Chapter Text
A nostalgic air blew through the bellows of an accordion and passed through the dry reeds to sing the inspiration of the muses. A young, olive-skinned man masterfully guided the tune from the instrument’s keys for a small audience of loafing castle maids. He perched himself atop the wall of a parapet walk and proudly boasted his musical talent. The long, hesitant notes dragged behind one another before lifting off into a short pause, as if each tone demanded unflinching attention to understand its intent.
“That one sounds quite heavenly, Elio. What inspired it?” one maiden gushed from below. The bard leaned forward slightly, his long ashen hair falling forward and framing his airy smile.
“None other than Our Beloved Princess Zelda! Her elegance inspires all of my creations.”
The group sighed and huffed at his expectant answer.
“She’ll never look your way, you know” one stated practically. “You’ve chased after her for years and have yet to capture her heart. What exactly are you hoping for?”
Elio laughed and drew the bellows shut. “Hah! With time, anything is possible. The senseless is made sensible, the weak are made strong, impenetrable surfaces erode away to reveal the tender flesh within—and contrariwise as well! So, tell me why a man with my incomparable talent cannot dream that it may one day capture a glance from his beloved. Why, it is the stereotypical romantic gesture in countless fairy tales, is it not? And all fiction is grounded in some sense of reality.”
A second maiden stifled a giggle with the back of her hand. “If that’s the case, then you’d better learn some swordsmanship! His Majesty seeks a skilled knight to accompany the princess on her travels, and we all know how those stories end.”
Elio frowned at the chorus of snickering and shuffled to his feet with a heavy sigh.
“Aw, Elio, don’t look so down! You know we all jest” a simpering voice called out to him as he hopped from the wall and sauntered through the crowd. “At least tell us the story that accompanies your song. You’ve written a ballad alongside it, haven’t you?”
“Hmm.” Elio spun around and released the bellows once more, allowing a deep chord to drone from the instrument.
“I truly should make my way to the music hall—I do have duties as the esteemed Court Poet, after all. But, I suppose I can indulge you all—if you insist!”
He could not resist an opportunity to perform, and a quick run across the keyboard pulled the core note up into a brighter octave.
“The kingdom of Hyrule is a vast and storied land,
Oft grasped in the palm of a villainous hand.
A dark force of destruction, many times undone,
Rises once again–Ganon, the calamitous one.
But hope survives in Hyrule, for all is not lost,
Two brave souls protect it, no matter the cost.
A goddess-blood princess and a fearless knight,
They appear in each age to fight the good fight.
Their battle with Ganon I've committed to song,
To keep it through time, no matter how long.”
The bard gave a half-smile as the slow cadence pulled the group closer, gripping them with the anticipation of what’s to come.
“Oh, the Great Calamity! It has been prophesied that we are to relive Hyrule’s ancient war against evil—the growing monster population is the surest sign of it!” a hushed voice whispered beneath Elio’s song.
“Now begins the second verse, listen and you'll know,
Of their battle with Ganon 10,000 years ago.
The kingdom of Hyrule was once a land of lasting peace /
A culture of such strength and wit, that suffering did cease.
But Ganon lurked beneath the surface, strengthening its jaws /
So the ancient people of Hyrule set out to help the cause.
Their efforts bore fruit in an automated force,
To help avert Calamity by sealing it at its source.
Four giant behemoths for which power never ceased,
Each of these titans was called a ‘Divine Beast.’
And free-willed machines that hunted down their prey /
These Guardians were built to last so they could join the fray.”
“Ah! Princess Zelda’s latest research project. She works closely with the Sheikah tribe studying their literature to resurrect their old technology. Great machines with the power to fight an archaic evil—incredible!”
“To guide the beasts in battle, warriors were needed,
So four Champions were pledged to see Ganon defeated.
Divine Beasts, Champions, princess, and knight,
Their plan to rout Ganon was looking airtight.
And when Calamity Ganon reared its head, Hyrule rose against it /
The optimism of Hyrule all the more incensed it.”
A maiden shielded her face with one hand as she whispered to the group, glancing cautiously towards Elio. “I’ve heard the princess has selected her own Champions of our age. They only await the mastery of her divine power before their official anointment. And yet, I hear that there is no sign of the late queen’s power within her, although His Majesty claims she has made progress. Apparently training has proved difficult for her. What are we to do without the power to seal darkness should the Calamity arise? Is it not the key to our victory?” A warning glint of the Sheikah bard’s fiery eyes shushed their gossip.
“Ganon raged in its assault, boiling with hate,
It gnashed its teeth and thrashed about, but it was all too late.
The Guardians kept the heroes safe through every hour...
The Divine Beasts unleashed attacks that weakened Ganon's power.
The hero with the sealing sword struck the final blow,
And the holy power of the princess sealed Ganon so.
And that is the story of the brazen attack,
On Calamity Ganon 10,000 years back.”
The swish of the collapsing bellows and the echo of Elio’s vibrato over the castle grounds concluded his song. His instrument allowed him to bend into a short bow for the clapping women charmed by his euphonious voice.
“Elio, you have bountiful stories of Our Princess! But what of our own Divine Hero? They are both tied to the same fate and yet you only ever mention him in passing” a curious voice inquired.
“Hm? I know nothing of him. I frequent Our Princess’s side any chance she’ll allow—which is admittedly less than I’d prefer—but I hardly interact with Sir Link. Actually, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who interacts with him. He’s not exactly a conversationalist, so what is there to say about him?” Elio answered plainly with a shrug of his shoulders.
“That’s too bad. Although, you’re not wrong…” a crestfallen maiden sighed with a hand to her face. “He’s always so serious. It’s a shame, really. Such a handsome face, it simply invites attention—but it’s as if his chilly eyes stare right through you.”
“Aye! He just shows up at the castle for duty and leaves without a word to anyone. Are there no whispers of him from his hometown?”
“Just as quiet there as he is here, it would seem. I guess having a status like his demands respect no matter where you go.”
“How lonely, but perhaps Heroes are simply built different. He certainly carries himself well! Truly the Chosen Hero of the Goddesses.”
“Undefeated, unparalleled, unwavering—the embodiment of valor itself! Perhaps I may glimpse it in action one day.”
Elio rolled his eyes as their conversation slowly nudged him into the background. He took up his instrument once more and chirped out an impromptu melody with a hastened rhythm. He spoke monotonously and mustered little effort into his singing. Elio never found significant inspiration from Hyrule’s Hero.
“Our noble Sir Link outpaced every knight and warrior in the land at some young age—before ten?” The accordion drawled on one note for a few beats while the bard dug through his limited knowledge of the Hero. “Around that age…”
“His Majesty noticed his exceptional talents and ordered him into the Lost Woods to seek the Master Sword. And to no one’s surprise, it chose him as the Divine Hero and loosened itself from its pedestal—divinely, probably. He never recounted the tale himself, so we can only speculate what it must have been like.” Elio briefly lifted his hands to feign wonder.
“Now he sits in standby as the King’s favorite pet. Embodiment of courage, Hyrule’s symbol of hope, all fall before his blade, good shall prevail, etc., etc., long live our blessed kingdom under his protection.”
The bellows squeezed shut on a series of discordant notes. Elio released the instrument and stood upright with dignified poise. “Far less intriguing than Our Princess! I find little splendor in battle—you’ve witnessed one brute, you’ve witnessed them all. But, I digress—should you find anything of interest regarding Our Hero, pass it onto me and perhaps I can weave something from it. I am an ‘undefeated, unparalleled, unwavering’ artist, after all.” He peered over his shoulder at the towering structure of the castle’s sanctum behind him. “But, as I know it now, he lives out his days as a prop in the throne room and a captain for the Hyrulean army. Probably fights off some beast between it all. Not terribly poetic.”