Chapter Text
Link, Princess Zelda's personal guard, had never seen the corners of Hyrule, much less the other tribes.
Long before the travesty of Ganon, there was a huge fight between the regions, and only Kakariko, the sheikah village, and Hateno had stayed on the side of Central Hyrule. The other areas branched off, changed their names, and built new civilizations and cultures.
There was the Gerudo, a tribe of women in the desert, the Gorons with iron-thick skin to brave the dangers of Death Mountain, the Rito, cold in temperature and spirit. And the Zora, masters of the water, they're swift and agile, preferring decorative weaponry than actual combat.
If Link could guess, he'd say Zelda preferred the Zora the most, due to their laidback combot-orientation, and quest for historical documentation and knowledge. Link would say he liked the idea of the Gerudo the best, because of how much they held onto tradition, and fought to keep it safe. Shame he could never be part of the town.
Link had accompanied Zelda to each of the three springs of the goddesses, trying to activate the power the princess possessed to seal Ganon away before it ever came back.
Though, even after they visited Lanayru, Akkala, and just west of Lake Hylia, and not once was there a trace of the golden magic.
Now here he was, waking again after the initial attack on Ganon. According to the old man that lived in the cabin, it has been one hundred years.
He needed to find–
"She's gone." The old man told him, pausing his wood chopping. "Zelda perished in the fight ninety-three years ago. Her death caused the activation of her ancient power, and Ganon was sealed away before it reigned destruction over Hyrule. Rejoice, young Link. The Calamity is over."
He pointed out over the Plateau, where Hyrule Castle stood proud and tall. It was clean, and there were large metal spider-like machines walking around.
Five identical spires surrounded the palace, glowing a friendly red.
It was Link's home, yet it was so drastically different.
"If I may," the old man said, standing up, and looking at him with fierce green eyes, "I have a question for you. You seem like a man that needs a purpose, Link."
He nodded, letting the man continue with his proposition.
"New Hyrule has decided to neglect the possibility of peace over the land. The other tribes reign in their respective regions, but for Hyrule to be whole, they need to be united," he said slowly, "each of the tribe leaders need to be convinced to join forces with the armies of New Hyrule to create peace and destined equality."
"You want me to convince New Hyrule to let the other tribes in?"
"I want you to convince the tribes to fight for the globe, instead of just for their own cities."
That sounded like an awful lot of work. But he would be prepared. This is what Zelda would want out of Hyrule.
He looked back out over New Hyrule, trying to pinpoint his objectives. Tabantha in the northeast, the desert in the southeast. Zora to the west, and Death Mountain above that.
This wouldn't be so bad.
He turned back around to ask any additional advice of the woodcutting stranger, but he was gone. In his place was a decorative box, adorned with rare stones and silver metal.
Opening it revealed a… kite? It was large, but a kite nonetheless. Maybe it was his irrational side, be he sort of wanted to see if it would support his weight. How would he do that? By jumping off the cliff.
And so he did, laughing and shouting the whole way.
He decided to head where he thinks Zelda would have liked most. The Zora's Domain.