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Art by Brandon Dunn on Artstation

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I shivered and hugged myself closer to the wall of the cliff side. Cursing, I pulled my cloak around myself tightly. I stared up the snowy cliff side to see Link struggling to pull himself over the ledge, the torch that had allowed us passage so far lay in a drift of snow near his elbows. "Come on, Kid! I need that torch before I freeze to death!" He slipped a bit and I cringed. "You alright?" He grunted with effort and finally reached the top of the cliff side, shivering as he picked up the fallen torch. "Yea, hurry up and get up here! The next shrine isn't far." I reached upward and began to climb, soon finding myself in the same predicament as Link was in seconds before. I sighed and looked up, seeing Link extending a hand. He smiled warmly as I took it and he raised me up from the snow. It was hard to believe that we had met just days before this, and I couldn't believe I was aiding someone I should consider a stranger...

But every time I looked at him I felt a pang in my chest, as though my eyes were meeting those of a long time friend. Everything about him seemed so new, yet so familiar, and I couldn't place why. Regardless, I felt entitled to protecting the kid, no matter what crazy adventure he gets himself into.

I held closely to that protective instinct whilst around the boy, as though I knew it was my job to keep him from harm. Otherwise, there'd be no way I'd follow him to the snow-capped peaks of the Great Plateau. After solving the puzzles of the first ancient shrine, we'd returned to the old man. He'd simply told us that we had more "treasure" to find before he'd fork over the paraglider. The treasures to which he was referring were called spirit orbs, and they had been bestowed to Link once we'd completed the shrine. We continued on to fetch two more of the mysterious orbs and we were on the verge of finding the final one. Unfortunately, this orb required us to climb up the snowy cliff sides bordering the Great Plateau, a feat that neither of us cared to do in the light clothing we were wearing.

Once I'd been set on my feet once more, I reached out for the torch. We were nearly to the shrine, and Link would need to use his Sheikah Slate shortly. All of the shrines had required the slate so far, and each taught Link a new skill. Because of this, I hadn't been of much use. There were occasional enemies scattered throughout the shrines, but it was nothing Link couldn't handle. Eventually, we'd elected that I should stay outside and wait for him to complete the puzzles inside. I was a bit put off by this idea at first. I wasn't sure what I'd do if some harm came to Link because I hadn't been by his side, but I knew that I wouldn't be able to aid him much without a Sheikah Slate of my own, so I reluctantly agreed.

Regardless of this setback, I still made myself useful. Often I would gather food or materials whilst Link was in a shrine. I would also kill off any enemy that stalked too close to the entrance. The parts of these monsters, whilst vile when cooked in food, were rather useful for elixirs, such as the one I'd drunk days before to cure the arrow wound in my shoulder. If I couldn't be of help directly at the moment, I could at least keep him well supplied with elixirs and food.

Within minutes, Link emerged from the shrine entrance once more, smiling brightly. I couldn't help but return the gesture as I asked him how it went. "Great! This was the last one." I nodded. "Yep. You did well." He glanced away, smiling at the ground until I placed a hand on his shoulder. "Let's get back then?" He pulled the Sheikah Slate from his hip and selected the tower we'd climbed previously. Soon enough, we had teleported to the top of the tower and we proceeded to search for the old man.

It didn't take long before we heard his voice call out to us. Upon turning, we saw that the old man was gliding towards us on the promised paraglider. He stuck his landing and greeted us. "Ho, Link, (y/n). I see you've collected the last of the spirit orbs." I nodded my head and gave Link a reassuring pat on the shoulder. He sent me a proud smile and I laughed softly at his goofy grin. The old man raised an eyebrow whilst observing our behavior, but said nothing of it. "Well then, I suppose it is finally time to tell you everything. If you'd like to know your stories, then meet me at the point betwixt the four shrines. Do you understand?" I widened my eyes as the man began to shimmer a greenish blue, before disappearing entirely. "I... Will... Meet... You... There..."

Link and I exchanged an incredulous glance as he disappeared and I groaned. "Must he be so cryptic all the time? We solved all his little puzzles already!" Link nodded and sighed. "Well then, let's go get that paraglider." He took my hand and began to walk forward. I tugged my hand back and scoffed. "Hey, kid, I'm not the one who needs their hand held." I spoke firmly as I walked ahead of him. He seemed surprised at first, before laughing at my behavior. "Oh just come on!"

Link had handed me his map. I looked closely at each and marking between the four shrines before finding our destination. "He wants us to meet him at the Temple of Time," I announced. "Let's hurry there." Link agreed as we continued our trek towards the ruinous temple.

Night fell as we entered the temple. Link and I glanced about the wreckage, scanning the area for the old man. I brushed a (h/c) strand of hair from my eyes and looked towards the ceiling. I caught sight of a faint glow from the top of the building. I nudged Link's shoulder and pointed upwards. He groaned. "More climbing?" He said as he searched the temple wall for a proper foothold. I followed suit and we began scaling the stone walls.

I moved ahead of Link and glanced back at him now and again. "Be careful Link, you never know if one of these stones will come loose." He rolled his eyes and sped up his climb, attempting to catch up with me. "I'm fine you don't need to worr---" The stone brick he'd reached for crumbled in his hand as he spoke. My hand shot out subconsciously as I grabbed his wrist, preventing the fall. "No need to worry, huh?" I repeated, annoyed. He mumbled an excuse as we reached the roof.

Link and I walked across the shingles of the temple carefully as we approached the old man. He was still glowing green, like a spectral image projected against the night sky. I edged in front of Link as we stood in front of the man. Link leaned against his bow and panted a bit, trying to catch his breath after the climb. The old man turned to meet our eyes. "I must say, you've done well young ones. You have earned an explanation as to who I truly am." He spoke with an air of regality as he continued his story. "I was King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule. The... Final leader of Hyrule. I'm afraid the kingdom of which we speak, no longer exists." He swung his lantern in front of himself as he spoke and the air glowed a bright green. Link and I shaded our eyes as the old man shimmered, turning into a ghostly King before us. "I am sorry. I had to deceive the both of you as to not overwhelm you. Your memories are still fragile." Link glanced to me. I instantly knew what he was thinking. He had assumed that I had lived here far before we'd met, but truthfully I had only been here for a small number of years. Those years held the extent of my memory. Though I occasionally caught a glimpse of what came before my life here, I could never discern the meaning.

"Allow me to tell you the story of the downfall of Hyrule... Of the war that occurred one hundred years ago."

Link and I listened closely as the King launched into his story, retelling the events of the kingdom's downfall as though the wounds were still fresh in his mind. A great force of evil manifested within Calamity Ganon, and it had risen up to overtake Hyrule. "However, there was a prophecy that gave us hope. It foretold that the forces necessary to vanquish Calamity Ganon lay buried in the ground. Our people saw no alternative, so we began excavating the land. Soon enough, we discovered the Divine Beasts, ancient weapons piloted by warriors. With this came the discovery of the Guardians, an army of mechanical soldiers." Link reached out to me as the King spoke, holding onto my hand gently.

"All of these coincided with what was foretold in legends. Whilst studying those very same legends, we discovered something. There were three people required to vanquish Calamity Ganon alongside the mechanical army." He sighed and looked down to Link and I. "You see, you two did not just stumble across each other by accident. You are two of the three necessary forces." I shook my head. "No, that's not possible..." He waved his hand and silenced me.

"First, we required a princess of sacred power and a knight, appointed by the sword which seals darkness." He glanced to Link as he spoke of the knight. "The task of the knight, however, was far from simple. It required a companion, one to keep evil at bay and trade their life for that of the hero. They were to act as a Guardian Angel." There was something strange about those words. I felt as though I'd heard them before. "One hundred years ago, it appeared as though we'd found the perfect trinity. A princess of great holy power, a skilled knight, and a selfless warrior to aid in the battle. We assured ourselves that they must follow the path of their ancestors. We then selected four skilled individuals from across the land to pilot the Divine Beasts. We named them the Champions, and with their help, we had almost sealed away Ganon."

"But Ganon responded with a plan unimaginable to our armies. He overtook the Guardians and Divine Beasts and turned them against us, effectively dooming the Kingdom to ruin. The Champions were slain, as were the residents of the castle. The Knight sustained devastating wounds, and collapsed whilst defending the princess. His Angel lay vanquished at his feet after taking a near fatal blow in his defense. And with that, Hyrule was destroyed."

"But all was not lost. The princess survived the attack, and continued to face Ganon alone. Her final hope... Still rests with you." Link shook his head in confusion. "Us?" The King nodded. "Yes... The princess Zelda was my own daughter. And you-" He gestured to us, "- are the very same duo who fought for the Princess one hundred years ago. The Angel," he said, gesturing to me, "and the Knight." This time, he turned to Link, who was staring wide eyed. Each of you were taken to a Shrine of Resurrection to revitalize yourself to face Ganon once more."

"But then why was I awoken earlier than Link?" I asked suspiciously. To my surprise, the King only shook his head. "I-I do not know. I believe it must've been a mistake... Or... An attack. You see, only two Shrines of Resurrection can be found in Hyrule. One lay safe, hidden within the Great Plateau. The other was much less secluded. It lay far from the safety of the Plateau. We had to choose which of you stayed in which shrine. I do not know what happened to you whilst you were inside the Shrine, but I am glad to see you alive and well today." I moved my (h/c) hair from my face once more in frustration. I could not remember how I had gotten here. I often saw flashes of bright yellow and masked faces within my mind, but these memories had blended together into an unreadable mess.

I clutched my head as a wave of pain rolled through it. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked over. My eyes met those of a concerned Link, and I immediately felt guilty for worrying him. I shook off my feelings of dread and spoke. "I-I'm sure I'll remember someday... If it truly is that important." The King nodded and continued. "The Princess is still within the castle, fighting off Calamity Ganon. Her power is fading however... The voices you hear in your head, Link, that is her crying for help. Now, I must ask you two something, of which I have no right to ask..." His fists clenched tightly at his sides. "I could not save my kingdom... But please, save my daughter, and do whatever it takes to bring an end to Calamity Ganon."

Link and I took a deep breath before nodding in unison. The King smiled sadly and gave us our instructions. "Ganon has maintained control over the Divine Beasts and Guardians. You will need to take control of the Divine Beasts if you hope to defeat Ganon. Find your way to Kakariko village and meet with the elder, Impa. She will tell you more of your task. Your Sheikah Slate should have the location of the village." I took the slate from Link's belt and admired the map before coming to a realization. "You haven't given Link your paraglider yet..." The King nodded. "Ah, yes, here is the paraglider as promised. You should be able to make your way to the village now." Link grabbed the glider with a smile. "Go. You must save Hyrule..." The King spoke as he faded away.

Link turned to me and exhaled heavily. "Damn... A lot to take in." I laughed. "I'll say..." Link lifted the paraglider until a realization hit him. "Wait, we only have one glider... What will you do?" I laughed nervously and lifted my spear from my back. With a spin, cloth sails sprung from the shaft. "I may have one of my own?" Link stared at me incredulously. "You... Had a paraglider this whole time." I nodded. His eye twitched as he recalled the vivid memories of scaling freezing mountains and fighting off bokoblins on the Great Plateau. He made an angry noise and lunged forward. "Damn!!" I yelled as I leaped from the rooftop and began gliding over the ground. I had narrowly avoided his angry embrace. I heard him yelling behind me. "Are you serious?! Why did we do all of that?" I smiled and laughed. "Well we had to conveniently start on this quest of yours! If we hadn't of worked for it, we would have never met the king! Besides, there's no way in hell I'd let you do this on your own. You heard the King. I'm here to protect you." He leapt forward and began gliding behind me. "I can take care of myself y'know." I smirked. "Sure, and you totally didn't leave your bow on the roof back there." His smile faded. "Oh... Damn."

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