Brilliant blue light shines forth from the old man, King Rhoam, and, when it fades, his drab, simple clothes and hood are gone, replaced by a crown, and garb that wouldn’t seem out of place in a palace. Blue hitodama lights surround him, the ghostlights that denote a spirit or long-passed soul.

He continues. “The Great Calamity was merciless…it devastated everything in its path, lo, a century ago… it was then, that my life was taken away from me. And since that time, here I have remained, in spirit form. I did not think it wise to overwhelm you while your memory was still fragile. So, rather than that, I thought it best to assume a temporary form.”

My memory? Fragile? No, it’s just straight up not there. Fragile doesn’t even begin to cut it. I shrug off that line of thought and pay attention. I’m guessing ghost kings don’t normally crop up ten-a-Rupee, after all.

“Forgive me. But, I think you are now ready. Ready to hear what happened 100 years ago…”

I can almost see something, in my mind’s eye, growing clearer and clearer, as if I was there, on that day, so long ago…

“To know Calamity Ganon’s true form, one must know the story, from an age long-passed. The Demon King was born into this kingdom, but his transformation into Malice created the horror you see now.

Stories of Ganon were passed from generation to generation, in the form of legends and fairy tales. But there was also… a prophecy. “The signs of a resurrection of Calamity Ganon are clear. And the power to oppose it lies dormant beneath the ground.”

We decided to heed the prophecy, and began excavating large areas of land. It wasn’t long before we discovered several ancient relics made by the hands of our distant ancestors. These relics, the Divine Beasts, were giant machines piloted by warriors. We also found the Guardians, an army of mechanical soldiers who fought autonomously.

This coincided with ancient legends, oft-repeated throughout our land. We also learned of a princes with a sacred power, and her appointed knight, chosen by the sword that seals the darkness. It was they who sealed Ganon away, using the power of these ancient relics…

One hundred years ago, there was a princess set to inherit a sacred power and a skilled knight at her side. It was clear that we must follow our ancestors’ path. We selected four skilled individuals from across Hyrule and tasked them with the duty of piloting the Divine Beasts.

With the princess as their commander, we dubbed these pilots Champions- a name that would solidify their unique bond…

The princess, her appointed knight, and the rest of the Champions were on the very brink of sealing away Ganon. But nay… Ganon was cunning, and he responded with a plan beyond our imagining…”

I saw the figure of Calamity Ganon, roaring again, as though I was standing in front of him, right in the heart of the Castle town. Great balls of dark flame poured down from him as he shook them free, sending them raining in all directions. Whenever a ball landed on one of the Guardians, the blue lights turned magenta, and they began attacking at random, destroying buildings and killing any who dared stand against the war machines in their hundreds. Then, four huge balls of even more vile energy raced across the sky like stars of ill-omen, striking each of the four Divine Beasts… whose lights also turned magenta, a sick, ruddy pinkish hue, foreboding and dour.

“He appeared from deep below Hyrule Castle, seized control of the Guardians and the Divine Beasts, and turned them against us.”

Now, the sight of the town in flames, hundreds of Guardians flooding through the strets and over the rooftops, firing beams of searing light from their mono-eyes, segmented legs and clawed, jointed feet digging in and allowing free movement in any direction.

“The Champions lost their lives. Those residing in the Castle as well.  The appointed knight, gravely wounded, collapsed while defending the princess… and thus, the kingdom of Hyrule was devastated utterly by Calamity Ganon.

However… the princess survived… to face Ganon alone…”

Now the vision changes. A girl, with long, blonde hair, in a white dress, besmirched with grime and blood, stands over me. she raises her right hand, palm up, as a triangle made of smaller triangles appears, glowing, on the back of her hand. She speaks. “Link… you are our final hope.” Light radiates from her hand as the looming shape of Calamity Ganon descends on her, jaws wide.

“The fate of Hyrule rests with you!”

The vision fades, and I find myself, standing exactly where I had been, before the ghost of the king. He continues, a melancholy, despondent tone filling his words. “that princess was my own daughter… my dear Zelda. And the courageous knight who protected her right up unto the very end… that knight…”

He turns to face me once more. “Was none other than you, Link. You fought valiantly, when your fate took an unfortunate turn. And then, you were taken to the Shrine of Resurrection. Now, here you stand, revitalized, 100 years later. The words of guidance you have been hearing since your awakening have been from princess Zelda herself.”

He pauses, as if to let me absorb the things I’ve learned.

“Even now, as she works to restrain Ganon from within Hyrule Castle, she calls out for your help. However, my daughter’s power will soon be exhausted. Once that happens, Ganon will freely regenerate himself and nothing will stop him from consuming our land.”

The king lowers himself onto hands and knees, head bowed. his fists clench.

“Considering that I could not save my own kingdom, I have no right to ask this of you, Link… but I am powerless here… you must save her… my daughter… and do whatever it takes to annihilate Ganon.”

He raises his head.

“Somehow, Ganon has maintained control over all four of the Divine Beasts, as well as those Guardians swarming around Hyrule Castle. I believe it would be completely reckless for you to head directly to the castle at this point.”

Standing, King Rhoam gestures at something, far below.

“I suggest that you make your way East, out to one of the villages in the wilderness. Follow the road out to Kakariko village.  There, you will find the elder, Impa. She will tell you more about the path that lies ahead… consult the map on your Sheikah Slate for the precise location of Kakariko village. Make your way past the twin summits of the Duelling Peaks. From there, follow the road as it proceeds North…”

King Rhoam reaches out, handing me a bundle of fabric and wood. “Here is the paraglider, just as I promised. With that, you should be able to safely fly off the cliffs surrounding this area. And… I think that’s it. I’ve told you everything I can… Link… you must… save… Hyrule…”

And, with that, the king… fades away, into nothingness.

With all I’ve learned burning in my brain, I prepare to set out. This place is verdant, with enough wild game and edible plants that I could easily stock up for the journey ahead. If the king’s estimation of how desolate the kingdom is, I don’t know whether I’ll have much luck foraging elsewhere. The day almost half-gone, I devote the rest of it to filling my supplies with as much foodstuff as I can. That night, as I sit by my fire, using the king’s old hut as my camp, I see the night sky suffused with red, the moon a burning crimson.

The voice of Zelda, the princess I knew once, a hundred years ago, sounds in my head, startling me from my reverie.

“Link… Link… LINK! Be on your guard. Ganon’s power grows; it rises to its peak under the hour of the blood moon. By its glow, the aimless spirits of monsters slain in the name of the light return to flesh. Link… please be careful…”

I shudder, the meaning of the eerily-beautiful red moon far more ominous than I had first thought. If that happened right after I’d beaten something tough… then it’d come right back, leaving me off-guard and at its mercy. Yikes…

When morning comes, I stand at the edge of the Great Plateau, looking out over the precipice, heart pounding in my chest. Three… Two… One…

I leap from the Plateau, falling, before deploying my paraglider. The wind catches the sail, and I glide away from the Plateau. North and to the East, I see a massive forest, an enormous tree rising from the heart of it. Something speaks to me, calling out as if there’s something waiting there for me. angling myself towards it, I catch an updraft, rising several metres into the air again, extending the duration of my ‘flight’, the ground below rolling and stretching out as I soar towards the forest, so far away.

Upon landing, I pull my Sheikah Slate from my belt and make my best guess as to where the forest is in relation to the Plateau. I can always adjust my path as I get a better sense of where I need to go. I munch on a handful of roasted acorns, chewing on the savoury flesh, hiking along the ridge of a low hill, one of the rusty swords I’d gathered on my back.

Despite my wariness and the fact that I’m moving through what might well be enemy territory, nothing happens for the rest of the day. I make fairly decent time, although it would take less if I didn’t have to avoid the occasional group of Bokoblins, the sporadic sightings of Moblins, the bigger, more fearsome ‘cousins’ to the squat pig-like monsters, and, once, one of the mobile, active Guardians, six jointed legs moving in sync over the ground, eating up the distance. It seems to be simply moving from place to place rather than hunting for anything in particular. Suddenly, it halts, and the glow of its corrupted lines brightens.

I can hear panicked shouting, the sound of someone rushing through thick grass and brush, as a klaxon wails from the Guardian. A targeting laser flickers on, indicating a lock-on has been achieved. I duck behind a tree as it races past, too focussed on its current priority to pay me any mind.

Abruptly, a piercing whistle rings out, and a beam of searingly-bright light flashes out. A tree nearby falls with a loud crash, and the crackle of flames begins to join the din. A second blast, then a third. Thankfully, it seems to be having trouble hitting its target. While it’s distracted, I crouch-run up on the Guardian, drawing my rusty broadsword and raising it, before bringing the blade down, hard and fast, over and over, aiming for the joints attaching the legs to the chassis.

Several frantic blows later, and the Guardian lurches, one of its legs shearing away and breaking apart as I switch my attention to another leg on the same side, and, as I bring my sword down, it snaps in two. I hurl the broken hilt and grip at the Guardian’s ‘eye’, causing it to shudder and reset, as I tap my Sheikah Slate, pulling another weapon from the depths of wherever they go when I don’t have them equipped. I resume my beating, severing the second leg on the right side, before going after the third as leg no.2 gives way.

Once all three right-side legs are incapacitated, the Guardian begins trying to back up and run, as it determining that retreat might be a prudent course of action, but, missing half its legs, can only drag itself across the dirt, digging runnels out of the grass. It fires its laser frantically in all directions, trying to deter me, but, having remembered a little about how dangerous these things are, I’m unwilling to let it go. Leaping onto the hull, I begin stabbing it in the ‘eye’, jamming in as deep as I can, over and over, until it goes limp, the remaining legs splaying out as a low, mournful whine drones from the wrecked war-machine.