As I come back into myself, I grit my teeth. I remember it as clear as day. “Ganon… for all the crimes you’ve committed… for the lives you’ve taken, and for those you’ve ruined… I will MAKE. You. Pay…”

Now that I’ve seen all twelve places, I make my way back to Kakariko Village to meet with Impa. My eyes burn and I feel dampness threatening to fall. I want to run straight for Hyrule Castle and beat Ganon’s face in, but I mustn’t be foolish. Impa first, then I can go and deal with the Divine Beasts.

Running in through the boundary of the Sheikah village, I dodge around several civilians, as the two guards outside the elder’s home try and stop me. Vaulting over them, I plunge up the stairs, wild-eyed and out of breath.

 “Impa! Impaaaa!”

The old lady looks up at my from her seat atop a stack of pillows.

“Well, well. You’ve returned. What is it?”

“I went to all of those places. Every single one…. And I remembered everything from them. I saw everything. But… it’s not EVERY place, is it. There’s more. You know where, don’t you, Impa?”

I speak, and she closes her eyes, nodding.

“There is. One final picture. A last one, which I will reveal to you now… “

Impa rises, not getting much taller, and hops down, shuffling over to a covered frame on the wall.

“Lady Zelda gave me very specific instructions, to wait until you were ready, to show you this… this… is the final picture.”

With a deft flick of her wrist, the ancient Sheikah tugs the cloth from the picture, and I stare at it, drinking in every detail.

“Does it look familiar? From this village, you should be able to get there in a half days’ time.”

I murmur, “Fort Hateno. I know where that is… I remember the geography of my home, Impa.”

“Hm. Now, go, child. Seek out what Lady Zelda has shown you.”

I take one last look at the picture, thank Impa once more, and turn to leave, nervous energy trembling through my body. As the guards burst in, Impa waves them out of the way, and I take off at a dead run, full-pelt.

That half a day turns into three hours, as I tear across the land, utterly focussed. No exhaustion or hunger can catch me, as I fly like an arrow loosed from above.  Finally, I stand before the wounded, damaged wall of the barrier-fort, Guardian hulls littering the ground for almost a mile. Over a dozen are clustered at the very foot of the walls, but every single one is inert and dead. Turning so the Fort is at my back, I walk out, onto the war-torn field, looking for the exact spot that picture was taken from…

 

So many Guardians. And, scattered over the ground, embedded in the earth and half-buried in weeds and thick grass, swords. Claymores, longswords, shields, all rusted beyond use and strewn everywhere. So many lives, lost in the Calamity… and yet, even after Hyrule Castle and its town fell, the deaths didn’t stop.

Finally, I stand, in the exact spot, looking towards Fort Hateno. The threads of insistent memory tickle at my brain, waiting to be let in… and I open my mind, closing my eyes.

 

The grass burns, the Guardians coming in relentless waves. Lights flicker out across the shells of those that have been sundered, but the endless tide crashes on, even as the rain battles the flames. Shunting legs and clanking armour, magenta coruscating over the chassis of the rampaging war-machines.

On one knee, a hand resting on the thick mud, the Master Sword stuck point-first in the ground, I pant for breath. Burns and wounds cover my body; my clothes are torn and stained with my own blood and sweat, ash and filth spattered over it. The Champion’s tunic Zel made for me is ruined. The legendary Master Sword is in a state much like my body. I’ve been fighting for hours. Every single Guardian that gets close, I’ve smashed to pieces. I’ve lost count. It must have been at least thirty, though…

I spare a glance for the weapon. The blade is almost destroyed. Dark burns, rust, chips broken free of the blade and blunted edges. And there’s a reason that I’ve pushed myself and the Master Sword far beyond both our limits.

“Link, no! Go! Save yourself! I’ll be fine! Don’t worry about me! Run!”

Zelda… her arms are around my chest as she tries to help me stand. With a jerk, I stand, wrenching the ruined Master Sword free of the ground, stumbling back a few paces. The pain is impossible to imagine. Every fibre of my being is on fire, screaming in agony, but I do NOT. FALL.

A Guardian rises over the shattered casing of one of its innumerable kin, before drawing closer, the targeting beam of its eye-laser locking on and emitting that horrible beep-beep-beep-beep.

Zelda, my darling, precious Zelda, throws herself in front of me, her arms spread wide.

“NO!”

Her entire body begins to glow, suffused with warm, golden light, before she throws her right hand up, palm facing the Guardian. The symbol of the Triforce, the very same triangle-made-of-triangles that marks the Master Sword, appears, glowing brilliantly, before a dome of light expands out of the princess, a heavenly chime ringing out, as every Guardian caught in its radius crumples, instantly shut down on a permanent basis. The one that had been targeting us shudders, clanking and whirring, before slumping, giving off a cloud of magenta and black smoke.

“Was… was that…? The power…”

As Zelda murmurs, awestruck, my strength… finally fails. As I collapse, she hears the thump of my body hitting the ground.

“No, no… Link! Get up!”

I come to, coughing a little, her arms supporting me. I look up into her beautiful face, as she murmurs to me.

“You’re going to be just fine….”

I let my head loll towards her. “Z-Zel… I… I wanted to tell you… I… I love you… I have for… months… I just… never thought the time was… right. But now, I can’t think of a better opportunity… I love you…and… I wanted to tell you my name… the name I chose… Linka…”

My eyes flicker closed…

In the last lingering moments before my consciousness fades, I hear her weeping. I’m losing all feeling. Numbness. I can feel the thundering beat of my heart begin to slow, as my time begins to run out.

Suddenly, there’s a strange, four-note chime. Zelda responds. “The… the sword? So she... She can still be saved?”

 

A cry rings out. “PRINCESS!” two people approach, but I can’t see anymore. My eyes aren’t… working. I can’t move.

The sounds of boots on dirt skidding to a halt fill what’s left of my hearing. “Princess, are you alright?”

Thank the Goddess Hylia, someone can… protect my Zel.

Her words are all that I can make out now.

“Take …Link to the Shrine of Resurrection. If you don’t get… him… there immediately, we’re going to lose… him… forever! Is that clear?”

They must have given assent, for she snaps, “Then make haste and go! The life of my Champion is now in your hands!”

I return to myself.

Zel’s voice rings out in my mind.

“Linka… Linka! You have recovered all of your memories of us from one hundred years ago… I am here, inside Hyrule Castle. It is now time for you to defeat Ganon….”

I died then, if only as a technicality. But the princess saved me. She was the one to have me placed in the Slumber of Resurrection, not something someone did on an assumption she’d want it to be done. SHE gave the order, personally!

I press a hand to my heart. I… I will never be able to repay her for this. But I will do what must be done. I will head for the Rito Village, in the North-West, and free Revali’s Divine Beast, Vah Medoh. But first… I need to change my clothes.

After changing into more fitting clothing, I head North-West, looking into the sky, hunting for a specific landmark.  When I get close enough, I spot it, circling overhead. A massive bird. Not made of flesh and bone, though, but Sheikah technology. The avian Divine Beast, Vah Medoh.

As I draw near, an eerie, high-pitched cry echoes out. I grit my teeth. Out of all the Champions, Revali was always the one who disliked me most. His attitude towards me had been dismissive at best and actively prevocational at worst. I never got the feeling he saw me as a worthy Hylian Champion, or as anything more than a nuisance. Crossing a series of bridges, I make my way into the Rito Village proper, looking for the Elder or headman.

The Rito village is built around a rocky spire, and I climb to the top, reasoning that the Rito Elder would be at the highest point of the spire. Sure enough, there’s an absolutely enormous birdman residing in the highest house in the village. I knock on the entryway as I step in.

“H-hello? Could I speak with you, if you have but a moment?”

The enormous Rito makes a fair approximation of a smile.

“Ah, a visitor. Welcome to… Oh. Oh!  That object at your waist… could it be… Forgive me. Where are my manners? I am Kaneli, the Elder of Rito Village. Now then… is that not a Sheikah Slate on your hip?”

I nod. “That’s right…” I say softly. The Elder hoots in satisfaction.

“Oh, my! So it IS true! That means that you must be a Champion like Master Revali- one of the few able to board Divine Beast Vah Medoh!”

Then he paused, and I heard him mutter to himself, “Wait, no. What am I thinking? The Champions have all been dead for a hundred years. This girl must be a mere descendant. An inheritor of the Sheikah Slate…”

I can’t help but feel a thrill. I passed as a girl!

Looking down at myself, I brush a hand over the hem of my new clothing. Zel had more than made good on her promise. I’m wearing a pair of tights, thigh-high boots with a thicker high-heeled soled for easy mobility, a skirt that stops short of my knee with a longer back that goes down to above my ankles. A long-sleeved redesign of my old Champion’s tunic, more like a short dress, complete with an armoured corset which fits perfectly over my false breasts. They adhere to my chest and feel like a more natural part of me than simply using balled fabric or padding.

Long, fingerless white opera-gloves complete the outfit. The whole thing fits perfectly, and I can’t help but be grateful that she’s added a choker as well, marked with the Hylian royal family’s seal.

Kaneli clears his throat. “Ahem… forgive me…Champion descendant… if you would listen to this old man’s request, you would have my eternal gratitude.”

I nod, my painted lips curving into a smile. Thank the Goddess that Zel’s makeup kit had been salvageable.  “I’ll listen.”

Kaneli ruffles his feathers. “Thank you, truly. Now that I know you have the blood of a Champion, there is something I must ask of you. How shall I put this…? I would like you to deal with Divine Beast Vah Medoh. The giant beast circling above us. Only a chosen one, a Champion, can stop a Divine Beast. You must enter the beast and bend it to your will.”

Kaneli sighs, shaking his head.

“I tried explaining this to the more headstrong Rito warriors, but they wouldn’t listen to reason. Teba and Harth tried to confront Medoh, but it did not go well, and Harth was injured. Teba escaped unscathed, but I fear he now plans to face Medoh alone. As a granddaughter of a Champion, perhaps you can help us? Please, find Teba. If you work together, you may be able to stop Divine Beast Vah Medoh.”

I nod, and leave the Elder’s residence. As I pass the house next door, a Rito woman sticks her head out of the doorway.

“Miss? Please forgive my intrusion, but I overheard you speaking with the elder. It sounded like you intend to help my husband Teba, in the fight against Medoh. I can’t help you much, but I can tell you where my husband went.”

I smile up at the tall Rito. “Thank you. Where is he?”

She fidgets with one of her wingfeathers.

“Well… my husband headed to a place called the Flight Range. It’s in Dronoc’s Pass, at the foot of the Hebra Mountains. It’s a place where Rito warriors prepare for aerial combat. I imagine he’s gone there to gather weapons for another run at Medoh.”

She looks out, pointing. “If you take off from Revali’s Landing, it’s a straight shot down to the Flight Range.”

I stare out at the platform she indicates, and my eyes widen. The now-all-too-familiar twinge in the back of my mind. A memory!