Chapter Text
They spent a few days lazing about Four’s home, the short hero spending time catching his Shadow up on his current adventure and showing him around Hyrule. Everyone found something to do with the extra time exploring Four’s era, and the smith had at one point resented Hyrule with the figurines of his Great Fairies. Their shimmering gowns and insect-like wings caught his attention, it was interesting to see how they could easily show their power in an era that wasn’t struggling to stay out of Ganon’s shadow. He briefly wondered how the Great Fairy in the Dark Pyramid was doing, but he pushed the thought aside for the task at hand.
Legend was currently borrowing the forge in Four’s home to make some enchanted jewelry. The bracelet that Ravio had made had done the monumental task of providing Shadow with a source of dark power that he could sustain himself off, but the light still burned him, and it was only a matter of time before the others realized that Four lacked a shadow. Creating an accessory with simple illusion magic to give Four a shadow was simple enough, he had enough experience with simple enchantment like that was easy enough. The problem came with Shadow, after all, he didn’t apply to the same logic as Hylians.
Legend stared at his ring collection, comparing his selection of blessed rings to the ones that were cursed. There was a high chance that the even the mild blessing rings would likely have negative effects on Shadow, while the cursed ring could act as a blessing for him. Hyrule leaned over his shoulder, and Legend could sense his concern before he said anything, “Why do you have cursed rings?”
Legend sneered, “are you really that surprised? I have a ring that makes me look like you, and the cursed rings are your concern.” Hyrule glared at him and he snorted, “rings grow on trees in Labrynna and Holodrum, so it’s not like it’s entirely strange that some of them turned out strange with Ganon’s influence around.”
“That sounds like complete bullshit, there’s no way rings grow on trees.” Hyrule stated, “What do you even plan to do with cursed rings anyway?”
“If we end up in either country any time soon, I’ll show you… if I happened to leave a Gasha Tree behind.” He added as an afterthought, he hadn’t exactly kept track of that kinda thing at the time. “They can also drop potions and rupees. That’s beside the point, the cursed rings are for Shadow.”
“First, you help him and now you’re trying to hurt him.” Hyrule said snidely, Legend glared at him from over his shoulder.
“You really think that the blessing rings would be helpful to him and not harmful? He’s a dark being, not a Human or Hylian or any other being of light. The closest form of reference I have to outright dark magic are my cursed rings.” His explanation caused Hyrule to look pensive, and he finally sat down next to him. Legend didn’t get after him when he started perusing through his rings, if anything he’d know not to put them on with caution. “I do have the cursed tights, but I doubt that’d be something either of them want to deal with.”
“Cursed tights?” Hyrule asked, looking more concerned than before.
“How I ended up needing to save Styla in Hytopia.” Legend answered without offering further explanation, Hyrule gave him a concerned look. Legend pointedly ignored his concern, not wanting to explain how or why he had a pair of Cursed Tights with him. Not that he’d ever worn them, it just seemed like a waste not to get them with all the other outfits he had. “Anyway, first order of business is making Four an illusion for his shadow, since he currently doesn’t have one.”
Hyrule gave him a judging look for how much he was being ignored, before agreeing with him. Legend worked on forming the metal for the accessory, while Hyrule worked on bringing the spell together. Legend could tell he wasn’t entirely familiar with creating spells without instruction, judging purely on how often Hyrule paused to compare the magic to the items that Legend had laid out. Legend wasn’t capable of creating magic of his own accord either, relying on the magic that was in the various items and outfits he owned. He had, however, seen Ravio craft a number of magic items while he was staying in his home.
The first attempt Hyrule made, Legend took one look at before tossing it into his ring box. Hyrule huffed at him, “if it was that bad, why not just throw it back into the fire?”
“That,” Legend gestured to his trove of rings, “would leave residual magic in the metal, and just make imbuing the magic into the next properly harder than it needs to be. You were pretty close as is, but if Four needs to wear it for long periods of time, it could have side effects if the spell isn’t entirely right?”
Hyrule looked at him critically as he began to smelt the next ring. Legend almost missed his gaze completely with how much he was focused on getting the band the right size, Four had tiny hands. “Are you having side effects from wearing that ring all the time?” Hyrule asked, almost causing Legend to jolt with surprise.
He hesitated for a long moment, “I haven’t noticed anything out of the usual for me, but that’s not much to go off. I have been cursed several times, have been effected by an assortment of magic, and have injuries that never healed right, so it’s hard to tell if the mild spell on the ring if doing much. The spell on it is definitely wearing out though.” He paused, feeling nervous by the tension of the situation, “Maybe I’ll be concerned when my hair starts turning brown.” He said, with an attempt at humor, shrugging his shoulders.
Hyrule ruffled his hair in a manner that suggested that if he weren’t currently working on molten metal, he would be in a headlock. Legend shoved him away with his elbow, and without much further conversation, they managed to get the ring for Four made. While they were quietly celebrating their success, Four entered the forge, shooting them a questioning look. Legend hadn’t been startled by his entrance, Four and his Grandpa had made it clear that without any experience in the forge, you weren’t allowed to step foot in it without their supervision. So, he just tossed him the ring they successfully made, “for your lack of shadow situation.”
“Oh, yeah, that could be a problem eventually.” Four hesitantly put on the ring. Although seemingly nothing happened, when he stepped closer to the light of the forge, a shadow spread out behind him, splitting under the various sources of light in the room. “What else are you two planning on making?” He reached for the rings Legend had out for samples, only to have his hand slapped away by two people. They both received a slight glare for that, before Four took a breath to calm down.
“Sorry, not sorry, but those ones are cursed.” Four gave him a judgmental look for that explanation, and Legend was starting to get miffed that everyone was questioning his decision to keep the random things he found. “Anyway,” no, Legend was not going to explain shit to Four, because he was petty like that. Four seemed to get that memo quickly judging by the silent, but very exaggerated eye roll, “the cursed shit is to reference on for Shadow, since he’s a being of darkness and all that jazz. Blessings are more likely to harm him.”
“Why are you trying to help, Shadow, and how?” Four suddenly looked more curious than anything.
“Because he gets burned by light, right?” He’s a useful ally for us to have, no matter the context of the situation, and he’s currently limited on how much he can help us. So, basically, a favor for a favor. He’s already clearly gonna help us where he can, so why not make it easier for him?” Legend said simply, Zelda had often scolded him on his ‘favor for favor’ mentality. It was just something he’d gotten used to over the years, usually the small favors he did for people at least got him a few rupees, if not something more useful. One man’s trash was often another man’s treasure.
Four and Hyrule shared a look with each other over Legend’s head when he returned his focus to making the next item on his list. Four sighed, picking up his apron from the hanger near the entryway, Legend was borrowing his Grandpa’s apron. “Well, it’ll be a while ‘till the others get back from exploring town, so I may as well help out too.” Four had the idea from Hyrule’s look that this was Legend’s usual behavior, unfortunately for Legend, Four was used to being helpful wherever he could be. He was little, but he was a smith, most problems he could solve with his hands and his own ingenuity.
They set to work making Shadow items that would help him, quickly deciding that multiple accessories that would resonate with each other to create a stronger effect. This also made it so if one or two of the accessories was lost, that Shadow wouldn’t be completely blind sided by the loss of his defenses. It also allowed Hyrule more room for error in the various items they were making, so that they wouldn’t have to perfect the creation of one item. They weren’t as experienced with making magic items, but the three of them working together, certainly made completing the job easier.
By the time they had finished, the sun was setting, so they moved from working in the forge to starting to make dinner. Four and Legend could make food that was edible, but they had to forcefully kick Hyrule out of the kitchen after he nearly burned the stew they were making. Legend had learned how to make it from Impa, Auntie Impa, to be specific. She stayed in Holodrum to travel with Din and keep her safe. It reminded him that although Hyrule was likely between the seasons of Spring and Summer, Holodrum was likely in the midst of Fall. The harvest season, hopefully luck would be on their side and they wouldn’t miss such a big event.
Legend put back on the disguise ring when he heard a commotion from the living room as the others returned from their exploration of Four’s Castle Town. He vaguely heard Hyrule complain about being kicked out of the kitchen, and Wild responding with, “That sounds like a personal problem.” Before the Cook entered the kitchen, Four muffled a chuckle at Hyrule’s expense. Legend stepped aside so that Wild could taste what they had worked on so far, and he seemed vaguely surprised with their success.
Legend shrugged at the questioning look Wild gave him, “I was traveling with a group of troubadours when I was traveling in Holodrum, we split chores all the time. Auntie Impa cooked most the time, but I wasn’t gonna waste food by making it taste terrible.”
“I thought your Impa was an old lady?” Wild questioned bluntly, and Legend wondered if he had a death wish. That old lady could likely hold her own well enough, she wasn’t just the Princess’ handmaiden, she was her protector.
“Yes, that’s Granny Impa. Auntie Impa is younger, the name is more of a title than anything. She travels with Din to keep her safe. I call her Auntie, so it's less confusing.” He had nearly called that Impa ‘Granny’ when they had first met, by habit, and he had never feared for his live more than that day. She scolded him enough that he could easily imagine what having an aunt could be like.
Wild blinked in surprise for a moment, lost in his own thoughts. He mumbled, “I should probably ask Impa about that.” Legend figure it had something to do with his vacant memories and shrugged, he hadn’t bothered to ask about it himself. He could hardly remember the names of most people in Kakariko Village or in other towns he’d visited. He refused to admit that he’d resorted to descriptive names for most people, it’s not his fault the “Bee Guy” never told him his name. Legend wondered if Hyrule had the same problem.
They settled into Four’s living room to eat with the other, and the three of them who’d spent most of the day in the forge spent their time listening in on the others’ adventures in town. Shadow had spent most the day with Dot and Four’s dad, and he seemed worn out, from where he was leaning against Four. It was Wind who decided to broach the top, “So, is Shadow coming with us?” Four tensed, and Legend could tell he was thinking about a way to explain that Shadow was more attached to him than just being a ‘twin.’
Hyrule was the one who tried to help, nervously speaking up, “I mean, I don’t see why he wouldn’t be able to. I brought Legend with me.” Hyrule added as if he hadn’t killed Ganon three time to get roped unwillingly on this adventure. Legend glared at his ‘twin’, who blatantly ignored him. Fair, but Legend was still pissed.
Warriors sighed loudly, rubbing his temples, “you four are gonna make me look like the asshole brother for not bringing my sister along.”
Wild seemed curious by his admission, “Did you want to bring her along?” His question was genuine, but Warriors shot him a disgusted look for speaking with his spoon in his mouth. Wild slyly grinned back at him.
“No, because I already have enough problems dealing with you, Hyrule, and Time.” They all shot a confused look at Time, wondering what he’d done to deserve Warriors’ ire, but the man shrugged and said nothing.
He did seem to have his own concerns about the situation, though, “Do we even know if he can come with? Legend and Hyrule seem to have their own peculiarities with their adventures.”
Legend shrugged, “most of my adventures happened because the Triforce threw me into another country after sensing darkness brewing there, I don’t see why Shadow could come along.” He continued to eat before realizing that the others had stopped talking. He looked up to see them all staring at him with various looks of befuddlement, concern, and exhaustion.
“The Triforce, sent you to another country? After sensing darkness there? How did you even know about that happening?” Twilight questioned, he sounded like he easily had more, but stopped himself from laying them all out at once. The others also held back to hear how he answered.
“It spoke to me?” Legend responded simply.
“The Triforce can speak?” Hyrule piped in, and Legend waved off his confusion.
“Yes? I mean it spoken to me multiple times. Was a normal day, like usual, heard someone speak to me in my head. Basically told me the usual ‘the world is in danger and you’re the prophesied hero to save it’ mambo jumbo before boom I’m suddenly in another country. Spent a great deal of time in Holodrum traveling with a wandering troupe at first, and then Knox kidnapped Din. You can probably guess how things went from there.” Legend explained.
“I thought you left your home country to explore the world?” Wind scrutinized.
“I did, there are plenty of other countries other than Hyrule. Holodrum and Labrynna happen to be far overseas from Hyrule.” Legend started, and Hyrule cut in to help him, much to his surprise.
“We were in the northern part of Hyrule when we were in our era. It’s a lot more populated and less overrun by monsters compared to the southern parts. There aren’t even towns in the southern part of Hyrule, so you have to rely mostly on landmarks to find your way around.” They all were silent at Hyrule’s explanation.
Wild nodded in understanding, “the Great Plateau and Central Hyrule are still like that in my era. The Plateau is mainly because all the entrances to it were destroyed during the Calamity, and Central Hyrule was because of all the guardians and monsters that were around the castle. Most people are content in the town that exist now, but we’ve been trying to make it somewhat safe so it makes trade between the different regions easier.” Legend assume the ‘we’ he was referring to included his Zelda, but the notion was surprising coming from him.
“It’s strange to think of how much just the geography of Hyrule changes between eras.” Sky sighed wearily, and Legend couldn’t help but agree with him to some extent.
“Huh, so Calatia is west of Hyrule?” Twilight asked, Legend and Hyrule both nodded in response. “Labrynna and Holodrum are to the east, Hytopia to the north, and in my era there’s the Ordana Provence to the south, what about Subrosia?”
“That’s beneath Holodrum, you could say it’s like a volcanic cavern beneath it.” Legend responded, he wouldn’t tell them how to get there unless they absolutely needed to. Hylians and Humans weren’t allowed there, and Rosa had broken their rules by ‘showing’ him the way there. She wanted to save Din, though, and she couldn’t do that on her own.
“Well, perhaps it's not a matter of if Shadow can come with, but if he wants to come with us.” Time stated, to redirect the conversation that they had been having. “It is no small responsibly the quest that we’ve been tasked with, after all. We’d be asking Four to allow his brother to be put in harms way too.” Legend wanted to scoff at Time’s words, they all knew that, some far better than most.
Shadow spoke up finally, “I’m coming with, if this has something to do with Vaati or Ganon, I have a bone to pick with both of them.” Oh, Legend had a feeling that he was gonna get along with Shadow very well.
“Get in line, we all have a pone to pick with Ganon.” Legend stated with a degree of sarcasm, but none of them could really argue with him. Well, Sky could, but he doesn’t count. “Anyway, you’re gonna need some kind of weaponry if you’re coming with.”
“I could always use bombs?” Shadow suggested.
“No.” Four interjected, and judging by the stressed look on his face, he had plenty of prior experience with Shadow and bombs. Shadow didn’t look guilty in the slightest when he shrugged off Four’s exasperation. “I can make you a good enough sword tomorrow.”
“What exactly were you and Legend making all day, then?” Sky asked, and Legend could tell he was simply curious.
“Magic accessories.” Legend answered and he could already foresee the comments about having so many already, and so on, “I dabble in making them occasionally, I’d prefer not to get out of practice. You never know when they’ll come in handy.”
“I kinda get that, otherwise I’d find the masks Kilton gave me a lot weirder.” Wild commented, and Legend was slightly curious about what he was referring too. Until he pulled out a patchwork, stuffed Lynel head. “They prevent monsters from attacking me, to some extent.”
“I’m guessing that Lynels don’t buy that shit for long, do they?” Legend and Hyrule questioned at the same time, the shared a look of pity when Wild shrugged in response. Twilight looked exasperated at Wild’s response. “Why would you even attempt to get that close to a Lynel if you’re not fighting it?” Hyrule tacked on, and Legend was quickly beginning to realize that the three of them were likely the only one who fought Lynels regularly.
Wild pulled his slate from his him, pulling up an image of himself standing in front of a charging Lynel, “to get a good picture.” He said as if it was the most normal thing in the world, Legend suddenly understood Twilight’s exasperation. Hyrule looked unsure how to respond to that, and Legend was on the same boat because why would Wild be dumb enough to stand in the middle of a pack of Lynels of all things.
“Anyway,” Legend interrupted, not wanting to broach the topic of Wild’s questionable sanity. Not that he was any better, with his general reaction to anything happening in his adventures being ‘this might as well happen.’ “We should probably get Shadow some travel things soon, since we have no idea when the impending portal of doom may show up.” He got a few chuckles for his description of the very thing that was causing this adventure in the first place.
It didn’t take them long to settle down for the night, most of them departing for the castle. Hyrule went with the others this time, but Legend felt antsy. So, he went to the forge, he knew that Four could easily craft something far better than him. He could tell that by the observations he’d done when Four had decided to help him early, he knew there was really no helping that, since he’d only been an apprentice. He’d never truly had the time to commit himself fully to the craft, paired with his horrible habit of oversleeping. He couldn’t help but think of what could have been, though. Days spent being dragged out of bed by Gully, toiling over something more tangible than defeating the evils in the world, but inevitably he couldn’t turn his back on the people. He could hardly sleep when he found out that Yuga had taken Gully and Granny Impa alongside Seres and Zelda.
He mulled out his thoughts over heated metal, when Grandpa Smith joined him. “You’re very good at your craft, boy.” He remarked, with a fond smile in his eyes, his actual smile hidden behind his beard. The smile reminded him of his own Grandpa and his Uncle, too. Though Legend had to withhold a shudder as he couldn’t help recalling his Uncle bleeding out in the bowels of Hyrule Castle. That didn’t matter anymore, his Uncle was still alive, he just spent most his time helping his grandparents manage their farm.
“Thanks, I never completed my apprenticeship, though.” Legend replied, Smith gave him a look that betrayed his curiosity. He however hummed, seeming to notice that Legend was inevitable, comparing himself to two masters of their craft.
“The person who taught you did well by you then. Link hadn’t completed his own apprenticeship when tasked with crafting the Four Sword. He also had much more assistance with the making of that blade, than what it required for any normal blade. No doubt, that Shadow’s blade will need to be no different for it truly to be useful to him. Link has already gone off to seek the wisdom of the Minish who helped with the crafting of the Four Sword. In the meantime, we simple men will simply have to do our part to make the finest blade we can.” The old man smiled as he offered Legend his assistance.
Legend opened his mouth to say something, but his mind was unhelpfully blank, so his jaw snapped shut on instinct brought on by the years of struggling to find words to say. Legend eventually nodded to Smith’s offer, his years of experience would no doubt be valuable. He couldn’t help but think as they both settled into the craft, Legend once again settling into the role of assisting the master craftsman, that perhaps being seen as a ‘simple man’ wasn’t so bad. He was a little too tired of being a hero for so long, for the constant tests of his worth, of his courage, his dedication. Though he doubted he could ever turn his back to those who needed his help though.
Legend woke up in the bed in Four’s spare room, with the the faint sound of chittering in his ear. He wanted to flick his ears at the whisper of of the sound, but realized that it sounded faintly familiar to the little creature that had given him berries when he was a rabbit. He could vaguely feel them shifting the rings on his finger, the rings that he’d basically worn since he’d returned to Hyrule. The ones that helped with the lingering pain of his fried nerves, something that couldn’t truly heal after being struck by lighting twice. He couldn’t stop himself from stopping the ring’s movement on his finger with his thumb.
He slowly sat up after hearing the startled chattering from the little people, but when he glanced around to apologize, he found the room remarkably empty. He almost wondered if he had imaged what was happening when he was half asleep, and somehow the rings that had fit for years had suddenly become loose. The lingering magic in the air made him second guess himself, perhaps they were simply creatures that were very good at hiding themselves. Undoubtedly an extremely useful skill for creatures their size.
His musings were interrupted by an offended shout from what sounded vaguely like Wind coming from outside Four’s house. He made sure to double-check the assortment of rings on his fingers before he ventured outside to see not only Wind, but their other travel companions grumbling at the sight of the portal. “I think I can understand why you called it the impending portal of doom now.” Shadow remarked nervously, as Four passed him what was likely the finished blade that he and Grandpa Smith had started the night before.
It seems that Legend wasn’t the only one that suspected sudden, unwelcomed teleportation because Time and Warriors presented their newest member with a travel bag that was likely very well stocked. Perhaps not as unnecessarily as Legend’s own travel bag, but well enough to serve a ‘usual’ adventure, if this could even be called that. Shadow didn’t have a shield, but Legend trusted him more with his spare mirror shield over Wild. It was the one that had been returned to him by the Tokay that had found it, polished so keenly after it had been found that it reflected magic. It was the only Tokay that hadn’t gone by their usual ‘finders keepers’ rules.
“You can always change your mind, we won’t think any less of you if you do.” Sky remarked in his kindest voice. He was right, but Legend didn’t want to be dragged into his sappiness at the moment. He wanted to get through the portal and find out where it decided to spit them out next.
So, Legend walked past Shadow, bumping his shoulder and subtly placing the rings he’d made in his hands. He winked at Shadow’s confused expression, before pressing on as if nothing happened. “Well, we might as well get this shit over with,” his remark was met with a few errant complaints about language, but he ignored them. “The only places we haven’t been are, as far as I’m aware, Sky’s era and Holodrum. And, though, I would love to see Hyrule before it actually became Hyrule, I’m pretty sure we’re right in time for Holodrum’s harvest festival if we end up there, so any bets on where we end up?” He piqued their curiosity at his bet, but Legend was not expecting Hyrule to walk up to him with a mischievous smile on his face.
Legend instinctively took a step back at Hyrule’s approach, before realizing that he was just getting closer to the portal. Suddenly, Legend had a keen idea of what Hyrule had planned. He opened his mouth to tell Hyrule to stop, he had bets to gather. Wow, Ravio was rubbing off on him in the worst kind of way. Hyrule grabbed his shoulders with his short internal distraction and cheerily remarked, “Why don’t you find out for us, then?” Before pushing him back through the portal.
Legend briefly wondered what he’d done to deserve such betrayal, but then again, he had nagged Hyrule about his magic when crafting the rings they made for Shadow. So, he did deserve some retribution. He was immediately greeted by balmy warmth, the melodic sound of waves rolling against the shore, and sand stuck in his hair. For a moment he wished, in the next he wondered if he was completely wrong and they were in Wind’s era again, but he looked back to view the land and spotted the familiar ship stuck in the desert sand and realized he was in Holodrum. He stuck a hand in his bag for the Rod of Seasons, though he truly hoped the seasons weren’t royally fucked this time, he’d prefer having the ability to change them as needed on hand.
A breeze flowed through his mind as the old voice of the Maku Tree greeted him back to Holodrum. Legend was internally greeting the older tree back as the others stepped through the portal. “A desert? By the sea?” Twilight questioned. Legend was a little too distracted by his pleasant conversation with the Maku Tree, and getting a feel for what may be wrong in Holodrum through the old guardian of the land to realize the others had joined him.
He started when Time lightly touched his shoulder, “Legend? You didn’t land wrong, did you?” Legend felt the Maku Tree chuckle at the break in his concentration, and wished him well before breaking their mental connection.
Legend shook his head at Time, “no, I’m fine. The Maku Tree was just saying hello.” They all blinked in surprise, and Time’s face went blank. It didn’t take much for Legend to guess why Time reacted that way. “Not the one I was engaged to,” he heard a confused ‘what’ from Shadow, and briefly saw Four shake his head, “the one here is kinda like a wise uncle. Which I was right, we’re in Holodrum. Slightly east of Horon Village, just gotta be careful of the quick sand to get out of here… or I can call Dimitri to swim us to the neighboring shore.”
“You’re asking us if we want to deal with quicksand or a short swim?! Like the answer isn’t obvious.” Wind gripped as he made for the water, Legend had to admit that the heat of the desert made the idea of jumping in the water very pleasing. He pulled out Dimitri’s Flute and played the tune that the dodongo loved, Time tapped him on the shoulder after he finished. The man didn’t have to say anything for Legend to get the idea that he didn’t feel like shedding his armor for a short swim.
Dimitri had grown since he’d first met the small monster, so he would definitely be able to carry the armor clad man. Said monster met them on the shore and greeted Legend by licking his face, which meant having his almost his entire head in the monster’s maw. Shadow stared at the dodongo in surprise, before leaning closer to Four to whisper, “if he gets to keep a dodongo, does that mean I can keep my dragon?”
Four blinked for a moment, “right, I didn’t actual slay that dragon, did I…? If you can find a good reasoning on how you befriended a dragon, sure, I guess. Warriors has a dragon friend, so it wouldn’t be that weird anyway.” Four looked resigned as he answered back, in a low tone. Legend would curse his good hearing for all the accidental eavesdropping if some of the things he overheard wasn’t so damned interesting.
Judging by the look on Time’s face, he had overheard the same thing. Shadow had zero regard about responding to Four’s acceptance with a loud, “fuck yeah!” The sudden volume from the shade startled Sky, Twilight, and Warriors. Wind met with an echoed shout of the same phrase, which received several scoldings. Legend chuckled lightly at their excitement. Shadow had to join him and Time on Dimitri because he had no idea how to swim. Hyrule had learned quite a bit, but stuck close to Dimitri and Wild.
The temperature cooled significantly as they got away from the desert, and they were met with the warm oranges that engulfed Holodrum in the fall. Then Legend caught the sound that was obviously someone in combat, he pushed Dimitri to swim fast. The others caught on to the urgency and started moving to the shore quickly. Legend saw Din’s troupe camped out nearby the entrance to Horon Village, and almost as soon as they made it too them the sound of combat stopped.
Legend surveyed the field and saw that the last monster in combat had fallen, and that the man who’d felled it looked oddly familiar. “Din! Is everything alright?” Din smiled, as if here caravan hadn’t just been attacked by monsters, and the soldier began to make his way over to them. Something about his armor was familiar to Legend, he couldn’t quite place why, but it looked very old-fashioned.
Din patted him on the head, which made him feel like she was treating him like a kid, “don’t worry, Link. My sister thought there might be some trouble that would come our way, that you wouldn’t be able to help with, so she asked for some assistance.” Legend blinked at that vague explanation, but by then the mystery soldier had made his way over. Legend finally recognized why it was familiar, it was Labrynnian make… old Labrynnian make.
He put together who the helpful estranged was, just before he lifted his helm. Legend didn’t have to look at the others to know they were shock, Hylians were uncommon to come across in other countries. Legend made sure that they knew that, but the man before them looked like Time without the scar over his eye and the marking. Din waved to him, but gestured to the troupe heading to the village, likely so they could start setting up. “Remember, you owe me a dance, Link!” Legend waved her off, to focus on the soldier.
“It’s good to see you again, Link.” Raven started, and Legend was almost surprised that he was recognized, until he remembered that he’d used the disguise to walk right into the front doors of Ambi’s castle. The disguise clearly hadn’t fooled the only other Hylian in Labrynna, but that didn’t explain how the hell he was currently in the present. Then again, Din had mentioned Nayru being behind this.
Legend put his face in his hands, groaning into them, “fuck time travel.” He lifted his head to greet Raven, who looked amused by his exasperation, “it’s good to see you too, Sir Raven. Though, I wasn’t exactly expecting you to jump out of the past, please tell my Nayru will put you back once this is over. Not that I’m not glad to see you, I just don’t want to think about the repercussions of you not going back right now.” Ceasing to exist was high on his list of concerns, and Raven likely put that together quickly.
He chuckled, “I have my plans on going back, yes. Nayru just had concerns about the safety of her sister, when there was no guarantee when you’d return. Especially, with the odd happening as of late. Ralph stayed in Labrynna to protect Nayru.” Legend snorted at Raven’s tacked on comment, they both knew how ‘devoted’ Ralph was to Nayru. Joking aside, Ralph had become quite skilled over the years, mostly due to their regular sparring.
Legend could admit that it was reassuring that Raven was here to defend Din, was reassuring in the face of the fact that he had no control on where he would end up in his era. He was snapped out of his thoughts by Wind jabbing him in the back, “why does he look like Time?” Wind hissed, none to quietly. Legend took a quick glance over their group to absorb the various perturbed and confused looks. He refused to think about how Raven lived in an era 400 years ago, which was roughly around the era of the Fallen Hero. The Fallen Hero that he and Hyrule refused to acknowledge was Time.
“Fuck if I know, it probably just a coincidence.” Legend brushed off, and he could see Time deflate slightly at his answer. Coincidences happened, as often as you met a Goron that happened to have the same name as you, or when you saw a familiar face with a similar name in a different era from your own. The world was just weird like that.
“Are you sure it’s a good idea to leave one of your friends to protecting an Oracle on their own?” Warriors asked, and Legend could tell he was thinking about the situation from a rational standpoint. Rationally, he did have a point, especially when they had little idea on what they were actually facing. However, this was Raven, the man who had fought off Queen Ambi’s army with one hand.
“He helped me take down Veran, he’ll be fine. He kinda became a hero in his own right by the time I was born. Goddesses forbid I hear another rant about how I have to live up to being named after his squire.” Legend explained, and Raven coughed to cover up a laugh.
“You were named after my squire?”
“Yeah, that’s one of the tiny changes that happened after fixing everything that Veran broke.” Raven was clearly trying not to laugh at this point, and Legend found humor in the inside joke he had with the man, who was also his ancestor.
“Your squire was named Link?” Wild questions, clearly trying to probe for what the man found funny.
Raven gave him a look and Legend shrugged in response, he may as well die of embarrassment now, rather deal with the constant pestering. “Truthfully, I never took on a squire, but when a young Hylian boy appeared from nowhere and helped save the Oracle of Ages… it was easier to say he was my squire, since Hylians stand out in the lands of humans.”
It wasn’t a straight answer, but it was certainly enough for the others to connect the dots. Hyrule snorted as he connected the pieces of information, but it was Four that spoke out first. “You were named after yourself?!” Four’s mumblings about paradoxes were overshadowed by Hyrule laughing. Jokes on him, this technically means that he was named after Legend too. Get named after your time traveling ‘twin’ idiot.
It was Time who sighted, “fuck time travel.” He said it with such weight, that Legend was almost curious about the bullshit he was put through, but he could easily agree with the sentiment. Oddly enough, Sky nodded along with the sentiment rather than mentioning Time’s language. Apparently, the goddesses had a thing for sending heroes through time, he didn’t even want to think about Warriors’ situation.
It was Wild who decided to point out to Hyrule the fact that he was named after his ‘twin,’ causing the hero to stop laughing. Raven shot him a questioning look, which Legend shrugged in response too. He mouthed to the man, ‘Ganon again, probably’ causing the man to look tired on his behalf. “So, if Sir Raven is a hero too, then could he end up coming with us too?” Wind questioned, and that gave them all pause.
“I doubt that I could be considered on the same level as the heroes of old. I don’t think my fate will be that tied with all of yours.” Sir Raven answered.
“You caught on to the situation pretty quick, or did Nayru give you a heads-up?” Legend pointed out, and Raven confirmed that it was the latter situation.
Four seemed to have been thinking on the conundrum that Wind and Raven had presented, “I don’t think that Sir Raven could be considered a ‘destined hero,’ no offense.” Raven chuckled, but urged him to continue his thoughts out of his own curiosity. “Well, when I was younger, before crafting the Four Sword, I was told of the Hero of Man. The hero who was given the Picori Blade to defeat and seal a number of monsters that infested the land. I thought it was odd that we hadn’t encountered him, but if we consider the possibility that there are other heroes other than the ‘goddesses’ chosen’ then it would make sense that there could be a number of heroes that we may never meet or take part in our quest.” Four rambled, but what he was trying to get at made sense.
“Perhaps you have a point, but there isn’t too much of a point in mulling over it too much. I’ve never considered myself to be much of a hero anyway.” Raven said with humor, before turning to Legend, “in the end, I believe that Din won’t be letting us keep her much longer. We all may as well enjoy the festivities.”
“Yeah, we get to Legend fail at dancing in front of an audience.” Twilight snickered, and Legend just gave him a flat, humorless look.
“You owe me 600 rupees if I make you eat those words.” Legend dared, he could see Warriors pointedly looking away, because he knew that Legend was at least coordinated enough to dance. What he didn’t know is that Legend had spent several months traveling with Din’s troupe in the past, and he had challenged both the Subrosian and Goron Dance Halls. Speaking of which, “by the way, Din and the others may end up attempting to pull you guys into assisting with their performance. So, I suggest you pull out any talents you may have out of your asses to save your skin. Wild, Auntie Impa will probably pull you aside to help with cooking.”
A few of them would be saved by their own musical talents, and joking aside, Twilight and Warriors had strength on their side. Even just being capable of lifting another performer would add to the spectacle of the show, Legend had a feeling that Twilight would be kidnapped by the villagers, though. Legend had no idea about Raven, but he knew the man had far too many tricks up his sleeve to be taken off guard. Legend learned far too many tricks to be taken off guard, that and the troupe knew him, so he would likely be dragged on stage first. Hyrule was likely going to be the second one to be dragged on stage, but Legend had little doubt that he could improvise something.
Shoving his thoughts aside, Legend walked into Horon Village with confidence, bidding goodbye to Dimitri who leaves for warmer waters. The autumn reds, oranges, and yellows were complimented by pastel streamers and cloths hanging from the trees. The troupe was already starting to play a cheerful tune that complemented the bright atmosphere of the town. Legend was greeted by a few townspeople, before he heard a shout, “Uncle Link.” He was shocked for a moment before he realized what kid had shouted it. It was Bipin and Blossom’s kid.
“Uncle?” Hyrule questioned, looking at Legend with understandable confusion.
“His parents asked me to name him, hoping he’d grow up strong. He was sickly when he was little and they didn’t have much to help pay for medicine, it was the least I could do.” He knew he was getting some surprised looks from that admission, other than from Raven. It made sense, too, his adventures in Labrynna and Holodrum happened when he was still a hopelessly enthusiastic kid. He had changed in the two adventures that had followed.
He greeted Bipsom cheerfully, laughing with Blossom when she stressed about how much of a troublemaker he was. He was about to comment about how a little bit of trouble never hurt too much, but he was smacked on the back of the head with a broom before he could get a word out. He heaved a sigh, “good to see you too, Maple, how’s your grandma?”
Maple huffed, “I’ll have you know that I’m no longer her apprentice, and you’re welcome for taking care of Ricky all this time.”
“Congratulations. You love Ricky, so stop complaining, and no, I’m not giving you the Rod of Seasons even if I don’t have a use for it.” She huffed, but Legend just pulled a card out of his past self’s repertoire and stuck his tongue out at her. If she really wanted to get back at him for all the items she’d lost to him, she should learn to fly straight. Bipsom giggled and copied his gesture to Maple too, causing him to laugh. The young witch would huff about it, but at the end of the day they’d still be friends.
As Legend suspected, Wild was soon assisting Auntie Impa, who complained about him and Hyrule being too thin. Neither of them could argue with her. Time and Twilight had been roped into helping the villagers set up the last few things. Four, Shadow, and Wind were set about exploring and helping out where they could. Warriors watched with humor as Sky sat down with the troupe to begin playing his harp, rather than napping, before striking up conversation with Raven. Legend supposed the two had some degree in common, both being knights, though Raven serves Queen Ambi.
Legend in the meantime introduced his ‘twin’ to the troupe and prepared with them for the inevitable show. Hyrule was designated in assisting with set up, since he couldn’t cook to save his life, and Legend doubted his stills in anything else the troupe could throw at him. Eventually, he did join the other musicians with his flute, joining in on the music as it began to ramp up. Din always danced last, but that didn’t mean that Legend wouldn’t be roped into the other shows as usual.
He didn’t pay to much attention to the audience as he was roped into balancing plates on dowels from the tip of his sword, much like he had in the past. He overheard surprised cheers that sounded familiar, and he winked at Wind as he swung his sword, tossing the plate in the air and catching it in his hand. He chuckled when he heard Wind say something about ‘showing off.’ Soon the dancers take the stage, and the leader of the troupe calls to the village’s attention for Din’s dance.
Legend waits offstage, until he’s queued on. Din is a magnificent dancer, and so she deserves center stage for a little while. When Legend overlooks the crowd, he’s a little surprised to see Farore lurking at the edges of it, but he supposes it isn’t too unusual for her to want to see her sister’s dance. It isn’t long before he too is dragged on stage, Farore’s eyes met his, and much like in the past she winked at him. He knew better than to point out the Oracle of Secrets from a crowd, he had no doubt that she’d go back to hiding away in the Maku Trees after the festival was over.
He brushed off the number of people that were watching, and easily joined Din in dancing. He saw a passing glance of Warriors pushing Twilight’s jaw shut, though the captain also looked surprised. Ballroom dancing certainly lacked the same degree of flair that folk dancing had. Unexpectedly, Time had joined Hyrule and Sky, starting to play a cheerful tune that seemed to come straight from his childhood. Legend was surprised to see a Deku Scrub, Goron, and Zora join the band in playing, but he quickly realized that they were spirits in the same way the old Deity was. Most likely, aside from them guiding the tune of the song with Time, most villagers would be unaware of their presence.
After, having his fill of dancing, and as the town began to quiet down for the evening festivities, Legend thumbed his own old brown ocarina. He knew with the right tune and just a bit of magic it would resonate with all the other instruments in his bag. He had no doubt that the others were all familiar with the tune by now, it was a habit that Ravio and Fable reminded him of. With the peaceful lull of Horon Village and the distant echo of waves, he could easily think of Mabe Village. He almost wondered if he’d gotten better at playing the ocarina over the years.
He could tell Hyrule, Sky, and Time were waiting to see what he decided to play, no doubt it wouldn’t take them much to join in. But he already had all the instruments to play the Ballade of the Windfish, in its true form, as a song of awakening. He quickly played the tune on his ocarina, far quicker and upbeat than he usually hummed the song. As soon as he played the notes, the other instruments joined into form the song. First the horn, followed shortly by the cello, then the organ and the marimba, the bell, then the drums, harp, and triangle. One adding on to the tune, until they collected into a bright, cheerful tune that drowned out the ocarina. He wondered if the people in Koholint had a chance to hear it before the Wind Fish woke.
There was a final cheer from the villagers as the instruments whisked themselves away as soon as they were summoned. Notably, none of their group was as enthusiastic, likely no wanting to break the moment of him playing the song in full for once. He admittedly disappeared into the crowed after that, until he crossed paths with Raven again. The man looked at him with a different understanding to all those years ago. No, years for him, perhaps not as long for Raven. “You’ve changed.” He stated, not negatively, just a fact.
“Well, I’ve had 3 other adventures after saving Labrynna, not including this one. It’s not like I could always stay the same, I’d be too predictable otherwise.” Legend responded, that gave the older man pause.
“Never though of stopping?”
“Have you?” He responded slyly, causing them both to laugh at each others expense. He knew that in several years, Raven would return to Hyrule, and be greeted with his own battles to fight there. Hyrule in that time certainly needed that kind of help from Raven.
“I suppose it does make sense that you are my ancestor, then.”
That’s when the eavesdropper decided to make himself known, “I thought you said that Sir Raven was Fable’s ancestor?” Wind questioned, before covering his mouth at dropping his cover. He attempted to meow, to pretend as if they didn’t know he was there. Legend and Raven both gave him a questioning look.
“I did say that.” Legend stated, before realizing what he’d just admitted, and what Wind was now connecting the dots on. “Fuck.”
“You’re a prince?!”
“Shut your mouth, you cretin, it’s only a technicality.”
“Technically, you’re still a prince.” Wind whispered this time, and oh, Legend was definitely dying his hair bright blue. The perfect color to match his bright blue tunic.