An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Story Summary: After spending five years stuck in the World of the Ocean King, Link returns to the Great Sea, only to find it changed beyond recognition. His friends and family view him as a traitor, accusing him of causing chaos across the ocean. With his allies all turned against him and a curse threatening to take his life, he sets out to reconnect with the one person who may be able to clear his name: Tetra.
Meanwhile, something sinister is rising over the Great Sea--a shadow seeking to spill the hero's blood and revive its fallen master. And this time, Link may not be strong enough to stop it on his own.
Ships: Link/Tetra
Rating: T
Warnings: Angst, Trauma, Violence, Blood and Injury, Torture, Harm to Children, Psycological Trauma
Chapter Summary: A curse is levied against a hero for crimes he knows he didn't commit. When Link had been stolen away by the ghost ship five years ago, little else had been stolen along with him. His gear had been stored below the deck of Tetra’s ship, his sword long since buried at the bottom of the sea. The only things he arrived in World of the Ocean King with were the clothes on his back, the borrowed scarf tied around his neck, and something that rarely ever left his side. Something truly special for so many reasons, from the kingdom it had come from to the power it possessed. But for Link, what mattered most was who had given it to him. What mattered most was that the Wind Waker was the only gift he still had from the King. So he’d hung onto it, even after their journey together had ended. Tetra and her crew had come to rely on its ability to shift the winds in their favor and Link was more than happy to use it to do exactly that. The relic had fallen out of use when he began sailing with Linebeck, whose steam-powered ship all but defied the winds most other boats were subordinate to. Link hadn’t been sure the Wind Waker would even work in the World of the Ocean King; he’d never bothered to give it a try. But now, he’s back upon the surface of the Great Sea, still a short distance away from Outset. He doesn’t dare look back over his shoulder at the still-looming shadow of his island home, a home that hadn’t welcomed him in any of the ways he once hoped it would. Aryll’s bitter words and frigid glares still sear his mind and sting his heart as he struggles to make sense of them. He tries his best not to think about it as he pulls the Wind Waker out of his pocket.
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