"YOU HAVE finally done it Link," the King of Red Lions said, "you have found it."

"Yes," he said. He was extremely tired.

The carved figurehead smiled slightly. "Retrench yourself. You have great ability with you now, but it does not make you invincible, and will not last forever."

"I really have it," Link asked, "the triforce of courage?"

"Yes," the king said. "You have done well. You have truly exemplified the virtue, and persevered through all you have faced."

Link breathed, timid at the whole situation.

"Kneel on the earth," the king said.

Link did so.

"From henceforth," the king said, "by the people of Hylia, by the races of this world, by all of your ancestors and descendants, you shall be known as the Hero of Winds."

A fierce breeze struck him, yet it didn't feel forceful. It flowed around him, enveloping him with energy. It... it felt like... singing.

The challenger has come.

All is lost. All is won.

The sliver of the past is in his hands,

Yet his prize he shall not have,

but he shall have rare power,

To bring forth a world renewed,

shall bring the goddesses again to light,

but will cause their past to disappear into memory.

It shall vanish on the wind.

He shall vanish on the wind.

Link took a sharp breath. He felt the wind fly into him, shaking his bones with an energy nearly as great as the moment that he first obtained the triforce.

"How do you feel?" Tetra asked.

"I... "

He saw worry on their faces.

"I feel... great. I feel... it isn't just an energy, a vigor in me. It is something more. A passion, a striving, a motivation. I feel ready. Ready to final fight Ganondorf."

That was true, of course. But there was something, something in that wind that unnerved him. He recognized the words. They were very similar to something in the Codex of Time. He would have to return to it, and study what it said.

"I am straining my power greatly to project myself here Link," the king said. "And I feel it crushed even further. Ganondorf knows you have the triforce of courage. He is waiting. He expects you to fail."

"And I expect to win."

It was almost surprising to him. There was not even the slightest hesitance in him. He was not going to allow for doubt.

"What now?" Tetra asked.

"Nothing remains," the king said. "But Ganondorf is gathering his army. He is not prideful fool. He will not simply let you walk up to him. He won't feel unsatisfied if you are killed by one of his creatures. He simply wants to accomplish his goals."

"I think there's an important question that needs to be answered though," Medli said. "Where even is he?"

"Yeah," Link said, "Valoo torched him alive."

"He's withdrawn," the King of Red Lions said, "to his tower fortress beneath the sea. He's no longer trying to mask his presence. He's trying to crush me."

"We will come up with a plan of attack," Link said. "Save your rest King Daphnes. Thank you."

"May courage's wind be at your back," the king said, "Nayru's waves carry you above tribulation, and Din's Power cast asunder the obstacles in your path."

The figurehead became rigid and lifeless once again.

Tetra glanced to him.

"How on earth did you figure out that it was in the shield?"

"I'm not sure," he said, "I just made the connection all of a sudden."

"How did the ancient triforce even find its way on such an old, splintery -"

"Watch it," Link chided. "I don't know that either. But I can only thank Farore for putting it where I needed it."

Link took a deep breath, still trying to calm his body down from the exhausting experience he'd just endured. He glanced out at the ocean, out towards where the Tower of the Gods, and the path to old Hyrule lay.

"What do you desire of me in your coming fight?" Medli asked.

"We will be traveling to a dangerous land of ancient monsters and magic," Link said. "I will not be taking anyone there who does not need to be."

"Then I will return to my people." She picked up her small travel pack from the King of Red Lions. "I will tell them of the great task you are undertaking for them. For all of us."

"And what are you doing tree trunk?" Tetra said to Makar.

"Tree trunk? How uncreative," Makar said. "I must continue floating on the wind, traveling between the islands, planting the forests of the great sea."

"Good luck to you both," Link said.

Medli smirked, and snorted a slight laugh. "If there is anyone throughout the whole sea, and the continental lands that needs luck, it is you two."

"Fools rely on luck," Tetra said. "True warriors need only skill."

"Then stay skilled warriors," Medli said. She flapped her wings, hovering off the ground. "Bring the light of the full Triforce to this land once again."

"Goodbye Link and Tetra," Makar said. "Thank you. Thank you for bringing a time of heroes and heroines back to our world."

Medli and Makar ascended into the sky. One glided intentionally, acrobatically in a specific direction. The other drifted aimlessly, slowly carried away by the currents on the wind.

*****

Link and Tetra took turns at the tiller as the other slept. They were both very tired by the time they arrived at a small isle to stay the night and forage for some supplies.

It was dark out, as Tetra walked onto the beach with their canteens filled. Link sat next to the fire, reading the Codex.

"What are you looking at?" she asked, sitting next to him.

He closed the volume, and looked up to see the flames of the fire dancing in her eyes.

"Something happened Tetra, when King Daphnes declared me to be the hero of winds. The wind... it seemed to sing around me."

"Sing...?"

"Yes," he said, "ju - "

"Just like in the Codex," she finished for him.

"Exactly."

"What does it mean?"

"I don't know. I'm not sure if its referring to me or not."

"You are...," she trailed off for a moment. "You are the successor to the hero of time."

Link slightly chilled for a moment, but as he was striving to do more, he did not let it bother him. He had chosen this. He was not greater or worse than other Hylians. It was simply the lot he'd been given in life.

"'The challenger has come...'," he recalled. "Different from the original text. Then, 'all is lost, all is won'. I'm not sure what that means. 'The sliver of the past is in his hands' - obviously the master sword - 'but he shall have rare power, to bring forth a world renewed, shall bring the goddesses again to light, but will cause their past to disappear into memory. It shall vanish on the wind. He shall vanish on the wind.'"

"Hmmm," Tetra hummed, thinking.

"Is it something I need to understand?" he said. "Or is it just some spiritual fanfare? Like is described in other places in the Codex?"

"Everything in the Codex has meaning Link," Tetra said. "But I agree, this is difficult to understand."

"Why though...," he said, anxiety creeping in, despite his efforts, "does it say I will vanish on the wind? Why... why would I leave? Am I going to be like the hero of time? Leave when my people need me most?"

"Calm down," Tetra said, "just concentrate on the battle ahead."

"I'm not going to leave the great sea," Link ignored her words, "I'm going to remain loyal to the Hylian people."

"What if the goddesses ask you to leave though?" Tetra asked.

Link was silent. He didn't know what to say. Could he really leave if the goddesses commanded it? Was that what was best for the people? If he defeated Ganondorf, he could protect the people of the great sea. He could defend them from any other evil that might rise up.

But he was unsure. He was in the dark. The goddesses had proved to him that they were on his side, that they would help him. But when it came to the decision, would he have the strength to... to just vanish without a trace?

It was unknown what happened to the ancient hero. Some legends claimed he used the powers of time to travel away from Hyrule for some greater work he had to do. Others claimed he simply left Hyrule, and retired, hiding from his fame. Still others thought he'd never actually left, and was a coward hiding from the people when they needed him.

Link wasn't sure which one he'd end up being.

"Link?"

"Sorry," he said.

"Focus on now," Tetra said. "Obsessing about things in the future you cannot control will only weaken your ability to act in the present - trust me, I speak from experience."

"What do you think will become of you Tetra?" Link asked. "What will the goddesses do with us if we defeat Ganondorf?"

"Don't use words like 'if' mr. hero," she said. "But I don't know. Whatever they have in store for us, it can't be more difficult than this, right?"

Link looked down at the cracking fire. The flames were dying out, and coals glowed softly.

"Ganondorf will be dead," Link thought aloud. "What harm would come upon the people if I had to leave for some reason?"

Tetra grunted in frustration. "You don't know any of this Link. You're obsessing over something you don't understand. You're applying the life of a man who lived a thousand years ago to your own."

"Tetra," Link said, "that is the point of the Codex. We -"

"You know what I mean Link. You are directly thinking that the same circumstances he experienced apply to you too. We don't know that. King Daphnes has said that Ganondorf is much weaker than he was a thousand years ago. His grip on Din's power is tenuous. We can end him once and for all. You can return to your family victorious, and live out a happy life."

Link was quiet again, as he thought over her words. He hoped she was right. Gerudo, he hoped she was right.

"What about you?" he asked, "what will you do?"

"You're trying to bait me," she frowned, "you're trying to figure out if I'll turn back as soon as this - "

"Tetra," he interrupted her, "no. I... it is your choice who you want to be. I don't want you to hurt people though. I think it hurts you too."

She sighed. "I don't want to go back to robbing people. Well, I don't want to go back to robbing people who don't deserve it. There are plenty who deserve it though... but I don't know what I want to do with my life. You have a home, and a family. I have my crew, but no home to speak of. I don't have much of a purpose either."

Link put a hand on her shoulder.

"Whatever you decide to make of yourself, if you need an island to moor your ship for the night, I will make sure you are welcome at Outset."

"I appreciate that," Tetra said.

They both looked down at the fire. The conversation had lost its momentum, and neither had much more to say. Link wished he could say something. Say to Tetra that she could find purpose in life. But he wasn't sure how much purpose he had himself.

He'd always assumed he would grow up, marry, raise children, grow old, and then die on Outset island. He hadn't ever really considered this "little interruption" ever happening. But it had changed him, the months he'd traveled the sea. He had met so many different people, seen so many different places.

Link surprisingly found an uncomfortable feeling. Something about that life on Outset, that simple, carefree life... it felt... small, to him.

Tetra left the fire, and walked over to where she'd laid her bedroll - a good ways away from his, on the other side of a rock, out of his view. He tried not to take offense at her intentionally large separation.

As Link went to his own bedroll and readied to sleep himself, he couldn't shake that unpleasant feeling. That feeling of being unsatisfied. Never had his home resided in his mind, except being equated with joy, peace, comfort, and family.

Of all the concerning things he'd felt this night, that was the one he feared the most.