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Link wasn't surprised when a portal appeared in the courtyard on one unbearably sunny morning.
He was enjoying his morning tea with Impa-coffee was horrible for his teeth- when a swirling purple portal had suddenly approved.
Several of the newer recruits flinched back and stared with blatant curiosity.
Older soldiers that had fought alongside him in the War of eras threw up their weapons and watched the portal with bated breath.
Link merely sighed.
"It's too early for this." Link said, setting his tea down into the saucer with a soft click. "Why can't the forces of evil wait until after twelve?"
Impa let out a breathy chuckle. "You wake up at five hundred, every day. By choice . And yet you're still not a morning person." She says dryly. "How exactly does that work?"
"I am a morning person." Link corrected with fake offense. "I love mornings. I just hate to be bothered during them."
Impa rolled her eyes at him.
They should probably go see Zelda.
--
"This matches descriptions of strange portals from all around Hyrule." Zelda said, inspecting the portal with a keen eye.
"And I wasn't informed of this because...?" Link asked, leaning back in his chair a bit more casually than he should. But hey! It's not like the council or nobles are here to chew him out.
"I've only gotten two reports, and I had Lana and Cia look into it." Zelda said, glaring at the portal in her courtyard like it had personally killed her pet. "I didn't want to disturb you if It was simply a fluke."
"Don't frown so much." Link said half rolling his eyes, ignoring her excuse. "You're going to get lines."
Zelda's hand instantly came up to her face, and her expression smoothed out.
"Thank you Link." She said, smoothing out her hair.
"No problem." He said humming. "You do the same for me."
She always had. He got an anti-aging cream from Zelda his first week after truly 'socializing' in a royal party.
Thank the Goddess for that, he doesn't want to even consider the lines he could get from his constant smiling without it.
"I will never get you two’s obsession with your appearances." Impa said dryly, looking between them.
"Come join us in court politics! Give it an hour and you'll understand." Link said with a bright sarcastic grin.
Impa swats him.
"Neither Cia nor Lana know where these are coming from, but they do know they're affecting Hyrule throughout all the Eras." Zelda said, blatantly ignoring her best friends' play fight behind her. "The Sky Era, Era of the Hero of Time, Era of Force, Era of the Great Seas, Era of Twilight, Era of Light and Dark, and The Era of Decline have all been accosted by this magic."
Link frowned thoughtfully, rolling the information around in his head.
No Era of Hyrule's Rebirth, Gold Era of Shadows, or Era of the Goddess Hylia.
What did those particular Eras all have in common?
"Those are all the times we've interacted with during the War." Impa said, a grimace set firmly on her face.
Link flicked his eyes up to meet Impa's, as he mentally filed every single person they've met and Era they've been to.
"She's right." He said, turning to face Zelda. "The only inconsistency is that ghost Zelda, but she had asked Lana to return her to her Era as soon as possible. She never truly joined so it was possible that she didn't count."
Impa tilted her head at him, and Link shrugged.
"Magic is finicky." He said as an explanation, and Impa let out a long-suffering sigh.
He gently patted her back.
"You should go through the portal." Zelda said, leaning on the table.
Link frowned. "Is that truly the best idea? It could be an ambush. Or worse."
"I understand that." Zelda stated, not unkindly. "But from Lana's and Cia's observations that's what all the other Heros are doing. They believe it will be like the War of Eras, except more intimate."
Impa loudly scoffed. "Not surprising. Who needs an army when you have eight Heroes?"
"Any ideas of who the enemy is?" Link asked, growing more concerned by the moment. "They must be powerful if they think they can handle eight Heroes at once."
Cia had also summoned multiple Heroes, but with all the malice in her system, she wasn't in her right mind. She had simply been acting on impulse and not much else.
If this enemy was thinking clearly however, this might be more than a problem.
"Lana has no idea" Zelda responded bluntly, looking as grave as he did. "Cia has some pet theories."
"Let's hear them." Link said with a half sigh.
"A Wizzrobe, a Mage, a Dark Link, a Malice Link, or an embassy of Demise," Zelda informed him.
"What's the difference? Between the Links I mean." Impa asked, blatantly interpreting their conversation.
Both Link and Zelda froze.
"Aren't you supposed to be a Sheikah?" Link asked incredulously. “Don’t you specialize in Shadow magic? You know a form of Dark magic?”
Sheikah were known for their power in dark magic, and how the fuck did their current leader not know the difference between Malice magic and Dark magic?
"Have you ever seen me use Shadow magic?" Impa said sardonically.
Link sputtered incoherently.
Because, no, she had only used fire and water magic, and– " What the fuck Impa."
Impa shrugged.
"I'll give you a book on it later." Zelda said, shaking her head in exasperation.
"I'll go through the portal." Link said, throwing his arms up for show. "At least that will be less mind-numbing than this conversation."
Link was already planning on going through the portal as soon as Zelda gave her report of the other Heroes actions, but there was nothing better than annoying his friends.
Impa rolled her eyes at him, Zelda huffed in an approving manner, and Link left to collect his things.
--
Link stepped through the portal, his magic pouch over-packed by Zelda's and Impa's fretting.
He stepped out onto a cliffside just off the ocean.
The sun bounced off the ocean at the perfect angle, making the water shimmer and gleam.
For miles and miles, the water continued into the horizon for miles. The air was rich and fresh in a way that Link hadn't experienced in years.
It was gorgeous.
Like he had stepped into a painting.
Link had no clue where he was.
--
It had been hours since Link had ended up in this strange place.
After meandering south along the coast, he stumbled on a lake enclosed by cliffs.
Link's feet were not aching. He was the hero of war. His feet did not ache . He had walked for hours longer, on less sleep, with fewer supplies, and far more injuries.
However, he understood the importance of rest before it got to the point of exhaustion. And besides, the lake was beautiful.
Link was known for his indulgence. Soaking his feet wasn't a crime.
--
A rock moved.
That rock was alive.
That rock was alive and chasing Link around.
Not even having the time to put on his shoes, Link ran on the slippery rocks that made the creatures home, ignoring the painful scrapes he could feel on his feet.
Link skillfully dodged the rock-throwing one of its arms at him and pulled out his bow.
--
Link was not good with a bow.
--
Letting his hair and backrest in the water, Link decided he was not moving for another hour.
He had already wrapped his feet with his bandages, and no way in the corrupted sacred realm was he wasting a potion.
In good news, the lake had fish and was just as peaceful as he expected with the monster gone.
--
"What the fuck." Link said holding up the largest diamond he had ever seen in his life.
When whatever-the-fuck-that-weird-rock-monster-was died, it had apparently dropped a bunch of flints and a single huge diamond.
It was bigger than Link's fist.
...He was keeping this for Zelda's eventual wedding.
This would make an amazing engagement gift for royalty.
At least that battle had some benefits.
--
Link continued south, eventually seeing smoke.
Up a huge hill, there was a thin spindle of smoke rose in soft off-white shades.
Civilization.
The problem was there were sheer cliffs and a lagoon standing between himself and the next part of the beach.
There were two of... something swimming in the water that Link didn't especially want to deal with while swimming. Dealing with an unknown potential threat while trying to swim was not his idea of a fun afternoon.
The sun was setting, he didn't have time to go back and forth on this.
Link sighed and took out his bow.
--
Thankfully at the end of the Lagoon was a small cave.
It had started drizzling when Link was swimming and by the time he had gotten inside the astoundingly well-placed cave, it was pouring.
Link was stripped down to his underclothes as his other layers hung by the small fire he had started at the opening.
Thankfully, with the cave itself being smaller than its opening, the smoke funneled right out. It gave Link one less thing to worry about.
--
There were two small statues of some Goddess in the cave.
There was a strange green fruit on the plate of the Goddess's statue.
He had taken out a piece of fruit from his own pack as an offering. He could use a little divine blessing in a strange new world.
Now if only he could figure out which goddess it was supposed to be.
He had narrowed the choices between Farore and Hylia.
Nayru had temples, places of high art, and culture. Beautiful marvels of architecture and design.
They were impossible to enter if you were a child, they were only for the brightest of the bright.
She did not have small statues in the middle of nowhere.
Din was nowhere near as... selective as her sister.
She didn't keep people out of her temples with rules and guards, her temples were just plain hard to get to.
The grounds around the places of her worship were to test your strength, grit, and general ability to wield power.
Which left Farore and Hylia.
Farore had simple temples, normally full of life and nature. Often in an out-of-the-way, hard-to-reach place. Up a cliff, down a ravine, to prove your courage of course.
But these statues hadn't been hard to find, and they were far too small to be for Farore.
Which only left Hyrule's protector, the Goddess Hylia.
Hylia didn't have directed worship like the Golden Goddess, she simply leaves her people to speak to her in any way they pleased.
Some random small statues were perfectly in line with that, except for the fact that, generally, Hylia's worship was public and communal.
Large statues in city squares and smaller statues in villages. People built small temples in the middle of city's for her, there was no pilgrimage needed for Hylia's blessing.
If this was supposed to be a statue of Hylia, what happened that people were so desperate for her blessing that they put a statue of her in the middle of nowhere?
--
Link flinched hard at the loud boom, throwing his body out of his bedroll.
Lighting struck again, and Link jumped at the light that suddenly flooded the cave.
Well, he was certainly awake now, and there was no way he was going back to sleep.
The thunder sounded too much like canons, and the lightning looked too much like magic to let Link relax.
He silently wished Impa was with him. If only so he had someone to talk to.
--
It had been thundering for hours.
He really needed a hobby that wasn't makeup or talking.
This was really boring.
--
Link exited the cave with the most beautifully sharpened and cleaned weapons he had ever laid eyes on.
He continued down the path, thankful that he was on watery sand and not mud.
--
There was a strange smoking structure built into a tree.
It had seemingly been struck by lightning, and were those monsters?
Those were definitely weird skinny monsters.
Link smiled, pulling out his Knight's broadsword with a flourish.
Finally, a proper fight.
"Hey, Ugly!" Link called out to the large black skinny monsters, watching as two smaller white monsters came out of nowhere to respond to the noise.
Link pushed off his back foot, sprinting faster than the monsters could follow. He slashed broadly as the creatures gathered around him, managing to catch all four of them in one stroke.
Link smirked as the monsters screamed in rage.
--
Link wiped the blood off his sword as he slowly walked up the path that was beaten into the back of the strange mountain.
At the top was the smoke he had seen last night, and smoke meant people.
People meant civilization.
--
The structure was a large hodgepodge of different things. There was a giant telescope on top of it, a frog with glasses, and it was glowing blue.
Link eyed the mark of the Sheikah and made his way to the village down below.
He did not want to know the consequences of showing up to a strange Sheikh's house unannounced. He's seen Impa get very offended over less.
--
The village was small but peaceful, covered in a lazy haze of tranquility. Small waterfalls gave the village soft ambient noise. The sun was still rising, adding the smallest reddish-orange glow to the village.
Then Link took a step in and the spell broke.
--
Link took a practiced step back from the pitchfork being pointed at his throat.
Careful to keep his hands up and not reach his sword because this was a traitor out for his blood! Civilian or not, he's in danger—
Link inhaled and exhaled slowly, just like Zelda taught him.
He hated that she was right about his paranoia issues.
Ah, well, is it really paranoia if people actually want him dead?
"What do you want with Link?!" The man sneered and it was a struggle for Link to stay in the present.
Link really regrets openly asking around for the location of this era’s Hero.
"I have something I want to ask him." Link replied far calmer than he actually was.
What was the grounding technique Zelda taught him?
"And I'm just supposed to trust that? Strangers coming round to ask after Link?" The man asked like it was a slur, and stabbed the pitchfork far too close to Link's throat, and if he draws blood Link was actually going to lose it—
The man's eyes snapped to Link's ears and Link barely restrained a sigh.
"What's with your tiny ears?" The man glared, eyes clearly searching him for any other 'un-hylian' traits.
Link took a sharp step back to avoid getting stabbed in the neck and grit his teeth. "Are you even Hylian?!" The man continued unconcerned about the fact he nearly stabbed Link.
I’m Link Wymer Brewer. I’m twenty-four years old. I live in Castle town, close to my best friends. It's early in the morning, mid-spring. I'm in a different era, there are no traitors after me.
This is a paranoid civilian.
I am in no real danger.
"I'm half-Human half-Hylian." Link responded, keeping his hands from balling up into fists.
He couldn't let himself get angry, or worse, scared. He wasn't going to let himself panic and hurt someone, he wasn't.
"The hell is a human doing around these parts?!" The man continued to interrogate him.
Before Link could respond, a different man, dressed in a simple farmer's dress, put a hand on the pitchfork man's shoulder.
"Thadd." The new man said gently. "Will you please stop harassing this man?"
"But Reede—" Thadd protested. "He's not Hylian! And he came from that Sheikah house! He wanted to find Link. We can't trust him!"
Link pointedly did not bristle at being called 'not hylian'.
Reede eyed him, with a not unkind gaze.
"I think you should be on your way, sir." He says and Link beats down the spike of anger. Heroes of his status did not get angry. "If you want to stay for a day, and get your supplies stocked up, I will point you in the right direction, but you're scaring the locals."
Link deflated slightly because that was both reasonable and true.
For some reason, everyone in the village ran inside and slammed their doors shut the moment he stepped into the village.
"Of course, kind sir." Link responded in his perfect Knight of Hyrule voice. "If I could get a more current map, I would be incredibly thankful."
Link wouldn't be, but a lie here and there never got anyone hurt and he did need a map.
"Yes, I’m sure I have one of those in my home." Reede said, motioning for Thadd to leave. "I'll also get you some non-perishables. Free of course, as a sorry for Thadd's harassment."
Link's smile turned a little more genuine. "Thank you sir."
Reede offered a smile of his own. "It's the least I can do."
--
Link was walking with a woman named Celessa.
She had been attacked by two green bokoblins, and Link dispatched them easily allowing the girl to finally sit down.
--
"They're actually Blue." Celessa says, offering him a glass of milk she recently bought. "Are you color blind, Wymer?"
"They're teal , and I have perfect color vision." He responds.
--
"Where are you headed?" Link asked in an offhand manner. Light and polite small talk was the best way to talk to civilians.
"Kakariko." Celessa answers with all smiles. "I had just picked up something from Purah for Zelda."
Jackpot.
Even with a map he wouldn't know where to go to find a Link or Zelda and now he had a destination.
Link stopped his face from curling up into a smirk.
Polite travelers who were offering things out of the kindness of their hearts do not smirk.
"Do you need some help?" Link said, the perfect amount of concern in his voice, hand moving to the middle of her shoulder blades. "Your ankle... What if you get attacked again?" Link furrowed his brows and sent a quick glance to her feet to sell the emotions better.
He could show his Triforce of Courage to Zelda and she'd be able to help him, and if she couldn't? Well, wherever Zelda was, Impa was never far behind, and an Impa would certainly be able to help him.
"You'd protect me while I travel to Kakariko?" Celessa asks, open and sincere.
"Of course, I would hate for you to get hurt." Link responded, ignoring his guilt.
--
Link finds that he actually really likes Celessa, and he cannot decide if that makes him feel better or worse.
She was nice, funny, charming, and most importantly, full of information.
Link had been easily ending any red or 'blue' bokoblins that were on their path to Kakariko, slowly making mental notes of the obvious color system they had going on, when a weird... tower thing caught his eyes.
Celessa didn't even spare it a glance. Which means it must be usual. Direct questioning would only garner suspicion.
Link let out a low whistle. "I still don't understand how those things work."
Celessa snorts. "Me, you, and all of Hyrule buddy. Link said they form a map on his weird slate thing."
Slate?
"What is up with his slate anyways?" He said casually. Asking about directly Link clearly set off the locals.
He was not making that mistake again, especially not with his guide.
Celessa's face twits up. "No clue. Not even Impa knows what it really does. It's old old Sheikah tech- wait." She turned her head to look at him. "Do you know who Impa is?"
Link blinked, and looked upward for a moment. "I think I've heard the name before? I'm not actually sure."
Celessa smiled at him. "She's the leader of Kakariko village. Impa is a wonderful woman. I had the great honor of meeting with her. She's so knowledgeable about the history of Hyrule, and she's also blessed with a lovely personality."
Link nodded along politely, ignoring the growing sadness of being separated from his own Impa.
At least during the war she was by his side constantly… It had been hard, but he had never been alone.
"Do you think I would be able to meet her?" Link asked, half genuinely.
Celessa patted his shoulder in an affectionate manner. "You're a descendant of the Knights of Hyrule, right? I'll vouch for you if you want to ask some questions."
Descendant of the Knights of Hyrule?
Link smiled and nodded and ignored the sickness growing in his gut.
All the Knights... All those men were dead weren't they? Dead and so gone that they couldn't be reestablished. That's the only reason someone would assume he was a descendant and not a member himself.
Link smiled and hoped Celessa didn't notice how tight it was.
--
"It's getting dark." Link said to catch Celessa's attention. It was his second day of traveling with Celessa, and she tended to get wrapped up in her own head. "We should find somewhere to stop."
Celessa stopped her rant about the Spring of Wisdom, to glance up. "Huh... Time sure flies when you're not alone." She says, frowning a bit in the sky.
Link makes a noise of agreement, but not for the reasons she'd assume.
He really missed his friends.
--
There was a cabin nearby and Celessa said she knew the man, one Dr.Calip, and she'd convinced him to let them stay inside.
Link nodded her off and wandered around for a bit near the large stone walls.
These were obviously some sort of military fort some long time ago, stopping when he saw a man sitting at a small cooking fire.
"Hyia! My name is Garill." The man, Garill, said hopping up to his feet walking over to stand next to Link. "Come to see Fort Hateno, I take it?"
"Wymer." He offered as an answer to the implicit question of what his name was. "And yes." Link answered, emotions he couldn't place slipping into his voice.
Garill did a once over of him with his eyes, obviously coming to the same conclusion that Celessa had arrived at.
"It's well worth seeing." Garill replied gently, before he turned his head to look at the walls Link himself was staring at. "The last line of defense between Hateno Village and the Calamity. Everyone's got to come and pay their respects at least once in their life, right?"
Link hummed in agreement, unable to look away from the last visages of the Hyrule Military.
"Do you know the story of the Warrior who fought here?" Garill asked, before apparently realizing who he thought he was talking to. "I mean—of course you do—but I—"
Link put a firm but kind hand on the man's shoulder.
"It's always nice to hear these stories. Keeps you from forgetting." Which wasn't exactly a lie, but wasn't anywhere near the truth.
Garill sighed before smiling at Link.
"The Champion Link." Garill started. "When he and the princess were chased by the guardians, fleeing for their lives, they had their last stand here among the bodies. The hero fell, the princess, in her anguish, released a burst of magical energy that stopped the guardians in their tracks."
Fell? No one describes a Hero as fallen unless they were dead. One of his predecessors, or successors, was dead. How old were they? What killed them? How could he help their poor spirit cope with its own death.
"They say he gave his life here. Others say he went into a deep sleep to fight another day." Garill said, unaware of Link's mounting panic. "I asked Link myself. They said it was both. Still have not idea how that works, but oh well."
Link blinked at Graill, before laughing.
It wasn't a real laugh, like the kinds he offered to his sister or his friends. It was a release of tension, born of anxiety and his own near misses on the battlefield.
"They died, and then got better ." Link said with the levity of a man who looked death in the eye too many times to count. "Sounds like the Hero, makes perfect sense to me."
Graill snorted at Link's joke. "Link and his soldiers risked their lives at Fort Hateno to protect the world. I'm alive now because of them. I've got to make sure the future generations know of their sacrifice."
Link smiled genuinely. "An honorable goal."
--
Celessa did not make her usual chatter while walking through the ruins of Fort Hateno and Link was very grateful.
She joined him when he kneeled down to say a prayer for the soldiers who had died on the lands he currently stood on.
It looked like every battlefield ever. It looked like a graveyard and it wasn't comforting at all to know that the only thing that would never change is war.
"Are you alright?" Celessa asked, frowning softly.
"I'm fine. Just in an introspective mood." Link answered honestly.
"Even... being near a place so full of tragic memories is painful. This fort is what we have to thank for our lives. All we can do is honor the brave lives that were lost, and pray that they found peace."
Link nodded.
He wasn't sleeping well after Thadd brought up... less than pleasant memories, and this was only one more thing to add to the slowly growing pile of stress in the back of his mind he was trying desperately to ignore.
He should probably warn Celessa of the night-terrors.
--
The sun was setting and if Link said nothing else of this Era, it was beautiful.
"Dueling Peaks stable is just to our left." Celessa said tilting her head at the... giant building in the shape of a horse head.
Link gazed at the horse head, the horse head stared forward. Uncaring of Link's bafflement.
How had he not noticed that?
"We'll stay there till sunrise." Celessa says. "If thats ok with you? I know it's rather close to... you know."
The mass grave that is Fort Hateno?
"No worries." He wouldn't be sleeping well anyways. "Sleeping in a real bed is a luxury I would be remiss to pass up."
Celessa snorts, tension falling out of her shoulders. "You talk so weirdly."
Link turns a bit pink at that.
"Ugh. My friend speaks like this and I'm by her side constantly." Link said faster than usual, mentally trying to beat down his blush. "It's all her fault."
"Who is she?" Celessa asks, smiling lopsided at him.
Link nearly freezes, he can't exactly say Zelda without raising a lot of questions.
Fuck what was Zelda's middle name again?
"Sigrid." Link answers, hopefully Celessa didn't notice his stumble.
"Was she the one that convinced you to fight a moblin when you were drunk?" Celessa asked with a teasing tone, and why had Link told her that?
"No that was-" Fuck, what was Impa's real name again? "My other friend Akane. She's a wild one."
Celessa looks at him with a confused expression. "Isn't that a Sheikah name? Huh, I didn't know they settled outside of Kakariko."
Link snatched the opportunity to drag the conversation away from embarrassing him, with the desperation of a man who grew up with an older sister that knew no mercy.
"You genuinely thought that all of the people would just stay in one place?" Link asked with a raised eyebrow, like the Sheikah weren't notoriously isolationist.
Celessa's face got a soft dusting of pink as she lightly smacked his shoulder. "Shut up!"
--
There were several ways to glare at a person.
Zelda's gaze would go cold. All warmth and kindness sucked out of her gaze to reveal an expanse of empty cruelty. It was a type of apathetic rage that made it clear that you would die by morning, and never be remembered again.
Impa had a deep glare. Like she and her ancestors were personally going to come down and beat you within an inch of your life. Her glare held the teaching of the Sheikah clan and each form of torture they had innovated.
Link had developed his own glare after years of being in the military and being paraded around royal parties.
Celessa was pressed into Link’s side, leaning into him with no space between them. She had placed her hand through his, probaby to help ground herself.
Link tried to ignore how much it reminded him of Lana before he put his foot down with her. Not Cia though, Celessa was nothing like Cia.
He didn't blame Celessa at all, if he was a woman, he'd like to be in a different country than that man.
Domidak was trying his best to maintain eye contact with Link, his little brother what's-his-face not even trying to hide his clear discomfort at Link's unrelenting stare.
His face dropped from his near constant pleasant smile into his military Captain hard glare.
The man did not leave.
Link put his hand on his Sword.
Domidak and his brother fled.
"Dude." Celessa whispered breathlessly, finally, finally, letting go of him. "You’re fucking scary."
Link smiled, a genuine, lopsided thing. "Benefits of smiling all the time and carrying a sword, I suppose."
His arm still tinged with the feeling of someone grabbing him. It wasn't all that bad. He'd dealt with worse, and she had been scared.
"I want to take a look around." Link stretching his arms and shoulders. "Where can I...?" He asked, lifting up his bag questioningly
Celessa smiled and pointed to two beds. "Just pick one."
Link dropped everything but his scarf and sword.
--
Link stepped into the open air, taking a deep breath.
Walking around a bit, Link rubbed his arm.
Domidak and his brother were sitting at a cooking fire with a calm woman who seemed to be mildly mocking them.
Link would not be going over there.
"Hey!" A man wearing... is that a hat in the shape of the stable but without the horse part? "You need directions?"
Link smiled politely. "I've already found a guide in the form of the wonderful Celessa." He hoped the man would pick up on his very blatant leave-me-alone energy.
"Oh." The man frowned. "Yes, she is a lovely lady. I'm sure you two are having a lot of fun." Link ignores the comment with the poise of a regular attendee of galas. "But if you want some extra information about your destination... Kakariko, right? I can tell you something."
Ah. Information.
That was always useful.
"Sure." Link said, trying to make sure the man can't tell it's begrudgingly.
"Cool." He says with a smile. "Kakariko Village is the village where the Sheikah clan lives."
Huh, that's common knowledge? Historically they're main village would be hidden completely from prying ears and eyes.
"It's said that, some time ago, they had advanced techniques that were more powerful than anything anyone had seen." The man said, looking contemplative. "But that power put them at odds with the King at the time, and they were scattered across the land..."
Link wanted to throw up.
The Sheikah had been scattered.
Again.
His best friend's people were forced to flee after another King suddenly decided that he wanted them gone.
At least this time they hadn’t been chased into hidden villages, like they had been during the civil war right before the Era of Time.
Link sighed.
No normal person ever married into Hylia's bloodline, did they? Princess Dowager's, who married Queen's with the blood of Goddess, were never any better than their male counterparts.
Maybe that's why the first Zelda was so against any establishment of a monarchy. She knew better than to trust her children's partners.
"You okay, man?" The stable worker asked.
Link hummed affirmatively, and you know what? He was going to check the path to Kakariko.
Clear any monsters, maybe have a nice scream in the woods.
He wasn't quite sure what he was going to be screaming about.
Thadd forcing him to remember traitors pointing their blades at his throat, Fort Hateno reminding him of his failure at Gerudo Desert, the Hero's death reminding him of his near misses, Celessa accidentally reminding him of Cia, or the Sheikah clan's destabilization at the hands of the Monarchy.
It didn’t really matter anyways. All of it was spinning around in his head and he was going to take a walk before he snapped at someone. Or worse.
--
Link rolled his shoulders as he walked.
He hasn't been this wound up in years.
--
He missed Impa, Zelda, and Linkle.
If they were there he wouldn't nearly be this on edge, but life dealt bad hands sometimes.
He just tried to roll with the punches.
--
Zelda was probably dealing with nobles who would be demanding to know where he was. The vision of her face set in her best blank stare flashes in his mind. She was always careful to keep a stern face, never upset or offended. She had always been forced to strike a balance between putting her foot down and keeping the nobles happy.
--
Linkle had probably been made The Hero in his absence. Anything that needed the Hero's attention would be handled by her. Dragged into parties and forced to play entertainer for people who didn’t respect her and didn't care about her. Linkle was not made for court politics. She didn't have all the training he had, and her memory was a struggle for her on a good day. Linkle probably missed her Cucco's.
--
Impa was probably stuck between helping Zelda and Linkle. Impa already had a problem trying to do too much at once, and with two of her friends needing her assistance she was probably going crazy trying to balance it all. Link could practically see Impa attempting to teach Link from the manors book that Zelda had made for her, both of them struggling to remember which fork was used for what.
--
"Wymer!~" Celessa called out to him.
Link jolted out of his thoughts, turning back to see Clessa chasing after him.
She was dressed down. She wasn't wearing her boots. Her sword, shield, and all her gear were abandoned. The only thing she was wearing was a simple short night's dress.
Link's chest went cold and his heart started pounding so hard it was painful.
She wasn't... She wasn't going to...
Celessa wouldn't.
She ran up to him and grabbed his left arm, lacing her hand through his.
Link wanted to throw up.
His eyes were already welled up with the lightest layer of tears, and his hands were shaking.
"What exactly are you doing?" Link said in reflex, with a perfect smile that he doesn't remember pulling.
He wasn't exactly sure how he was forming words since his brain was just screaming about how much he wanted her off of him.
"Wymer~," She said, and it was just like how Cia used to talk. Exactly, exactly . He needed to get out. "What's your hands? Are you that excited to see me~?" He needed to escape—
She was staring at his hand.
She was staring at the back of his hand.
She was staring at the back of his left hand.
Link dragged himself back into his body—when had he left—and the Triforce of Courage burned.
The Triforce wouldn't lie to him, there was malice magic in the area. The only other reason it would burn was if its other holders were in the area, and he was alone with...
Celessa had brown eyes, not hazel.
Link kicked the impostor with all his strength, then pulled out his sword as quickly as he could.
The impostor backflipped and landed perfectly.
"I thought there was only one Hero." The impostor said, going from a sheer night gown to a red bodysuit with a puff of smoke. "Aw well. All the more to kill in the name of Master Kohga."
"DEATH TO THE HERO!" The woman screamed and sprinted at him—and suddenly, he was locking blades with Ovisia.
She looked the same as she did when they were both bunkmates back in basic training.
Ovisia glared at him and swung her circular blade.
"This War is your fucking fault Link!" She yelled and Link wished he had his shield. He was always shit at dodging. "That woman just wants you and if you'd just fucking go with her there wouldn't be so many corpses in villages!"
Link blocked the circular blade with his sword. "Ovisia! It's Ganondorf— you know that!" He hissed. "Even if I did go with Cia, that would only solve one of the problems. And what happens when I die? She'll start it up again!"
Ovisia paused her attack, and Link swung his foot at her solar plexus.
Ovisia teleported back—how did she do that—and brandished her weapon.
"You're just making excuses, Link." She said with a disgusted look.
"I don't want to kill you Ovi." He said pleadingly.
Ovisia suddenly disappeared and he screamed as his side was sliced open.
"One of us will die here, and it will be you." Ovisia said from behind him and Link gritted his teeth.
He spun around, and caught her in her shoulder blade.
She backflipped a couple times and brandished her weapon, running at him at speeds unheard of outside of Sheikah and Pegasus boots.
Unfortunately he had one thing over her that she couldn't compensate for.
He was taller.
The moment she got close enough Link stabbed Ovisia though the throat. Using his superior wingspan to kill her before she could kill him.
Link looked at the broken body of one of his oldest friends and collapsed on the ground sobbing.
--
"Wymer!" Someone called at him. "Wymer!" They were also shaking his shoulders.
"Wymer please !" Link looked up at Celessa — Link jumped up and brandished his weapon.
Not again, not this again. He cannot take this betrayal twice, he can't, he can't.
"Wymer," Celessa started slowly. She was dressed in her usual clothes minus her bag. Sword and shield strapped to her back. No outrageous outfit that made Link’s skin crawl, just normal clothes. "You were attacked by Yiga." She explained calmly.
She frowned, staring at him.
"What are five things you can see?" She asked.
"What?" Link asked, hand shaking so much he didn't understand how he was still holding his sword.
"Five things you can see." She says again.
"Um." Link said over rapid breathing. "The bridge, the mountains, you, the river... My hands?"
"Good." Celessa said calmly. "Now tell me four things you can feel."
"My sword...the...the breeze. My heart?" When had his heart sped up that much? "Sweat?"
"Excellent." Celessa offered him a small smile. "Three things you can hear."
"Your voice." Link answered instantly. "Uh, my voice? The wind."
Celessa took a few steps closer to him. "Two things you can smell."
"Grass." Link answered. What else could he smell? He was outside in the middle of nowhere. "Metal." He finally settled on.
Celessa grabbed his sword gently, prying it from his hands.
"Finally, one thing you can taste."
"Blood?" Link frowned. "I think I bit my tongue."
Celessa snorted. "Can I touch you?"
Link flinched back, and then cursed at himself.
Weak idiot.
"Ok." Celessa said softly. "Touch is bad right now."
"I'm sorry." Link said before his brain could stop him. "I don't mean to—I mean, I uh, I don't….”
Link took a deep steading breath.
“I'm sorry you had to see this." He said as calmly as he could.
"You're okay, Wymer." Celessa said, not an ounce of judgment in her voice. "Do you want to sit on the bridge or go back to the stable?"
Link smiled at her. "Can we sit for a second?"
--
The path to Kakariko through the mountains was scenic, if not annoyingly long.
"How long will we be walking?" Link asked, dread pooling in his gut.
"All day." Celessa responded without an ounce of mercy.
Link groaned.
--
The gate leading into Kakariko was gorgeous. The wood was a deep brown, complemented by the rich blue and red banners, headed by a stunning golden eye with...with two arrows sticking out of it?
Link snorted.
The whole thing was framed by tiny waterfalls. It was the most Sheikan thing he had ever seen, arrows included.
He was telling Impa all about this later.
--
Link leaned over the fence separating him from Kakariko Village.
The village was amazing. Giant waterfalls over beautiful mountains, guarding the homey little village.
"Come on Wymer," Celessa called out to him. "It's late so Dorian will be guarding Impa by himself. I can convince him to let you in."
Link smiled and followed after her.
--
There was a Sheikah man kneeling Infront of the village's Goddess statue.
As Link approached him, he seemed to sense his presence. The man jumped up and spun around to stare at Link.
His hair was pulled up into a traditional Sheikah bun, and he was in full stealthgear.
Link was pretty sure he had just come back from a mission.
The whole left side of his face was covered in a giant burn and Link took care not to stare at the old wound, not wanting to be offensive.
"Hello," Link said kindly. "I hope I didn't disturb you. I simply wanted to look at the statue of Hylia.” Link gave his best smile, deciding he might as well be friendly. “What's your name?"
The man blinked at him.
"Link." The Hero answered.
"Huh." Link responded, and wasn't that lucky?