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The magic of the hunt was something that always fascinated Link. When he walked in the woods on any normal occasion, he would merely take in the sights and sounds of nature as would any casual passerby. The wind would blow gently, the grass and twigs would crumble and snap below his feet, and the scent of the nearby wild-fruits would come to tickle his nose.
But when Link held the bow in his hands, the image of the forest painted by his senses enhanced into a landscape so detailed that he couldn’t even understand everything he knew. He ears picked up noises from upwind that let him know bokoblins were slowly heading his way, giving him a little over 10 minutes to complete his hunt. Even though he couldn’t see the smoke through the dense foliage, he could smell the burning oil and wood of their torches.
Link looked down to the muddied ground and picked up a fresh set of tracks. Deer. At least 2, and one of them was definitely a full adult. He pressed his boot into the mud next to the track to test the solidity; it sunk right in. The deer had to be close. Despite being against the clock with the monsters closing in, he could not be hasty about this endeavor. He was no longer hunting for himself, and he was beginning to suspect the princess was tiring of eating nothing but his reserves of nuts and dried fruit.
With his heightened senses, Link kept his eyes to the ground to watch for twigs as he followed the tracks while he left his nose and ears alert to keep him abreast of incoming dangers.
He did not count the seconds individually, but he could tell the minutes were passing quickly as he slid through the foliage and down the hill to hopefully gain sight of his quarry. Every so often in the distance, he could hear a cry or squeal of the bokoblins. Link was doing his best to keep ahead of them, but his careful pace was slowly allowing the gap to be closed.
As he neared the bottom of the hill, Link could hear rushing water nearby. There had been a lot of rain in the last few days up north, so the rivers and streams were running faster and harsher than normal. Feeling emboldened by the water's sounds, Link decided he could risk a little more noise and slightly picked up his speed. He spotted the end of hill, and with it the end of this section of forest. He knew the flat area ahead opened into a vast clearing, which meant if the deer were there he would have very little in the way of hiding spots.
With the last couple rows of trees between him and the clearing, Link raised his eyes to look out and hoped for a miracle. As if Hylia herself heard his prayers, thirty meters from the tree line and drinking heavily from the swollen stream were 2 deer; a fully crowned buck and a doe.
The hunter froze in his tracks, if he had line of sight on them, they would see him as soon as they lifted their heads from the water. Quickly scanning his surroundings, he took refuge behind a large tree that was no more than three meters away. With his vision now obscured Link closed his eyes and let his other senses take over. The wind was blowing away from the deer in his direction, so they were less likely to smell him. The noise of the rushing water deafened both Link’s and the animals’ hearing, so neither could have a leg up in that area. Finally, Link could feel the deep mud suctioning his feet to the ground from the water running downhill to the stream; any movement he made at this point would have to be forceful and likely loud. He no longer held a heavy advantage over his prey, the only leg up he had was they had not noticed him yet. With his new paradigm properly assessed, Link decided what his next course of action would be.
He had to be quick and loud and hope that would be enough.
Link slowly and carefully unlatched the bow from the carry strap on his back and pulled a single arrow from the quiver on his hip. He nocked the arrow firmly against the drawstring and drew a deep breath as he rested his head against the tree at his back. He counted himself down the three subsequent breaths.
Three… Two… One…
Link pushed off the tree with his back and bounded out from his hiding place. The mud released its grip on his boots with a loud disgusting pop as he made two large strides to give himself a clear line of sight to the deer. Link’s eyes sharpened as he felt time slow to a crawl. Independent of his own thought, Link’s bow was already raised to the proper height. He could feel himself draw the string without telling his arms to do so. The only thing the young hunter was focused on was the buck currently rearing back onto his hind legs. Link watched as the deer twisted and writhed through the air in a state of surprise and panic, but the shifting torso could not hide his intended target.
With the slightest of adjustments, Link aimed his arrow straight and true. The shaft loosed and flew to its destination with no trouble, embedding itself deep in the flesh and piercing the deer’s heart with a dull thud. The air escaped the animal’s lungs with a sickening whine as it lost the strength of its limbs and collapsed instantly on the ground. The doe had already bolted by the time her buck had succumbed to his injury.
Link let the stress vent form his body before he moved again. His shoulders loosened and dropped, and his grip on the bow softened so the blood could flow normally to his fingers once again. He quietly stowed the bow back to its resting place and slowly made his way over to his felled target. The young hunter looked over the deer from head to toe, studying for any signs of life, He was sure that the arrow struck the heart, but he was also sure that sometimes even that isn’t enough to bring down a beast.
When he was sure there was no more fight left in the deer, Link reached down to his hip and withdrew his hunting dagger. Even if the buck looked fully dead, the two puncture scars on Link’s left hip reminded him to take no chances. He knelt down in front of the deer and aimed for the underside of its neck. With speed and force, Link shoved the blade hilt-deep and quickly sawed upwards, opening the throat and finishing the hunt.
Link let out a heavy sigh. With his quarry taken care of, he wiped the blood off his blade and stood up before sheathing it in its leather scabbard. With his clean hand, he placed two fingers in his mouth and blew out a loud, high-pitched whistle to signal Epona to make her way to him. With the quiet settling in once again, Link let the gentle painting of nature retake his senses. The hyper-detailed, Shiekah Slate image softened into its normal clarity, letting him bask in the beauty of the world around him. A moment passed before Link’s ear picked up Epona’s approaching hoofsteps; he turn his head to see his horse coming around the bottom of the hill where from he tracked the deer.
Link’s turned head proved life-saving as from the corner of his eye he saw the sudden movement of a bokoblin releasing an arrow from its makeshift bow. The poorly made shaft flew straight enough to close the distance to its target: Link’s head.
With a surge of adrenaline and the reflex of Hylia’s grace, The Hero of the Wild dodged the killshot enough for the stone arrowhead to merely tear a crooked gash across his lower cheek and under his lip. Link did not register the wound but somewhere in the back of his mind he knew he would be feeling it shortly. He needed to end the threat before the pain set in and impaired his senses.
Whipping around so he was fully facing his enemy, Link could see that he was now beset by three bokoblins. The red one who shot him was standing back along the tree line right next to the stream. Of course, the hunter thought, they did the same thing. In front of the archer was a red bokoblin with a club wrapped with bone spikes of some kind, and the other was a black bokoblin covered in armor made of bone and bark and carrying a freshly forged, razor sharp sword. The two non-archers were sprinting in his direction with their weapons overhead while the one in the back had started to nock another arrow. With Epona still too far away to hop onto, Link decided his only way out was forward.
Link drew his hunting dagger into his offhand and charged ahead, staying low to the ground. As he entered the two bokoblin’s space, he darted to the left so only the red bokoblin with the club could reach him. The monster swung diagonally down, but Link was able slide across the ground feet-first and duck under the attack. As he popped back up, the clubbing bokoblin turned around, coming once again with a backswing. Link used his dagger to block the attack and hold his opponent in place. The black bokoblin was now directly behind its red counterpart and had started to move around to get into position.
At this point, Link heard the bowstring behind him snap forward. Without looking, he shifted to the left and let the second around fly by him and sink into the clubbed bokoblin’s stomach. The monster let out a painful squeal and Link saw the grip on its weapon loosen. Taking his opportunity, he used his dominant hand to hit the club’s handle with a short palm strike, causing it to slip from the bokoblin’s grasp. Link caught the club with his free hand and, with his daggered hand no long blocking an attack, delivered a deep slice across his foe’s throat with his blade. Link did not even wait to watch the monster drop; he could feel how deep he had cut and knew he only had two to deal with now.
With the spike club in his dominant hand, Link whipped around to face the archer who had a look of shock that it had just shot its… friend? Brother? Mate? Link had given up trying to figure out bokoblin culture a long time ago. The hunter strode forward a single pace, reeled back the club, and he launched the weapon with as much force as he could muster. He watched the spiked club arch up and down as it hurled toward the archer, but before he could watch the impact, he sensed that he needed to move.
Link rolled to the right and turned back around to see the armored black bokoblin barely miss its thrust with that freshly sharpened sword. Link’s eyes flashed to the side to spot the archer slumped over on the ground not moving. Now with only one enemy left, he took the half-second needed to further strategize against the most pressing threat of the three. The bone and bark armor completely covered its chest and upper legs. The sword was at least a foot longer than his dagger, maybe even a foot and a half.
That was all Link needed to form his next plan of attack. He crouched low and prepared for his enemy’s next charge, which came immediately. Now with the space to do so, the armored bokoblin reared its arm upward, getting ready for a powerful downward slash. Seeing his opening, the hunter jumped up and forward with all his might and delivered a devastating knee strike to the bokoblin’s hog-like nose. The monster’s momentum completely reversed as it was knocked back with a sickening crunch, which caused it to trip over the body of the dead bokoblin directly behind it. Not allowing the bokoblin an inch, Link switched his hunteing dagger to his dominant hand with an icepick grip, dove on top his opponent, and drove the blade between its eyes and deep into its skull.
Link leapt to his feet and quickly took in his surroundings once again, searching for any other enemies. The only creature of note in the vicinity was Epona, who had only moved a couple paces in the time it took for Link to dispatch his attackers. Link understood very well how time slows down in a fight, but having a frame of reference like another person’s movement or burning paper always filled him with a mix of emotions mainly comprised of confusion and pride.
With no more danger, Link cleaned his weapon and waited for Epona’s final arrival a moment later. The horse did not fully approach at first because she noticed the bokoblin bodies nearby, but Link’s insistent clicking coaxed her to come closer over to where Link had dropped the deer. Aside from the tracking, the longest part of the hunt was easily picking up the buck’s carcass and tying it across Epona’s back. Luckily Epona was kind enough to kneel down so he didn’t have to lift too high.
As Link finished the last knot and secured his kill, the throbbing pain of the wound on his face arose in full bloom. He could not see the extent of the damage, but judging by the blood beginning to pool on the breast of his tunic, it would very likely need some needlework to close properly. The hunter climbed atop his horse and snapped the reigns to direct her back in the direction of Hateno village. Link thought about what was waiting for him back home. Zelda’s face would be an ever-changing mixture of concern, exasperation, hurt, and relief from the moment he walked in the house until the wound was completely taken care of.
Link knew it was a little mean, but he couldn’t help but think, She's kinda cute when she’s worried about me.