Chapter Text
For as long as he had known, Link had never left Hateno. Sure, maybe when he was younger and his parents were still alive, they'd taken little trips into the forest, along the winding paths towards Lurelin. But he had been littler then, and the memories were nothing more than vague ideas in his mind. He'd been in Hateno since they had died, alone in his little house in the hills.
When they had first passed, his dad from an attack when he was out scouting with a band of Knights, and his mom a week later from heartbreak, he had lived under the supervision of his neighbour, Koya. He had been young then, only six. When he was ten, she passed too. She was an older woman, almost like a grandmother to him, and it wasn't a surprise to anyone in the village when she went. He hadn't bothered to take anyone else up on their offer of care after that, too scared of what it would mean for him, or for his gentle heart.
He had swiftly retreated back into himself, continued with his piecewise education, and done everything that he could to give back to the village he loved so fiercely.
The first time he had picked up a hammer, he had felt nothing but contentment. He helped to smash down a wall in Koya's home that she wanted gone, helped her reseal the wood, helped her create the space she desired to live in when she wasn't capable of doing so herself. He felt such joy, such purpose, at helping her that he had become almost obsessed.
Soon enough, he moved to saws and then proper tools, becoming a handyman of sorts around town. If work needed to be done and the Bolson Boy's weren't around, they would come to Link.
He diverted from there, turning towards the finer things. He started making arrows for the hunters, sharpening swords and axes until he felt confident enough to try his own hand at making them. His first attempts were rough, misshapen things, cast in the forge that he built from scratch in the cellar underneath his family home. As time went on and he continued to work, his skills improved with him. He began selling his wares to travellers, taking small commissions from the villagers, creating daggers and shields and swords and axes when there was a demand. His work gradually grew more intricate, more hardy. It was common knowledge around Hateno that Link's knives were the sharpest around, and the slowest to dull.
One afternoon when he was thirteen, after wandering around the village to deliver a commissioned sword to a hunter, he had run into a traveller. He was strange, a Rito warrior, and he spoke of delicate things, selling the most beautiful gems and showing off his extravagant earrings and necklaces. Never one to back down from such a challenge, Link set his sights finer. With the rupees made from his commissions, he began to trade for gems - Topaz for the stormy seasons, Sapphire for the unbearable heat of the summers, and Ruby for the cold, harsh winters. He created brooches, bulky and unpleasant at first, and then more intricate, more delicate. He painstakingly crafted necklaces, each individual link the product of his hard work and labour. He sold them as gifts, to travellers, to the armour store, the gems inlaid providing unique benefits to those who may need them.
He was never fully satisfied though, even as he worked, day and night, helping around town, fulfilling commissions, creating works of art in weapons and jewellery. And so in any spare moments he could find, he read. Read about the history of the lands they all lived on, of the Goddesses of old and their role in the creation of the universe. Of the gifts they bestowed upon those who worshipped them, painfully few and far between in a realm that had grown complacent under Hylia's name. It made something dark curl deep in Link’s gut, the idea that the deity the Goddesses had sent to watch over Hyrule had become the primary deity that they worshipped, forgetting the reasons why the Goddess Hylia existed to begin with.
He read and read some more, trading crafts for books, asking travellers to seek him more information, offering his skills in return. His collection of crafts grew alongside his little library, and he was thirsty for the knowledge they provided. He branched out into reading more about Hyrule itself, poring over maps of the land for hours, reading about the other Kingdoms within the land until his eyes were bleary and tired. He had met that Rito, once, had been amazed by the things that he had offered, the work of his people. It sparked a burning desire in Link to know more, to visit and learn from the masters of these crafts. He had progressed as much as he could on his own, and he knew that. Hateno would live on without him. He would die unhappy if he remained here.
It came to a head one day, when he had just turned nineteen. Almost overnight, the desire for more had become unbearable. He sat for a long while, brain working overtime as he planned and prepared. A pilgrimage, he had decided one night, weeks ago. To visit the most sacred of places within Hyrule, and to journey to the far ends of the land to bask in the cultures he yearned to learn from.
Armed with knowledge and a knapsack full of his own wares and tools, Link decided it was time to go. He made his rounds through the village, asking his neighbour to water his plants whilst he was away. He said goodbye to everyone, old and young alike. He even trekked up to the Tech Lab to say goodbye to the eccentric child who lived there, and the older man whom he presumed took care of her.
He had his paraglider, a selection of swords, a bow and a full quiver, the most impressive of his wares, and all of the tools that were feasible to transport across the vastness of Hyrule. He could scavenge for food as he went, and he knew there were stables where people would meet and share meals for a price. He would be fine, he told himself.
And now, there he stood, standing atop the highest hill in Hateno, the Tech Lab glowing an eerie blue in the early morning sun behind him, prepared to take the leap into the rest of his life.
Link inhaled softly, taking a moment to gaze across the valley below, savouring the way the sun was beginning to rise to light up the town below him. Villagers would begin to stir soon, he knew. To tend to the fields and let their livestock out into the hills to graze. He smiled down fondly at the town that was his home, and took a few steps back before running towards the edge of the cliff. He leapt, opened his paraglider with practised ease, and let the wind carry him towards the base of Mount Lanayru; the first stop on his pilgrimage..
He glided for a long while, seeking out updrafts to keep him airborne, letting his gaze rake curiously over the landscape that he had only ever seen from one angle. Everything looked so different up close, he mused softly to himself. Swathes of green became individual oak trees, fluttering in the soft breeze; murky dots of blue became vibrant ponds, birds ducking in and out of the water as they fed. It already felt like an entirely new world, and he had only just left. Eventually, the grass turned to snow, and Link felt his feet touch down in the soft powder as his glider brought him back down to the earth.
Above him, he could barely see the path to the summit, obscured by flurries of snow dancing in the cold breeze. He took a moment to regain his stamina, toned arms aching just a little from the effort of holding onto his paraglider for so long. He fiddled with the ruby hanging from his pendant, gently chipped away and polished by his own hands until it resembled a burning fragment of flame, and felt a wash of reassurance at the heat that spread through his body in response. It wouldn’t do him any good to freeze to death now, not when he had so much ahead of him. He huffed, breath clouding in the cold air, and began the treacherous climb towards the spring he knew existed at the very top of the mountain.
As he climbed, Link pondered over the journey he was about to undertake. His plan was to visit the Spring of Wisdom at Lanayru’s peak first, to make an offering to the Goddess Nayru, and then go south into Faron. He would cross through the domain, knowing there were whisperings of a second sacred spring there, and then head for Gerudo lands. From there, he would go north to Hebra, to Rito Village, and then take the long route behind Hyrule Castle towards Eldin for Goron lands. After that, Akkala for the Spring of Power, and finally to the Zora domain. It sounded simple, but Link knew his journey would take weeks, if not months to complete. Something inside of him whispered reassuringly that this was what he was meant to do. That during this pilgrimage, he would find his purpose.
The higher Link climbed, the thinner the air seemed to get. It was eerily quiet and monsters seemed to appear out of thin air. Link could recognise some of them, from books and from the odd, terrifying time when they wandered too close to the village in search of a meal. He cut them down with ease.
Having spent so many years now creating blades from chunks of metal, they felt like an extension of himself. It was almost natural to swing them, to tear up the monsters that lunged at him with horrifyingly sharp claws. Bokoblins, Moblins, Lizalfos, it didn't matter - he evaded their attacks with an ease he had never before felt. It was most likely borne from working so frequently with dangerous equipment and the constant awareness of his own body that he had gained from doing so. And despite the effort, despite the fear, he climbed on.
If he squinted through the flurries of snow, he could see the sharp spikes of ice protruding from the summit of the mountain. He knew he was getting close, and it seemed the monsters did too. Their attacks grew more vicious, appearing in greater quantities the closer he climbed. It was taking all of his effort to push onwards, but the feeling in his gut kept getting stronger, telling him that this was what he was meant to do.
When he finally reached the top, the world was still. Link gazed, eyes hungry and dark with excitement, across the summit to where the statue of the Goddess Hylia stood, presiding over the spring with a serene expression on her face. It made his blood boil. This spring was supposed to be a dedication to Nayru, the Goddess of wisdom. And yet Hyrule had placed a statue of their patron deity in its midst. It felt like an insult. Link scowled as he ploughed onwards until he was standing before the spring, the water sparkling just below his feet.
It felt like the world was holding his breath as Link placed his knapsack down beside him with a soft sigh. As he moved to reach within, to withdraw the offering he had prepared for Nayru, he felt a chill run down his spine ominously. Slowly, tentatively, he stood back up, one hand on the hilt of his sword as he scanned his surroundings carefully.
The mountain shook and Link stumbled, before something swooped down in front of him, talons outstretched. He barely managed to evade it, dropping to the ground to press himself into the snow as he felt something massive rush over the spot he had just been standing. A roar unlike anything he had ever heard before shook the ground underneath him, rattling through his skull and making him wince. He rolled over to gaze above him, eyes wide with terror as the gargantuan form of a dragon shot upwards into the sky.
Link stared blankly for a moment, rattled by the near-miss and the agony of being so close to such a terrifyingly loud screech. It was only as he stared, the dragon turning gracefully in the air, that he noticed something was very wrong. He had only ever seen the magnificent creatures illustrated in a book - a very expensive one at that. The three guardians of Hyrule, Dinraal, Farosh, and Naydra, had been depicted in beautiful watercolour, but now, face-to-face with the latter, he was noticing the discrepancies.
Where there were supposed to be soft cream scales and a pale purple underbelly was a writhing mass of black and purple so neon it almost hurt to look at. Where her eyes were supposed to be a technicolour marvel, they were a glimmering orange. Where her crown of crystalline spines were supposed to be a beautiful teal, they were a threatening mess of purple and black. There were vicious looking eyes scattered across her body, globs of inky red and black goop sticking to her like a parasite.
Link gritted his teeth and pushed himself to his feet, watching as she rushed towards him again, her talons outstretched threateningly. He shrugged his bow from his back hurriedly, knocking an arrow and aiming for the parasitic-looking eye that sat just above her face. He held steady as she advanced, and the moment she was close enough for him to aim true, he let the arrow fly and extended his paraglider. Link felt his arms jerk in their sockets as the updraft yanked him off of the snowy ground and into the air. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her as his arrow landed, hitting the parasite in the centre of its yellow gaze. It dispelled into a puff of violent looking red smoke, and he watched the dragon shake her head, her eyes flickering to blue for a mere moment before she set her sights on him once more.
She rose from beneath him like some sea creature of old, and Link tugged viciously at his glider to move out of her path. Her face blew by him, missing by mere inches, and he watched her carefully as she continued her path upwards, buffeting him away with the force of her movements. He fought to keep control of his glider, but the moment another eye came into view he knew what he had to do. With a determined huff, Link withdrew his paraglider and grasped his bow as he started hurtling downwards, knocking an arrow and letting it fly towards another of the parasitic masses. His aim was true, and yet another of the eyes dispersed into smoke. He barely managed to release his glider before he hit the ground, huffing breathlessly at the less-than-graceful landing.
He had no time to collect himself, however, as Naydra was already hurtling back down towards him. He counted four more of the parasites and gritted his teeth in determination as his glider released once again.
It took more effort than Link felt he had ever used in his life to destroy them all, being carried further away from the spring as he battled with the dragon. He took care to avoid hitting her scales, only shooting when he knew he would be able to target the parasitic masses. She shrieked with each successful shot, and Link winced at the volume each time.
It felt like a lifetime had passed before he was targeting the final one, the fight having migrated to the snowfield below by this point. He was panting with exertion, shoulders aching with the constant switch between his glider and his bow, every time he had to break his fall wrenching his shoulders harshly within their sockets.
She was coming in fast, from above this time, and Link let himself freefall as he knocked his final arrow. It sailed across the air in what felt like slow motion, but he didn't miss. The final parasite evaporated into the air, and suddenly he was hurtling towards the ground, his paraglider caught in his quiver. Link writhed as the ground grew closer and closer, tugging frantically. He didn't want to die like this, not when his life was only just beginning. He couldn't hear a thing for the wind rushing through his ears and he struggled desperately.
Just as he was giving up hope, the ground rushing up to meet him, something snatched him out of the air, stealing the breath from his lungs. And then he was moving, flying upwards and back towards the summit, gasping in trembling breaths. He looked above him and watched, wondrously, as the previously corrupted dragon who held him in her talons shimmered with a bright light. It coursed through her body, clearing away the remnants of the parasites, her scales returning to their gleaming white, the crystals that emerged from her head returning to a bright teal. It was the most wondrous thing Link had ever witnessed and, even as the fatigue from the fight began to sink in, he couldn’t help but feel more alive than he ever had before.
The dragon placed him down almost tenderly back where he’d begun, beside the spring where his knapsack remained in waiting. He watched with wide, adoring eyes as Naydra glided up and around the gargantuan spikes of ice at the summit, roaring joyously. He felt tears welling up helplessly, his chest tight with wonder and joy. It was the most fantastical thing he had ever witnessed. If this was what the rest of the world had in store, then Link knew he would never be satisfied until he had seen it all.
Link watched devotedly until Naydra finally disappeared into the morning sky, sitting back in the soft snow as exhaustion washed over him, still fighting to catch his breath. He gazed upwards at the clouds for a long moment after she had gone from view, and then shook his head in awe. His gaze caught on his knapsack, and suddenly the reason for his journey sprung back to mind.
Scrabbling across the snow, Link burrowed into his back to withdraw his offering - the first sword he had ever crafted. He had modelled it after the sword he remembered his father using when he was young, the sword that he had always carried as a Knight of Hyrule. Link had poured his blood, sweat and tears into the sword, spending long days and even longer nights working to create it, to forge it from iron he had bought with the last of his rupees from a merchant. Sure, it was a little rough around the edges, but even now Link felt tears prick at his eyes as he gazed down at where it lay within his hands.
Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he stepped into the spring. He bypassed the statue of Hylia, sending it a long, dark look as he stepped around, and then knelt down in the water further into the spring.
“Goddess of Wisdom, Nayru, I offer you this sword, crafted of my hands, formed of my memories,” he began, voice hoarse from exertion, eyes wet with the elation of freeing the spirit dragon, and from the idea of offering something of such importance to himself to the Goddess. He gently placed the sword down, watching it sink under the water of the spring. It glowed faintly, and Link inhaled sharply at the sight.
He took a shaky breath and continued.
“In return, I ask for your blessing of Wisdom, may it guide me on the journey I am about to undertake, may it help me help others who may need it, may it allow me to trust in myself and remain true to my path throughout.”
Link sat back slightly as he finished, his breathing tremulous as he watched in awe as the sword began to glow brighter and brighter until he couldn’t stand to look at it anymore and had to squeeze his eyes closed. When he opened them again, the sword was gone. Link gasped slightly and stared down wondrously at the spot where it had once rested, before he stood up on trembling legs and gazed upwards to the sky. Had his offering been accepted? Had Nayru truly listened to his request?
He stepped slowly backwards and out of the spring, his mind spinning with the implications. The old Goddesses were rarely worshipped anymore - many believed them too powerful to care for the whims of Hyrule and its occupants. But this? This was proof that wasn’t true. It had to be.
Link stumbled out of the water and gently lowered himself to the ground beside his knapsack, staring unseeingly towards the spring as his mind moved at a mile a minute. He stayed there for a long while, content to watch the snow fall and to try and wrap his head around the events of his first proper venture outside of Hateno.