granddaughters would miss me."

Out on the beach, Aryll and Tetra were engaged in a tug-of-war with the baby, Midona. She was very determined to shovel an entire fistful of kelp into her mouth, and her elder sisters were equally determined to prevent her from doing so.

"Quick as a shadow, that one," Koume said fondly, "It's a good thing the Zora watch the waters for us, or she'd have been off and trying to terrorize the fishes before she even learned to walk!"

Link smiled and tried to ignore the tickle of familiarity at the back of his mind. It probably didn't mean anything.

[midzelink]

What’s Going On with the Ears in Hyrule?

(Or: A Needlessly Comprehensive Deep-Dive into the Myst-EAR-ious Duality of Round-Eared Humans and Long-Eared Hylians, a Very S-EAR-ious Write-Up)

As some of you may remember from a few months back, I made an off-hand comment about my ideas surrounding the disparities between the different types of ears we see in Hyrule’s human citizens, and my desire to further expand on that at a later date.  No, that was not a joke, and yes, I am finally Doing the Dang Thing.  So!  Let’s get started.

Long-time fans of the series will know that Hylians are a race of humans in the world of The Legend of Zelda with long, elf-like ears.  Hylians most always dominate the land of Hyrule in nearly every installment in the series, with round-eared humans only making their first appearance in Link’s Awakening, a game that - spoiler alert - was all a dream in the first place.  And though plain old humans again appear in the lands of Holodrum and Labrynna in the follow-up Oracle games, it is very in keeping with the theme of this blog that their most notable appearance happens to be in Twilight Princess.

Though it is never remarked upon in-game, Link is the only Hylian in a village filled with humans, such as Ilia and Rusl, leading the player to assume that he was not Ordon-born.  Other notable examples include Ashei, who hails from the mountains, and even the inhabitants of (New) Kakariko (though only three in number) are all mere humans.  The Hylians of this game seem to be centralized around Castle Town, with notable members including Telma, Shad, and Auru of the Resistance, and naturally, Zelda herself.  Yet as I’ve already stated, the fact that there are two different sets of ears among the humans is never even a topic of conversation; it makes you wonder why the developers bothered to make the distinction at all, and indeed, plenty of fans have never even noticed that such a disparity exists. I certainly didn’t notice when I was ten years old, playing through Twilight Princess for the very first time - but we’ve come a long way since then, and I am delighted to finally be able to tell everyone why I think this disparity exists, and how it has bled into other aspects of the series.  Let’s back away from Twilight Princess for a moment; all good theories have a beginning, and this one is no different.  To understand where this all began, we must look thousands of years into the past, to Skyward Sword.  More specifically, this all started...

...with this guy.

Yes, Beedle.  That Beedle.  But before we can even jump into how he relates to any of this, we must travel further back still, to the very opening cutscene of Skyward Sword.  

In this cutscene, we hear a very dumbed-down tale of how Demise invaded the surface world that was ruled over by the Goddess Hylia; to protect the sacred relic placed into her care by the Golden Goddesses, Hylia rends a piece of land from the earth and sends it skyward, leaving the Goddess Sword and the Triforce with it.  Together with the remaining peoples of the Surface, she seals Demise away, and millennia later the events of Skyward Sword transpire.  The entirety of this cutscene is not in and of itself very important, but I would like to draw everyone’s attention to one particular line uttered by the narrator during this sequence:

“To prevent this great power from falling into the hands of the evil swarming the lands… The goddess gathered the surviving humans on an outcropping of earth.”

It is worth noting here that - though the word “Hylian” itself only appears in reference to the shield which bears its name - Skyloft is comprised entirely of people with long ears.  Keeping these things in mind, let’s go back to Beedle.

Beedle is, by all intents and purposes, a fairly unremarkable character in Skyward Sword.  That is to say, outside of providing Link with goods throughout his adventure, he bears no significance on the plot in any capacity, having only a single sidequest that involves retrieving a pet beetle (snickers) of his, for which the player’s reward is a small sum of Gratitude Crystals.  But there is one, throwaway line of completely optional dialogue you can trigger towards the beginning of this sidequest, and it is upon this line that the entire basis for this theory has been built.  When meeting Beedle on his home island apart from Skyloft for the very first time, the player is given the option...

...to comment on his accent.

[after selecting “Your accent!”] “Hmmm? The mellifluous timbre of my voice sounds different to you?

...Perhaps a touch, I suppose... But pray, what does it matter, hmm?”

What’s important to understand about accents is how they come about to begin with: namely, slight differences in pronunciation and rhythm of speech evolve over time as the language (in this case, some form of ancient Hylian) spreads to different locations.  And of course, everyone who uses spoken language has an accent, but Link’s remarking upon Beedle’s is an indication that his pattern of speech is different from his own.  In most other games, this would be unextraordinary - but in the context of Skyward Sword, where humanity has been isolated to a (relatively speaking) small outcropping of earth in the sky, it becomes extremely noteworthy.  No one in Skyloft should have “an accent,” because theirs is a society and culture so small in scale that they should all have the same accent.  Beedle having an accent makes sense if, and only if...

...he’s not from Skyloft.

And if he’s not from Skyloft, the logical conclusion would be that he must be from the Surface.  In almost any other circumstance, this assertion would be smashed to smithereens by the sheer fact that getting to Skyloft without a Loftwing - companions blessed only to those who live in the sky - should be an unattainable feat. And yet, of all the people in Skyloft, Beedle is the only one who could have achieved such a thing... 

...because his shop - which conveniently doubles as his house - is an electricity-powered flying machine.  Within the context of the game, such a contraption seems almost nonsensical; if he were from Skyloft, why would he not just set up shop in a permanent location?  Even if he wanted to live on a smaller island by himself, the people of Skyloft could simply use their Loftwings to reach him (which they still need to do, anyway!).  Indeed, the existence of Beedle’s Shop makes far more sense...if it already existed by the time he arrived there.

Which brings us back to that introductory cutscene.  The narrator states that Hylia gathered up all of the surviving humans (notice the use of the word humans here) onto an outcropping of earth and sent them skyward, and on a surface level, this seems straight-forward enough - but with the revelation that Beedle is very likely from the Surface himself, it’s very obvious that this is nothing more than a bold-faced lie.  Some humans were left behind - they couldn’t all possibly have fit on such a small piece of land - and those humans were the ancestors of Beedle, in some way, shape, or form.  What became of those humans is another matter altogether (one I will address briefly), as the Surface we explore in Skyward Sword is perfectly devoid of human life, barring Impa.

Now, let’s bring it back home: remember how I said that all Skyloftians have long ears?  That was a bit of a white lie, though only if you count Beedle among that number.  In truth, Beedle’s ears are obscured by the bowl cut of his hair - but this is true for every game he appears in, and the general consensus is that they’re round.  This would make Beedle the only round-eared human in the entire game...and he, coincidentally, happens to be from the Surface.

Before I go any further, I’d like to establish a very base reasoning for the existence of long-eared qualities in the human races of Hyrule.  Hylians are far from the only ones to bear long ears, what with the trait also presenting themselves in the likes of the Sheikah and, by the era of Breath of the Wild, even the Gerudo - though it is exceptionally notable that in Ocarina of Time, the Gerudo have round ears, and Ganondorf is no exception...at least, at first.

Y’see, what’s especially notable about Ganondorf is that he is the same exact character is each title he appears in, and in The Wind Waker and Twilight Princess, his ears are long.  This was actually something I only noticed quite recently, upon which I then fervently began scouring for information about his appearance in Ocarina of Time to try and make sense of it all, and the results are...very intriguing, to say the least.  Below is a comparison of Ganondorf pre-timeskip vs. post-timeskip from the original Nintendo 64 version of the game:

As you can see, his model has changed in a number of ways, but... Well, I’m sure you can see where I’m going with this.

Amazingly, his ears got longer, which is...an interesting choice from a design perspective.  Of course, it leads one to wonder why - and far and above the most significant thing to happen to him in the seven years between these two appearances is his procuring of the Triforce of Power from the Sacred Realm, a relic of the old gods.  Evil or no, Ganondorf had forged a bond with a god unlike any had before him, and for some reason, this elongated his ears - so much so that by the time of Twilight Princess and The Wind Waker, they are indistinguishable from your typical Hylian’s.  It is notable, too, that the Sheikah (who have always had long ears) also bear a special connection to the gods, living to serve Hylia and, later, her reincarnation as the princess in the Royal Family of Hyrule.  

“They say we Hylians have big ears in order to hear the voices of the gods.”

So now, keeping everything I’ve talked about here in mind, I think it appropriate to go over the series of events that likely transpired, beginning from Demise’s invasion of the surface world:

In a bid to keep the Triforce out of evil’s grasp, Hylia formulates a plan to send both it and the Goddess Sword out of harm’s way.  She selects - perhaps by chance, perhaps by choice - a not insignificant number of humans to live on this skyward isle, but naturally not all of them can make the cut.  These chosen humans would go on to found Skyloft, a land whose culture revolves heavily around the reverence of the very goddess who saved them and enabled them to live in prosperity (the existence of the Wing Ceremony, the Statue of the Goddess, etc.), while the humans who remained on the surface, left in a world scarred by war and ravaged by monsters, sought new lands, becoming the ancestors of people who would found Holodrum and Labrynna, to name a couple.  In their reverence of Hylia, the people of Skyloft would develop long ears, as even the Sheikah had - but the humans left on the surface world...would not.

That is to say, the Hylians we see in almost every major installment of the series are the direct descendants of the people of Skyloft, and round-eared humans are the descendants of the people Hylia left behind.

Of course, not all humans fled from their homeland - though we see none in-game, it’s important to remember that we also see no Sheikah aside from Impa, though we know they are great in number.  Beedle was, undoubtedly, one of these very few stragglers, and with stories of a land beyond the clouds on his mind - legends that have been passed down over countless generations - he sought to find this paradise by any means, through sheer blood, sweat, and tears (but mostly sweat, if that cycling is any indication) if necessary. In the end, he was successful, and he lives among the people of Skyloft fairly unassumingly - yet he also lives apart from them, on his own island because, at his core, he is not one of them, and never will be.  He doesn’t get all of this Hylia stuff, and frankly, he doesn’t care - so long as he can chill on his own little crop of land with a full belly, a full wallet, and his pet beetle, that’s really all that matters.

And speaking of Hylia - the reason they are called Hylians is because they are the descendants of those chosen by Hylia, even if the knowledge of Hylia’s existence has largely been lost to history by the events of Ocarina of Time and beyond.  (In a very similar vein, it is my belief that Lake Hylia also gets its name from her because the crater that would later become that very lake was formed...when she lifted a gargantuan outcropping of earth into the sky.)   Hylians largely dominate Hyrule for so much of its history because the people of Skyloft were the ones who founded it - yet by the era of Twilight Princess, we see that a great many of the humans who had moved onto different lands have slowly but surely made their way back towards the place they once called home.  

But I would be remiss to neglect to go back to Breath of the Wild; this game is a much more peculiar case, taking place in an era many millennia after any game that came before it, where reverence for Hylia is once again commonplace - so much so that statues bearing her resemblance have been erected in every town, village, and city across the country.  Humans are once again practically nowhere to be seen (except, again, perhaps for Beedle), and even the Gerudo, who have now long intermingled with Hylians for the sake of having children, have inherited the trait (perhaps in part due to the fact that some of their own may worship Hylia, if the statue in Gerudo Town is any indication).  In every single instance, no matter where you turn, these long ears seem to be a direct correlation to the people’s connection to the gods of Hyrule - but rather than their ears being a predetermined factor in how strong this connection may be, it seems that their faith is what influences this trait to rise to the surface, over how ever many generations or centuries that just might take.  (Ganondorf Dragmire, who lives in a castle and inherited a relic of pure godly power, is an outlier and should not be counted.)  As Shad so eloquently states in Twilight Princess:

“Hyrule was made by the Hylians, who, as we all know, are the closest race to the gods.”

And as long as we’re talking about Shad, I’d love to begin wrapping up this post by bringing things round to Twilight Princess once more - specifically the context in which Shad says the above quote, which is far and away one of the most peculiar instances of casual lore-dumping in the entire series.  The quote in its entirety from the North American version of the game reads thusly:

“At the moment I'm absolutely entranced by the sky beings known as the Oocca. Yes, according to legend, Hyrule was made by the Hylians [...] But also according to legend, long ago there was a race even closer to the gods, and some say these creatures made the Hylians. When they created the people of Hylia, they simultaneously created a new capital, a city that floated in the heavens.”

What Shad is saying here is extremely farfetched, particularly for those of us who are familiar with the Oocca.  But in truth, this was a minor mistranslation on Nintendo of America’s part; the original text from the Japanese version of the game clears actually reads much more like this, when translated correctly:

“The common opinion is that Hyrule was created by the Hylia people, the race closest to the gods, but...truth be told, there's also a theory saying that in ancient times, there was a race even closer to the gods than the Hylia people, and THEY created it [Hyrule]. And they, simultaneously with the birth of the Hylia people, created a new capital, a capital that floated in the heavens.”

So the Oocca - the bizarre, Cucco-like creatures who inhabit the City in the Sky - did not create the Hylians, but rather established the kingdom of Hyrule itself in the world that the goddesses created.  But even with this mistranslation squared away, that still sounds incredibly odd, especially taking the events of Skyward Sword into account; we know that the people of Skyloft are the ones who inevitably found Hyrule, because we see the beginnings of this happening at the end of the game.  Funnily enough, it seems that the very line that was mistranslated in the North American version of the game...was the result of mistranslation itself.

In-universe mistranslation, that is.  Millennia of history being told, written, lost, and found, translated again and again and again, until it barely resembles its original state.  What likely happened was that the Oocca, who live in the sky, were wrongly credited with the creation of Hyrule because the Hylian people who would go on the found Hyrule also came from the sky, as they were the people of Skyloft.  Shad’s claim that the Oocca were “a race even closer to the gods" than the Hylians may not be entirely unfounded, however, as it is incredibly likely like the City in the Sky we see in Twilight Princess is what remained of Skyloft after its human inhabitants abandoned it; the Loftwings that the people of Skyloft had for so long relied on would go on to evolve into more sentient beings, suspending the city above the clouds long after Hylia’s magic had worn off - and Loftwings were, as the people of Skyloft believed, beings bestowed upon them as a symbol of the goddess’s divine blessing.  In this sense, it is somewhat true that the City in the Sky and the Hylians were created at the same time; when the Skyloftians abandoned their home to live in a new land where they were not long after christened the Hylians, the skyward isle that they had left behind found a new purpose, and a new “city” was born.

Of course, maybe Shad was off his marbles (even if the Oocca are evolved Loftwings, there is still much about them and their connection to the Sheikah that remains shrouded in mystery), but the crux of this entire narrative is that the people of Hylia, the Hylians - at least, up until Breath of the Wild is concerned - were the descendants of the people of Skyloft, and Beedle’s eccentricities in the context of Skyward Sword are rather convincing pieces of evidence that this did not comprise all people of the formerly-known-as “Land of Hylia.”  It is therefore only natural that a conclusion could be drawn about where the distinction between the two peoples comes from.

But in the end, even if this can answer the question of why there are round-eared humans alongside long-eared ones, it does not answer the ultimate question of what this distinction means.  Why does a connection with and a faith in the gods elongate the ears of the people it touches?  The Zelda Encyclopedia states that “in the past, Hylians were able to wield magic of considerable might,” a trait that could possibly distinguish them from your typical human being - but the canon nature of the Encyclopedia is...shaky*, at best, and downright disrespectful at worst.  Link and Zelda are two Hylians we see wielding abnormal abilities, but their power can be explained with their respective pieces of the Triforce, not to mention the countless magic users in Hyrule and beyond who aren’t Hylian.  Even if there was a time when the Hylians had special abilities, those abilities have long since faded. They are no no taller, no smaller, live no longer than their round-eared counterparts; they are, in every aspect aside from the length of their ears, in every way identical.  To finish the quote by the unnamed Hylian man who speaks to a young Link in the Castle Town Market in Ocarina of Time:

“They say we Hylians have big ears in order to hear the voices of the gods...but I've never heard them!”

So...there you have it.  I must admit that it is entirely possible that the people of Skyloft had developed long ears before their ancestors had been sent to the heavens - after all, the Sealed Temple was, in millennia past, a temple erected in her honor.  Yet this would also make the story of Hylia gathering the “surviving humans” in order to save them all the more grim; could the gods be so callous as to save only those who respect their divine might? One cannot help but think of the Great Sea in The Wind Waker - for in a world populated by the descendants of those who were chosen by the gods to survive the coming floods, it is difficult not to notice that ears of the round variety are once again nowhere to be found.

And yet, when you get right down to it - though some Hylians seem to rely on their lineage as “the closest race to the gods” to maintain an image of self-importance - the difference between a long-eared Hylian and a round-eared human appears to be, ultimately...only that.  And unless we see our round-eared friends return in a potentially future title, and the difference remarked upon, that will likely be how things remain.

Until that time, I will continue to do my best to fill the gaps with which we have been left - even if, at the end of the day, I’ve written nothing more than a meaningless, nine-page word jumble...about ears.

EDIT (5/9/2020): It has been brought to my attention (courtesy of @heartenvy​​) that there is a mild inconsistency with the narrative that Beedle could be from the Surface: namely, the “unbreachable” Cloud Barrier, something Hylia herself created to divide Skyloft from the Surface and keep its inhabitants and the Triforce safe.  However, I would argue that the Cloud Barrier is not a physical barrier so much as it is a mystical one, meant to both keep its location secret (the barrier itself is completely invisible from the Surface) and to ensure the people of Skyloft remain complacent in their isolation (believing Skyloft is all there is, they remain there, and in so doing their long-forgotten secrets are kept safe). Zelda is pulled through it long before any proper portals are actually opened, and I would argue that the portals (that is, the pillars of light that appear when we place the corresponding tablets) are largely a gameplay mechanic meant to keep the story linear, as in a real setting Link would have simply ridden his Loftwing to and from the Surface and would have been able to fly anywhere he chose.  It’s possible the barrier acts to keep out evildoers, specifically (which would explain why Ghirahim had to summon a vortex to pull Zelda through it, where he could reach her), or, not unlike the Isla de Muerta in Pirates of the Caribbean, Skyloft could very well be “an island that cannot be found except by those who already know where it is” - which, to me, makes the narrative of Beedle finding his way there all the more entertaining (the dude must have been, like, super determined).  In any case, I stand by what I’ve stated before: that Beedle is from the Surface, as his accent and the peculiarities of his shop make too strong a case to ignore.

*              *              *              *              *

*The Zelda Encyclopedia states that Termina is a Dream World, despite Link’s Awakening having already done this and in a much more satisfying way.  I can’t take anything it says seriously.

(Special thanks to @ghiirahiims​​ for the high-res screenshot of Beedle, and shoutout to @gaybellatrix​​ for in no small part convincing me to finally sit down and write this all up.)

[giriduck]

Legend of Zelda fans discussed and debated game timelines for decades before Nintendo published the official timeline structure. Then Breath of the Wild launched and supposedly collapsed all the published parallel timeline branches back together by taking place in a very distant future.

But Breath of the Wild only opened up far more chronology questions! Running around the Hyrule and finding various ruins with very distinct architectural styles, I can’t help but wonder: “When did this society exist? Who are / were the people who built this?”

So in the end, it’s all timeline theory all over again. 😂

For example, the Zonai:

Their ruins appear to be very old (weathered in the Faron jungles) but the labyrinths throughout the larger kingdom are clearly Zonai (perhaps built later within their epoch) and they are massive.

The immediate assumption in my head is that the Zonai are from a very old epoch (perhaps long prior to the events of 10k year ago) and yet they also might have grown as a civilization after the events of Ocarina of Time.

Or... what if entire Faron region was home to a thriving Zonai Empire prior to or even during Ocarina of Time but we didn’t know about them, because they were a neighboring region, outside of the Hyrule of that era? Given that the Zonai are not well documented and they are very mysterious, I assume that they had moved on by the time Hylian explorers arrived to Faron. But when did that happen? Given that the region is still rather untouched, my assumption is that Hylians found Faron rather recently; maybe even after the Great Calamity a century ago?

Maybe the Zonai saw the downfall of Hyrule during some prior re-emergence of Ganon (maybe prior to 10k years ago, since the Sheikah set up shrines in the region at the time?) and had the technology to leave the area, because the Zonai Empire had been around for a very long time and they were pretty sure that that neighboring kingdom was seriously cursed.

Similar situation with the ruins in the Lanayru Valley. When were they built? Are they Hylian? Where they abandoned during Great Calamity a century ago? Was it a thriving city when Zelda made her pilgrimage to the Spring of Courage?

Also the weathered, broken columns found all over Hyrule: are they vestiges of old sky islands that crashed to the ground? Are they so ancient they long predate Ocarina of Time?

[ordon-shield]

Whumpril Day 12: The Malice of a Stranger

friendly fire | toxic | “get away from me!”

ao3 link (9th in a series)

The atmosphere in Zora’s Domain was tense. It hadn’t been long since Sidon had returned from his encounter with the corrupted Zora, but even in that short time, even more Zora who had ventured outside the Domain had gone missing, lost to the same fate as those first few scouts. They kept to the cliffs that surrounded it now, always keeping in sight of others. The children were kept in the sleeping chamber, with as many warriors as they could spare guarding them.

Sidon was taking his turn guarding the Great Zora Bridge, the main entry point to the rest of the Domain, when it began to rain. The downpour was the heaviest it had been since Vah Ruta had been appeased, the thick curtains of rain obscuring his vision, leaving him barely able to see the end of the bridge. He readied himself, hand on the hilt of his broadsword, sure that if the corrupted Zora had any intelligence beyond bestial instinct left in their minds, they would take the opportunity to attack.

Hours later, he was still watching the bridge when a figure appeared at the end. He tensed for a moment, before it began to move forward and he realised it was shorter than any Zora he knew, and lacked the distinct silhouette of any monster that lived around the Domain. Could it be a Hylian, he wondered, a bud of hope blossoming in his chest?

Holding up his hand as the figure moved forward, features still obscured by the rain, he signalled to the archers in the towers above to wait before attacking the stranger. As they got closer he realised they were moving oddly, injured perhaps? It was when they were nearing the end of the bridge, close enough for him to seen more clearly, that he saw familiar blond hair falling out from under their hood.

Not even thinking about it, he rushed forward, suddenly worried for his old childhood friend. With the corrupted Zora roaming the waters below the Domain, Link could have encountered one, not realised the danger, and been badly injured. He realised his mistake when Link looked up, his own golden eyes meeting ones that burned with the same malice that dripped from Link’s mouth as he lunged towards him, teeth too sharp for any Hylian digging into the flesh of his shoulder.

Pulling away in shock, he held a hand up to the bleeding bite wound. It came away coated in a mixture of his own blood and glistening malice. As he stumbled away, shouting at the being that had impersonated Link to get away from him, he could already feel it spreading through his bloodstream, like a toxin poison, numbing senses, and making his limbs shake. The being that couldn’t be Link just smiled at him. Behind him, he could faintly hear the sounds of screams and cries for help, as he realised it had just been a distraction.

His awareness faded for a time following that realisation, only to suddenly return after he’d somehow managed to get himself up to where Vah Ruta stood, the Divine Beast standing there with its target set to Hyrule Castle. He wondered why he’d come here, only for the realisation to hit him a moment later. Link had told him about Mipha’s spirit, how she had stayed with her Divine Beast, and lent him her power of healing. If anyone could help him, it would be her.

Somehow he managed to find his way into the Sheikah creation, wandering the chambers within as he called out for his sister, who failed to appear. The malice in his body was growing stronger now, harder to ignore as it crept across his scales. Finally, the last of his strength faded, and he fell to the ground. He felt something in his mind, a foreign presence he was too tired, to exhausted from everything that had happened, to ignore. It promised him the power to protect his people, to keep him with his sister, to see Link again… and he accepted.

The Divine Beast Vah Ruta let out a cry as it was once again overtaken by malice. Not far to the south, in a small village among the mountains, an old woman realised that something had gone very wrong.

[botwstoriesandsuch]

The Champion’s Identities 10,000 years back

I was tagged in this post by @no-themes-just-memes for a theory about the original Divine Beast pilots 10,000 years back. This was too big for a reblog so here is this...

This tapestry, the one that was passed down to Impa, over what I can assume is a lot of generations, is pretty much our only information regarding the original Champions. It’s well guarded, behind Impa, which is near where their “treasured heirloom” was kept so it’s definitely a valuable heirloom.

[Full theory/analysis below the cut]

Now the fact that it’s in Impa’s possession and clearly in the Sheikah style is obvious to the fact that it was Sheikah-made, but just to reiterate that point, you can clearly see the Sheikah text, swirl designs, eye symbol, and obsession with constellations that other Sheikah stuff (like shrines) have. Impa’s version is much more weathered, which in comparison to the much brighter and refined picture I have at the top, obviously means that this piece of art is old. This was definitively made by the Sheikah and not something that was from the Hyrulean Family as other people may think

Why is this important? Well firstly, and a bit off topic, but I think this confirms that the sealing of Ganondorf in botw 2 was done by the Sheikah as the wall art in the trailer is of Sheikah style and not the Zonai (although that’s on the pretense that this art of ganondorf is related to his sealing, and not just art depicting the events of something else entirely, which could also be likely to be fair)

Anyhow, the fact that this was done by the Sheikah, means that we can definitively say that the art here is not only accurate, but we can understand that the artist had the basic knowledge on what the different races across Hyrule were when making this. Basically, I’m saying that this isn’t a case of “Oh this was a legend passed down through time and this art was made by someone 100 years ago so the description of the Champions is not accurate.” No. This was by the ancient Sheikah, who had first hand, or at least very close hand, knowledge on the events and more specifically what the Champions looked like. 

[And I can further prove this because the tapestry in the trailer is obviously woven, and not inked into, unlike the other more “modern” art across Hyrule that you see in the game. It’s on an almost papyrus like “paper” and not the more modern book binding paper that is present across Hyrule, the only exception being the Rito, but again, this is definitely Sheikah design]

If we understand that the depictions of the Champions are accurate, and not the result of misinterpretation through myths passed down to later artist, we can actually use the art of the Champions as fact to identify them. 

I’ll start off with this, none of the Champions were Rito, Goron, Hylian, or Sheikah.

Rito and Goron are easy to disprove, the shape of the Champions are vastly different from the larger, circular Gorons, and there are no wings, beaks, or talons present on any of them, so Rito is a no.

You could argue that Medoh’s pilot has a beak, but 1) There’s still no wings or talons, tail, or even feathers. 2) It’s more likely a helmet, such as the Divine Beast Vah Medoh Helm which is canonically worn by the pilot/controller of a Divine Beast. We will come back to that point.

None of the pilots are Hylians or Sheikah, because the tapestry includes depictions of those very races in the same piece. The Hylians are depicted very human like, and the Sheikah are all with their signature masks with their symbol on it. Both, vastly different than the styles of the pilots. 

(And also the Sheikah race devoted themselves to assisting the Hyrulean family with their technology and knowledge and not with direct combat making it unlikely they were pilots)

[btw there’s a theory that the corpse in botw 2 is actually the hero because they could both be Gerudo/ganondorf, cause the hero in this tapestry was Gerudo cause of the skin tone and hair or something... but I’m 99% sure that’s wrong because 1) the curse of demise wouldn’t allow Ganon to be the good guy and 2) the hero clearly has pointed ears, something not developed by the Gerudo (who had rounded ears) for many many many generations]

[Fun fact! This last image showing the ancient Sheikah being cast out displays them escaping to the Forgotten Temple (with the large goddess statue) and some of them also splitting off to become the Yiga Clan]

The only possible known races left are the Gerudo and Zora, but I’m very hesitant to even say that for a few reasons I’ll get into later.

The reason they’re not crossed off completely is because they have distinct arms and legs which Zora and Gerudo have, shocker I know. In addition, it could be argued that the red hair that some of the pilots have indicate their Gerudo race. Also, the pilot for Divine Beast Vah Ruta has a skirt/petitcoat like fins around their waist which could be argued to indicate a Zora. However, this obviously won’t explain the other pilots, but we’ll get to that soon.

[I’m not gonna re-screenshot the other pilot just scroll up and look at how their hair color is red ok]

Now, other than those obscure observations, this leaves me with my two theories. The simplest one, is that the pilots were actually Hylians, or Zora, or some other race, but they’re depictions here have them in armour, so it is impossible to tell. This lines up with the amibo descriptions of the Divine Beast Helms, which were worn by those who controlled the beasts, giving reason to the pilot’s unusual head shape. Not far-fetched to assume that they’re might have been a fully fledged Sheikah pilot armour made at some point. 

[could be argued that the this helm explains the “tusk” or “trunk” like blue shape on the Ruta pilot’s face]

In addition, notice how the pilots are all wearing the same colors as their Divine Beasts. The Ruta pilot with the same shade of blue, the Rudania with the orange, Medoh with the green, and the Naboris pilot with the red (and yes its a different color than the Ruta one, I checked its a darker shade). This could explain away the coat-like shapes on the Ruta pilot, and and previously mentioned beak shape on the Medoh pilot. No race (other than the Zora, but again, they’re unlikely) have these colors naturally, so we can only assume it is armour that makes their weird body shapes.

[Again, I’m not gonna re-screenshot them just scroll up or take my word for it :p]

So theory one is just that, their races are ambiguous/unknown because of the ancient Sheikah armour they wore, perhaps to protect their identities? Or, perhaps because Nintendo was lazy and didn’t think it was that important, which is fair, it really doesn’t impact the story that much.

What it does impact is my ability to theorize and assign meaning to things that they didn’t intend to, in the hope that I’m might be right, which brings us to theory 2.

I say that the pilots are not Gorons, Rito, Hylians, Sheikah, Zora or Gerudo. Now you might be thinking “That’s literally every race in Hyrule how is that possible?” and to that I saw no, no it’s not.

If we skedaddle back to my brief mention of the Zonai in that one paragraph a good 5 minutes ago (for your average reading speed idk) we can remember the Zonai people, responsible for the ruins across the Faron, Thyplho, Upper Eldin, and all three of the mazes in the corners of Hyrule. Their culture and ruins are vastly different than the Sheikah and Hylian, but they’re assumed to have human-like characteristic given their relation to the barbarian armour set, as I assume that the tribe from the Faron region is at the very least connected with the Zonai

This armour, by the way, is only found when completing Sheikah shrines, meaning the Sheikah must have made contact with the Zonai at least 10,000 years ago. Much easier to be in touch with someone if they’re...I don’t know, recruiting their people to pilot a giant mech of yours, wouldn’t you say?

Secondly as to why I think the pilots are all Zonai, is this line from Impa

These pilots were from “across the land.” Of course, you might initially interpret that line to prove that the pilots must have been of different races and background (ergo, Theory 1) but then how could you explain the similarities all four of the pilots have to each other.

All the pilots have darker skin (something that might be common if your people originated from a lush jungle, such as the Faron?) they all have distinct arms and legs, they all have hair, and are all of similar proportion, which is different than that of the Sheikah and Hylian. 

I’m saying that all the pilots were off the same race, and what other race is present “across the land” other than Hylians? The Zonai, present in all four corners of Hyrule as proven by their ruins. 

The Champions of 10,000 years back were Zonai, wearing special Sheikah made armour and helms, and helped the Hylian princess and the hero defeat and seal Calamity Ganon. While the Sheikah were later pushed out, no such violence or discrimination was recorded against these Champions because they were not Sheikah. Their race and names faded with time because just like their Zonai people, they and their tribe disappeared mysteriously never to be seen again. This is why their identities and race were left unknown, because their people were not remembered.

But that’s just a theory...a GAME THEORY. Thanks for watc— uh reading? Thanks for reading :P 

[hyrule-in-a-pokeball]

Creating a champion reveled that the stones placed around the pedestal of the master sword in Breath of the wild held deeper meaning, representing each major race of Hyrule, and each of the three goddesses.

What I find interesting is that the races are paired off into 2′s with each goddess, separated by a line of flat stones.

The Hylians and the Zora are with Nayru, the goddess of wisdom who “gave the spirit of law” to the world The Gerudo and the Gorons are with Din, the goddess of power who created the world The Kokiri/Koroks and the Sheikah are with Farore, the goddess of courage who created life to live upon the world.

Having the Gorons be under Din makes sense. as they are generally the most physically powerful race in the series. In later instalments, the Gerudo would come to also be a physically imposing race. In their initial appearance in OoT, they were the same size as Hylians, but in Breath of the Wild, a Gerudo woman standing 7 feet tall is considered “Short” among their people. They’re also shown to be very muscular. It makes sense then that the two most physically powerful races in Hyrule would fall under Din’s charge. 

Zoras falling under Nayru’s charge is nothing surprising, as the Zora have used her symbol as their own in most installments they’ve appeared in, and as we learned in Breath of the wild, they live exceptionally long lives. Age is often associated with wisdom. But why are the Hylians associated with Nayru? They’re far from the most advanced race Hyrule has seen. That distinction would fall to the ancient Sheikah. I would say that the Hylians, who get their name from the goddess Hylia, wouldn’t fall under the charge of any of the three goddesses.

I would say that the Sheikah are more associated with Wisdom than they are courage, partly due to the aforementioned advanced technology, but also because they’re “The shadow folk”, Ninjas operating behind the scenes, utilizing stealth and sneakery. Hardly a trait anyone would consider courageous. The same can be said for the Kokiri/Koroks. Though they have long since been associated with Farore, they are always depicted as small sprite-like beings that are largely unknown by the world outside their forest, who hide at the first sign of danger.

The positions of the stones makes little sense when you try to assign meaning to them, but at the same time, the fact that the Zora stone is with Nayru, the Goron stone is with Din, and the Kokiri stone is with Farore, to me shows that the placements, even of the Hylian, Gerudo, and Sheikah stones, are intentional.

[drabbledragon]

Linktober: ReDead

This one definitely falls more onto the creepy side of all my fics, so proceed with caution and make sure to read the warnings.

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26749021/chapters/66053455 Summary: The Links go searching for a missing Sheikah, but they should really be more cautious about what lies in the dark.

Warnings: Mentions of blood and violence, but if you are squeamish about either topic, I highly suggest you skip this chapter

Day 8: ReDead

“This is the place.”

The Links slowly came to a stop at Time’s words, and curiously looked towards the large tomb looming over them. It was one of many in the large graveyard, and it was nothing compared to the Royal Family’s Tomb that resided just a little ways away, but it still held a general air of creepiness and dread, and its qualities only seemed to be amplified by the waning moon hanging above Kakariko Village Graveyard. 

“Why would a little girl want to run in here? This place is creepy as hell.” Legend commented from the side, but his tone seemed to be leaning more towards concern rather than his usual pragmatic self.

“People do things for inexplicable reasons.” Was all the Hero of Time said before taking a step forward and pulling on the tomb’s doors. 

“Well, jeeze, Old Man; if you’re just gonna be cryptic about it, don’t bother answering.”

The nine of them ventured down the stone stairs in tense silence, with the clack of their boots being the only sound within the narrow space. There was no light, as expected, so a few of them were able to pull out their lanterns and illuminate the path for those who couldn’t; but no matter how much the glow of warm light filled their surroundings, they just couldn’t seem to get rid of the oppressing chill that filled the empty air.

They all startled at the sound of a high - pitched screech, but before any of the heroes could so much as draw their respective weapons, Time had already taken care of the threat, releasing the arrow from his Hero’s Bow in one smooth motion towards the source of the sound. He didn’t even flinch when a Keese fell in front of his feet.

He drew in a sharp breath. “ Not good.”

Turning on his heels, he regarded each of the heroes with a serious look. “ This tomb is infested with monsters, and judging by how long the girl’s been in here, I fear that she’s in grave danger, if not already dead. We’ll need to split up into pairs to find her, with one group of three; the more area we cover, the sooner we’ll be able to find her.”

An excited Hyrule looped an arm around Wild’s and eagerly proclaimed, “ Ooo I choose Wild! He’s my travelling buddy!”

“And I wanna be in a group of three with Sky and Four!” Wind chimed in next, with both his partners smiling at his enthusiasm.

“I’m going with the Old Man,” Twilight stepped forward and slid his gaze knowingly to Time. “ We’re both good at filling in each other’s weak spots.”

Legend casted a reluctant glance towards the remaining hero and rolled his eyes. “ Ugh, no one else wants to partner up with Cityboy? I’ll give you 50 Rupees if you do.”

“Excuse me, I am worth way more than 50 Rupees!” Warriors squawked from right beside him.

“I’m giving them a discount because of how annoying you are.”

“Enough.” Time’s voice had boomed over all of them, and all their banter immediately came to a stop. “ We’re all on a time - sensitive mission, so I don’t need any of you acting up because you’re too childish to work together. You’re Chosen Heroes, so start acting like it.”

Then with a calming breath, he motioned to the various corridors down the room and continued, “ We’ll split ourselves among the rooms here: there’s not many, but they do branch out for quite a bit. Be on the lookout for a seven year - old Sheikah girl with white hair and red eyes, and if you see any monsters, don’t hesitate to kill them.”

The nine of them were used to killing monsters of all kinds, so the other heroes didn’t understand why a cold chill seemed to run up their spines at their leader’s words.

Wild rose a hand high into the air and spoke when Time looked to him. “ What do we do for a signal? Like how do we let the others know if we found the girl or if we’re in a lot of trouble?”

A good question, the Hero of Time thought, and then after a moment of consideration, he finally answered back, “ A whistle: one long one for if you found her and three short ones for if you’re in danger.”

With a collective nod, the groups went their separate ways, each of their steps careful and calculated as they disappeared through old and crumbling arches.

The Hero of Time and Hero of Twilight gradually made their way down the stone corridor they had chosen: a narrow one that was situated towards the back of the main room. It was cold and dark in the small passageway, and the ranchhand tried his best not to be bothered by it, but he just couldn’t help the goosebumps that prickled all over his skin. 

“Transform.”

Time’s command had caught him off guard for a second, but he quickly shook his head and assumed his Twili form. Hands and feet became paws and a thick coat of fur encased his body like a blanket, seeming to block out the stagnant cold that came through invisible vents. He lifted his muzzle into the air and perked at the scents that wafted around like the auroras in the Northern Lights.

Twilight had once explained it to his protege as following a beacon of light that couldn’t be seen. The flicker of light might be in a sea of other lights that tried to drown out its color, but with enough focus and dedication, the Ordonian could zero in on his target and keenly follow it without being overwhelmed.

A small huff of breath escaped his mouth as he lowered his head. There was Time’s scent right next him, smelling distinctly of forests and pines, and then Twilight’s own scent of pumpkins and hay, Wild’s, Hyrule’s, Legend’s, Warriors’s, Sky’s, Four’s, and Wind’s scents lingering back towards the corridor, and then an unfamiliar scent that smelled like …

With a sharp bark, he called for Time to follow him further down the corridor, all the while pursuing the scent like a lifeline. It was sharp and distinct, smelling like home - cooked meals and a rainy day's mud; if there was a universal scent for a seven year - old child, that would be the one.

As he bounded from stone to stone, he idly wondered what was going on with his mentor: it wasn’t unusual for Time to be strict and demanding at times but the way he carried himself when he spoke to the group … it just wasn’t like him. In more serious situations, he wasn’t as stern to the other heroes as he is now, and if they were lucky, he would even jab at a few of them,  commenting on how scared they looked when they faced worse; but now he was more rigid and harsh towards them, not allowing any of them to go against his word.

Maybe it had something to do with being in a tomb? Or with them having to find a small child? From the brief snippets Malon had told him about Time’s childhood, Twilight knew it wasn’t good: he had lost dear friends, had to give up a peaceful life, and had been forced to sleep for seven years in order to be worthy of the Master Sword. It had been a rough adventure, but the eldest hero persevered regardless, and maybe that’s why all of them looked up to Time so much.

Twilight trotted to a stop once he reached a large room, and quickly transformed back into a Hylian.

“She’s here,” He claimed, but his brows quickly furrowed. “ but she’s … all over the place; her scent’s in every bit of this room, and there’s no definite direction I can say.”

All he received back was a grunt and a low, “ Split up and find her.”

Just before Time was about to head over to one end of the room, he paused and looked to his protege when the latter was offering him a lantern.

“It’ll help you look,” Twilight smiled, and when the elder hero offered him a questioning gaze, he shrugged and added in, “ I’ll just use my Twili form to find her.”

With a nod of thanks, the two went off in opposite directions.

The room was worse, in Twilight’s opinion: it was colder, mustier, and just seemed to hold this general air of foreboding. The limited stone tiles he could see with his wolf senses were all covered in mold and weeds, where the latter was slowly dying from the lack of sunlight in the tomb. It may have just been Twilight’s overactive imagination, but he could have sworn that he heard a few moans in different areas of the room, and his ears flicked eagerly towards each call. The sounds were inhuman, that was for sure, and he wouldn’t expect little Keese to make a noise like that, so that meant it was either the little girl they were looking for or … something else entirely.

He paused when he caught sight of a figure huddled in the corner, and nearly yipped out when he smelled the Sheikah’s scent practically surrounding their form. He eagerly transformed back into a Hylian and crouched down, intent on gaining the little girl’s trust before alerting his mentor of his discovery. 

In a delicate, soothing voice, he quietly called out, “ Hey, I’m a hero here to save you. You can call me ‘Twilight’.”

He waited patiently for an answer, but when the girl didn’t even so much as look at him, he decided to take a tentative step forward and call out again, “ Your mom and dad are worried about you, and they want you to come back home. Do you think you can follow me so I can show you the way out?”

Again, no answer, but that didn’t bother the Ordonian in the slightest: he was used to dealing with frightened children all the time, and he would wait hours if he had to if it meant Colin would peacefully fall asleep after a nightmare or if Beth would stop crying and tell him what was wrong. 

He was quiet, breathing steady breaths as his eyes stayed trained on the child, hands clasped together as his arms rested easily on crouched knees; and all at once, all hell broke loose.

The girl - no, the creature - suddenly turned around and regarded him with piercing red eyes, ones that made him inexplicably freeze him to his spot. He inwardly panicked as he tried to move his arms or legs or tilt his head but he couldn’t, and the only thing he even had slight control of was his hysterical breaths. The creature then reached for him with long spindly arms and knocked him back, straddling the hero as it let out a low - pitched groan.

The next thing he felt was long bony fingers raking into his chest and digging harshly into his skin. He was acutely aware of every single claw that dragged purposefully across his ribcage and the longer the process continued, the more he could feel pain burning through his body and blood bubbling to the top. He wanted to shove that thing off him, give into his Twili self and sink his fangs into that creature’s neck but he couldn’t do any of that; his body remained still and paralyzed, eyes glued to the spot where he had first locked eyes with the creature.

He was starting to become dizzy now, the ceiling above him swirling in a mix of the blacks and grays he could pick out, and he could feel his stomach roil with unease. His skin prickled at the sudden drop in temperature he felt but the slow, oozing liquid that trickled down his chest and throat seemed to provide him with a little warmth. He was shivering, he was sure of it, but the all - consuming emptiness that was slowly filling his head was starting to disconnect his thoughts in favor of soothing him in a sudden calm.

He’d felt this way before, hadn’t he? It was back on his adventure when he defeated … uh … Rusl, right? Wait, no, that was his mentor - or he thought it was his mentor. He couldn’t put a name to a face right now, or rather he couldn’t really remember anything about anyone right now. All he could think about was a dull pain echoing throughout his body, one that he couldn’t even explain the source of.

He was tired, and the uncontrollable drooping of his eyelids only confirmed his feelings. He thought he was on a mission right now, but he couldn’t recall for who, with who, or the entire purpose of the thing. A quick nap would fix him right up, so he gave into the darkness closing in on him, and let his body go lax.

The next he was aware of was a cold bottle pressed to his lips and a hushed voice soothing him.

“C’mon, Pup, have a sip.” It coaxed, and when he couldn’t do what the voice was asking, it added in a more strict tone, “ Listen, it’s going down your throat one way or another.”

And so he took a tentative sip, and recoiled when the liquid caused a fiery pain to burn down his throat. He immediately tried to turn his head away from the source but a rough hand caught his chin and forced his lips open where the cool liquid was promptly dumped into. The burning agony coursed up and down his throat unheedingly, and if he could compare this with the heat of the Goron Mines, the thing he was forced to drink was definitely hotter. He laid there for a few moments, gasping for air and writhing in agony, while a soft voice from beside him kept apologizing and mentioning that he would die if he didn’t drink it.

The pain disappeared after a few excruciating moments, and in its place came a blossom of warmth in his chest and throat. It was a welcomed feeling, and its very presence was enough to lull him to sleep, but a sharp pinch on his cheek sent him reeling back to reality.

“Not yet. The traveller’s coming and I want him to get a good look at you before you drift off.”

The traveller … that’s what they called Hyrule, right? Why would he need Hyrule of all people now?

Mustering all the energy he could, he finally pried his eyes. 

It was strange that he wasn’t waking up to morning light; it was instead to a dark spacious room, with the only source of lighting being the flickering lantern by his head. There was barely anything else he could see, and if it was, then he could only see the vague outlines of it. His gaze then settled onto his mentor sitting beside him, face pale and features taut as he watched his protege. When their eyes met, he gave a tired smile.

“You scared me back there. I should’ve known not to leave you alone.”

Alone? Why would it matter if he was alone? But when Twilight tried to ask that very question, a blazing pain shot up his throat and caused coughs to rack through his body.

“Easy, easy.” The Hero of Time placated. “ That thing ripped through a good portion of your throat and chest, so don’t expect to be talking any time soon.”

Ah, he supposed that would explain the phantom pains echoing through his entire being. When he eventually recovered, he instead settled on fixing his mentor with a steady gaze, hoping the other would get the message.

He watched as Time settled back with a sigh and let his shoulders drop. In a matter - of - fact tone, he explained, “ You were attacked by a ReDead. I don’t know the events leading up to it, but I remember hearing the clang of your sword and shield on the ground and then a low moan. I feared the worst, and I was upset to find that I was right. I killed that thing in an instant and bandaged whatever I could, hoping that the bloodloss didn’t progress too far. I managed to get you to drink a few potions, and it looks like you came to at the last bottle I had.” He gently motioned to the various empty bottles strewn about, and Twilight could determine that there were at least four of them. “ It was a bit touch - and - go there for a second, but I knew you would be alright once you started breathing again.” He closed his eyes and shook his head as he muttered out, “ Honestly, the amount of times we look death in the face is ridiculous.”

The Ordonian would’ve laughed if he could. There was that cynical and exasperated Time they all knew and loved.

But the old man’s gaze hardened, and he fixed a disapproving eye on his protege. “ You should know better than to approach a ReDead like that. They’re simple enemies that can be avoided as long as you don’t make too much noise.”

He was taken aback by the confused stare he received.

“You don’t … know what a ReDead is.”

It was more of a statement rather than a question, but Twilight nodded nonetheless. 

With a tired sigh, the Hero of Time began, “ ReDeads are zombie - like creatures that roam dark dungeons, preferably those underground. They’re mindless, but the moment they hear a sound, they’re quick to paralyze you with their gaze. They’ll jump onto your back once you’re petrified, but depending on the direction you’re facing, they might attack you from a different angle. You obviously can’t attack them when you’re paralyzed, so the moment you feel yourself regaining control of your body, you need to shake them off and avoid their eyes at all costs; then is the best moment to strike.” 

Twilight noticed the way his mentor prattled on, and a small part of him wondered how he remembered such a vivid description of an enemy. Was it because he read a manuscript somewhere detailing the enemy? Or was it that he had a mentor of his own to tell him the ins and outs of the creature? He would have to ask once they’re out of this tomb.

“Also, I thought I should let you know about this.” The elder hero grabbed a piece of pink fabric from somewhere beside him and showed it to his protege. “ It was something the ReDead was holding, and it’s also part of the dress the mother had last seen the girl wearing. If my assumption is correct, I believe she passed by here, got caught by the ReDead, and was able to escape - how, I’m not sure. Regardless, I believe that this is the reason you were even near that thing.”

The Ordonian stiffly nodded, staring at the piece of faded pink cloth. That must have been what he was smelling earlier, and his willingness to just blindly follow the scent without any hint of precaution had led him into a dangerous situation with an enemy he had never seen before. 

He shivered. He could still feel the bony fingers raking up and down his chest, and the fear enveloping his mind before it all came to a soothing calm: his body’s last - ditch effort at trying to soothe his frightened mind before an agonizing death. He was minutes if not seconds away from meeting a cruel end, and he was just lucky enough that his mentor had heard all the commotion and came when he did. He could have died back there, and the gravity of the past was starting to sink in.

He just really hoped that one of the others had found that missing Sheikah girl.

<Previous Next>

[hyliangrace-a]

oh, i ended up spending so much time on this, but - it’s done ! it’s far from perfect but i’m pretty satisfied that there’s a visual guide to my idea of hyrule, post-seven years war. & now, god help you all, i’m gonna talk about it lmao. click here if you want to see a full-sized version of the map, but i’m also gonna put it under the cut in this post with the original map for comparison, & go on for a bit about how hyrule has, in my interpretation, changed under zelda’s rule.

( this gets long. like, really long. like, over 4,500 words long. read at your own risk. i’d say i’m sorry, but i’m really not. & fuck drawing water features forever. )

first thing’s first - the map !

( apologies for the giant watermark underneath it all but i’ve had my shit stolen before & i’m not enthused at the idea of having it happen again. clicking it open in a new tab should make it bigger if the link above doesn’t work. )

so, it’s slightly bigger than the original map which is featured in the game, haha. here’s a comparison of the two, actually, with my map over the top of the original so you can see what’s been changed or added & where. i’ll talk about what got added & why in a bit, i want to speak just about the actual map, first.

i did my best to keep the main locations of hyrule as specified in the game in the same place, & i think did an okay job, tbh ! my biggest nitpick was just how many dang cliffs & rockfaces there are on the original map. i know they serve a purpose in-game, which is completely fair, but they limited worldbuilding a little by making the map so small, so i took some liberties. not with every cliff, of course - i kept some in the southwest to keep the border between gerudo valley & hyrule field intact, & kept the ridge the river runs through - partly for the sake of continuity, & partly because i’ve always loved the fact that falling into the river in the valley washes you down to the lake. expanding them into a new area was fun, too, because at least then they go somewhere, rather than just locking you in to a certain place.

my main point of contention, to be honest, was the giant rockface in south hyrule field. again, i understand why it was there, but, come on ! so i ended up just doing away with it all, letting it lead a path to two new areas i’d like to work into zelda’s canon. the map just fades out in certain places, too, particularly the gerudo desert, so i ended up expanding that a little more & having it lead into the cliffs above lake hylia - the river already runs from the valley to the lake, so why not have more of the desert lead into the mainland ? the mountains, too, got their range expanded, because they just seem so ... small, in canon, when they aren’t being used specifically as dungeon locations. i’d say the only place on the map i didn’t expand in some way is that little gap between zora’s domain & the kokiri forest - the forest is so hemmed in & the domain is literally inside a mountain, hidden behind a waterfall, so i was happy to just let that be empty space. if you manage to climb over the cliffs surrounding the domain, or break through the treetops in the forest, you get a view of the ocean, & that’s that !

it was fun to look at the maps of the games that came chronologically before this one & see how the position of things in hyrule change, but i’m kind of glad that there was only the three before ocarina of time, because the mountains alone move across the map at their leisure, good god. there was a bit of freedom in it, too, because in zelda’s canon timeline, the gods are going to flood hyrule anyway, so i could make whatever changes i wanted because it’s all gonna end up underwater & unseen in the end - plus, it meant i could add in more mountains to take up empty space on the map, because the hylians have to flee somewhere to escape the flood, & i don’t think the peak of death mountain could hold them all. most of the new locations were inspired by the minish cap, more than any other, so i’m going to start at the top of the map & move down to talk about them.

i always loved royal valley & the royal crypt in the minish cap, to be honest. it was spooky & cute, & i’m surprised it, or a concept like it, hasn’t made much of a comeback in later zelda games. the royal family’s tomb being in kakariko village never bothered me much as a kid ( other than the fact their headstone gets utterly destroyed & you get assaulted by what we can only assume are the zombies of previous hylian rulers ??? & then it’s just left open for anyone to stumble in & possibly loot slash get murdered by said zombies ??? actually, y’know what, this bothers me a lot more as an adult, what the fuck - ) but kakariko was a village founded by the sheikah, originally for the sheikah, so i did always find it a little strange that at some point, a ruler of hyrule went ❛ that’s cool, you do you, but make space for us in your graveyard. ❜ i know the history between the hylian royal family & the sheikah is implied to be murky ( thank you, shadow temple ) but that’s a meta for another day, so i’m not gonna go into too much detail, but it’s still something that sticks out as strange to me. call it the sheikah continuing to guard the royal family in death or whatever, but, hm. weird. anyway !

the point is, after the seven years war ends, zelda decides that what originally belonged to the sheikah should be given back to the sheikah. kakariko village was opened up to non-sheikah by impa prior to the rise of ganondorf, & that’s her perogative & not something zelda would ever dream of interfering with, but that applies to the living, & those who die within the village deserve to be buried in the same place. it takes time to get around to the rebuilding of hyrule castle & its’ town, but when it’s time to plan for it, zelda chooses to utilize the abandoned valley which lies behind the castle as the new home for the royal crypt, but not solely for that ! she establishes & sponsors a university on behalf of the royal family, with special consideration going to the preservation of hylian history ( a lot was lost in the hyrulean civil war prior to her birth, nevermind the seven year war following that so quickly, & we can see in other zelda games, such as twilight princess & breath of the wild, historical preservation within hyrule is ... terrible, to say the least. of course, it will all be washed away when the goddesses flood hyrule, but fuck, at least she tries. ) the university also covers a range of other subjects, but history is the one zelda takes an active interest in, & she spends a lot of time with scholars who specialize in it. the royal crypt lies at the very back of the valley, the university being closer to the castle, & then ... watch this space ! i’m likely to add more things to areas around the map in the future.

hyrule castle & hyrule castle town i’ve left in the same spots, pretty much - i imagine the castle is rebuilt to be something like the one we see at the bottom of the ocean in wind waker, but i intend to put my own spin on that, too. zelda wouldn’t be focused too much on getting a castle up agaiin ( i’ve mentioned in a thread before that two years post-ganondorf, she is still sheltering at impa’s house in kakariko village, as rebuilding for the civilians is her main priority, & whilst i haven’t figured out exactly how long that lasts for, it’s a safe bet to say a good few years ) & she definitely wouldn’t want to be living anywhere especially y’know, grandiose & opulent, if her people were still struggling day to day. the castle town bounces back better than ever, expanding a little more to the left over time, but that’s a gradual thing. no real change except a distinct lack of redeads, which is always a bonus !

death mountain & its immediate surroundings, i was happy to leave as they are - it’s marginally wonky in place compared to the original map but it’s not a severe drift from canon, so lets just pretend it sits a little more to the left, shhh. it’s a volcano built into a mountain with a network of caves both inside & adjacent to it, plus a place of worship built into the heart of it, & you can’t really go wrong with that, so i focused on all that empty space beyond them left on the map. minish cap came in clutch again, because by fuck, did they have a mountain range, so i ended up dipping in to it for the names of this one. the gorons are clustered at the forefront of the mountain because everything beyond their city has been mined to the absolute death by those who came before for its resources, & abandoned by the same in turn, but they still send patrols to make sure it’s fine. 

there’s a story of how, before the gorons settled into the mountain, a man of great strength climbed the mountain alone to make his home within it - he faced eruptions from a then-hostile death mountain, fought off the creatures who called the range home & weren’t fond of sharing, & forged on to what was said to be the edge of hyrule itself. it wasn’t, not quite, but it was far enough away from the central provinces of the kingdom that the mountains became capped with snow, contrasting the temperate mountains to the west. the story goes that the adventurer decided to call the furthest reaches of the mountain home, & singlehandedly carved out what would become the beginning of the mines, in order to gather materials for his forge. it’s been disputed whether said man was hylian or goron, as the biggoron family claim lineage from him, but the mountains he once inhabited are named for him now, & are one of the places zelda hid whilst on the run & masquerading as sheik - despite the extreme temperatures playing havoc with her & nearly killing her, it’s one of the harder to reach spots in hyrule, so it provided a measure of safety that other places could not. melari’s hold lies in the northeast, but the cold spot on the mountain travels further south than would be expected, resulting in a cold spot - the ice cavern - to the north of zora’s domain.

real quick, fuck zora’s domain. there was no way to make the water feature coming from here look decent, or properly portray the types of cliffs it’s surrounded by, so please don’t judge it too harshly. at the end of ocarina of time, zora’s domain is still said to be frozen, but recovering from the curse ganondorf placed on it, which, great ! i’m gonna say, i could be completely off here in how it works, but i wanted to change things up a little, so if i am, i don’t mind that much. i like a bit of artistic license. also, if we can have literal fish people, a genderless species made of rock, children who don’t grow up in a magical forest which horrifically warps those who don’t belong, & a giant fucking overworld field where the skeletons of what look like fucking children come out to fight you at night ? i’m okay with this reckoning being off a little.

so, eventually, zora’s domain unfreezes. i personally imagine, as ganondorf’s power ebbed from hyrule, that the process started slow, until one day, it wasn’t. it’s said that zora’s fountain is the source of all water in hyrule, with the domain lying under the mountain it rests on top of, & a few secret passageways here & there, which is fine, usually - the fountain never froze, just the domain beneath it. that becomes a problem, though, when the magical freeze put in place by ganondorf wears off, & the excess water from the melt ends up flooding the domain. not a problem from those who live within it, with the zora being essentially amphibian in nature, but when that excess water begins seeping out into the fountain, through cracks in the mountain, through the entrance granted to those affiliated with the royal family ? that all goes over the fountain, down the sleepless waterfall, through the river, & that river completely bursts its banks. the water level of the river rises significantly, washing away much of the path previously taken by those who wished to go to the domain on foot, causing minor flooding in hyrule field as it travels downstream, & resulting in the waters of lake hylia rising when the overflow reaches it, hence the lake being larger in my version of the map. the rebuilding of a path to zora’s domain ends up becoming one of the earliest projects zelda undertakes as queen but it’s a bit of a logistical nightmare for a while, considering that, with princess ruto ascended as a sage, zora’s domain is now in a succession crisis. does it have much bearing on zelda’s life ? not especially, but i thought it was a nice bit of worldbuilding, so here it is.

kokiri forest, the lost woods, & everything within doesn’t change much. with the dark magic vanquished from the forest, & the great deku sprout able to thrive, the forest continues to grow, & overgrow. it’s still dangerous to outsiders to go within, still dangerous for anyone to enter the lost woods without a fairy companion to guide them & save them from a grim fate, but the children of the forest do grow somewhat braver about stepping out from their home to see the rest of hyrule. it never lasts long - not all of the kokiri are as brave as link was, after all, & hyrule is so vast compared to what they’re used to - but it sparks their curiosity & their desire to explore hyrule which eventually trickles down to the wandering koroks.

the area to the south / southwest of the kokiri forest is entirely my invention. as i said, in-game, it’s just cliffs to hem you in & prevent you from breaking the boundaries of the world, but there’s none of that in roleplaying, so i just … did away with them entirely. part of this is lake hylia not being as hemmed in by these walls as it is in-game, opening up into a new river & streams which travel through the south & southeast. crossing this river leads to three paths - take middle path, & you may find yourself in what’s known as the rito village. now, i’ll say here, i know that the rito don’t technically appear in hyrule until after the great flood, when the zoras somehow sprout wings, but nintendo’s strange decisions don’t change the fact that there are many wonderful people in the zelda rpc who play rito characters with crossover verses that let them interact with those who play characters in other parts of the timeline. in order to better facilitate interactions with these roleplayers, i decided fuck it, rito village in ocarina of time. canon can be easily bent. if, however, i’m writing with someone who wants to adhere to strict canon, then it’s just other hylians who live within the village, & rito is just the name chosen for the village, with no connection to the as-of-yet-unevolved race, just a nice little coincidence. regardless of who lives in it, though, the village & its name are fixed here in a southern woodland, with the village nestled amongst the hills within.

cross the bridge to the south & take the third branch in the path, you’ll find yourself inside the bremen woods. i honestly haven’t got much to say about the bremen woods here, but it’s not because i don’t have ideas for it - i have another headcanon brewing concerning myths, fables & fairy tales within hyrule, because … i am just that type of nerd. about eighty percent of my blogs before this one involved fairy tale characters in some way. it is, as the kids say, extremely my shit, & i’d like to tie the bremen woods into that, so i’m going to save what i have to say for that headcanon, but don’t worry. it’ll probably be a lot smaller than this one. ( thank god, i hear you say. i know, i know. i’m still not sorry. )

cross the bridge, then, & take the first branch in the path, & you better have a sword with you. the castor wilds are a lawless place, which is fitting for the corner of the world where the last remnants of ganondorf’s forces lie. any that weren’t killed during the restoration of the kingdom were beaten back to the edge of the world, & it’s not a friendly place. the last of the monsters shelter in a run-down settlement known as dragmire’s hold, the last place where those who sympathize with the king of evil can speak freely, & it’s murder to get to. the entrance to the wilds is a marshy swamp, thanks to the run-off of lake hylia, but if you manage to get through the mire, the land begins to dry out until you reach the hold, where the earth struggles to bear fruit & it seems the grass refuses to grow. it is, in a few words, fucking grim, & as a result, the go-to place for banishments within the kingdom. zelda isn’t a fan of harsh punishments, but she’s no fool, not anymore, & she won’t abide those who plot to throw the kingdom back into chaos, be it in service of ganondorf, or their own selfish natures. it’s rare that anyone actually finds themselves wandering the castor wilds, unless they actively choose to adventure there, but it is a very good threat, considering its reputation as the land where the devils live.

jumping across the map entirely, we come to the cliffs of coroa to the left of lake hylia. another spot on the map which is notorious for being hard to reach, the cliffs are an inviting challenge to those who want to boast of their climbing skills & durability. if getting up the cliffs doesn’t kill you ( & there is a very real possibility that it will, especially if you fall, ‘cause this water ain’t soft ) the journey down might do it instead, & that’s if you survive your trip at the top. there has been rumours of a great treasure hidden away in the cliffs for years, though the debate on what it might be was pretty intense, if you got into it. for a time, some thought the legendary blade rested within the cliffs, & only those who could brave the rockface would be able to lay a hand on it; others argued that it contained more mundane, but still desirable, treasures, such as a great haul from a band of thieves, left behind when they were hunted down by the crown, growing only more valuable by the minute. some, with sense, said that the only thing atop the cliffs was certain doom for the morons who tried to make their way up them. the truth ? there’s nothing up there. sometimes, cliffs are just cliffs, & those who try to scale the ones facing lake hylia truly are fools. the gerudo people, however, had the right idea of how to get to them.

again, another aspect of canon i was happy to leave as it was. the gerudo desert is a vast, harsh swathe of land, continuously assailed by sandstorms, bordered to the north by what is called ❛ the great sand sea ❜ & to the south by the haunted wasteland, & it’s not hyperbole. spirit guides appear to those who seek the temple of the goddess of the sand, but very few have ever made it through the wasteland if they enter in pursuit of something else. one of the few who did was the gerudo heroine, ashai. a well respected warrior amongst them, ashai was the younger sister to the exalted rishika, the chief of the gerudo at the time, & one of the first to vow to conquer the wasteland & see what lay beyond the storm. though her sister cautioned against it, as tales of people becoming lost in the wasteland were not uncommon, ashai was a headstrong young woman, & she could not be swayed. she took with her a party of twelve, & in time, three returned to tell their story. ashai had forged a path through the ever-shifting sands & left it well enough marked that her companions were able to find their way back. it’s said that some succumbed to madness during the journey, tormented by the ghosts of the wasteland, whilst others fell ill whilst they traveled, choking on the sand which gathered in their lungs. seven of them made it through the wasteland to the valley which lay beyond, but ashai had grown sick during the crossing, & knew she would not make it back. instead, she spent the time she had left exploring the valley, & found a way through it to the peak of the cliffs of coroa. the legend says that is there she died, watching the sun rise atop the cliffs, speaking only of her sister, & her companions laid her to rest within the valley, which her sister then named in honour of her. whilst the gerudo are happy to let those who have proven themselves attempt the journey to the desert colossus, no outsiders are permitted to walk the valley of ashai, where a shrine was built for its namesake - it is considered sacred to them, & the journey to pay respects to ashai is now part of the trial given to those who wish to become chief of the gerudo, should the bloodline of the previous chief die.

that covers just about all the main areas & landmarks of hyrule, i think, so to move on to the last thing, the various settlements, villages, hamlets you see across the map. hyrule is a big place. yes, quite a few of the races are localized to certain areas, & yes, it’s entirely plausible the hyrulean civil war could have decimated the population, with the seven years war exacerbating that problem, but hyrule field just looked so … empty, once everything else was finished. so, rather than stick to a number of locales i can count on one hand, i threw a few more settlements across the map to try & make hyrule feel more like a real kingdom. not to breath of the wild’s extent, of course, but just something a little more than what was given. all those who survived the fall of hyrule castle town apparently fled to become refugees in kakariko village, which was opened to all by impa, which is fair, but i imagine as the world returned to something close to normality, & families started growing again, the village would quickly find itself overwhelmed. as queen, zelda would make it a priority to make sure none of her subjects go homeless - she knows all too well that struggle - & so she would begin a program to make sure there was enough villages or townships for every one of her subjects. those who volunteered would be given a set amount of money & plots of land across hyrule to build a home, which zelda would then personally visit to inspect, to make sure her people were thriving.

there’s little to say in detail about them all as of right now, as i’m still fleshing them out, but i have a few basic ideas. most of the settlements were named after the first to attach themselves to the project, but the names have the potential to evolve over time. they certainly won’t retain the hamlet / settlement status, that’s for sure. the offer wasn’t restricted to hylians, either - any other race in the land was free to join, though only a small number of gerudo accepted it, the others preferring to stay in their homes & travel as they need. ciela’s settlement was the one spearheaded by the gerudo who accepted zelda’s offer, hence its proximity to the valley. a lot of young men volunteered to go to this settlement, but zelda was happy to let ciela make her own call, & many were knocked back - only those with what ciela deemed viable skills were allowed in, & still, it’s very much a female dominated settlement, but it is thriving under her leadership, & blossoms into a successful village as time goes on. lon lon ranch is, well, lon lon ranch. with funding from the crown, talon was able to take on more staff & expand it at his leisure, but it is one of the very few places in hyrule which has stayed constant over time, & he was quite content to keep it that way, & zelda content with his decision. 

to the south of lon lon ranch lies damia village, the largest of all the settlements from its inception. led by a fearless young man who gave his name to the village, it is a hub of activity which could rival hyrule castle town. with damia came many like-minded people, all eager to forge their own path in the world & prove themselves as he had, as he had been part of the group which volunteered to help beat back the remnants of ganondorf’s forces. many of the families within damia village are the families of soldiers who work at the castle & it has gained a reputation for being a village full of strong, capable, trustworthy people. arborwood, which lies further to the south in a more rural location, is an outlier in that the one who volunteered to lead in this settlement didn’t wish to put their name to it - they didn’t want glory, just a place to call home where they could finally live in peace. arborwood is an agriculturally focused village, filled with farmers & those who possess green thumbs. a lot of trade is done between arborwood & all the other villages - everyone in hyrule became proficient at growing & hunting their own food in the past thirty years, as was necessary to survive, but it’s nice to have a place to get food from which specializes in high quality meat & crops. why hunt rabbits, when arborwood can provide venison ? 

last but not least, lynna’s hamlet, which settled at lake hylia at the request of the owner of the lakeside laboratory. as he was getting on in years, he wished to find someone to continue his work, & so specifically requested that any like-minded hylians settle close to the lake so that he could impart his wisdom & let them take over. he got quite a few more people volunteering than he bargained for, be they scientifically inclined, interested in cataloguing the history of lake hylia, or just desirous of a change in scenery. the smallest of the new settlements, lynna’s hamlet never truly flourished the way others did, but the buildings were never empty - as time went on & people began to move elsewhere, it became a popular spot for those who traveled the land to rest at when they came to the lake, with a very successful inn eventually being run by the lakeside, its doors open to any who wished to visit.

it’s not a lot of worldbuilding when it all comes down to it, compared to other things, but this is something that i’ve wanted to do for a long time. as i’ve mentioned in the section regarding the bremen woods, more headcanons are likely to follow regarding places on the map & how they change & evolve as time passes during zelda’s rule, but for now, there’s this ! something which makes hyrule feel less empty than what it was before, whilst still respecting canon, somewhat which was the goal all along. if you’ve made it this far, holy shit, go outside & feel the sun on your face. it’s been eighty-four years - but i can’t thank you enough for reading ! at least next time, the headcanon won’t be so long. i hope.