Bits and pieces of a Linkmeet AU, including brainstorming, writing snippets, and drawings as the fancy strikes me.
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A few months after the defeat of Calamity Ganon, the kingdom of Hyrule is returning to normal. Queen Zelda is currently living in Hatano Village with her Knight - and dearest friend - Link while they begin the work of cleaning up the kingdom and finding out more about the Calamity and how to end the threats that remain such as the lingering pools of Malice and the irregular but continuing blood moons.
However, the traces of the Calamity are not the only evil in the land and Link and Zelda are not the only ones searching for a way to end it.
One day, someone finds a way to bring a handful of Zelda's ancestors from the past, sending Queen and Knight on a quest to discover more about themselves and their destiny, help their predecessors return home, and save their kingdom once again.
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Book 1
Chapter 1 [1][2][3][4][5]
Chapter 2 [1]
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
> The Five Daughters of Hylia [1][2]
> Escape from the Forgotten Temple [2][3][4][5][6]
Ocarina (OOT!Zelda) and Fairy (OOT!Link) from my Linkmeet Word of Wisdom. It's a little weird when your counterpart has been taken from a different point in the timeline, but they can both enjoy the beach.
Today’s challenges: hands, whole figures, feet, Fairy's pose, trying to get Ocarina's balance right, chair perspective
As they started off up the canyon, Link was mentally counting down the time until Captain collapsed. Normally he'd have been looking around, enjoying new sights and the prospect of more discoveries around the next corner, but his companion's worry had infected him too. Instead of looking for new discoveries, he was looking for danger.
He tried to stop himself doing that; looking out for danger was important but it couldn't be the only thing he thought about wherever he went. And though he'd been half asleep during the conversation at the campfire, not paying enough attention to pick out words, he hadn't thought there was anything threatening in the man's tone.
But Captain had seen something, and though Link suspected his judgement might have been thrown off by the ordeal he'd just been through he still thought it was worth trusting. After all, he'd met enough aches to know that the most innocent-looking stranger could easily be a monster in disguise. He didn't want to focus on nothing but potential danger, but there probably was danger.
But even that was far less certain than the fact that Captain didn't have much left in him. He'd needed a few hours by a warm fire, but he'd been driven away and Link couldn't help a sour twist of anger at the injustice. He had never been able to stand the idea of ignoring injustice.
But even if nobody else was willing to help, he was. That was the important thing right now.
So he started looking up and down the walls of the canyon with new purpose, looking for a safe cave or sheltered nook where they could hide, letting Captain focus on putting one foot in front of the other.
Then after not quite a mile Captain faltered to a halt.
"Captain?"
He didn't speak, just shook his head and swiped a hand edge-on through the air.
"You're done?"
A nod.
Link had been hoping they'd get further, but better this than collapsing and worsening his injuries. Thunder helped him sit down against the wall of the canyon and crouched beside him for a moment.
"I'll… be fine," said Captain softly, once again struggling to speak. Thunder wondered if it was because he couldn't hear himself properly when he spoke quietly. "Just… need rest."
"There are probably caves along here somewhere," said Thunder. "We'll be able to find somewhere to camp before long."
Captain nodded, frowning. "Go… find one," he murmured. "I'll… be fine."
Thunder looked consideringly at him for a moment, but then nodded and hurried on up the canyon. The faster he found somewhere to camp, the sooner he could go back.
Finally, his luck was in. The slowly-growing light of dawn caught a sheltered niche in the rocks at the side of the canyon that he might have walked past if he hadn't been looking and he broke into a jog as he went to check it over. Rocky and a little cramped, but there was enough flat space for Captain to lie down comfortably and for Link himself to hide beside him. It was open to the sky, but the weather was fine, so that wouldn't be a problem. He clearly wasn't the first person to see it as a tempting place to camp; in one corner was the ashes of a campfire, but they were stone-cold, no sign that the camper might be back. He backed off from it and looked it over carefully one more time, judging whether they would be clearly visible from the road, then declared it safe enough and went back for Captain.
The older Hylian was sitting where Link had left him, leaning on the rocky wall of the canyon, his eyelids fluttering as he struggled to stay awake. Link wondered how long it had been since he last slept, thinking again of all those cuts and bruises. He knew it was perfectly possible to sleep through pain, but he could guess the cultists who had deliberately caused such injuries wouldn't let their victim have much peace in which to get any rest.
"Come on," he said. "I've found somewhere we can camp. It's not far."
He went to help Captain to his feet and reeled back as he startled, lashing out in a quick, if weak, punch that barely missed.
"Hey!" he exclaimed indignantly.
"Th-Thunder?" Captain relaxed again, slumping back against the wall and blinking sluggishly. "Sorry… didn't know… it was you."
Link let out a huff of breath, but reflected that he probably should have been more careful, approaching someone half deaf and more than half asleep.
"Well, I've found somewhere to camp," he said. "It's not far - come on."
Captain scrambled to his feet, a hand on Link's shoulder but pulling away from any other offer of support. Together, they limped to the little sheltered spot, then Link helped Captain pull a mat and blanket out of his pouch and lay it out.
"Wake me when… you can't… keep your eyes open," he slurred as he lay down and tried to get comfortable, his injured arm laid by his face so he at least wasn't lying on that hand. "Or… any danger."
"Sure," said Link, with no intention of waking Captain for anything less than a monster horde.
He was pretty sure his companion was fast asleep before the word had even left his lips.
With a sigh, he settled down beside him, leaning back against the cliff, facing the too-open entryway. The stone was cool, but not as viciously cold as the air of the desert and he sighed again, tilting his head back against it. He'd known he was a long way from home, but it was still unsettling to feel no connection to the land at all. It was also worrying. Not only did it mean that it might be a while before he could speak to Zelda and Iselda about Captain and his triforce, but more immediately it meant he wouldn't be able to restore his magic anywhere near as quickly, especially since he was so tired and in this rocky, barren landscape it would be hard to find food. Not impossible, but hard.
He looked back down at Captain, once again thinking of the injuries he'd sensed. The wrist was probably the biggest priority. This was a warrior and he needed his sword hand back. But on the other hand there was the shoulder, which had to be hurting more than he was letting on even with his wrist supported and would mean he couldn't fight no matter what state his wrist was in, and open cuts which would get infected even if there was no worry about blood.
Link looked at his hand and flexed his fingers carefully, turning his attention back to the pool of magic in his soul. It was uncomfortably empty. He didn't regret the choices he'd made, but there would be consequences for them. He wished he were the one paying them.
He sighed as he thought again of warm fire and the relative safety of groups of people in a little village. But it couldn't be helped. He looked back up at the lightening sky and settled in to rest as best he could.
***
When he woke from a sleep he hadn't intended to take, evening was drawing in again. He startled up from where he'd flopped over to lie on the floor, felt his limbs tangle in something, and panicked for a split second before he realised it was Captain's blanket.
"Easy, Thunder," said a quiet, scratchy voice and he looked up to see the man himself half turned from where he'd evidently taken over keeping watch, his good hand slightly raised in a soothing gesture. "It's all right."
"Dash it, I'm sorry," said Link with a wince. "I didn't even realise I was falling asleep."
Captain shook his head slightly. "Unfortunately, it was probably inevitable," he said with a sigh. "Here." He held out a small metal pan. "Not much, but something. Then we'd better be going again."
Link accepted the pan and saw that it contained some sort of brown mush.
"If you've never had cold-soaked biscuit, I wouldn't set your expectations too high," said Captain with another sigh.
"Food's food," said Link. "I don't want to take any of your supplies, though."
Captain shook his head. "Don't worry about that," he said. "We both need to keep our strength up as best we can." He coughed slightly and winced. "We can't live on nothing but bananas," he added with a small smile.
Link still had some misgivings, but wasn't going to devalue the gift by arguing about it. He nodded and started to eat. As Captain had suggested, it tasted and felt rather like he imagined sawdust would. But he kept eating; as he'd said, food was food.
"You said emergency rations," he said. "How much of this stuff do you have?"
"Enough to feed one man for three days of hard travel. Going slower, we can stretch it further - I've worked it out and we can hopefully supplement it by foraging. Water is the really urgent thing."
Link nodded. "I… don't have the connection to the land I'm used to having," he said uneasily. He'd hoped it would come with rest and a little extra time, but he still felt too light on his feet and, worse, his magic was still drawn thin. He glanced at Captain's wounds with a sigh.
"Your magic hasn't been restored? Captain guessed.
"No, not as much as I'd like. I can still…" His eyes went to the injured wrist.
At once, Captain shook his head. "Save what you have. We don't know what we might meet."
"Are you sure? That must hurt…" As he spoke, Link's eyes went to the open cuts. Even with no concern about Captain's blood, those didn't look healthy and couldn't be left open. He scowled to himself, wishing he'd brought bandages.
"Yes, but… I can carry on if you're willing to keep helping me."
"Of course," said Link without a second's hesitation. Not only would he have continued to help anyone in such need on their road safely home, not only did he still want to find out more about this place and what had happened to bring him here and know it would be easier to do that with a companion, not only did he still want to find out about the possibility of a brother triforce-holder and the implications of that, but he liked Captain. He liked the way he offered friendship, the way he weighed the dangers and their options for overcoming them, and he admired his continuing determination and the fight he still had in him.
They had shared bread and water and - if only briefly - fire, so they were in fellowship now unless they chose to go their separate ways, and Link had no intention of doing that just yet if Captain still welcomed his company.
***
Despite hours of sleep and a meal - if a third of a ration of cold-soaked biscuit could be called a meal - Link still felt drained. But there was nothing for it; they had to continue as soon as Thunder had finished eating. The fact that he wouldn't be able to heal Link's wrist after all was a blow, but one that couldn't be helped even though, now he was no longer contending with everything else, he was becoming more and more aware of the injuries that remained. There was simply nothing for it but to go on.
He knew he probably should have reprimanded Thunder for falling asleep on watch, but first of all he was not a soldier under Link's command, and secondly that was another thing that really couldn't be helped. The boy had also been at the end of his strength, and if he had woken Link before falling asleep it was likely the only thing that would have changed was that Link himself would have been the one to fall asleep on watch. The body could only be denied rest for so long.
Thunder handed back the empty mess tin and his blanket and he packed them away carefully, trying not to show that he was struggling one-handed. Uneasily, he looked up at the sky. Evening was drawing in again. He still felt terrible, as if he'd barely eaten or slept at all, but they had to keep going. They had to put distance between themselves and pursuit, it wasn't safe to spend a second night here especially when they didn't know if they might have been observed during the day, and they needed to find another source of water. This road must lead somewhere. Perhaps they would find a town where people would be more friendly or a military outpost or something.
He tried not to consider the impression he'd had so far of the natives of this world. The cult - the yiga clan, he remembered they'd called themselves - were one thing, but he was more spooked than he wanted to admit by the way the people at the stable had suddenly gone from helpful to afraid when they got a good look at him and Thunder. And the memory of the look in their leader's eyes when he'd been asked about the hero.
"Captain?" Thunder's voice cut into his thoughts and he looked round. The boy raised a hand, magic glowing along his veins. "We can't leave all those wounds open," he said.
Link sighed, looking down at his good arm. A cut across his bicep looked swollen and red and he sighed again. Thunder was right; though he wanted to tell him again to save his magic, he himself would be no use with infected wounds.
"Do what you think best," he said regretfully, stepping forward to Thunder could touch his shoulder again.
Thunder's magic felt warm and green as it seeped into Link's body, but thinner than it had before. His own magic was no better and a moment's panic jolted through him as he instinctively tried to defend himself from this alien magic and found himself drained and weak, as if after battle.
He really needed to find a decent magic jar.
But there were other, more important priorities. As he felt some of his wounds closing - always an odd sensation - he watched Thunder. It looked like this needed more effort than before; the boy was frowning deeply, beads of sweat starting on his upper lip. Link was tempted to tell him to stop; that this wasn't worth it.
He knew what it was to think you could do anything.
He could feel the magic flowing through him getting thinner.
"Thunder," he said.
"Almost done."
"Don't burn yourself out. It's not worth it. I'll be all right."
"I know what I'm doing."
Link had long since had to train out nervous habits like gnawing his lip and he just sighed, torn between wanting to step in and stop someone else from rushing in without a thought for risk and knowing he should trust his ally to judge his own abilities.
"I've healed the worst of them, but…"
"Do not burn yourself out," he said sharply, the instinct to protect winning out. "There's a long road ahead. I'm trusting you, now you trust me. Don't push too far."
Thunder's frown deepened, but he finally drew back. As he stepped away, his knees buckled and Link just managed to only use his good hand to catch him under his elbow and steady him.
"I know you know what you're doing," he said. "And I'm grateful for it. Really. But I don't want you to hurt yourself for me, and I know that's easy to do."
"I can manage."
"You can hardly stand." Indeed, Link was still supporting him.
"Your shoulder is a mess. Even worse than before. It must hurt." Finally, he managed to take his own weight as the dizziness passed. "And you need your sword hand back."
Both of those things were true. It felt like there was a spike in Link's left shoulder and another in his wrist that sparked every time he instinctively tried to move his dominant hand. He wasn't helpless by any means, but if there had been a potion available he'd have drunk it in one gulp and he knew nobody would question that.
But there was no potion, only whatever strength Thunder had left.
"Thunder," he said. "You're right. But if I need my sword hand back, you need to be able to walk. If you want to relieve my pain, I don't want to drain you dry for it. All right?"
Thunder stared at him, mutiny in his eyes.
"I can feel the state your magic is in when you're using it on me," said Link. "I can feel that you meant it when you said you had very little left. So tell me honestly: Could you heal my shoulder and wrist?"
Finally, Thunder dropped his gaze. "Probably not," he admitted.
"If it helps, you're not giving up on it," said Link. "I can't give you orders, but I can tell you to prioritise your own well-being and let me bear with the pain."
Thunder sighed. "I don't like to see someone in pain when I can help," he said.
Link's heart ached and he wasn't sure what to say in response to that; all he could do was pat Thunder gently on the shoulder and say again, "I appreciate it. But I'll be all right. I've pushed through injury before."
Thunder looked hard at him, but the frown had faded.
"I admit I still need your help. You're right that… I can't use my left arm." That was not a good thing to have to admit out loud, even though it was true and obvious.
Thunder growled softly under his breath, finally looking away. "Obviously you have it," he said. "My help, I mean."
Link hadn't really doubted it, but hearing the confirmation still took a weight off his shoulders. "Thanks," he said again, and meant it.
Thunder smiled faintly and patted Link's hand where it still rested on his shoulder. "We'd better go, then," he said.
Link nodded. They didn't have much of a camp to pack up and there wasn't even any need to discuss where they should go, so after another moment to brace themselves they simply started walking.
Link had no idea what was going on. He'd been walking between two villages, enjoying the cool evening at the end of a day of pleasant weather, when his triforce had suddenly started to glow. Before he'd even had a moment to wonder what was happening, a burning warmth had spread through his body and in the time it took to blink he was standing in a cave, staring at a crowd of masked figures around a battered and bloodied victim tied to an altar.
The next thing to do had been obvious.
He'd not had much of a chance to take in his new companion's injuries until the battle was done. He'd seen that he was conscious and had seen his fear and desperation and that had been enough to go on until the cultists were dealt with. Then he'd seen the full extent of the cuts and welts and the deep bruises and the way the rope cut like wire into the swollen flesh of that clearly-broken wrist.
And while looking at that, he'd seen the softly-glowing triple triangle on the stranger's hand, just like the one on his own.
It didn't change everything - Link would have saved someone in this situation and seen him safely home regardless - but it did change some things. He'd not known there were more than three triforces, but after all not long ago he'd not known there were more than two. Regardless, if this person had also been chosen to wield one that made them kin. Perhaps that was why his own triforce had brought him here: to save a brother and the triforce he carried.
And as if to underline or confirm the thought, they even shared a name.
As he filled his bag with unfamiliar yellow fruits - the only thing in the storeroom that smelled like food - Link decided to worry about all this later. Zelda or Iselda might be able to help. In the meantime, he had more immediate problems. He knew what hunger, thirst, and exhaustion looked like and that alone would have been a reason to get Captain somewhere safe where he could rest and get on the outside of some food, even if he weren't badly injured. Link knew what that sort of pain and weakness looked like too even without the visible wounds and even though Captain was clearly determined to try to hide the state he was in.
He went back into the main room to find Captain just struggling into his tunic, his movements stiff and careful. Link winced in sympathy, but didn't comment. He could let Captain claim he didn't need healing for now; he was right that Link had a limited amount of magic and that casting of Thunder had used quite a lot of it. For now, he helped Captain arrange his beautiful blue scarf as a sling for his broken wrist, handed him one of the cultists' long swords, and helped him get up and walk.
But as they walked together out of the open door of the temple, Link found himself staring at a completely unfamiliar landscape: a deep canyon with a sandy floor and a harsh sun beating down from overhead.
Captain sighed softly and grimaced.
"All right," he said softly, his voice hoarse. "We stick to the… shade. Keep as cool… as we can." He handed Link back his water bottle. It was no lighter than before; he must only have taken a sip, if anything. Link narrowed his eyes at him.
"Oh, no," he said, pushing it back. "You're not getting away with that. I can tell you're parched."
Captain looked at him in surprise, but then smiled wanly and took a bottle from his own pouch. Link could hear that it was already almost empty.
"We'll need… to ration," said Captain with a sigh that made him wince, but he took a sparing sip.
"They've probably got a water source," said Link, looking over his shoulder. "We can look."
Captain shook his head. "I suspect… we've been lucky not to… be interrupted."
Link had to admit that it would be risky to go poking around deeper in this dungeon, and while alone he might well have tried it anyway, he had his wounded companion to consider.
"Well," he said, "Let's go."
Together, they trudged out into the canyon, past a cluster of lumpy statues that Link barely glanced at and into the thick sand, sticking to the side of the canyon where there was shade. Even so, the air was hot and dry and more heat beat up from the sand and the rock beside them. It was hard to walk and soon Captain was stumbling, what little strength he had already gone. Link ducked under his arm to support him, careful not to press on any of his many injuries as he put an arm around him. Even so, Captain flinched and twisted, half tripping to slump against the wall, just barely keeping his feet. He took another mouthful of water and breathed hard for a moment.
"Are you all right?" asked Link, already turning his attention inwards to the pool of magic deep within him, calculating how much he would need to heal the worst of Captain's injuries. If they had been his, he could have got himself to the point where he was no longer bleeding and could travel, even though he'd probably still be weak and in pain. But cast on another person… That would be harder.
Captain hadn't responded and Link remembered his bad hearing.
"Are you all right?" he asked again, more loudly and trying to enunciate.
Captain looked up and nodded slightly. "In pain," he admitted. "But I can manage. I just… you surprised me."
"Right…" said Link doubtfully. He called on a thread of magic and held out his hand towards Captain's chest, a glow appearing along the veins as the magic coursed through his blood. "Let me see."
Captain drew back slightly. "Do you need to touch -"
"I need to touch you somewhere."
"My shoulder, then."
Link reached up to lay a hand on Captain's right shoulder and closed his eyes as he pushed magic into him, controlling it carefully to limit himself to looking at the injuries rather than healing them.
He knew about the open wounds and bruises. In himself he'd have prioritised the wounds, but Captain's blood probably didn't have the same dangers, judging by the way he was behaving. The sharp pain of broken bones bloomed in his side and wrist. Something that felt like bruises smouldered poisonously somewhere in his belly. There was something loose in his left shoulder: loose, but not quite torn.
He once again considered how much magic he had.
"You've got broken ribs," he said. "And something wrong inside."
"Something wrong?"
"I don't know what. I… think I can heal those two things and still have some magic left if we need it."
"Say again, please? The last part?"
"I can heal those two things," Link repeated more carefully, opening his eyes.
Captain frowned thoughtfully, then said, "Do what you think best."
Link didn't wait for anything else. He cast Life and felt its warmth flare through him. Breathing steadily, he directed it into Captain's body, to that deep-inside bruise and those broken, jagged spots in his ribs. For a moment Captain's own magic flared defensively, but with a sigh the other hylian quietened it: a striking show of control and trust that Link wasn't completely sure he could have managed.
As quickly as he could, he stitched together the injuries and then ended the spell, withdrawing his magic again. Even so, the effort left him breathless, his head spinning for a moment.
Captain caught his arm. "Thunder?"
"I'm OK," he said. "Healing someone else is hard."
"Thank you," said Captain fervently. He took a deep breath and sighed it out.
Link forced a grin, then they were off again.
***
By the time they reached the end of the canyon, the sun was sinking and the temperature was falling fast, though for the time being there was still heat coming off the rocks and sand. They stopped, both leaning on the rocky cliff, and looked out at the forbidding desert in front of them with sinking hearts.
"There's an oasis," said Captain hoarsely. He coughed and Link handed him his water bottle. He sipped from it without argument and handed it back.
Link squinted and saw lights in the distance. It was a long way across more thick sand: an ugly prospect when they were already so tired. But then he saw a light moving slowly between the oasis and the cliffs. "I think I see a traveller," he said. "There might be a road and they must be heading somewhere, so maybe that'll be easier to reach." He also coughed as the words scraped in his dry throat.
Captain glanced at him and he sipped from his bottle. It was almost empty. At least if the temperature was falling they'd lose less water to sweat.
Perhaps something to eat would help. He pulled out one of the yellow fruits and held it out.
"There isn't much juice in these," said Captain, taking it with a nod, "But it'll be something. Thank you."
Link pulled out one of his own and started to take a bite, but just as his teeth touched the skin Captain said, "What are you doing?"
Link glanced at him, blinking.
"You peel them first," said Captain. He took the protruding stem in his teeth and snapped it, then pulled it down to reveal the white flesh.
"Here," said Link, taking it and peeling it the rest of the way. As he peeled his own and started to eat, he once again looked out across the desert, trying to see any more signs of life. There was nothing but the glimmer of lights at the oasis.
Well, there had never been much reason to expect cultists to carry out their torture and murder rituals near a settlement.
They ate the few bites of fruit in silence. As Captain had said, there wasn't much juice and it was hard to swallow, but better than it could have been.
"We'd better keep moving," said Captain with a sigh once he'd finished his. "Along the cliff for now, I think. The ground looks better."
"Right." Link forced down the last bite of fruit and they started walking again.
Before long, it had gone from far too hot to far too cold. They pulled close to the cliff, which still radiated some heat, and stood still for a moment, shivering. Link could see that Captain was clenching his jaw. Dressed only in his tunic, he must have been even colder than Link. Link sighed, hugging himself.
"We'd best keep moving," said Captain tensely. "We'll keep warmer if we move."
Link chuckled. "All right," he said. "Are you sure you can manage?"
"We're short of other options."
"A man after my own heart," said Link with a grin.
Captain smiled wanly and they kept walking. Link was still trying not to obviously shiver, watching the awkward way Captain hugged himself as they went, but there was nothing to suggest except continuing to try to stay near the rocky wall at their side.
Then, suddenly, the ground trembled under their feet. Captain reeled back, barking out something Link guessed was an unfamiliar curse, and Link drew his sword, jumping between his more vulnerable companion and the stals erupting out of the ground. Two of them, with hunched bodies and long, inhuman skulls.
With a hiss, Link leaped towards the closest one, bringing his sword down with a crack of breaking bone. It reeled back and he followed, trying to finish it as fast as he could so he could turn to the other.
He was aware of an arrow embedding itself in the sand by his feet and he hissed again.
Then, just as he stabbed and split open the skull of the first stal, he saw the other collapse into loose bones in a swirl of wind-blown sand. Its skull skipped about on the ground, jaws snapping as its body began to reform, and Link sprinted over to stab and split that one too.
"Thunder!"
Captain's voice was hoarse, but even without words the warning would have been clear. Link swung round as a tall yellow lizard creature ran at them, hissing, an ugly, twisted blade raised in its hand. Thunder pulled his sword free of the ground among the broken pieces of skull just as Captain stepped up beside him and flourished the sword they'd taken from the cultists. A blast of wind sent the lizard stumbling back for a moment: enough of an opening for Thunder to run in and slash at it. Captain harried it from the side, stumbling but apparently capable of keeping it from focusing entirely on Link.
Still, the sand under his feet was treacherous and as he stepped back, readying a stab, his foot snagged and he tripped, falling flat on his back. The lizard let out a shriek of triumph and lunged at him.
With a gasp and a quick flare of magic, he summoned a shield and it crashed against it. Captain side-stepped and flourished the sword again, the impact of the blast of wind sending the lizard to the ground. Link braced himself behind the magic shield as the wind hit him too, then dismissed it and drove his sword into the lizard's body. Captain lunged in beside him and stabbed down, dropping to his knees. The combination of what strength he had left and his bodyweight drove the sword right through, pinning the lizard, and it screamed, sparks running up and down the horn on its nose.
Link spotted the danger and yanked his sword free, chopping down at the head. His blade bit deep, chopping the lizard's skull almost in half, and at last with a final drying cry it dissolved into smoke. All that was left was the sparking horn and its tail.
They stood in silence for a moment, panting for breath. Captain was huddled in on himself, breathing through gritted teeth. Link wrinkled his nose as he looked at the pieces of monster and their strange weapons lying on the sand. The stals had also left pieces, he saw, and he started carefully gathering them up; good strong bone and horn weren't to be wasted.
After a moment longer to catch his breath, Captain also stood and picked up the tail, slipping it into his pouch. He hesitated before touching the horn, but then gingerly picked that up too.
"No shock?" asked Link.
"No, I think it's safe." Captain put that away too, shrugging slightly. "Perhaps it will have a use; who knows?"
Link nodded. He eyed the distance between them and the road again, wondering what other dangers might lurk beneath the sand.
But it couldn't be helped. Their choices were to keep walking or to go back to the cult stronghold.
Unwillingly, worried about what he was going to find, he turned his attention inwards. As he'd feared, he hadn't quite scraped his magic reserves dry, but he was close. Resisting the impact of whatever wind blast Captain had sent at him had needed a lot of reinforcement for the shield. He could probably cast another Shield. That or a couple of Jumps. Certainly nothing more.
"Are you all right?" asked Captain. "Are you hurt?"
Link shook his head. "No, just…" He winced, unwilling to admit it, but Captain needed to know. "I'm almost out of magic."
Captain also winced, also looking in the direction they were going. "What will help?" he asked.
"Rest. Or magic potion."
"Well…" Captain coughed, rubbing his throat. "I don't have any potions, you may have guessed."
"No, I thought not. We'd best keep going."
Captain nodded.
"How's your magic?" asked Link as they started walking again.
Captain looked curiously at him. "Oh, the wind? That wasn't me; that was the sword." He touched the hilt at his hip. "I… noticed these swords had that ability… when I was captured." He looked at the ground and coughed again.
Link wanted to ask more questions. He really didn't know much about what had happened to Captain, after all, and it sounded like it had been quite a story.
But the cough had reminded him that they should both be saving their breath and he handed Captain the water bottle again, letting him take a sparing sip. Then they started walking, still keeping close to the wall.
Link thought again of the cuts and bruises, the broken wrist, the looseness in the shoulder. Shivering - or the tenseness of avoiding it - must have been agony, even more so after that battle and whatever further damage the quick movements might have done.
Again, he couldn't help a little spark of admiration.
"There!" Captain suddenly exclaimed. He was pointing towards what looked like a little patch of greenery. Link hurried over and found two large green fruits. Curious and hopeful, he sniffed and prodded them.
"Melons," said Captain, coming over. "I've never seen them growing, but sometimes merchants bring them to Castletown." He eased down next to Link and pulled out a penknife from his pouch. "Now these do have plenty of juice."
They cut one of the melons in half and Link dug into his half eagerly, almost drinking the soft flesh. Beside him, Captain sighed in relief as he ate.
"When did you last get a proper bite?" Link asked.
"My last meal was before I was captured." Captain took another mouthful of fruit and spat out a seed. "I don't know how long ago that was, though I'd guess a few days. But I'd just returned from a long journey. It's why I had so little water and only emergency rations with me." He grimaced and ate another mouthful. "And those can't be eaten without water."
As they ate, Link looked around again, trying to find any more sign of a road or where it led. It was still bitterly cold; the melon was as chilly as the air. But at least with something approximating water inside him, Link felt better able to carry on.
He couldn't see any more sign of the road. They would have to take it on trust that they were heading towards something real.
They stashed the second melon in Captain's pouch and walked on. Link kept trying not to shiver, something more than the cold biting into him. While he'd travelled many stretches of wasteland that had been killed by monsters and Ganon and would take years to heal, this place looked like it had never truly been alive.
It didn't help that as he tried to reach out through his connection to the land, he found nothing there: no connection at all.
That did make him shiver.
"Thunder?" murmured Captain.
"I'm all right," he said and added, "Hoping for a fire soon." He didn't want to discuss his connection to the land just yet.
Captain laughed wearily. "So am I." Then he stumbled with a pained hiss. Link caught him, but at once he pulled away again with another little gasping noise.
"Does that hurt?" asked Link.
Captain groaned softly. "Yes," he said. "And also…" He faltered into silence, then after a long pause he said, "Keep moving." It sounded like he was having to force out the words, just as when Link had first spoken to him. At that thought Link hesitated, wondering if there was an injury he'd missed. Perhaps he should press the question, or check again…
But he reflected that he was keeping secrets too and sighed, deciding to leave it for now and let Captain pretend there wasn't a problem. "Let me know if you need help," he said.
"I will. Thank you."
Before they could go on, Link suddenly smelled sulphur. In front of them, an odd orange glow appeared in the air.
Captain swore, drawing his sword and stepping in front of Link. That told him everything he needed to know. He drew his own sword and dodged round Captain as a cultist appeared, mid-leap in a swirl of paper scraps.
Link was on him in a moment, before he could draw the bow in his hands, but even as he landed and reeled back he made a couple of hand gestures and vanished.
"Down!" shouted Captain.
Link ducked as a couple of arrows whistled over his head. Then he spun, his sword impacting with the cultist's body before he could even drop to the ground, sending him flying with a cry and a spray of blood.
To Link's horror, he only then saw that he'd hurled the cultist towards Captain. The wounded man tried to dodge, throwing up his injured arm in an instinctive gesture, and let out a sharp scream of pain as he was knocked down.
Link swore, dashing forward, but then the cultist suddenly screamed, thrashing as sparks ran through him. With another quick gesture, he teleported away. Captain was left on the sand, gasping, the sparking remains of the lizard's horn in his right hand and the cultist's bow lying on the sand beside him.
Link hurried over to crouch by him. "Are you all right?" he asked.
Captain nodded and pushed himself up on his good elbow.
"My wrist…" he said with a grimace. "And… and my shoulder."
Link didn't have enough magic left for Life, but he instinctively reached for the injured wrist anyway, wanting to help if he could.
Captain drew back, arranging his sling again to support the broken wrist and torn shoulder. Even so, he stayed curled in on himself, gasping softly through his teeth.
Link sighed. "Do you need a hand up?"
Captain didn't seem to hear; he slowly got to his feet and Link did the same, his hand still outstretched. Captain looked at it and hesitated, then shook his head.
"Thank you," he said. "But… I can manage." He sighed. "At least for now."
"You… don't like me touching you, do you? Is it pain?"
"It's… not. But I'd rather not discuss it." Captain looked away.
Again, Link reflected that he was keeping his own secrets. He turned away and scooped up the cultist's bow; it had loosed two arrows at a time with good aim; that wasn't something to be sneezed at in a spare bow and he slung it on his back beside his own. Next to it there were a few sparkling rupees and he grabbed those too with a satisfied hiss.
"All right, ready," he said. After a moment he sighed, his conscience pricking him, and held out the rupees. "Let's split these."
Captain smiled fleetingly and accepted one. Link returned his smile, then nodded towards the onward road. Captain nodded back with a weary sigh and they started walking again.
It was well past midnight and they were both drooping with tiredness when suddenly their feet were on hard soil. Around the next outcrop of rock, they found a gap in the cliff, with a step up about three feet. Link grinned at Captain and crouched to offer him a leg up.
"Wait," said Captain, waving him back. Carefully, he peered around the corner. Link waited, watching him carefully.
"I can see a building. A large tent, rather. It's lit and there are people and fires." Captain frowned. "It looks safe enough."
"Then what's the problem?" asked Link.
Captain sighed. "The last person I approached because they looked safe was a cultist."
Link could understand that concern. He crouched to peer over the ledge without revealing himself too much. As Captain had said, the cheerily-lit tent looked tempting, but it was true that strangers weren't always to be trusted.
But then he looked sidelong at the injured hylian beside him. The biting cold of the desert and the danger of monsters were not to be underestimated in that state. They couldn't just carry on as they were.
"But… we need help," said Captain, echoing Link's own thoughts. "And directions. I have no idea where we are and I assume you don't either."
Link chuckled. "That's the story of my life."
Captain smiled slightly at him. "I'm afraid it's not the story of mine. And it's been… a long few days. I want to know where we are."
Link tried to ignore the warmth that came from being included in "we". He wasn't used to having a companion. He glanced at Captain's hand. It was hidden by the scarf supporting his wrist, but Link knew the triple mark was there and he smiled to himself. It felt good to have a brother.
***
Link looked again at the strangely-shaped tent in front of him. It had a huge crest like a horse's head, unlike anything else he'd ever seen, and that just added to his feeling of anxiety and disorientation. But he'd meant what he'd said: brightly lit, with a campfire outside, people milling about, it looked safe.
He knew he couldn't trust appearances, but he'd also meant it when he said that they needed help. Despite the fruit he'd eaten, he was achingly hungry. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the campfire. He wasn't sure how long his legs would keep holding him. He was cold and exhausted and there was Thunder to consider; he'd spent his strength helping Link and now needed a chance to recover.
Warmth. A place to rest. Surely somewhere to refill their water bottles. Possibly some real food. Maybe even a trustworthy bonesetter, if they were very lucky.
It was worth the risk.
He took a deep breath - grateful to be able to do it again - and nodded. "Let's go."
Thunder gave him a boost up onto the ledge, saving him a difficult and painful scramble, and together they started up the road towards the building.
It was obvious when they were seen. A couple of people waved greetings, then someone let out an exclamation of surprise.
"What happened?"
"They're hurt -"
A couple of people ran over, but Link drew back from attempts to offer him support. After everything that had happened, he was in no mood for letting anyone put their hands on him, no matter how much his body was crying out to be allowed to lean on someone else and rest.
His breath caught in his chest with a sudden longing for home and the friends who understood him and knew how to help him.
"What happened?" asked one of the strangers. More were joining them now: what felt like a dozen faces crowding round, staring at them.
Link shook his head slightly, struggling to find his voice. Thunder started to answer for him, but the welcoming strangers didn't wait for a response.
"Come over to the fire," said one of the others.
"Go put the kettle on."
"Does anyone know what to do about -"
Then one of those who had stepped up beside him cried out, jerking away as if burned.
"Is that a -"
Someone swore. Silence fell like a stone. Those around them drew back, whispering among themselves. The transformation was so sudden that Link instinctively stepped closer to Thunder to protect him, just in case.
"All right," said the one who seemed to be a spokesman, though he had also stepped back and Link noticed that his body language had gone guarded. "Everyone, give them space. And you two… All right. Come and sit down."
They were led over to the fire and the welcoming party formed a little huddle in the entrance to the tent, talking amongst themselves and watching as Link unhitched the sword Thunder had found for him. He'd been carrying it awkwardly at his belt rather than across his back, and he laid it beside him, within easy reach. Thunder sat down next to him with a sigh, rubbing his eyes.
"Are you all right?" he asked quietly.
Thunder nodded. "Tired," he said. He pulled out a couple more bananas, peeling the first and handing it to Link, then starting on his own.
Link looked across the fire. The group opposite was still watching them warily. There was no more talk of hot drinks or the fact that he was hurt.
"I don't know how long we'll be able to rest here," he murmured. "Try to nap while you can."
"What about you?"
Now he was sitting down by a warm fire, Link felt ready to collapse. He sighed. "I'll wake you when I can't keep my eyes open any more."
Thunder nodded. "If I can restore my magic, I can do something about your wrist," he said.
It would be a relief to be able to use his dominant hand again and Captain nodded gratefully. "Sleep," he said. "I'll keep watch."
Thunder nodded and shifted to lie down, curled up small with his feet towards the fire, his head pillowed on his arm. Link continued to eat, still watching the group outside the building. He'd expected more curiosity, even if not hostility. And there was no hostility; they seemed afraid.
That wasn't a comfort. Link lowered his half-eaten banana and closed his eyes for a moment, turning his attention to his own magic. It wouldn't last long - his magic was suited for combat, not endurance, and best channelled through weapons - but Impa had taught him a few techniques to overcome exhaustion for a little while. With a sigh, he began to draw on his magic, feeding it into the sinews of his body in threads as thin as he could manage. It didn't do much for how he felt, but if he needed to fight he would be able to.
With that done, he dragged his eyes open again and looked back at the little group of civilians.
They stared back in silence.
At last, a man walked out of the building and sat down opposite him, looking him up and down.
"We don't want any trouble," he said carefully.
Link swallowed the last bite of banana, breathing slowly as he tried to also swallow down the anxiety that had yet again closed a hand around his throat. "Nor do we," he managed at last. Another dry swallow. He was grateful once again for the melon they'd found or this would have been even harder. "We've had… more than… enough t-trouble." With another effort, desperately missing Proxi, he asked, "What… is this place?"
The man looked surprised at the question. "The Gerudo Canyon Stable," he said.
That didn't really mean anything to Link, but the man clearly expected that it would and he neither had the energy to force out unnecessary words nor wanted to advertise the fact that he was a complete stranger to the area, so he nodded. He couldn't see much in the way of a stable, but the place clearly had some association with horses, judging by the crest.
He was sure the looks he and Thunder were still getting came from fear, not enmity, or at least not enmity directed at them, but fear could still be a strong motivation towards betrayal. No, regrettably there would be no rest here. The question was how to get out safely.
If he was in another era, as it seemed, he wanted to find a reliable local ally. Unfortunately, he didn't know who to look for.
Well, his captors had been searching for a hero, so that seemed like a good start.
"Do you… know of… the hero?" he asked slowly. "Where…"
The man had looked nervous before, but at that his eyes blew wide for a second and the colour drained from his face. Link faltered into silence.
"I… N-no," the man said. "I don't know where he is." He added something else, spoken in a quick slur of syllables.
"Say again, please? Th' last… p-part?"
The man swallowed hard, but said more clearly, "He… doesn't come through here often."
"All right," said Link carefully. "Well… let us refill… our water bottles… We'll be on our way." Without any real food, medical help, or sleep despite the fact that it's the middle of the night and you can see we're in need of them, he thought bitterly, but didn't say.
Proxi would have said it for herself.
If the man noticed any undertones in his words, he didn't acknowledge them, just nodded with a relieved look. "There's a pump at the back of the stable." He shot a glance at Link's arm resting in its makeshift sling. "And…" For a moment he wavered, his gaze travelling up the welts and bruises on Link's bare arms to those on his face. Link held still, despite his discomfort with being looked up and down like that. He didn't know what the man was afraid of or who he thought they were, but giving himself a chance to be humanised could only help.
But the man sighed. "I… wish you good luck on your journey."
Link nodded. "Thank you," he said, keeping an iron grip on the sarcasm he wanted to let into his tone.
The man nodded, then scrambled up and hurried away, half turned to keep an eye on Link.
No time to waste, but Link couldn't help a sigh as he reached out to shake Thunder's foot.
The young hero woke quickly, startling up, his hand flying to the hilt of his sword.
"Captain?" he murmured.
"Have to go," said Link.
Thankfully, Thunder didn't ask questions. He got up and helped Link to his feet, eyes on the tent.
"There's apparently… a… p-pump around the… b-back." Link swallowed. "We get water… and go."
They hurried as best they could around the back of the tent, both keeping watch in case of an ambush. But there was nothing - just the small hand pump the man had promised.
Thunder tapped Link's arm as he started to approach and beckoned him to lean down slightly.
"I said, can we trust the water?" he whispered, enunciating clearly in Link's ear.
"I assume… it's the one… they use." Now they were on the move again and there was no more overt sign of a threat, his voice was coming back under control.
Together, they crossed to it and Link worked the handle carefully while Thunder held their water bottles under the thin stream of water.
Suddenly, Thunder pointed. Link followed his finger and hissed through his teeth as he saw a rider cantering away up the canyon. Probably no more than a traveller going about his business, but perhaps the preparation of an ambush.
"Well," he murmured, "We can stay here, t-try for the… oasis and risk whatever we… face on the way, or go on."
"Go on," said Thunder. "I've seen enough of the desert."
Link couldn't help a smile, though he knew it probably looked more like a grimace. "Agreed."
Working on the design for Dawn (TP!Zelda) from my Linkmeet, Word of Wisdom. She has permanent facial markings from being puppeted but normally covers them with makeup because they're nothing but bad memories.
General (HWDE!Zelda) from my Linkmeet Word of Wisdom, encountering the lightning in Akkala. She thinks she has been denied critical need-to-know information about this situation.
Then a sudden glowing, golden warmth sparked in the back of Link's hand, spreading like sunshine through his aching arm.
His heart skipped a beat.
He knew that feeling.
The Triforce of Courage.
The enemy were stumbling back. Link managed to raise his head enough to look around, ignoring the one still standing over him with the knife, and saw a new golden glow a few feet away in a rapidly-emptying space. He kept watching, holding his breath, his pulse racing in his ears, as the glow swirled and coalesced into the small, slim figure of a young man, clad in green.
The breath left him in something almost like a shocked sob.
The soul of the hero.
An illustration for the latest entry in my Linkmeet Word of Wisdom. Captain (HW!Link) has been going through it at the hands of the Yiga Clan, but unintentionally summons help.
So it went on. Link lost time more than once between interrogations of one kind or another. Now he refused them his name and rank even when he could talk; he knew they had him by mistake and things might get worse if he confirmed his identity.
He didn't know who they were really looking for.
He barely had the energy to care.
Some other hero. The hero of this unfamiliar era he'd been brought to. He'd never encountered such a thing, but he vaguely remembered Fi saying something about it. That he wasn't the master, but he was a master. And he knew about the soul of the hero. There had to be others.
He didn't know what he hoped to achieve, if he thought he could protect that other possible hero, but he had to try. He had to try.
At last he lay on the floor of the cell, another interrogator's voice humming at the edge of his awareness. The pitch was too low for him to hear it properly at the best of times and he didn't try. Right now, he was close to drifting on the edge of awareness anyway, exhausted and hungry and thirsty and almost beyond even pain.
But not quite; he yelped as a booted kick landed on an already-cracked rib. Despite his best efforts, a sob slipped out. He was so tired.
Indistinct voices. A vague sense of motion. Then, suddenly, he was grabbed and dragged to his knees. He moaned softly, too worn out to keep himself quiet, but dragged his bruised eyes open and forced himself to raise his head. They'd wrung screams and tears out of him, but in the moments in between he still tried hard to keep the best dignified, quietly defiant front he could. He was a captain of the Royal Guard. He could do his best to hold onto that even here.
They weren't looking at him; he guessed they were talking amongst themselves, though he couldn't hear them. He sighed, biting back a wince as pain clawed up his side. Perhaps that kick had broken that rib.
Then his ankles were untied and he was dragged to his feet. His head swam. His vision went spotty as he stumbled, his legs unable to support his weight.
They didn't wait for him to recover, dragging him through the door of the cell at a fumbling walk. He struggled to keep his feet; he really didn't want to fall and risk being dragged.
Slowly, he became aware in the back of his mind that they hadn't blindfolded him.
That probably wasn't good.
But he tried to make the best of it, tried to keep his head up and his eyes open even as he struggled to keep walking and not fall. If he could get more of an idea of the layout of this place, maybe he could use that. Maybe…
He tried to ignore the pain and exhaustion and hunger that told him he had very little chance of fighting his way out even if he could get his hands on a weapon.
A quick pull on his arm jostled his broken wrist, sending more spots across his vision.
His hand on a weapon.
With that thought in mind, he was shocked when they dragged him out into a wide-open space bathed in sunlight from a large open door. He gasped, hope suddenly flaring, but as his eyes grew accustomed to the light the hope faded again. The room was full of the maroon-clad soldiers.
There was an indistinct murmur of voices, then he was pulled forward again. He hissed as pain flared through his ribs and his vision stuttered, but it came back in time for them to shove him down on a raised platform that he suddenly, horribly realised was an altar.
He gasped and tried to struggle, trying to sit up, but they barely even had to try to pin him down, their hands clutching at his body, holding him down and his breath caught in his throat as he tried to twist free, no longer even caring about the altar or the torture he'd already suffered or the unknown hero he hoped to protect, only caring that he was being held down…
But he couldn't get free, not outnumbered and exhausted and injured. He could hear a vague tangle of shouting voices as his wrists were untied, then his arms were dragged out to the sides despite a cry of pain he couldn't hold back as his stiff shoulders were moved. Another rope tightened around his broken wrist and he gasped, fighting to stay conscious. He had to stay conscious. Even if there was nothing he could do, he would at least face what was about to happen with his eyes open.
Panting shallowly, he looked up as a tall, powerfully-built figure with a spiked headdress he'd never seen before stepped up to stand over him, the sunlight gleaming on a knife in his hand. Link gritted his teeth.
Once again, it was clear what was going to happen.
The enemy - priest? Leader? It hardly mattered now - looked around at the crowd and raised his voice enough for even Link to hear clearly.
"If the ancient myths are true, this will bring back our lord and master!"
There was a cheer.
"And even if they are not, the world will be rid of one more of his foes!"
Link swallowed, keeping his eyes open, thinking of his home. His people. Proxi. Zelda.
He wished he could see her again and know she was safe.
At least he'd done all he could to protect whoever this cult was really looking for.
At least he could make sure his last thoughts were of those he loved.
The man looming over him was hesitating, knife raised, head tilted more like a curious child than a murderer.
Then a sudden glowing, golden warmth sparked in the back of Link's hand, spreading like sunshine through his aching arm.
His heart skipped a beat.
He knew that feeling.
The Triforce of Courage.
The enemy were stumbling back. Link managed to raise his head enough to look around, ignoring the one still standing over him with the knife, and saw a new golden glow a few feet away in a rapidly-emptying space. He kept watching, holding his breath, his pulse racing in his ears, as the glow swirled and coalesced into the small, slim figure of a young man, clad in green.
The breath left him in something almost like a shocked sob.
The soul of the hero.
The glow suddenly vanished, leaving the hero still standing there. For a moment everything was still, then he opened his eyes, meeting Link's desperate gaze.
His face twisted, lips drawing back from his teeth, and his hand flashed to the sword hilt poking over his shoulder.
The leader yelled a panicked order. A flash in the corner of Link's eye made him look up just in time to see the knife descending towards him. He gasped and tried to twist to the side, but couldn't move enough…
Then the knife flicked aside, striking the stone by his face, and the hero appeared in his field of view, slashing the leader's chest open in a spray of blood. He jumped up onto the altar and straddled Link, sending one more quick, terrified jolt across his frayed nerves. He saw the hero's lips move as he raised a hand and just made out "- catch the edge … sorry -"
Area attack, Link realised. He nodded.
The hero snapped his fingers and lightning seared down from the ceiling, making Link flinch again but helping him focus and stay present. A tingle of electricity ran up his outstretched limbs, but nothing more. Around them, cultists dropped, flailing and twitching as the lightning raced through them, but Link and the hero were safe in the centre.
Then there was stillness.
The hero nodded briskly and jumped down to the floor. Link watched as he went to his left wrist and winced, looking at the swollen, misshapen joint.
He asked something, but Link was too tired and shaken to fully hear him and the words to explain or to question stuck in his throat.
When he didn't reply, the hero repeated himself more loudly. "Can you hear me?"
He nodded.
"Are you hurt apart from… what I can see?"
Link looked down at himself in the sunlight pouring through the door. His skin was a patchwork of bruises, cuts, burns, and welts. As the adrenaline started to fade, the pain was rushing back. He let his head fall back.
"Hey!" A hand patted his cheek and he flinched despite himself. "You there?"
He took a deep breath and managed to force out, "A moment…"
"OK. Hold on." The rope on his right wrist loosened and he drew his arm in with a groan. Then his left wrist was freed, a little more carefully, and he opened his eyes as the hero hurried to untie his legs. Trembling, he pushed himself up on his right elbow, trying to ignore the pain in his ribs and gut that only intensified as he moved.
"Easy," said the hero, looking up. "You're a mess and it'll slow us down more if you pass out."
Link nodded and sighed with relief as the last knot parted. "I… it's painful, but… I think… superficial…" he managed slowly. "I… My hearing is… bad. Speak… clearly."
"Oh! OK." The hero came to offer him a hand to help him sit up and ease to the edge of the altar. "I can try and heal you, but it's harder to cast it on someone else."
His voice was quick, his words running together despite his clear effort to speak distinctly, but as long as they were facing each other Link could manage.
"Save… the magic."
The hero nodded. "Well, we'd best find something for you to wear; you can't go out in the wilderness in nothing but skin."
"My gear… somewhere…" He coughed. "Don't know where." His throat was starting to loosen, to his relief.
"What am I looking for?"
"Green tunic and hat. Much like… much like yours. Chain mail. Gorget, spaulder and vambraces. Blue scarf."
The hero nodded and handed him a water bottle. "Small sips," he warned. Then he hurried off to start peeking behind the curtains Link now saw around the open room.
Normally, he'd not drink from a bottle handed to him by a stranger, but hearing the slosh of liquid just reignited his thirst.
It was the gift of another hero, summoned by the triforce. Perhaps embodied by the triforce.
He opened the bottle and sipped, restraining himself with an effort to only a mouthful: enough to wet his throat without his body rejecting it.
"You're in luck!" called the hero, hurrying back with an armload of green and blue, Link's boots perched on top. "They were in a chest in that storeroom." As he continued talking, his words blurred together, but he set down the clothes and Link took a deep breath, reaching for the tunic. He wasn't looking forward to cloth against his welted back or forcing his broken wrist down a sleeve, so he wasn't going to bother with the shirt, let alone the armour for now, but he did need something.
He'd pushed past pain before. He could do it again.
"My name's Link, by the way," said the hero.
Link couldn't help a laugh, though it rapidly cut off in a groan. "Mine too," he said.
The hero blinked, staring at him. For the first time, Link noticed that his eyelids shimmered as if he was wearing eyeshadow, but the green was iridescent like a fairy's wings.
"Well," he said, folding his arms. "We can't both be Link."
"Call me Captain," said Link wearily. "If you don't mind, I'll call you Thunder."
The hero grinned. "Thunder. I like it. All right." He rubbed his forehead with the heel of one hand, glancing around, "Well, you get dressed. I'll scare up some weapons for you and see how much of the food in that storeroom I can stash away, then we need to get out of here."
Link nodded, braced himself, and started to ease his arm down the first sleeve.
He was alive. That was already more than he'd expected. And he had an ally. They could figure it out from here.
Link had had a very pleasant journey. The weather had been sunny the whole way and he'd been able to travel across country to finally paraglide down to the Duelling Peaks stable.
"Hello, there, Traveller!" called Tasseren, waving as Link approached. "It's good to see you. I thought you were teleporting in yesterday when the shrine lit up, but when you never appeared I wondered if something had happened to you."
Link nodded. 'Traveller' wasn't a nickname he liked, since members of the Yiga clan tended to introduce themselves that way, but it applied well enough to him. "The queen said something similar happened in Hatano," he said. "I'm on my way to Kakariko to ask if the Sheikah know anything about it."
Tasseren nodded. "You'll be wanting a horse, I assume?"
"Yes. Bristle, please." Bristle was fast and could maintain a steady trot across a good distance, so would be useful if Link did end up having to go to Akkala.
"Right." Tasseren tapped the ledger. "Sit tight and we'll get her ready for you."
Link nodded and looked around as he waited, his eyes straying up the towering mountain overhead. It had been a little while since he'd last climbed the Duelling Peaks and he smiled slightly as he thought of the view from the top: worth every bite of the snowy chill.
"Here we go," said Tasseren, bringing Link back to the present. He looked round and smiled as the man handed him the reins of the tall, rangy chestnut.
"Thanks," he said and sprang on. "Hopefully I'll be back before long."
"Safe travels, Link!" called Tasseren as he stepped back. Link urged Bristle on towards the road to Kakariko.
***
As soon as Link passed the wooden arches that marked the entryway to the village and slowed Bristle to a trot, he could tell something was happening. There was a tense feeling in the air and Nanna wasn't in her usual spot by the campfire beside the road. He frowned and stood up in his stirrups to see a little further as he continued to trot down the road.
Then, as soon as he entered the village square, Cado ran to meet him.
"Link!" he exclaimed. "You came quickly."
"Did the shrine glow here too?" he asked as he dismounted. "The queen asked me to come and speak to Impa about it; it happened in Hatano and at the stable."
"More than that," said Cado. "We've got visitors. A group of hylians were teleported into the middle of the village at the same time as the shrine lit up."
Link stared at him, not quite sure he'd heard correctly. "To the shrine?" he echoed.
"No. Right here where we're standing. Four women and a little girl, all called Zelda."
Link _stared_, his words entirely gone.
Cado winced. "I think you'd better come and meet them."
Link was still confused, but he followed Cado to Impa's house and up the stairs.
As soon as they opened the door, they were greeted by a tangle of voices. Link couldn't help drawing back a little, startled and still unaccustomed to being around large groups of people.
But the doorway was still a good place to stand to observe. There were several women in Impa's main receiving room, two of them talking over each other as they leaned over a map, two others sketching on a slate, scribbling and writing and erasing what they'd drawn. As Cado had mentioned, a girl was standing on her toes, also looking at the map, ignoring the others around her. She was the first one to notice Link and Cado in the doorway and she smiled a welcome, giving them a friendly wave. Link instinctively waved back.
"Hey!" the girl called, half turning and waving a hand in the air. "Hey, we've got visitors!"
Their discussions and arguments fell silent and five pairs of eyes were suddenly locked on Link. He waved again, suddenly tongue-tied. He hadn't been the focus of attention like this since he had liberated Vah Ruta and King Dorephan had called the whole of Zora's Domain together to celebrate.
"This is Link," said Cado.
"H-Hello," he managed this time.
One of the women who had been looking at the slate stepped forward and bowed her head slightly. "It's nice to meet you," she said, though she was looking him up and down in a way that suggested he wasn't what she'd expected. He was slightly used to that. "I'm Queen Zelda, but you had better call me General."
"Nice to meet you," he said.
"This is Queen Zelda, called Dawn," she said, pointing to the brunette who had been looking at the map. Link waved at her. "Princess Zelda, called Ocarina." He managed another wave, feeling increasingly awkward. "Princess Zelda, called Firework." That was the little girl. She gave him a big grin. "And Zelda, called Harper."
"I'm Link," he said redundantly. "Called… Link."
She smiled tightly. "You're the hero, then?"
He nodded.
***
Zelda wasn't sure what she'd been expecting, but it hadn't been the small, lean teenage boy standing in front of her. She knew the heroes through the ages were usually young and her Link wasn't that far out of adolescence, the same as her, but it seemed almost unfair to lay the fate of a world on this child.
But if he was the hero she could do her best to have faith in him.
She beckoned him over to the map and Harper and Ocarina came over to join them.
"We were brought here by magic," she told him.
Link had been staring at Harper, eyes wide, apparently also aware of the strange aura that lingered around her. But when Zelda spoke to him he blinked and focused.
"Yes," he said. "Cado said you appeared in the middle of the village."
She nodded. "So… has such a thing happened before?"
"I… don't know," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I can use Sheikah technology to teleport, but only to Shrines and other travel gates."
Zelda remembered Impa mentioning that Link used Sheikah skills but wasn't a Sheikah himself and wasn't the person who knew most about it.
"What does it look like when you use it?" asked Ocarina. "I have some knowledge of Sheikah skills but have never heard of teleportation."
"Can you show us?" asked Firework, her eyes bright.
To Zelda's surprise, Link's eyes went wide with unmistakable fear. "No!" he said. Then, more steadily, "No. I can't. I… haven't used it since Zelda sealed Calamity Ganon. I… don't know if I… can any more."
"Well, then, can you describe it?" asked Dawn. Where her hand rested on the table, Zelda noticed it had gone tense.
"I'm surrounded by blue lights," said Link. "Then… it's hard to describe. I kind of… become the lights and then… I'm wherever I was going. It only takes a second or two."
It sounded exactly like what Zelda had experienced and she looked around the others, meeting Ocarina's and Harper's eyes.
Link looked carefully at them. "What happened to all of you?" he asked. "As far as I know I'm the only one who's ever been able to use the Sheikah technology to teleport, but there are travel gates at the research labs, so I can't be the only person who has ever done it." He touched something that looked like a small stone block hanging at his hip. "Zelda - my… the queen - she and Purah have been working on trying to understand more about it; Purah said she installed the travel gate because there was one at their old lab but nobody had used it before."
Zelda thought wistfully of her own Link and his training in giving clear, concise reports.
"What you're describing is similar to what I experienced," said Ocarina. "Swirling blue lights that… consumed me."
Dawn's grip on the table had tightened and she nodded once. Firework shuddered, her eyes going distant. Link looked around at them, vividly-blue eyes wide. Then he looked down.
"The first time I teleported it was… alarming," he said. "I got used to it, but I do still remember." After a moment, he added, "I'm sorry. I don't know much more about it, but give me some time and I can find you people who do."
Appearance: Short (though a couple of inches taller than Wander) and slender. Not particularly physically strong - that's part of what spending a hundred years without a body will do for you - but she's gaining stamina and strength as she runs back and forth between Wander's house, where she's living, and the ancient tech lab. Waist-length hair when it's loose, but she normally keeps it braided up out of the way. When in Hateno, she wears a locally-made dress so she doesn't stick out, but she has her own Hylian outfit for travel, the tunic dyed blue.
Some character notes: Trying to carve out who she is independent of her magic, destiny, and duty, and as a result she's inclined to reject her role as Queen of Hyrule, or at least to delay a decision. Everyone knows who she is at least by reputation, though.
Appearance: Short and slim, but wiry; scruffy shoulder-length hair, worn loose; fair complexion and very vivid light-blue eyes; prefers his hylian tunic (dyed green for better camouflage and totally not because he felt unconsciously drawn to wear a green tunic) but does wear the Champion's Tunic for special occasions and when he's in his role as Zelda's Knight.
Some character notes: Generally cheerful, but can be prickly if pressed. Still trying to work out who he is separate from who his predecessor was and this is one of the things that can make him prickly. Independent and doesn't think he needs any mentoring, least of all from knights from other worlds.
