Hyliatown - A Breath of the Wild AU
I love Breath of the Wild and the musical Hadestown, so here I go spouting nonsense:
Hylia and her Chosen Hero have gone through this song and dance for centuries, their love re-lived through those who shared their blood.
At first, they believed that their love would be strong enough to conquer the Demon King’s Malice for eternity.
And, in the beginning, it turned out to be true.
But through all of their lifetimes, through the triumphs and tribulations, through seeing their descendants rise and fall...Hylia has gotten tired.
Tired of the cycle. Tired of having to see their bloodlines fall victim to the curse time and time again.
It all comes to a head when Demise rises to meet them in the form of Calamity Ganon. In her hubris and her jaded view, Hylia believes that the princess will be able to unlock her powers when the time is right, though the spirit of her Chosen Hero argues otherwise.
The poor, young princess and her knight, as faithful and true as they are, don’t stand a chance.
They’re struck down in the middle of the Blatchery Plains while the rest of the kingdom crumbles beneath the Calamity’s wrath.
Horrified, Hylia finally steps in to seal away the Malice as her Chosen Hero lays their bodies to rest.
Hylia, plagued with guilt and resolve, creates a community under her direct protection — which means regimented routines and strict, unwavering rules that must be followed by the Hylians who choose to live there.
On the complete opposite side of the spectrum, Hyrule is lightly supervised by the Chosen Hero, whose anger towards his lover’s inaction causes him to stay there for most of the year.
That’s not to say that Hyrule is safe. Despite Hylia’s shield, traces of the Malice can be seen by the tribes of monsters that scour every corner of the wilds. The kingdom’s peace is lasting, but fragile.
Generations of citizens wait for the Faithful Princess and the Fallen Knight to finally be reborn and defeat the Calamity.
Link, with no memory of his past life nor the burden of shouldering a legacy of hero work, is reborn after a century with an easy countenance and the wind ready to take him on a new adventure.
He captures the hearts of everyone that he meets and, for the most part, has a very trusting view of the world.
He’s also good with weapons and has a knack for calling the wind through music, so Kass takes him under his wing (no pun intended).
Together, they cross the wild terrain, sharing songs of old to anyone who listens (and with Link practically oozing with charm and charisma, plenty of people listen).
Zelda, on the other hand, isn’t reborn in as fortunate of a position.
Although she’s without memory of her past life as well, the sting of refusal from the gods has left a lasting imprint on this life. She is highly guarded and cautious of the world, never willing to rely on others no matter how reliable they seem.
She travels alone during her quest to learn more about the Sheikah technology.
Lady Impa takes a great interest in her wellbeing and invites her to stay longer in Kakariko Village on more than one occasion. Zelda politely refuses each time.
Zelda appreciates Impa’s kindness, of course, and even allows herself to feel a sort of unspoken kinship with her.
But staying long in Kakariko would mean staying complacent in her journey, and she just can’t afford to do that.
Cue her first time meeting Link:
Despite her inexplicable disdain for the gods, Zelda knew the song well.
It was an old song, older than all of the crumbling monuments that dotted the landscape — older than the air, the water, the fire that forged her brittle knife and bow.
It was a love song. The Golden Goddesses’ Triforce. The Goddess Hylia. Her Chosen Hero. The birth of Hyrule, a kingdom founded upon their love and sacrifice.
It was a tragedy. The defeat of the Demon King Demise. A curse placed on their bloodlines. The perpetual cycle of malice.
As the musician geared to sing another verse, Zelda turned her attention back onto her meager dinner of toasted bread and meat stew. It wasn’t out of rudeness — in fact, she quite liked the timbre of the Rito’s voice — nor out of disbelief for the story; after all, the meadows surrounding the stable were more than enough proof of the Calamity from over a century ago.
As it stood though, she’d been traveling on-foot for days and, by a happy surprise, happened to find enough spare rupees in her satchel to afford a warm meal and a soft bed for the night. Had her stomach not felt so hollow, she would have at least given a polite clap to the musician.
Zelda swiped the bottom of her bowl with the last piece of her bread when she noticed it: the music had stopped. Said musician was smiling down at a boy not much older than herself, who gestured widely and excitedly at the room — at her.
Zelda took a swig from her canteen, making sure that the hilt of her knife was within her reach. Years of training under Impa were starting to come back to her. Thieves were rare nowadays, but she’d be damned if a potential, amateur highway robber caught her and her few possessions unaware. She tracked his pacing at the entrance, at the way he fumbled at his pockets, the amount of times he ran a hand through his unruly, sandy hair (nine and counting).
A sigh of relief finally shuddered through the boy. His Rito friend stifled a smile beneath his wing, and motioned for him to move forward with the other.
At once, an overwhelming spike of nerves and peace ran through her blood. Instead of scrambling to leave the stable, Zelda stayed in her seat with a firm glance tossed in his direction, as if daring him to come closer to her.
“Come home with me,” he urged. His smile was impossibly wide and honest, like pure light flowing through his veins, and a Silent Princess rested in his grip.
By providence or luck, Zelda managed to answer despite her shock. “And just who are you?”
Another Silent Princess flower appeared out of thin air. There was a slight fluidity in his movements that was so self-assured, and his grin never once showed any hints of sarcasm or arrogance. That’s why, when he replied, a chord of deep, inherent knowing was struck in her.
“I’m the man who’s gonna marry you — I’m Link.”
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