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Warriors sat by the fire, watching as glowing embers flew up into the sky with the sound of a log snapping. The crackling of the wood was accented by the sound of his slumbering companions. Well, his mostly slumbering companions. Wild sat at the far end of the chain of knocked out heroes, staring out into the shadows.
They had ended up in Wild’s own Hyrule this time and had set up camp next to some ruins to create a sort of wind barrier in the vast plains. It was...unsettling to be next to such clear evidence of the sheer destruction that made up much of the land.
Adjacent to them were crumbling walls, broken windows, remnants of rooms. In the distance, more ruins, ruins that could only be what remained of Hyrule Castle.
Warriors could see bits of bed frames and shards of swords, scraps of life scattered around them. The base structure itself seemed familiar in a disturbing sort of way, as if he had been in the building before.
He sighed, picking himself up to go over to Wild. They had enough insomniacs in their group to collectively avoid sleep for a lifetime. The other tensed as Warriors drew closer, before exhaling as he came to sit next to him.
The two of them had never talked much one on one. Wars knew that the younger hero was a great fighter, able to adapt to changes in a fight with a simple swipe of his slate, but beyond that and the short version of his journey, he didn’t know much about him.
“You’re up rather late,” he stated as a casual observation, nudging Wild’s shoulder. “Too much energy, too many thoughts…?”
“I never sleep much in Central Hyrule,” Wild gave as a way of answering. “It was infested with guardians and monsters when I first came here. Couldn’t even climb up the Sheikah Tower without getting shot off a dozen times.”
They had run into a small group of monsters early on, but none since they had drawn closer to their future campsite. Nothing more than bokoblins and a single moblin that swiftly fell to their swords.
“Well, there aren’t any monsters left to deal with, at least none that I’ve seen during my watch. Legend’ll take over after me, so why don’t you try to rest since we’ve got the night covered?”
“It’s not just that.” Wild shifted in his seat. “There are also---”
“Guardians? Well, I haven’t seen much of anything moving around. Though if it helps, why don’t you tell me exactly what a guardian is, so I know more of what to look out for?” The term seemed familiar, but he didn’t think that he had ever encountered one to give it an actual meaning.
Wild slowly lifted his hand, pointing towards something at the edge of the ruins. The firelight barely reached that far, but Warriors could make out spindly, mechanical legs buried in the rubble.
“Guardians were ancient weapons made by the Sheikah to help fight against the Calamity ten thousand years ago. We discovered them and planned to use them in the same way when Ganon came back.”
“Ah, so, what, they were dispatched to help safeguard settlements and assist soldiers. An autonomous weapon of sorts?”
Wild nodded and gave a grimace. “Originally, yes. Later on, things didn’t turn out as planned…not at all.”
Something was off in Wild’s tone; he just couldn’t tell exactly what it was. They truly didn’t know much about this Hyrule, but somehow, some way, Wild was the future of them all. There was no history book for Warriors to glean information from, no mentions of the Hero of the Wild in the Temple of Souls, though the latter fact was more of a blessing than anything.
“So, is the potential for a threat to appear actually what’s keeping you up? We’ve dealt with adversaries in every Hyrule, but you usually seem to at least try to sleep.”
Wild sighed, turning to the other. The melancholic look on his face seemed so out of character, not matching in the slightest with the boy who would run off to explore at any given chance and spike food with Goron spice out of spite.
“I guess...what do you think when you see stuff like this?” he gestured towards the ruins once more.
Warriors surveyed the area again, noting the overall pattern in the foundation beneath the debris. Uniform structure. Iron shards. Not far from the castle. Ah. “War. More so the effects of war. This place...it was a garrison, wasn’t it?”
A slight laugh. “I figured you’d be able to tell, Captain. The design doesn’t seem to change across eras. It’s simplistic. Hyrule Garrison Ruins. Right by the focal point of the Calamity’s destruction.”
Hyrule Garrison Ruins. In his own case, the garrison had been a second home for Warriors. From the age of eighteen onwards, he always returned to this place of resting and training for him and his fellow soldiers. Here was where he always came back to, regardless of whatever rank he possessed. Here was where he always came back to, regardless of the outcome of any skirmish, battle, or war.
But Wild’s was…
Warriors knew that Wild had been a soldier. It didn’t fit his personality much anymore, but the standard forms of a trained swordsman were inherent to his fighting style.
Were there soldiers inside when the building got destroyed, unaware of what fate awaited them? How many of them had the chance to see their families one last time before the end? Had Wild been able to, or did his duties as the Hylian Champion prevent it?
Without thinking, “how long did it take? For the Calamity to get here?”
Warriors felt immediate regret after asking his question. Wild’s memory issues were well known to the group. The then and now tended to blur for him at the most inconvenient of times, but the soldier of the past, the one who lived here, would be more of a hazy recollection than anything.
“I don’t…I don’t know, really. Zelda and I headed straight for the castle when the Calamity showed up. By the time we got there, the guardians were already running rampant. Heh,” his laugh turned into a scoff. “Guardians. They weren’t very good at doing what their name implied they would.”
“So everything here…”
“And the castle itself and Castletown and the other ruins.”
Horror flooded Warriors as he realized just what events had occurred in Wild’s era one hundred years prior. “It was all caused by guardians? Just how destructive were they to have caused this much damage?”
“They were built to fight the Calamity, and we thought they could be used again. But the beast learned from its loss and would not allow for itself to have them used against it again. So, it infected the guardians and Divine Beasts with malice, and malice corrupts absolutely.”
Their own weapons, turned against them? It was one thing to walk into a fight with a weapon you had never used before. It was an entirely different thing to walk in with a weapon you thought you knew how to use. Learning versus unlearning and relearning on the fly.
“And if a beam from a guardian was powerful enough to destroy a brick wall, well,” Wild continued and waved his hand around the scars on his face, “no wonder I died then. No wonder I abandoned Zelda to carry the burden of the Calamity on her own.”
Warriors moved closer to Wild, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. “Wild…”
The younger hero pulled away from the source of comfort, moving his hands to fist in his hair, tugging slightly.
“I should have done more. I was the hero. I fell. And then Hyrule did.”
Fever bright eyes turned to Warriors. “And you know what happened after that? Those same guardians that destroyed literally everything that you all left me continued their destructive path. I didn’t even take out ten of them. They kept on going and were then joined by monsters.”
The captain sat and watched as the teen unraveled before him, months of pent-up self-hatred spilling out.
“No matter how much people fought back, the monsters kept coming back. Blood moons undid any victory, and everyone suffered for it. I-I left them to die! All of them. Mipha, Urbosa, Revali, Daruk. And my family? Who even were they? I don’t even r-remember them!”
By this point tears were flowing down Wild’s cheeks as rapidly as his words were being spoken. Wars couldn’t just sit and let this go on.
“So you think it’s your fault?” he asked, straight to the point.
“I know it’s my fault,” Wild glared at him, all ruddy faced and miserable.
“From what it sounds like to me, you did your duty. You were to guard the princess, and you did just that until it was physically impossible for you to do so. You gave your life for her, Wild. That is the ultimate fulfillment of your duty.”
The aftermath of a hard fight, one of many in a war. Cool logic against heated feelings.
“How was I the champion I was supposed to be? I left the world without a hero for one hundred years. I left Zelda to face the Calamity on her own. Hero? What a joke! Have you even seen how the Master Sword looks when I hold it? I-”
Warriors swooped in, swiftly drawing Wild into a hug as he cut him off. He brought his hands up to Wild’s hair and slowly untangled the other’s hands from where they were clenched.
“You’ve done so well. You walked into a fight with your own weapons pointed at your back and still won in the end. The time it took doesn’t matter.”
“Yes, it does! Look at the differences between the past eras and my own! The biggest town here is Hateno. There are so few people compared to the past, even to just one hundred years ago. All of the races have been pushed to the corners of the world, to the cracks in the cliffs.”
“But that’s changing, isn’t it?” Warriors rebutted. “The last time we were here we got to see Tarrey Town. Wild, you helped build a town! Do you know how amazing that is? You may have seen huge cities in other eras, but that doesn’t mean that there weren’t problems everywhere. Heck, look at the old man’s time. They’re fresh out of what was essentially a civil war. It may be more peaceful now, but Time isn’t exactly shield surfing with the Gerudo Chieftain like you are.”
Wild slowly lifted his head from where it had been tucked into Wars’ neck, listening as Warriors continued his impassioned speech.
“The amount of unity here is amazing. Yes, it may have been a long hundred years, but you, Zelda, and your people never stopped persevering.”
The young hero stared at him, shaking his head slightly. “They did more than me. I wasn’t even awake for most of it.”
“Yet you were fighting for your life. I can’t imagine having to pick up my sword again after dying. But you did, and you used that sword to not just serve the throne, but also to serve every good being in the land. And as for the Master Sword’s appearance, well, I’ve fought with Fi. I know that she’s proud of you because I sure as hell am.”
“I- you-” fresh tears started falling from Wild’s eyes.
“Without any memories, you rose again. How could I not be proud to know that Hyrule’s future is safeguarded by you? You’re a hero through and through, with or without memories, with or without actually showing an extra hundred years of age.” Warriors gently smiled down at Wild as the other sniffled and wiped away tears.
“Zelda...kind of says the same thing. ‘Courage need not be remembered for it is never forgotten’.”
Warriors gave a laugh. “Well, the princesses of Hyrule have never lacked in wisdom. And if she and I are both saying it, then surely we’re right.”
He gave one last hug to the teen before the other fully pulled away, embarrassed. “Sorry you had to, uh, see me like that. I think I’ll go try to sleep now.”
Wild stood up and Warriors nodded at him. “It’s no trouble at all. Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me all of this.”
The younger hero turned and started making his way towards where Twilight was sleeping, a soft “thank you” falling from his lips as he moved forward.
The captain watched as the other ducked under the covers of his bedroll before turning back to check the perimeter. After everything he had heard, Wild’s fear was well founded; best to keep an eye on things.
How long had the other considered himself to not be a hero? How had it taken so long for him to notice? Part of being a captain was being able to evaluate how his men were feeling, but clearly Wild’s view on himself had been in ruins for quite some time. What else had he missed?
He couldn’t help but want to look after the younger heroes. They had all started so young compared to him; he could only help to be a comfort to them when needed.
Minutes passed before he heard rustling behind him, breaking him out of his thoughts. “Still having trouble sleeping? We could make warm milk or something if you think that may help.”
“Pretty sure you’re the one who should be going to bed soon.”
Wars turned to see Legend standing behind him, arms crossed. “My watch began awhile ago.”
“Have you been awake this whole time?”
Legend shrugged, moving to stand next to him. “I only heard part of it but didn’t want to interrupt. A lot of guilt, that one. Though I think he really needed to hear that from you.”
“What do you mean by that?” he asked. Evidently this night had more than just a couple of Links open to talking about feelings for once.
“You’re both soldiers, or rather you were both soldiers at some point. He only really seems to remember a bit from his time as a knight but hearing that he was a true hero from someone who could have been his commanding officer back then seemed to help.”
“I didn’t say anything that wasn’t true.”
“Oh yeah, you’re ‘proud to know that Hyrule’s future is safeguarded’ by someone as capable as him? Pretty sappy there, Captain.”
“Shut up, you know that we’re all proud.”
“I’d expect that from the Rancher, but not so much from you to Wild; I might just have to tell Twi that you’re stealing his protege.”
“Please don’t,” he shuddered. “He’ll go all mother cuccoo mode if he finds out that I got to have an emotional late-night talk with Wild and he didn’t.”
Legend gave a short laugh as they both fell into silence. The wind continued blowing through the trees and ruins, passing over it all indiscriminately. It was a content silence until---
“But then, how are you, pretty boy?”
“Me?” he glanced at the other, not sure where he was going with this. “Clearly Wild is the one that we need to be worried about.”
“Well, we’ve already discussed that. I know that look on your face though. Guilt, however misplaced it may be.”
“You must be mistaken.”
“Try me. We’re all more alike than you may think, or I may want to admit.”
They all had the tendency to keep their emotions close to their chests. Wild had obviously been holding the issue of his own feeling of responsibility for his Hyrule’s state close to his.
Still, for them to open up like this. “And I know how that guilt feels. You feel responsible for Wild, I get it.”
And he did. The traveler’s Hyrule was somehow even more desolate than this one. Still, for Legend to feel that way…
“You don’t---the state of Hyrule’s era isn’t your fault. Hundreds of years pass between each of us. There’s nothing you could have done.”
“Heed your own words, Cap. We have to realize that our legacies can only last so long. We may secure prosperity for our lifetime, but that comes to an end. Evil, whether it be monsters or people, always returns.”
Legend didn’t stop there, honest, encouraging words at the ready with the lack of listening ears and observant eyes to maintain a front around.
“But we know, as has been made obvious by this Hylia-forsaken quest, that a hero will always rise to face it. Maybe there are centuries between us, and maybe those years are bleak with no hero to protect it, but the people carry on. They become their own heroes.”
“Wise words.”
“Well after six adventures I had to learn something.” And the sarcasm was back, though it got a laugh out of Wars, easing the mood.
“You’re right, though. We have no way of knowing if we can change our future, their past, but we can be there for them in the present.”
“Way to get emotional about it.”
“I’m the one being emotional? No, it seems like you are. You’re more of a sap than I thought.”
“Maybe I am.”
“Ah, yes. A softie. Wait until I tell the others.”
“Oh, they’ll never believe you. Why do you think I brought this up now?”
“You!” a sharp laugh and rolling of eyes from Legend met Warriors’ outburst.
“Go to sleep, Wars. You’ve done all the big brothering needed tonight. Get some rest.”
He nodded and fully handed over the watch, heading to his own bedroll. The watch had allowed for awareness of monsters of a different sort, but also helped at least temporarily push those feelings of doubt and guilt away.
Time affected them all differently, but they could use the similarities in their journeys to help each other. From era to era, hero to hero, predecessor to successor.
The predecessors may have planted the seeds, and time may have buried them beneath the rubble, but their successors helped flowers grow in the cracks. Even if the petals fell, the roots were strong enough that life could begin anew, the spirit withstanding the test of time.
He let his eyes drift closed, content in what the future held.