#hf zelink | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sunset-peril · 11 months

Text

The loreset known as HFS Minor will now be applied to a Hyrule's Final Stand spin-off series known as Hyrule's Final Stand - A Century Past

The first entry in the series is entitled Link, Wolfbred King and it is based on the Hateno Village subplot in Tears of the Kingdom. Musically, it is based on the 'Title Theme' from Twilight Princess, 'Midna's Theme', 'Midna's Lament' and 'Safe' written by Britt Nicole

The lore differences from the main HFS series is as follows:

Hylia did not feel the need to "safeguard" the Master Sword/Fi. Henceforth, Zelda did not become pregnant before the Great Calamity.

Because Zelda was not pregnant before/during the Great Calamity, HFS' entire Rhoam v Link subplot does not exist in A Century Past. Rhoam is not overthrown by Link, and Link does not become King before dying at Fort Hateno.

Link was never formally recognized as Prince of Hyrule. His marriage remained a secret. Only the Champions, Impa, Purah, Symin, Robbie, Horacio (Kass' Teacher) and King Dorephan were aware of the marriage. Most BotW characters (including Sidon and most of Kakariko) did not know Link was married, much less Prince of Hyrule.

Link and Zelda are King and Queen in TotK. However, due to infrastructure being a higher priority than politics, no one can agree on how to refer to them, and semi-self-governing municipalities can elect or appoint their own leaders. (Elections/appointments can still be overruled by the Queen and/or King. Link and Zelda can also appoint their own person instead of letting the municipality have an election)

Link and Zelda have the following title sets: "King and Queen", "Princess and Swordsman", "Princess and Hero", "Queen and Swordsman", "Queen and Hero", "King and Princess" (for some reason), "Queen and Consort", "Princess and Consort", "Mister Link and Miss Zelda" "Mr. Link and Mrs. Zelda" and "Grandpa/Great-grandpa and Miss Zelda" (by Reede's family and their friends)

The Korok War Crimes are a direct result of all of Link's frustrations + his grief over his wife's sudden disappearance (if you haven't read my Wolfbred post yet, Wolfbred were originally created to be the Queen of Hyrule's perfect, loyal-to-the-death personal army. When the Wolfbred were banned, this overpowering genetic urge was then projected in the following two ways:

A male Wolfbred's "queen" is his wife

A female Wolfbred's "queen" is her pups/children

Henceforth, Link's "queen" is Zelda and he has a specific genetic urge demanding he serve and protect her until he dies.)

The Korok War Crimes are isolated incidents, not wide-spread, and typically are feral-type incidents and injuries. (Not sophisticated, and rarely involving Zonai devices)

youtube

#tumblr deleted my first draft of this so i'm sorry if I missed anything I was trying to type from memory #thank you ctrl + z #zelink #fanfiction #booksivewritten #zelda lore #lore post #sunset's lore hole #link imperial hyrule #zelda esmerelda hyrule #korok abuse #korok war crimes #Youtube #hfs minor #hyrule's final stand #hyrule's final stand a century past

7 notes · View notes

sunset-peril · 1 year

Text

Successors - Prologue - The Back of One's Mind

“I must tell you… It’s been a long while that I’ve been tryin’ to muster up the strength to come here.” A brown-haired Hylian woman, figure normally gleaming in arrogance, filled with solemnity. Her horse’s hooves clicked on as they traveled the Necluda path, the woman’s grip weak on the reins from some other force.

“I get that a lot, from people coming here to pay their respects. Even ninety years later… it's still a tragedy. That’s why I offer myself to people wishing to come. My final allegiance to Her Highness… to watch over her remains.” Her companion, an elder Sheikah, whispered. It was obvious he had not been in his home village in a very long time, he spoke more like a Hateno villager than a Sheikah, and did not wear the traditional garb of such.

“How is the Castle?”

“It’s still holding up. It’s been safer, though. I think the safest it ever was… would have been about thirty years ago.”

“Astounding…” She looked up and was graced with a sweeping landscape, covered in the remains of autonomous, possessed soldiers surrounding a large stone structure that had seen better days. Eyes began to burn as she looked down at her horse’s mane. The party became silent as they veered off the trodden path that drew closer to the structure. She knew they were near the site when three of the soldiers, arranged in a tower, all faced the same direction.

She’d heard about her kingdom’s fall of course, the ruins taking up the majority of Central Hyrule didn’t need anyone to teach their story, and she was nothing if not filled with rumors. However, when she gazed upon that patch of grass, the reality of that day ninety years ago came rushing in.

She could see them, surrounded by the flames of their fallen kingdom. The knight was essentially torn to pieces as he broke his silence to shriek his agony into the night. Crimson blood spewed from his near-slit throat in a sickening current, also bubbling up from his chest. He grabbed her hand, even in the pain; his blood smearing on her. His dying eyes glanced into hers with only fear for her life. Her Highness whined in similar pain, and although the Hylian woman fought to keep the rumors from this moment, the Princess reached for her pregnant stomach before moaning once more. She was nearly crosshatched by her wounds and, should the rumors be true, tensing and grunting as she tried to force her child's birth. The knight cradled her against his gushing body, cooing softly as his breaths became weak. The Princess didn't make another noise, she went limp in his arms just after he did. Footsteps quickly approached moments after they passed, two Sheikah knights found them, tried to wake them up, then shrieked in agony upon finding them dead on the bloodstained plain.

“Traysi? Miss Traysi?” The woman’s Sheikah guide prodded her back to her world. “It’s a sacred place indeed…” He mused when she turned a responsive head back to him. “so many people are sent right to the heart of the Calamity…”

“My… vials… please.”

“Of course.” The Sheikah reached into the sack on her horse’s neck, pulling out three small vials of water each labeled with the symbol of one of the Golden Goddesses. He tenderly slipped each vial into her hand, the glass clinking as they slid apart and back together.

Traysi looked back at the grass that had taken hold of her just moments before, slipping the corks out of the vials. Each vial had water from one of the sacred springs, and she had gathered them to anoint the site. First was the Spring of Courage, Fayroe’s spring. This was first because it honored both fallen. Next, the Spring of Power, Din’s spring. Last was the Spring of Wisdom, for the Princess could not ascend the mountain until the day of her death. With the anointing of this land, may the spirits that fell upon it be blessed with everlasting peace. May the spirits that fell here be free from any worldly captivity, to return to the side of the Highest Goddess Hylia by this blessing from her fellow goddesses. Let the sacrifice raised here never be forgotten, and reveal to us the truth of the Holy Princess and Chosen Knight so that they may not be tarnished by our unknowing state. Bring us peace in their absence, and bring them peace in our ignorance, and may their afterlife lead the life they should have been granted: together, enveloped in love, the same way they were created in that sacred temple below the sky oh so long ago…

As the final drops of the Spring of Wisdom’s water fell upon the grass, Traysi returned from her prayer; clutching the empty vials to her chest. “When I was younger, my father told me about his encounter with a Champion Survivor… someone close to one of your fallen warriors, my princess. I was captivated that there were people, real life people, who experienced the Great Calamity. Ever since then… I’ve wanted to pay my respects. However, no one knows where you or your Champions are buried… all we know is that you and Champion Link passed away here… and it’s taken many years before I could come… but here I am.” She bowed deeply, though not letting her knees touch the sacred ground, before shedding a tear and turning to head home.

“Welcome, travelers. May I sing you a song?”

Traysi and her Sheikah companion whipped around to see a young, blue-and-gold-macaw-like Rito with an accordion that was a little too big for him. He flew over the Guardian tower, a hopeful expression on his face. “My teacher, the court poet for the Royal Family, recently passed away. I would like to follow in his footsteps to sing for the ones who come to honor the Princess, Knight and Champions. I believe I have a song for you, one Her Highness would find pleasing; may I sing for you?”

“Sure… it would be a nice closing to my respects.”

The small-ish Rito smiled gently, then glided down and perched on a nearby rock. “Thank you, kind travelers.” He took his accordion and began to play.

Here on this sacred plain

Two travelers made their way

Through both the sun and the rain

To arrive here and say

"Thank you for that day

when you threw your life away"

I shall be here by your side

Through each of death's frozen nights

Standing here alone

I never thought I'd be this close

To this place, where legends forever rest

Beyond the day and the night

Resting along Hylia's side

No greater love has found its depth

Than this place where two fighters lay

Princess and her Knight

An eternal sacrifice

Two souls still searching for peace

Their destiny still awaits

Heroes lost in the fray

And then the light shall return!

The Rito opened his eyes as his accordion’s final notes played. “Thank you for listening to me. I will leave you now, if you would like.”

“Thank you, Rito.”

He smiled. “The name’s Kass. I wish you peace in your travels.” As quietly as he appeared, Kass ambled towards Hateno Village.

Traysi and her Sheikah companion prepared their horses for their journey.

“I wonder what he means…” The Sheikah suddenly mumbled.

“I believe he was referring to us, Synten.”

“No, no, at the end. He said ‘Two souls still searching for peace, their destiny still awaits.’ How could their destinies still lie ahead of them if they’ve been dead for decades?”

She blinked, stopping mid-bridle. “You’re right… Could it be possible…?”

Edited - 04/14/2024

10 notes · View notes

sunset-peril · 1 year

Text

Successors - Chapter Ten - Called to Mount Lanayru

*One Year Later*

~~~

He’d heard her voice. It seems just memorizing the songs of the Hero of Ten Thousand Years Ago wasn’t enough to free her from a sealed fate. This task he’d accepted from his teacher, to learn all the songs of the Hero to pass them down when Zelda’s husband returned to free their kingdom from the Malice, was about so much more than just mere melodies.

So he packed up his accordion, said goodbye to his family and departed for the wintery peak of Mount Lanayru. Upon arriving at this wisest peak, he was met with several sights that made him question such a calling: the Malice entangling Naydra, the overthrown atmosphere of the Spring, and the feathery purple reptile staring down at him with a condemning glare.

"Welcome, Kass, descendant of Revali." The feminine-sounding reptile's tail made a singular echoing smack against the holy water, growing as she absorbed the shadows coming from the statue of the great Goddess Hylia. What was this being? A judge of Wisdom to fulfill Nayru's degree? There wasn't the smallest twitch along the feathery body of the beast, aside from a slight tilt upwards of the head. "So you have come to aid Her Majesty. Good." Minimal light bounced around a small golden bracelet around the front right wrist. In the aged gold, the word 'Sirie' glimmered in the unnatural darkness. "You have found yourself in a very sacred place. The history of entire peoples breathes and dies here, under the unwavering and unbribable eye of Wisdom. Exiles, goddesses and heroes have all rested in these waters since the time of Hylia, and many more to come under here's aid." She bowed her head. "I have seen this being's heart, finding it pure in all ways and wise enough for Judgement. My great descendant of Hylia, please make yourself known in this place."

The symbol of Nayru became alight upon the dragon's head, spreading blue lightness into the darkness before the statue of Hylia was overtaken by another, brighter gold light. Two figures of light, one a strong male and the other a burdened female appeared until their figures formed: the late Prince(King?) of Hyrule and his heavily pregnant wife, Queen Zelda Esmerelda of Hyrule.

"Welcome." Her Majesty the Queen lowered an almost unnoticeable distance, legs trembling under her weight. The strong hand of her fallen warrior and love pulled her back to standing and closer to his side. "Look, Link," She whispered so much quieter to him, but Kass made it out all the same. "He is so different than our fallen friend…" Link preeminently wiped the mourning from her thin cheeks, "but I can sense Revali in him, all the same. A special task… Hylia has set him apart. He will need no sword for the rest of his days. Another, She has chosen for Medoh's charge."

The softest chuffing danced on the waters, the matriarch's hero leaned ever closer to her. "You don't have to write a poem, dear… He'll understand divinity even in plain Hylian." True to what he'd learned about the fallen Champion, Link took the gentlest hand, tipping the Queen backwards ever so slightly until spirit met goddess. Upon their release, he tipped his own head skyward and a high, long sound flowed from his throat to the stars that house his ancestors. The howl of the last male Wolfbred.

His wife's words flowed under his enduring howl. "You have been given a very special gift, along with a very special task. Take these melodies you've learned, give them to the peoples to remind them of us, discover the places we held so dearly, and hold onto your greatest lament for when my love arrives before you cloaked in flesh. He will be but a shell of himself when this happens, and I entrust him only to such a lament about the past, present, and future. It is you, descendant of Revali, Khosha, Revarie, Sydnei and Etoli, to set the stage, and bring the descendants of Champions and Survivors alike so we may close the book on this war started nearly over hundred years ago. To close this book, to open and begin another draped in the courage of this land of successors.

Kass' legs shuddered from her words, "Yes, my Queen. Whatever you say to end this all."

The King of Wolves finally lowered his head and his howl. "I'll keep an eye on your family. They will grow passionate for this cause." He shook out his full head of hair, kissed his wife once more with only a fraction of the grace, and took a four legged leap into the stars above, becoming one with them all.

"I must see you off as well, for Ganon grows stronger every day. But I know we will meet soon, I feel the heartbeats of the wilds and winds," Zelda winked at her poetically cryptic statement. "Goodbye, yet only for now, Kass."

The next years blazed through like mere moments, serving his king and queen with melodies and lyrics, watching the eyes of children light up at the mention of these powerful legends, and watching the tribes of the once fallen land drift closer and closer to each other; in preparation for the final hours Zelda foretold that night atop the frozen Mount Lanayru.

Edited - 04/14/2024

4 notes · View notes

sunset-peril · 1 year

Text

Successors - Chapter Eight - Forever May You Reign

*Twelve Years Later*

~~~

If only she knew her soul would be bound to this place… maybe she would have chosen somewhere warmer to suspend her soul.

Maybe she should have chosen the Leviathan Great Fairy Fountain in Gerudo.

But no, she was a being of wisdom. She must be bound to Mount Lanayru.

“O' youth, guided by / the servant of the goddess-”

And it wasn’t like she was completely alone. There were other beings of wisdom, beings the world never knew about. One, for instance, had just struck the chords of a harp. “Unite earth and sky, and bring light to the land.”

“Ah!” An almost melodical voice chirped. “Your Grace, my Queen! I did not know it was you inside Naydra’s afflicted figure today.”

“It will not be long until the Sheikah arrive.”

A purple-colored, feathery dragon hopped out of the shadows into the waters of the Spring of Wisdom. A white patch on her wings resembling the full moon glistened as she cried “Oh, happy birthday, my Queen! You look not a day over seventeen!”

Zelda rolled her eyes and smirked. “Thank you, Lady Sirie.”

“Of course! So! How are you on this fine day?”

“Cold.”

Sirie instantly puffed up into a feathered ball. “Bbbbrrrrr! Indeed! The wind’s got a frozen bite. Perhaps after the Sheikah come, I could bring you some treats from warmer climates! Least I can do for my Queen on her birthday, after a stunning performance that her king cannot hear.”

“It’s about him and all the others that I sing. I hope one day he’ll come to the Spring, just as we did on his last day.”

Sirie smoothly morphed into the brown-and-white figure of a creature long extinct, then laid a now-furry hand over Naydra(Zelda)’s snout. “The Shrine will do a good job. It will bring him back to you, and he will be here to greet her.”

Naydra’s head bobbed with Zelda’s agreement. “I know.”

As soon as Sirie’s finger tipped the tip of her snout in thought, a mischievous smile crossed her face, she hopped down into an odd bow. “I might know a way to bring you comfort.” Even less subtly than the first time, Sirie morphed back into a dragon and took off, as suddenly as she had appeared.

Although, in all honesty, Zelda’s appearance at the Spring of Wisdom was just as sudden. While the Spirit Naydra had been captured during the Calamity, Zelda had not assumed control of the dragon at any point, except during the last twelve years. She had reached a point where she could no longer remain in the castle for the Calamity’s anniversary. Ganon refused to set her free for this one day. Having already occupied Naydra, he would suspend her within the great Dragon to allow her out of the cursed palace while still being controlled. After the first few times, he realized he could temporarily banish her there whenever he found her ramblings (or eating of the offering bananas) incessant. Truth be told, it was originally her idea, and she really should have picked somewhere warmer. She greatly underestimated the amount of times Ganon would banish her temporarily.

In her defense, however, Ganon should have done his research before holding a pregnant woman captive! She has a child to feed, and a very hungry one at that. So what if she gets into the banana stash every so often?

Link would make sure she'd never go hungry. He'd make sure she never had to resort to the drastic measures of theft, have to fret over their child's wellbeing.

She had to remind herself every so often, that he hasn't eaten anything since the Calamity. Because he was gone.

These patron spirits of the Sacred Springs were helpful, but they weren't the same. They were servants, not family.

Ah, what she'd give to even see Link's family again.

His sister… she should be full grown now, hopefully with a family of her own.

Her family was splintered. Her child was somewhere in this long body, but the scales and such prevented her from feeling the kicks and movement. Her husband was long deceased, in a tomb that she invested all her hope in, the Shrine of Resurrection.

Saying she would kill to have him back would be an understatement. But even thinking about how much she wanted him made her whole body crumple. “Link… wake up, Link…” She didn’t care about her footing giving way to her faltered weight, and she didn’t care about the returning wingbeats or the screams of “My Queen! Are you alright?!”

…all she did was scream his name in agony.

…

"Good evening, wise Sheikah." Sirie bowed. “I know you’ve come from so far to honor our Queen, the descendant of Hylia herself. However,” She looked towards Naydra’s collapsed figure in the frozen water. “Her Majesty had a bit of a fall earlier, and in her already weakened state, she will not be able to lament on this day of remembrance.”

An aging Impa, Purah, Horacio and a strongly-built Temitri stumbled from the crowd, followed closely by one of Purah’s assistants. They made their way behind the statue where Zelda had laid, almost lifelessly, since her tumble earlier.

“How are you doing this evening, Your Majesty?” Temitri knelt into the water, gently brushing a warm hand across her face, Naydra’s scales pixelating into Zelda’s skin for mere moments at his touch.

She was cold. And not just because she was in Naydra’s body.

“Mother, Father! Help get her out of the water!” Temitri looped his arms under her shoulders and began to drag backwards, his aging parents lifting her legs and hips together. They placed her just outside the lapping waters and lit a fire near her body.

Several red dragons, exactly like Sirie except for their color and the heat billowing from their scales, surrounded the parts of Zelda that the fire didn’t reach.

“You’ll be okay, Your Majesty…” Temitri whispered through burning eyes. “Please… please be okay…”

“Zelda…”

Her breath shuddered at the frighteningly familiar voice, and all the Sheikah froze in place.

“No… it can’t be…” Impa mumbled, afraid to look to where the voice had come from. There was no way… and she didn’t want to induce any more despair on her or Zelda.

“Zelda…” The voice was gentle and smooth. "Come here.”

Zelda finally found the strength to flutter her eyes open and look towards the voice, though it was clear she was afraid. Upon seeing the voice’s identity, her eyes shot open and her breath caught.

“Hi… Zelly.”

“Link!” She tried to stand but lacked the strength. All the Sheikah, in awe of their young deceased king’s sudden arrival, began to gather around.

Link drew closer to Zelda and cradled her to his chest, all of Naydra’s features fading away. Even though he was a spirit, her body did not pass through him, and her cheeks felt his soft lips. “I missed you…” he whispered into her ear, stroking her shivering shoulders. Her stomach had become noticeably larger in the decades that passed since their last meeting, and she felt him purr upon seeing their child was growing still. “You’re beautiful…”

“She’s growing well… strong, just like you.”

The warmest smile spread softly over Link’s battle-tarnished face, and his voice grew softer than a feather. “She?”

A matching smile infected Zelda. “Your daughter…” Her eyes rolled back and she grew a little limper in Link’s arms.

“Shh, rest.” He stood and all the Sheikah followed suit, beginning a trek down the frozen mountain and through the Promenade. Most of the Sheikah headed home to Kakariko, but Temitri and Horacio remained with the pair. Eventually, they arrived in Hateno, having only had to trek southward to arrive at the fort. Having found his home empty, Link inquired to where his sister and father were.

“I am sorry, Your Majesty… your father passed a few years after you did, but your sister is alive…” Temitri led him, Zelda limp and cold in his arms, to where Sydnei had made a new home.

Link growled when a male Rito, about fifty, bearing the aura of the Rito who he’d become close with all those years ago, answered the door. "Who are you?"

"That’s a bit of a loaded quest-... I-" He locked eyes with Link. "I-it cannot be…" He looked down at Zelda resting in his arms. "You are him!"

"Who are you?" Link growled again, in disbelief. How could this be possible?

“Ah, apologies. I’ll spare you the whole dog-and-pony show regarding the intricacies, but my name is Revali. Revali the Second. I am your brother-in-law!”

Link's breath caught, in disbelief for a whole other reason. "Sydnei-?"

"She's out and about. Rarely's at home on either of your birthdays. And this must be…"

"Zelda, my wife."

"She's just as beautiful as Sydnei described. She looks due soon."

"As long as she fights Ganon, sealed away by her own might, she won't become due."

"Come, come! Rest yourself for a while."

He laid Zelda down in the bottom bed of a nearby bunk, then flopped beside her and observed with contentment. Being dead, or at least suspended in a half-dead state thanks to the Shrine, Link did not grow any ounce of exhaustion.

Later that evening, after Zelda had regained her strength, the pair ambled through the village towards the overlooking cliffs that housed the Ancient Tech Lab. They settled on a lower ledge, mesmerized by the sunset shining over the windmills.

"I wish you could stay…" Zelda clasped his hand a little tighter, as if that would prevent him from leaving.

Sorrow consumed Link's expression. "You know I can't."

"Please… please… don't leave us again."

He swiped away the tears in her eyes. "If I only could…" Link leaned forward and kissed her forehead, then proceeded to fade away with the sun.

"No! Link, Link!!" She lurched forward to keep from losing him again, but hit the ground. He was already gone. The shock of the impact kept her from getting back up for several moments, and then the aching of her body kept her down. In tear-stained silence, she began to hear another voice higher up on the path to the tech lab. It was a hymn of blessing, a prayer… for her. "Hello?" She chirped back to the hymn, having to repeat twice before she was noticed.

That voice… it was so familiar… but it couldn't be.

"... Zelda?"

She struggled to turn towards the voice, when she finally was able, her shock met her visitor's.

It was Sydnei. A much older Sydnei. "Zelda! It is you!" She came over and got on the ground, brushing her hand over Zelda’s stomach. "I can't believe… I'm actually seeing you again…"

"You…you just missed your brother."

"Link?! He's alive?!"

"No, no. He's passed away, but his spirit was just here."

"So-so are you alive or-?"

"I am alive, yes." She suddenly winced.

"Oh! Are they coming out?"

"That seems to be everyone's favorite assumption. But no, she's not coming yet. We're in stasis, sealed away in the castle with Ganon. She just… well pretty much met her father for the first time. Wasn't ready for him to go…"

Sydnei smiled. "Zelda Ivee…"

"You remembered…"

"Of course! I may be old and quite possibly have grandchildren, but I still remember my only niece!" She bent down to talk with the child. "I'm your aunt, Zelda Ivee… and I promise I wasn't always this old. Your mommy and daddy are older than I am though." Sydnei laughed, sitting back up. "It's been too long… I'd feared the worst for all of you. I knew Link died… but I was forced to believe you'd passed by his side."

"He died in my arms." Zelda sniffed. "I stayed with him through his last moments and until some Sheikah soldiers arrived for his body."

"Do… do you know where he is buried? The Sheikah won't tell me… I've pleaded for years."

Zelda paused for a long time. Although she felt she should think, her mind was completely empty. Eventually, a single thought entered her mind. Take her.

When they arrived, Sydnei was in disbelief. "Here? But this is… it's huge!"

"It's an old Sheikah chamber, the Shrine of Resurrection. Found just before the Calamity."

"...Resurrection?"

"Yes. I ordered him placed here. To bring him back. It's feasible he could arrive any day."

Sydnei collapsed to her hands and knees. "All these years… they hid all of this from his own family…"

"A thousand years could pass, and I'd still recognize you instantly… Sydnei."

The pair's heads whipped around. "Link!" Zelda darted back over into his arms.

"Shh, shh, Zelda it's okay…"

"Link… After all these years… I can't believe it's really you…"

"Who else would I be?" Link smiled cheekily.

"You've been dead for over half a century and then you just show up! Don't joke off my disbelief!"

Link gulped.

"And another thing!" Sydnei had finally reared her head. "You should be taking better care of your wife! Before the Calamity, you hardly ever left her side, and always gave her ample warning and comfort when you did have to go, but now, you just up and leave her with no warning!"

"I didn't want to leave her!" He snapped back, clutching Zelda's shoulders. "You think I wanted to die?!"

She snuggled closer to him. When he was ticked like this, the safest place to be was behind him.

"I didn't want to hurt anyone or leave anyone behind! My plan always was to quickly fight Ganon and do him in, then take Zelda home and take care of her until she gave birth to our daughter! That stupid Guardian spear changed everything!"

“...Spear?” Zelda stepped out from behind him to his front. “Link… what spear?”

He sighed. Look at her… She was the reason he fought, her obvious condition revealing this to the whole world. Oh, how he wished he could stay with her, providing the support she so desperately needed in this long battle against Ganon. However, he could only venture so far from his body or the sword for so long, and with the sword in the state it was, he couldn't go anywhere that was infected with Malice. If only…

"Link. What spear?"

He sighed once more. “It was during the Calamity… that Guardian army near Fort Hateno…" He pulled his shirt up to reveal a gaping hole on the left side of his lower chest.

“Oh, Link!” Zelda’s legs collapsed and she gagged at the sight.

“I didn’t want you worrying… you were so panicked…”

He heard Sydnei’s breath heave. “That’s what did you in…”

“We were gonna make it, I truly believed that. But when we got close, all of those Guardians… I got distracted by one of them tripping you… and…”

She held onto her husband’s ankles, still unable to view the wound. “The fact that you didn’t die instantly is truly a marvel.”

“Heh, it was probably my stubbornness that had me hold on. If I was going down, there was no way in Hell that you and our daughter were going down with me.”

Sydnei finally smiled. “It is that wound that proves your dedication to her and your kingdom. It is that reason that I sing the same song each year on this day. She bowed down before the pair, although Link also lowered to the ground to wrap his arms around Zelda. “Queen Zelda and King Link, for all you’ve sacrificed for your people… forever may you reign.”

Edited - 04/14/2024

2 notes · View notes

sunset-peril · 1 year

Text

Successors - Chapter Six - A Spitting Image

*Seven Years Later*

~~~

I’m sorry, Father.

I’m sorry that I’ll never live up to your status as legendary warrior. I’m sorry I can’t even hold your title as warrior. The Great Eagle Bow will never fire arrows from my talons, flying true to their mark. Your Gale, your defiance to allow a weakness to strike the Rito, shall never ruffle these feathers.

Neither will Medoh.

He was posed on Sanidin Park’s edge, in the shadow of the Great Horse, admiring the ruined castle. His feet moved like a dance, wings swinging in practiced maneuvers.

Talons twirled like Urbosa’s heels, wings defensive like Revali’s, posture in powerful respect, just like Mipha, determination gleaming through his face like Daruk.

Hours of practice apparent in every heartbeat, just like Link.

“Oh! Working on your dance?”

He swooped into a stop. “Yes, mom. I want all of them to be a part of my everyday life. It’s only fair.”

"This doesn't have to do with those rumors going around, does it?"

"They aren't rumors. Her spirit was actually seen at the Kakariko graveyard. Spirits aren't seen at a graveyard if they aren't dead."

"Perhaps she was mourning her husband, or that was the first quiet place her weary body found.”

“Have you seen her alive?”

“Seen her, no. But I know the Calamity would ravage us all if its seal broke, and Her Highness holds the seal together. If she were dead, it would be free.”

“So the Royal Family is alive?! Where’ve they been hiding?!” He flapped his navy and teal wings in a way that strongly resembled his late father.

“Revali the Second!” His mother flared her brown and pink wings. “The King, Queen and Prince are long deceased! Only the Princess and her unborn child remain!”

Both grew quiet, gazing up at the Great Horse, then at the Castle where their princess laid in endless attack.

“Is that why we live in Hyrule, not Rito Village?” He finally asked with barely a breath on his beak.

“I thought you liked Auntie Esosu and Auntie Horano?”

“I do! They’re very wonderful. It’s just… strange for a Rito to live in Southeastern Hyrule with a runaway Gerudo and a Zora guard opposing her elder ring.”

“Yet the cliffs near Lurelin work wonderfully for us. The people there are so kind. And the ocean breeze, ah! So wonderful for these feathers.”

Revali the Second smiled warmly, remembering the ocean mist shimmering on his wings. “You’re right.” He looked around. “Mom? May I fly around for a bit?”

“Of course! New wind around your feathers eases stress.”

Revali the Second opened his wings and charged off Sanidin Park’s edge, letting the air lift his wings before flapping. When he was up in the air, his wings instinctively cut through the air in a most melodical way. It was as if Zelda’s spirit had taken him over and now had taken control of his body to engineer a song from winds. Deep in his own soul, he knew this would not be the last time he’d felt her, nor would this be her last song. It was merely an event of many firsts. He vowed that he could hear her holy voice on the melodies they’d created together. He was lost in time, and quite possibly space, as he interacted with this holy being so close to his family those many years ago.

Abruptly, her spirit left him. Suddenly, he tumbled out of that serene headspace. Quickly, he flapped his wings in a singular upbeat to steady his soaring as he descended.

“You looked like you were enjoying yourself,” His mother mused as her talons clung to the edge railing, obviously considering taking flight herself. “I’ve never heard the wind make so much music to a pair of wings.”

“It was like she took over me,” Revali the Second mumbled in disbelief, “my wings felt like nothing, but they turned so beautifully.”

“Ah! There are Ritos here!” A stablehand declared to his companions, a slightly taller woman with a young child on her back.

“Hello!” She waved to them. “You’re quite a ways from home!”

“Actually, this is one of the closest places we’ve been to where you’re thinking of. We’re from Lurelin.”

“Well then, you are definitely quite a ways from home!” She amended. “We heard the music coming down from these old ruins, so we came up to see what was making it.”

His mother seemed to puff up in pride. “That would be my son, Re-”

“Revarie. Reva for short.” He held out his wing for a handshake. “Pleasure to meet you.”

“Ah, what a lovely name!” She then turned to Reva’s mother. “And who might you be?”

“My name is Khosha.”

“Khosha?” The lady blinked. “Like, the old Rito Champion’s dear wife?”

“I am she.” Her words suddenly became curt on her beak.

“Oh!” Both Hylians replied. “I see…”

Khosha refused to look their way again. “Revarie, we should start the flight back if we wish to be home before the final boats dock.”

Before he could think to answer her, Khosha had lifted into the air, scratched and burned talons from a brief stint as a Rito Village warrior remaining matte despite the glittering of everything else. He looked back only once before following, and they made their way towards Faron.

“If only the Princess were still around…” She muttered under her beak, then suddenly banked for Hyrule Castle.

“Mom!” Reva called, then banked clumsily behind her.

Hyrule Castle, in all honesty, was not far from where they were. However, that did not stop the everlasting feelings in Reva’s soul. What was happening with his mother?

“Guardians!” She suddenly hissed, banking sharply to enter the Castle Town ruins without becoming fried. Her wings flapped with a powerful rage, she went from diving forward to climbing upwards in a single downbeat.

While Reva's flight skills were nowhere near par to his mother's, and certainly not his father's, he was able to follow her well enough. They rose in the air, aiming instead for Her Highness' chambers inside their own spire.

Their wings flapped gently as they entered the crumpled remains of Her Highness' bedchamber, which she shared with her dear husband. They looked around, hearing laughter echoing from somewhere. The room was definitely in a lived-in state. Although papers and the like had been thrown everywhere by the Calamity Ganon, the room was obviously lived in immediately before, and no one had reordered the room to prove otherwise.

It seemed a maid had not reached the Prince and Princess’ bedchamber before the Calamity struck, the two Rito mused. Odd, considering the Calamity had struck at sundown. Zelda’s birthday did not disrupt the general workings of the Royal Staff. Not even the Princess’ trial a month or so prior kept a maid from her duties for an entire day.

It was like no one had granted the maid permission to enter the chambers. That was normally given as soon as it was appropriate to enter them. On the day of Zelda’s trial, the order had been given as soon as the trial ended. The order should have been given once Zelda left the premises.

The King hadn’t gone with her… everyone knew this because he was observed in the gardens with his personal guards when the Calamity erupted.

So why hadn’t such a routine order been given that day?

Something breathed on Reva’s neck feathers. “Was that you, Mom?”

“What?” She turned her head. “Revali! Look out!” Her wings flared and she jumped into the air, flapping a few times.

He whipped his head around to see a great Lynel staring him down, tail flicking the Guard’s bow on the mantle precariously. His mother’s stories of a Lynel, resting at Her Highness’ feet, streaked with the darkest reds and blacks, came flooding back to him.

“What may I ask, are you doing here?” A regal voice pierced their skin.

The Lynel locked eyes with someone now on their backside and bowed slightly. The Rito turned back around.

Khosha’s beak hit the floor almost instantly. “P-Princess! It’s-it’s-is it really you?”

It was as if a great concert had begun for Reva as soon as he laid eyes on her. Instruments and voices raised to cloak her in musical regalia. His feather tips began to move with the music streaming from this silent woman. When she took one step towards him, perhaps in curiosity, perhaps in condemnation, he did not know, he collapsed on the floor in front of her in a kneeling bow. “Revali?” Her voice seemed in denial, shaking with something else powerful. “It cannot be…” He then heard her foot stomp loudly on the ground, her Lynel roared. “Medoh fell and you survived?! You abandoned the Divine Beast, Daruk, Mipha-”

“What a coward!” The great Lynel mused in a huff.

Wait- Since when can Lynels talk?

“Link perished! You survived while the love of my life gave his life on a small battlefield for a fort of very little consequence! And how did you survive? By fleeing the Beast that surrendered to you and failing to come to the aid of another just as in need as you! Sure, you survived when he did not, but by dishonorable course!”

“Pardon any discourtesy, Queen.” The Lynel interrupted with slow speech before she could think of another biting series of words. “I mean not to interrupt-”

“Wait!” Khosha screeched into the room. “This is not Champion Revali! This is his son!”

Zelda startled backwards, a gleaming hand trailed its way to a familiar position on her dress.

“Zelda, I know your heart is broken. Though many years have passed, you still mourn greatly. However, please try and find your wisdom. Twenty one years have passed since the Calamity. This young Rito could not be Champion Revali, who would be now nearing fifty years and the end of his career had he survived.” She blinked several times as she calculated something. “And pardon me for asking, but your husband has been dead these twenty-one years. How can it be that you are with child? Where is the child he fathered before his death?”

Zelda sighed heavily through her nose. “I wish I knew exactly how to explain, but I have not aged a day since the Calamity. I am exactly as I was when Link breathed his last.”

“So that child you carry…”

“Indeed. My body is exactly the way it was. To that effect, the pregnancy has not advanced either. We-” She motioned to herself and the Lynel. “-discovered such when four months passed, but I showed no signs of labor. Then five, six, and then a year passed my due date, but this little one… just wasn’t coming.”

“Five months pregnant for twenty one years.” The Lynel mused. “She will be one quite attached to her mother.”

Reva blinked. “She?”

“Ah!” Light finally seemed to return to Zelda’s mood. “The little one of course! She is a girl. Zelda Ivee, her father wanted to name her…”

“But if you’ve been carrying her for twenty one years longer than normal, how is she still alive? How are you still alive?”

“Like I said,” The biting regalness returned. “I and Zelda Ivee have been frozen in time since her father’s death. She has not aged nor have I. Come closer and feel her kick if you must.”

Reva did so, and Zelda Ivee quickly met his wing. He looked up in near disbelief, as neither Rito nor Zora bore their children in such a fashion as this small, young-looking Hylian that was actually nearing her forties, and Auntie Esosu was too old to bear children.

Motherly pride began to beam from Zelda’s face, lighting up the whole room, before her stomach grumbled loudly and her beaming smile instantly faded to an ashamed blush.

“There is nothing to be ashamed of, my Queen,” The Lynel replied with a little bow before she could interject an apology. “Come, we’ll see to the Great Hall. We’ve recently acquired bananas.” He said ‘bananas’ much more playfully than Khosha or Reva ever would have expected from a Lynel. He approached Zelda, then picked her up carefully with his hands and placed her on his back. They both shone with light, Zelda’s being white and the Lynel’s red, before running through the blocked, crumbled hallway that once connected the room to the rest of the castle, passing through all its debris as if it were only a mirage.

“B-b-but I touched her… so she can’t be a ghost…”

“That’s the difference between a spirit and a goddess. A spirit is dead, and cannot manipulate their body to interact with the environment. A goddess however is not dead, just suspended in a different realm, so she can go back and forth. She can also send others back and forth as well as temporarily take over a soul. A great many things, a goddess can do.”

“So why doesn’t she just bring her husband’s soul back instead of attacking anyone she even remotely recognizes?" Reva muttered, still not over the previous outburst.

“She probably can’t do that. Several reasons come to mind: her powers didn’t work until the day of the Calamity after her husband had already died, she’s a descendant of Goddess Hylia, not an incarnation, she’s likely in a lot of physical and emotional pain so isn’t thinking clearly, and she’s very likely weakened by her long pregnancy to try anything drastic." Khosha glanced towards where Zelda had disappeared. "If she could, she would already have. I can tell she misses him very much. I pray peace over her."

"Is that why you named me Revali, Mom? Because everyone mistakes me for him at first glance?"

"Yes. I even did so. But that's also why we don't live with the other Rito. They're convinced you're a reincarnation of him to avenge his own death."

"So the reason we fled when I was a flightless chick… was so I could be myself, instead of my father's clone?"

"Indeed. The Hylians are used to such a thing, so they don't react. However, I know you'll eventually have to return. There just aren't enough Rito outside the village to stay away forever."

Edited - 04/14/2024

2 notes · View notes

sunset-peril · 1 year

Text

Successors - Chapter Two - The Songbird Warrior

*One Year Later*

~~~

"Oh, Mama! It's trembling again!" A blue and pink Rito peeped as she called her mother to the egg-filled nest. "That's the second time this hour!"

"But of course! It's been a year since you laid." A pink and brown bird raised her head from the hammock.

"Oh, what would Revali be saying now?"

"That you should not be such a worrywart, Khosha!" She flapped her wings wide. "A hatching egg shall tremble, and that is nothing to concern over." Her talons clicked on the floor. "Specially, he would say you are being asinine." She sighed. "But that is not of concern. He's been gone a year, Khosha, and it's time for your egg to hatch. Please do not live in the past, he isn't there either."

But Khosha's focus did not turn to her egg, but to Hyrule Castle in the distance. "The closer we've gotten, Mama, the more I've thought about her."

"Oh. How so?"

She sighed loudly. "It's been a year, Mama… she should have already had her baby; a beautiful, healthy, golden baby." Khosha glanced backwards. "I don't even know if she got out of that dangerous place, much less delivered a child as healthy as her effort deserved." Her egg rolled back and forth in her talons. "I guess it doesn't seem fair that I only lost my husband, but she lost so much more: her home, kingdom, husband, and quite possibly her child."

"The dead do not wish for you to mourn over their uncertainties."

"Oh, she was so little, Mama… so so little…" She poured over the words like a serenade. "but she had an ancient soul."

The older woman's beak curved up slightly. "She sounds lovely."

"Did you ever see her? She came to the village several times."

"A few. None as well as the last. I saw her when she came by just before the Calamity." She cooed out a chuckle. "Oh, she was so little… but that stomach of hers… hmm, that was a sight to behold. I don't think her husband appreciated my amusement though. He gave me the ugliest look." She imitated Link's steely glare.

"He was not in a good mood that day. He was upset she was traveling instead of resting, and she'd been hurting earlier that morning."

"He had a good heart in him. Part of what made him the incarnation of protective, my theory. Hylia always takes the best sooner than we hope."

"I bet the Princess is still missing him painfully."

"If she even survived. She might be up there with him, reunited with her dear mother."

"Mama, I know she's alive. I saw her."

"Oh, and where?"

"The Castle. I… needed some closure soon after the Calamity, and flew there. I saw her in the throne room, Mama, just the way I saw her last, sitting on the throne with a great red Lynel at her feet that was streaked in black and purple like Malice. She didn't look like she'd aged a day, nor did her baby seem a day closer to coming, but she was cloaked in holy light."

"Then she does seem alive, and in no need of our concern in this very moment." Khosha's mother gestured towards the egg rattling beneath Khosha's right foot. "Someone both alive and in our world would like your attention."

Finally, Khosha lowered her head from the window to focus on the hatching egg. "Hello? Is there a little Rito in there?"

A startlingly familiar beak pierced through the shell, sending cracks throughout the remaining areas before retracting. After that, the egg stopped moving, causing the two women to lower their beaks in curiosity.

"It just… stopped, Mama."

The shell split apart like an explosion, scattering fragments and revealing a tiny Rito with its wings outstretched.

"Revali?"

…

"It's like the Champion had a chick with himself!" The Elder exclaimed upon further examination.

"I've never seen this outside of the Hylian Royal Family!"

The chick had since dried off from his egg into a noisy little poofball. To the amazement of the entire tribe, he was almost an exact copy of Champion Revali, except for the teal tips of his wings where his father had white.

"His name is Revali the Second." His mother declared, bringing him closer to her chest.

"Ah, what a joyous day is this!" The elder hooted. "To be gifted once again with our Champion just a year after his passing!"

While the tribe gathered in celebration, heading to the Flight Range, Khosha and her mother lingered at the nest.

"He will lead a burdened life, that is for sure. His father's silhouette lies before him, and the world will try and get him to match it instead of casting his own, even if it is similar."

Revali the Second glanced up from his mother's wings. Peep! Peep!

"It's so strange…"

"Perhaps Hylia knew you needed him to stay with you, even though he had to go with her. That is what she did for Zelda, is it not?"

"Yes." She wandered out to Revali's Landing, looking out towards the Flight Range. "And we'll make our mark, won't we, Revali?" She held the baby to the sky, whispering 'Look at your son…' before fastening him into a restraint, clasping the Great Eagle Bow and taking off. As she neared the Range, she prepared three bomb arrows and shot them into some of the targets her husband left behind, then landed with the same degree and style of fanfare he always had. And when she opened her beak to welcome the tribe in a way that he would, she could have sworn it was his voice and not her own.

"Impressive, I know."

Edited - 04/14/2024

3 notes · View notes

sunset-peril · 1 year

Text

Successors - Chapter One - Loyalty in Shifting Sands

*Ninety Years Before*

~~~

“Captain Esosu!” A bellowing voice echoed throughout the Gerudo Palace.

Esosu, a Gerudo captain who was close to the recently deceased Lady Urbosa and Lady Zelda, cringed. Her new chieftain was nothing like Urbosa, and she showed no signs of healing like Lady Zelda. It was almost as if the new ruler was using the tragedy to advance some sort of motive, and with Urbosa lacking any heir but a disgraced, deceased Hylian vai, there was no one to overthrow her.

Akeku wasn’t half the chief Urbosa was, she wasn’t even half the queen Zelda would have been. Surely the summoning couldn’t mean anything good.

Yet Esosu was still bound by duty, at least for the time being. She would respond to her chieftain and see if she couldn’t just put up with whatever was to come. She entered the throne room swiftly, bowing to see what the woman atop the throne desired. “Chieftain Akeku, what troubles you?”

“Captain Esosu. As you know, I have only been chief for a matter of mere months. Yet, those few months have allowed me to see that great changes must be made in our tribe to protect us, make us stronger. We must turn our tribe into the words muttered over my aunt’s body: Gerudo Forever Strong.”

“Chieftain Akeku, I’m afraid I must disagree with you. The Gerudo women have poured their hearts and soul into their strength. The years leading up to the Great Calamity, under Lady Urbosa’s hand, were some of our strongest times.”

“My aunt is now well deceased. I ask that you remove such living titles.”

“I’m sorry, but she will always be a lady. I cannot remove her title, lest she be removed from our history.”

“She is too much an example for such a fate.” Akeku’s voice grew foreboding as her eyes narrowed on her late aunt’s top palace guard.

“I agree with your words, but confused by a hidden meaning.”

Akeku’s sigh was full of disgust. “To think you were my aunt’s favorite guard. Don’t you see, Esosu? My aunt’s choices to follow Hyrule and its Goddess Hylia led to her destruction. Had she ignored Hyrule and followed the Heroines, she would still be alive and on this throne. However, she chose to follow Hyrule’s so called Goddess Descendants: a dead queen and her prostitute daughter. If we do not turn back, we will be destroyed with them all.”

“Have you forgotten what we owe? Our ancestors and their rules brought the demon into this world.”

“We owe nothing to the Fallen Kingdom. Only by turning away from their Goddess to our own, from removing ourselves from their affairs, can we prevent their fate from becoming our own.”

Esosu clamped her jaws as she thought over an action she’d considered over weeks. She decided this was the final straw. “If you’re so certain that this will save the tribe from the horrors of the Lingering Calamity, then you no longer need me.” She then stood and darted out the palace’s main entrance.

“Captain Esosu, halt!” Akeku hopped up slightly, before ordering other guards to chase the renegade. However, Esosu was gone before the guards had gotten out of the palace.

With only the clothing and weapons already on her person, Esosu fled the city she’d spent two decades defending and raced towards the Gerudo Desert Entrance, leaving her province for what might be the last time.

…

“Ma’am! You look exhausted. Why not come stay here for the night?” A Hylian woman, likely tall for her tribe and younger than Esosu, gestured towards the nearby stable.

Exhaustion swept over her. “But I have no rupees for the night.”

“It’s alright. Many have struggled since the Calamity, I will pay for your fare.”

"Thank you."

The Hylian took Esosu over to the stable, then paid for her to have one of the softer beds. “Rest well, I have to tend to the horses. I’ll be around if you need me. Hylia bless you.”

Esosu settled in the bed, looking up at the embroidery that decorated it. Attached to her sword belt, she found a sack containing several valuable gemstones and a few pieces of flint. Relief replaced exhaustion. She could sell the gemstones to steady herself. Hopefully she could find a village looking to hire a Gerudo, as the gemstones would only last so long. Where was that village that Zelda’s husband was from? What was it called again?

Nevertheless, beginning a new life was a full time job. Perhaps she could acquire a bow from a monster or ruins and awaken the hunter within her. She could feed herself and sell extra meat and hides for when the gemstones ran out. She would not change her name, she might as well subject to Chieftain Akeku- no- just Akeku’s desires. Her Chieftain was named Urbosa, and her Goddess, Hylia. Urbosa was willing to give her strength for an entire world and not leave the broken helpless. Until Esosu’s dying day would Urbosa be her Chief. Lady Zelda would forever be just that. Never smeared with the title “Princess of the Fallen,” but forever respected as a lady.

Pleased with her emotional settlement, morning came swiftly. She rolled out of bed to be met with the crisp breeze of a Hyrule morning.

“Cold, ma’am?” The stable master asked without a hint of offense. “It’s definitely colder here than in Gerudo. You might try Rito Village to the north or Kakariko and Hateno to the east. Clothing for cooler locations is sold in all three towns. I’d imagine Hateno has the most rounded gear, as the weather is moderate and the village is mostly farmers.”

"Hateno?"

"Ah yes, you're from Gerudo. Pardon me. Our late Prince Link was raised in Hateno. Hylia bless his young soul."

Sorrow filled Esosu's heart. "May he rest in peace. I… knew his wife well. Were there any survivors?"

"None from the battlefield. Duchess Sydnei survived the night, as she was in Hateno, but the rest of the Royal Family perished. King, Princess, Prince, and the little one of course."

"Is the Duchess still in Hateno?"

"Of course! She's but a small child!"

"Well, then it looks like I know where I'll go next. How do I get to Hateno?"

"Ah! Follow the southern road until it turns east towards the Dueling Peaks. The stable just past the mountains will have precise directions from there."

"Thank you so much." She paused for a beat. "Hylia bless you."

"You as well. Have a safe journey."

Esosu continued her trail on foot, following the road to the secluded Hylian village. She made her way quickly to avoid any monsters or Guardians in the burned central province until she arrived at Dueling Peak Stable.

"Ah! Welcome to our humble stable. It's not often that we have Gerudo visit. How may I help you?"

"Hello, I'm looking for Hateno Village. The master of another stable said you could show me the way?"

"Of course, ma'am." He stepped out of the stable and pointed northeast. "This road we're standing on will fork up ahead. Turn right at the fork. If you see the fort, covered in Guardian remains, you're on the right road. Continue straight on that road until you arrive at the village."

"Thank you."

"Anything else? You sure you don't need a horse?"

"I have no horse, sir. And I'll be alright, I made it all the way here on foot."

"Alright, safe travels."

"Hylia bless you." She offered, feeling a sense of freedom while saying it.

"Hylia bless you as well, ma'am. May you find what you're looking for."

Esosu made her way swiftly to Fort Hateno, then paused at the field of Guardians that had wreaked havoc only a few months before. Tears sprung to her eyes as she spent a moment of silence at the fort for all who had fallen there. Although she didn't know who they were, she valued their sacrifice as Urbosa had.

The trail from Fort Hateno to its namesake village was long and somber. Animals that had decorated the paths before then were gone now. Light fell on a cemetery placed in a small inlet of the cliffs, highlighting each stone.

Perhaps… they buried their prince here…

When Hateno finally did arrive, after a long trek upwards, she was indeed greeted at the gate by a heavy-set farmer. "Welcome to our humble village! If you need anything, please ask."

"Do you perhaps know where Duchess Sydnei is? I'm… a friend of her late brother's wife."

Tears fell from his eyes. "He was a good man. Shame he was taken so soon. Sydnei is home, she hasn't really come out since he died." He pointed at a large house out of the way.

When she went over and knocked on the door, a man with tear-stained eyes answered. "You look… familiar."

"My name is Esosu. I'm the former Captain of the Palace Guard. I'm looking for Duchess Sydnei."

He turned into the house, but he didn't look any less somber. "Sydnei?"

A small, blond haired girl slowly approached them. Had she not known better, Esosu could have mistaken the small girl for Link and Zelda's own child. A princess.

"Hello, Duchess Sydnei."

Sydnei looked up with aching eyes. "You're… Lady Urbosa’s best friend…"

"I am…" She smiled softly. "I've come to see you, and to submit myself to whatever you or this village might need. I'd rather spend the rest of my days serving the kingdom my chief loved instead of following a chief I cannot trust." Esosu lowered to her knees, holding out a hand for the small child. "As Lady Urbosa was for Zelda, I will be here for you until my dying day. A Gerudo's word is not swiftly broken."

Edited - 04/14/2024

#esosu #fanfiction #booksivewritten #breath of the wild #legend of zelda #successors hfs #successors #gerudo oc #gerudo #mentioned urbosa #link's little sister #sydnei imperial #botw oc #zelda botw #chief akeku #hyrule's final stand #zelink #botw zelink

4 notes · View notes

sunset-peril · 1 year

Text

Successors - Chapter Three - In Ruta's Shadow

The Champion’s Festival.

The rest of Hyrule might share a similar day of remembrance for the Calamity’s casualties, Horano did not know, but this one was strictly Zora.

It was to honor the sacrifice of Princess Mipha, who surrendered her long life to a set of Hylians that had not done any grand endeavors to win her favor.

Princess Zelda and Prince Link, they were dear friends of her lovely Mipha. But the elders had already turned against them. Stripped Link of his title, even. They were still angry about Mipha’s death, but Horano assumed they held a grudge against the gentle Wolfbred.

After all, he did reject Mipha’s marriage proposal.

But in the Hylian prince’s defense, he was already engaged to another. It was only fair to Zelda, who may have even been with child by that time. Horano did not know whether the golden little woman was expecting at the time Mipha proposed to Link, but that changed nothing. Link was already engaged to her, and had he been in love with Mipha instead, he wouldn’t have said yes.

Neither of them deserved the elder’s punishment, which involved “forgetting” to remember that Link was the Prince of Hyrule and Zelda’s husband. Not even Rhoam tried to make the world forget his daughter was married.

No doubt the elders would work to change Hylian history in the minds of future Zora youth, but that would not work on her: the shadow of the Divine Beast Vah Ruta, inactivated in the Rutala Dam’s waters, reminded her of the truth.

Horano truly believed that Mipha’s death was not a malicious act by either Link or Zelda, but rather a tragedy that was accounted for when Mipha accepted their plea. She was not a selfish soul, after all. While it did not lessen Horano’s mourning, especially on this special day, it was important to remember alongside.

Zora were beginning to gather at Mipha’s newly-finished statue. She wondered why they did not gather at Vah Ruta. Later today, she decided, she would visit the place where her princess fell. As she went to pick up the Lightscale Trident, she stumbled upon the small Prince Sidon. “Oh, my prince. Are you alright?”

His young eyes looked up at her. “I miss Mipha…”

“I do too… we all do.”

“Why did she go?”

“Because Hylia needed her…”

“Will Hylia need me?” His voice was so vulnerable.

“I don’t know, Sidon… but maybe. You’re the future of the Domain, if by some reason the Royal Family survived, Hylia will likely need you to help the kingdom.”

“Will I see Mipha again after?”

“Maybe. Only Hylia knows.” She braced his back. “But today, let’s celebrate your sister, how about that?”

…

Although the entire domain made an appearance at their late Champion’s statue, she was the only soul sitting in Ruta’s shadow. The quiet fit the somber mood, but she also wished someone had come.

After all, what better way to remember a late Champion than by spending time at their Divine Beast?

“Excuse me?”

Horano’s attention flipped to a tall woman standing at the entrance. At first glance, the woman’s clothing made her seem like a Hylian, but striking red hair and a muscled body revealed her to be a middle-aged Gerudo. She had been a confident soldier, it seemed, but she no longer had that Gerudo fury. "Yes, ma'am?"

"Would it be alright if I came and sat by Vah Ruta? I didn't know if it was Zora-only or not."

"You're welcome to sit here. It would be lovely."

"Thank you, kind Zora." The Gerudo came and sat beside her, looking up at Vah Ruta.

“If you don’t mind me asking, who are you?”

“My name is Esosu. Former Captain of the Gerudo Palace Guard.”

“You’re from Gerudo Town?”

“I used to be.”

Horano blinked in confusion. “Used to?”

“I fled when Chief Akeku succeeded Lady Urbosa. She rules the Gerudo with an iron fist, forcing them to abandon Hylia and Hyrule. I now live in Hateno Village, been there about a year.”

“Ah! We share something in common. Our elders are trying to force us to forget that Champion Link was married to Princess Zelda and Prince of Hyrule. They are angry at him for refusing her marriage proposal and then taking her to that fateful battle.”

“It’s sad enough that my people have turned against Hyrule. But the Zora have been long-term allies with them…”

“The King is still in favor of Hyrule, it is just some of our elders that are not.”

“Ah!” Esosu nodded in some relief. “What is your name?”

“I’m Horano. I’m a guard for the Zora Palace.”

“A small world!” Esosu declared with a few claps.

“Indeed.” They looked back up and the elephantine mechanical beast that rested noiselessly in the reservoir. “Do the Gerudo visit Naboris?”

“Not that I am aware of. We tried to find it right after Lady Urbosa fell, but couldn’t find it in the blowing sand. I left shortly afterwards; I don't know if they ever found Naboris.”

“How is the late prince’s family doing?”

Esosu startled a little at the sudden subject change, but promptly responded. “They still hurt. I don’t know if his father will ever heal… He didn’t lose just his son, but his son, his daughter-in-law, and their baby. I believe it was too much loss for his old heart. The Duchess will be alright, but I don’t think she’ll ever move on. Even a year afterwards, she still pulls me aside to show me something new that reminded her of her brother. The whole village still grieves, he was beloved by all of them.”

"Ah," Horano sighed sadly. "I hope her father will soon find peace, and that she will heal enough to live. She's got so much life ahead of her, it all will be wasted if she can't move on from her past… when her brother was alive…"

Edited - 04/14/2024

1 note · View note