Chapter Text
The forest of spirits is always a good choice for hunting. when all you need is some easy prey. Whilst not the largest forest in Hyrule, only a few acres at most, the boar population thrives especially well here. And that’s all you need really, some prey, a good shot, and that’s food on the table.
This is the forest where link learned to hunt. He’d been shooting targets in the Hyrule field since he was tall enough to lift a bow, but at the ripe old age of 12, his sister had brought him into the forest of spirits for him to really hone his skills, and the rest is history.
He was twenty-two himself now, and had made quite a name for himself. For the past few years, he had been successfully hunting through the Nucleda and Faron regions with ease, his favourite being Faron. Link had a thing for the ruins, and while he was hunting would pretend that he was one of the heroes from old. The weather was also a plus. It hardly ever rained in Faron, unlike central Hyrule.
Link crouched low in the underbrush by hopper pond, the woodland boar he had been tailing for an hour had finally stopped for a drink. He drew his bow and aimed for the boar’s head, the shot had to be perfect, a single blow to the head would be all that was needed, a hit anywhere else would do nought but scare the creature away, as well as any other game in the area. Link had one chance to get this right. He took in a deep breath. He calmed his nerves. He let loose the arrow.
*
Not every hunt is successful, it doesn’t matter how experienced you are, there are factors out of your control that can affect the outcome of every situation. Like today.
As soon as Link had leased his arrow, thunder clapped in the sky, frightening any animal that heard. Including the boar Link had been tailing. And then the heavens opened. Link ran through the forest at break neck speeds. His boots and green tunic quickly became sullied as he splashed through puddles and tore through branches. Even though the forest was full of trees, Link knew he needed a substantial shelter, lightning was not something to mess around with. Lucky for him, the Temple of Time was located just outside of the forest’s boarder.
Link entered the temple out of breath, wet and laughing. As he walked towards the goddess statue, he had a slow look around. He had been to the temple many times in his life to pay homage to Hylia before a hunt, but even still he was filled with awe. The ceilings were high and arched, and Link could feel his feet sink into the red carpet that ran through the middle of the floor, leaving white marble on either side. He turned as he walked to marvel at the stained glass that depicted moments from legends passed. The goddess statue was located at the back of the temple, surrounding her was tapestries of the three golden goddesses.
“Goddess Hylia, from which this land is named,” Link began as he knelt in front of the statue, “thank you for watching over us since the time of sky. Thank you for keeping evil at bay, and protecting us from demise. Thank you for our daily bread, for healing our sick, and forgiving us when we are lead astray. Please give us power, wisdom, and courage, so that we continue to thrive on this land.”
Footsteps echoed through the temple. Link stood and turned fast, his hand automatically reaching for his bow.
“No need to raise your weapon, I mean no harm,” a voice called from the shadows. A woman stepped into the light Upon seeing her behind him, he relaxed. She was a pretty woman, tall, with dark skin and black hair that formed a cloud around her head. Her canary yellow robe trailed behind her whilst she walked to stand next to Link. When she arrived at the temple, Link did not know, nor did he care.
“A little bit wet outside, isn’t it?” she paused, lightning illuminating the temple, “I saw you run from the forest. Unfortunate about your hunt, maybe the next will go better?”
“Maybe... Why are you here? I thought no one lived near the forest,” Link said.
The woman turned to face Link before beginning her explanation, “My name is Rauna, I watch over the Temple of Time. Believe it or not, there are people in this land who do not want this place to exist. I make sure that those people are unsuccessful.”
“Why would someone want to destroy it? All we do here is pray to the goddess-”
“All you do is pray to the goddess. The Royal family and the sages have other uses for this building,”
“What are these ‘other uses?’ And what’s a sage?”
“All I can tell you is that the sages are people who have been blessed by the golden goddesses and must do their bidding. I can’t tell you what we do here in the temple. It is classified for the protection of Hyrule.”
Link grunted in response.
“You know boy, if you want more information about the Temple of Time, the Eastern Abbey is a good place to start. The gate and main door are both locked, the keys where lost many years ago, but there is a crawl space on the right-hand side that’ll take you through to the gardens. You’ll have to work out how to get into the building from there I’m afraid.”
Link paused for a moment, looking into the face of the goddess, to the tapestries behind her. He was a hunter, not an adventurer. He was supposed to lead a simple life, marry a girl, have children, and die old and grey. Yet, as he stood in the Temple of Time, with the rain beating the roof and Rauna next to him, he wondered for the first time in his life if that was what he truly wanted after all. Link wasn’t one to believe in fate, but surely there must be a reason as to why he was being offered a way out of the normal life he had found himself in, right?
The rain had stopped by the time he had made his decision.