Long ago, in Hyrule, a legend was once spoken by the people, its tales were soon carried by the winds and spread throughout the known world...
But few knew the origin of this legend...few knew the original heroes. Few knew the facts of the Hero of Time’s origins. This is how the legend came to be...
The Legend of Zelda
Ocarina of Time
Prelude
LINK
The skies were black; the moonlight was hidden behind thick smog. The only source of light was a burning Hyrule castle. Fighting had broken into the streets, as the Hyrulians, both soldiers and citizens alike fought side-by-side to save their kingdom. But hope was quickly slipping away as the Gerudo army slowly began to push towards the castle. Many had already abandoned hope and deserted the cause.
Meanwhile, on the edge of town, a place that had yet to be touched by the warfare, a house stood that held something that would alter Hyrule’s fate.
A young woman was tending to a crib as a knight opened the door and hurried inside, with a hasty expression on his face, he spoke, “We must hurry, the Gerudos have already taken the castle, we must get escape.”
She looked up at him for a moment, the dusty knight that stood before her, her husband. She nodded as she picked up a small boy, the child slept, unaware of the dark atmosphere surrounding him.
Meanwhile, the knight walked over to the next crib and picked up a small little girl. She, unlike her brother, was awake. But like her brother, she didn’t realize the perilous situation her family was in and merely coo’ed and watched with innocent eyes.
The woman and her husband wrapped the children in a soft cloth, leaving only the faces exposed. They nodded and ran out the door.
There was a horse-drawn wagon waiting outside and a horse beside it, the horse belonged to the knight. Inside the wagon sat many other women, each holding a small bundle of life and possessions in their arms. Each had a fearful expression. The driver looked at the two lovers and yelled, “Please, we must depart!”
The woman climbed into the wagon, and sat near the opening, she looked at her husband in the eyes. They both knew they would never see each other again. They shared a last, loving kiss before separating. She spoke, “....goodbye.” a tear running down her cheek. Her husband, unable to say a word, mounted his horse, took one last look at his love, and galloped away.
The driver of the wagon drove the wagon in the opposite direction as the heartbroken woman watched her knight in shining armor disappear in the distance. She clutched her baby tightly.
The wagon was going full speed now; all the passengers had to hold on to the sides of the wagon to keep from falling off.
The young woman was also holding onto the edge when suddenly her child began to cry, she tilted her head down to check on her little one when suddenly an arrow whizzed through the space her head had been a split second before. The arrow struck the woman next to her in the forehead, her head shattered in two by the force. The passengers screamed in fright.
Suddenly more arrows began piercing through the wagon, massacring those unfortunate enough to be inside, blood spilled everywhere as one of the passengers leapt off of the wagon and ran on foot. She had narrowly missed death and she knew it. She owed her life to her son, and she’ll be damned if she’ll let him die here.
She took a glance over her shoulder at the wagon just as two fire-tipped arrows struck and set the wagon ablaze. She quickly sprinted towards the first place she saw. The Kokiri Forest: The only safe haven for her child.
One of the attacking Gerudo soldiers caught sight of the escapee and smiled; she brandished her long blade and galloped towards the woman full speed.
She closed in and swung, looking to decapitate her. But the woman carrying the child ducked just in time as the blade sliced air, the Gerudo galloped past and before she was able to turn, a knife slammed into her back, knocking the Gerudo off her horse and onto the ground; dead.
The child cried again, and the woman ran towards the horse while attempting to soothe her baby. She climbed onto the horse and the horse whinnied, standing on its two rear legs just as Hyrule castle burst into powerful, roaring flames in the background.
“Yaa!” she yelled, as the horse galloped straight towards Kokiri Forest. Lightening lit up the sky, and little tiny droplets of rain slowly began to fall upon the scene. Thunder rolled throughout the war torn backdrop.
Her horse galloped through the grass nearing her destination, it seemed to take forever. Suddenly, she heard galloping besides her own, she turned and her eyes widened as she ducked. An arrow whizzed over her head.
2 Gerudos were hot on her trail, firing off arrows at her. They knew she was no threat, but after having their sisters slain before their eyes back in the castle, they felt the urge to kill this helpless Hylian.
The female Hylian tried her best to dodge the rain of arrows, but she was struck, the arrow impaled through her back and the arrowhead pierced through her chest. She screamed in agony, but somehow managed to hold on; the thought of her child was more than enough to give her strength.
She looked towards the forest entrance.
...so close.
Her train of thought was interrupted as two more arrows found their mark, impaling through her chest and narrowly struck the baby. The force of the blows sent her flying off her horse and she clutched her son tightly as she landed and rolled along the grass, the arrows snapping in two inside her chest.
The Gerudos drew their blades and charged in as she sat up; she coughed violently, blood sprayed from her mouth as she coughed. Crimson blood poured out of her chest and onto the child, both were a mess of red.
She took a few more shakey breaths as her child’s fearful weeping rang in her ears. Her eyes narrowed as she drew her short sword. The sword had a small red ruby in crested in the center of the hilt. This had been a gift from her husband. It was the Kokiri Sword. Her husband had given it to her as he left to fight.
She stood up slowly, the blood on her made her look more intimidating and the Gerudos hesitated as she charged.
The forest was misty and silent. A sad song was playing in the background, as little orbs of light flew about. A lone little girl with green hair sat at a small lake’s edge, dangling her feet over the water as she played.
She heard a slight rustling sound behind her. She stopped playing her ocarina and turned towards the noise, she got up and said slowly, “...h-hello?”
There was silence.
She slowly ventured forward and she gasped as she saw the Hylian woman, bloodied and near death, clutching a child. The Kokiri girl rushed forward and knelt beside the woman, “Are you alright?!”
The Hylian woman looked up, with tears streaked down her cheeks she spoke, “...Link”
Perplexed, the Kokiri asked, “...what do you mean?”
The Hylian woman showed her the baby, “His name....is Link.” She took another deep breath. “Please....take him. Give him a life worth living...please!” She began to sob uncontrollably. “I...want him...I want Link to be happy....please.”
The Kokiri nodded slowly, understanding the woman’s feelings and took a young, quiet Link into her arms, Link was silent, as if knowing exactly what was going on, and the dire choices that were being made.
The Kokiri girl looked at the child in her arms as the Hylian woman leaned in and kissed Link on the forehead before collapsing onto the soft, dew covered grass; she was dead.
The girl slowly stood up, holding the baby in her arms, she looked at the sky, as the rain, as if on cue, began to pour.
THE END
