The response wounds her, but thereâs nothing she can say. Hylia shouldnât expect him to remember. She knows this, and yet every timeâ seeing him is like gashing open a wound on her heart. If he only knew how close they had been.
  Hylia handles her emotions with grace, however, and doesnât let her face betray the ache that is welling in her chest. He was but a child now, but she could see traces of the small mannerisms in this boy.Â
   She saw them in all the Links. There is small moment of silence as she gathers herself to respond, âAh, to the White Goddess, Hylia. She was once regarded as Hyruleâs matron deity. She is the goddess from which the Royal Family descends and from which they get their powers. Worship of her has dwindled, but you can still find enclaves of followers dedicated to her here and there. She is also my namesake.â
  That was a satisfactory answer, right?
   âYou neednât worry. Any monsters or bandits that try to desecrate this holy place I will handle. I may not look it, but I am more than a capable fighter.â
      âWell, Hylia-- If youâre out here all by yourself, I guess you gotta be!â
He perks up, then, fully believing her. Link knows how it feels to be alone and to fend for yourself -- and though his own faith in the Gods is....Well-- Tentative at best, he doesnât fault anyone else for still believing. That sort of stuff is what keeps people going. Keeps them surviving.
Link straightens out, then, fists clenched in his excitement to find another like-minded fighter -- but he quickly doubles back down again, wincing. Crap. One of those monsters must have grazed him in his haste to escape, and he pushes his hand firm against the source of his pain.
       âOh, yeouch.âÂ
He heaves in a long, deep breath, concerned by the damp warmth swallowing up his hand. They really got him good, huh?
      âThink you could, uh, do me a favor?â
Link slings his bag off and dumps it onto the ground, a second hand moving in to join the first in applying pressure.
      âThere should be some dressin's and potions in there, could ya dig âem out for me?â