Chapter Text
A storm of dreamlight rained down on Noel's body. He was sleeping, ready to fall into a dream. But little did he know, he'd just fallen into the biggest dream of all. A dream he might never wake from… but would he want to?
Noel landed in the midst of a messy village. Purple thorns grew everywhere in bunches, rocks were all over the place, and the house in front of him seemed to have fallen into disrepair. To his right there was a large fountain on a plaza that led up to a huge castle in the distance. Looking up, the sky was dark. Noel wondered if he was dreaming. After all, his last memory was being in bed.
"For fucks sake…" Someone with a foul mouth was muttering up ahead. Noel stared at them. It was a woman in a fancy dress. There were sparkles around her, and she was gesturing frantically at the house.
"Hello?" Noel called out, unsure if he actually wanted to talk to this person.
"Huh?" The woman spun around, revealing her face: She had blue eyes, fair skin, and pointed ears. Noel blinked in surprise.
"Are you… Zelda?" He asked.
"I- yes." Zelda frowned. "How do you… are you from my world? I thought I was the only one who could…"
"World? Is this a different world?"
"Well, yes, this is dreamlight valley. It's a small world where people and creatures from across the multiverse can live together." Zelda squinted at Noel. "Wait, you're not sparkling… Are you…" Zelda traightened up suddenly. "You must be from the higher world!"
"The higher world?"
"To the higher world, all of the multiverse is just a dream, including dreamlight valley. If you came from there, you must have incredible power." Zelda smiled for the first time. "Do you think you could help me with something?"
"Um, sure."
"Look at this house. It used to belong to the Leader of the Valley. I'm afraid that since the forgetting, I've forgotten who that used to be." Zelda sighed. "But anyways, can you clear the vines out of the way?"
"They look dangerous…"
"Just wave your hand and focus. They should disappear."
"Okay."
Noel did as Zelda asked, and the vines blocking the door disappeared.
"Brilliant!" Zelda entered the house, and Noel followed.
Once inside the house, Zelda seemed to lose focus. Noel tried speaking to her, but the princess didn't respond. Noel noticed the house was filled with vines. He walked around, waving his hands wildly to clear them all away. It made him a little bit tired, but he soon completed his task, leaving the house with no vines. It was still very dirty and broken, but at least Zelda could think now.
"Thank you," Zelda breathed. "Those vines were blocking my cognition. I'm afraid a similar state has fallen on the rest of the valley… well, those of us who decided to stay here, that is. Most of them retreated to their own realms when the forgetting started… they won't remember us anymore."
"Why didn't you go back to your world?" Noel asked.
Zelda laughed bitterly. "My world… it's a bit too late for that, I'm afraid."
"Why?"
"Are you familiar with my story?"
"Yes, I played some of the games."
"Great. So you know I have magic."
"Yeah?
"Well... I became immortal, and had to watch as all my friends grew old and passed away." Zelda frowned. "It was horrible. But, in dreamlight valley, I have the ability to suspend death. Everyone who lives here will be just as immortal as me. Most of them didn't want to return to their worlds because their stories had moved on without them. Some of their worlds have since reset and their stories have been told again… and again…" Zelda sighed.
"That sounds lonely…"
"Well, we're all in it together, right?" Zelda smiled again. "Once I found this place, I knew I wouldn't be alone anymore. But with the forgetting… it's a fate worse than death. And all my friends are gone, lost in worlds where they're forced to repeat their past actions again and again."
"What can I do to help?"
"You want to help?" Zelda brightened. "Thank you!"
"Of course." Noel shrugged. "If I really do have more power… I need to use it to help you."
"Well, that's admirable of you. What was your name, anyway?"
"Noel."
"Noel… that's a good name." Zelda nodded, her resolve solidifying. "What you have to do is this… find the Royal Tools. Clear the thorns from the valley, open up the passageways to the other areas, rescue our residents from their prisons and their endless torment. To do all of this, you'll need dreamlight. You can gather dreamlight through your own willpower. But to boost your willpower, I would recommend working to repair the valley, completing tasks for the villagers, and improving your own relationships with everyone."
"That's all, then?"
"No… there's more… but I just can't remember what." Zelda looked frustrated.
"Well, it's a good start. Thanks for the direction."
"Of course. I'll be waiting by the castle. Once you've gathered enough dreamlight to open it, something important will happen. Meet me there soon."
"Okay."
With that, Zelda turned around and left the house. At the doorway, she paused. "Oh, and this house… it can be yours. Your magic is strong, so repair it as you see fit. If you need more energy, it will provide for you."
"Thanks!" Noel called out. Zelda nodded and left the doorway, closing it gently behind her.
Noel took a moment to breathe. So he was dreaming. But it was real, at the same time. At least, he thought it was. He focused on the walls. At once, the dusty brown wallpaper faded away to reveal a pale red design. Noel smiled. He took a few minutes to shuffle the furnature around. It turned from old and torn to new and fresh with a touch of his hand, and the boards on the windows shriveled away into nothing with a flick of his fingers.
Noel left the house, satisfied with his new home. He spotted Zelda by the castle, but he went to the well first. The water inside of it sparkled, and when Noel reached out, he knew instintively that his dreamlight had increased.
The sky was still dark, but Noel ignored it and began to explore. The plaza was large, with many broken down houses scattered around. Down a staircase, Noel discovered a small town. It was bigger than the plaza, but still nowhere near the size of a normal town. The buildings were broken down and infested with thorns.
Past the town, Noel made a small hole in the wall of thorns blocking the path so he could squeeze through and check out the beach. It was a beach, bigger than the town, but with hardly any buildings at all. The buildings all seemed too small for humans to use, as well. Across the water, Noel could see an island. It didn't seem to have any buildings on it, but he did spot a cave that might have led to something interesting. Noel braved the water, and found it was shallow enough to walk across.
Inside the island tunnels, Noel found a few broken machines and furnature. There were art supplies scattered around one cave, and mostly books in another. They were small books, though, and the furnature again seemed too small for humans to use.
Leaving the island, Noel went past the beach and squeezed his way through another wall of thorns. He discovered a forest, with several large trees that seemed to have been converted into buildings. There was also a small camp that had carefully constructed dens, though of course they had since fallen to ruin. Perhaps this was a place for small animals to live? Zelda had mentioned that creatures lived here too…
Past the woods, there was farmland, with large fields that were barren and dry. A collection of houses dotted around the edges of the area, all broken down as well. Past the farmland, Noel spotted a huge mountain. He didn't bother squeezing through the thorns to get there, since he couldn't see any buildings from where he was.
Returning to the town, Noel found an abandoned city elevated next to it, with a large graveyard attached to it as well. There were a few houses in the graveyard, but Noel didn't examine it too closely. It was odd, though, since hadn't Zelda mentioned that people didn't die here? Why was there a graveyard, then? Shaking off his confusion, Noel examined the tall buildings in the city. It was small than the town, but contained such tall buildings that there was surely much more space for furnature there. Of course, the buildings were in no state to be holding furnature at the moment.
Noel returned to the plaza. It seemed that the entire valley was indeed empty, aside from Zelda and Noel. He searched around the plaza for a bit before finding an old rusty chest. Inside of it were a few tools. They glowed with dreamlight and flew up to meet him. How handy! With the tools in hand, Noel got to work cleaning up the plaza. Rocks, logs and overgrown plants were all removed by his skilled hand. He also cleared out the pesky thorns.
As he worked, he found that his dreamlight was growing. He wasn't sure how he could tell, but he could. Eventually, he finished cleaning the plaza. He wasn't able to fix the houses quite yet, though. He turned towards the castle and saw Zelda still waiting there. Approaching her, he noticed the castle was covered in thorns, and Zelda seemed to be out of it.
"Hey, Zelda? Are you okay?" Noel called out.
Zelda looked at him. "Clear them… Noel…" She said, dazed.
"Okay." Noel focused and waved his hand. At once, the thorns covering the castle faded away, letting the entrance be revealed once more.
"Thank you, Noel." Zelda said. "Come on, there's something important in here."
Noel followed her inside. In the castle, there was nothing but doors. The doors were covered in thorns, and Noel winced, hoping they wouldn't start to effect Zelda again.
"Ah-ha! It wasn't what that was important, it was who!" Zelda turned to Noel with a wide smile. "These doors lead to each of the worlds where my friends escaped to! They won't remember this place, but if you could convince them to visit, they just might start to recall why they decided to live here in the first place!"
"Great! But, uh, do I need more dreamlight to open the doors?" Noel asked.
"Yes, but you should have enough to open one door right now. So, which will it be? A forest filled with honey and adventure, a suburb with extraordinary inventions, or a high school just outside of our reality?"
"Oh, uh…" Noel thought to himself. He would be bringing them all back eventually, but who to bring first? Maybe the inventions would be helpful in rebuilding the valley… but a high school outside reality might help him understand this world a little bit more… yet a forest with honey and adventure, well, that sounded the most fun to him. After all, he had an idea of who was in there.
Which should he choose first?