Hateno Forts: A Short Story

Hateno Fort, the last bastion against the horde of Ganon’s creations and the Hylian rule. A fabled battle had taken place there, and legends tell of the hero who gave his life to defend the Princess.

Link hated the place.

It was raining, drizzling really, and he stepped carefully around guardian remains, grabbing the odd bolt or two from the undersides of the automatons.

He wandered on foot, his horse, Nocturne, following loyally behind him, reins in hand. Her breath was warm against his hair, a stark contrast to the chilly, damp air around them.

The two picked their way through the graveyard of Guardians slowly. Every so often, Link would catch a glimpse, a fleeting image of his past life. None of these stuck, though, his brain seemed fuzzier than ever.

He was anxious to find this last shred of his memories, and the scenery that would hopefully unlock the final key to his life before stasis.

Mist drifted up from the soggy ground, the peaty moorland hazy and grey. Nocturne nickered every once in awhile, and Link would stop to calm her, she too felt his unease. Horses were smart like that.

They trekked through a shallow pond, marsh grass dragging wet streaks along Link’s side as they waded through the wetlands. Link could just barely see the outline of the trees in the distance; to his right, there was a pile of mossy guardians, surfaces slick and shimmering in the misty sunlight, and before him laid only grass.

He turned towards the guardians and headed forward, reaching his hand up to drag along their slick surfaces. He walked down the corridor of columns and trees, and passed a mound of dirt littered with rusty Claymores. He could hear the snuffling of bokoblins in the bushes and pulled Nocturne forward, hoping he wouldn’t have to fight.

Thankfully, they went along unnoticed, and soon the sounds of the creatures faded into the haze of rain. They passed a toppled pillar, relatively well preserved for such an ancient battlefield, he felt a twinge in his spine. It was after a few more feet that he began to get twitchy, and only a few moments passed before he felt it. His skin crawled as he was flooded with memories of that final battle, his final hours. His head rushed with blood and his vision blurred as he was dragged back into the memory.

Zelda. Guardians. Pink ash; the feeling of blood pouring from gashes in his side, a laser burn on his shoulder. The smell of charred flesh and the acrid stench of woodsmoke.

He shuddered.

'Zelda...'

She had awoken her powers, then, and just in time to save him it seemed. The brilliance of Hylia’s grace was unforgettable, wiping out all the corrupted technology and saving them from the Guardian’s gaze. But despite Zelda’s victory, he collapsed, a willing sacrifice for Hyrule and the Princess.

It was tiring, reliving his own death.

Because that's what happened, he died. He could remember it clearly now, how after Zelda had finally found her dormant powers, his own gave out. He remembers lying in her arms as his head swam with the loss of blood and pain. He remembered drifting away to the pulse of the Master Sword in his hand and Zelda holding him tighter and tighter. At some point after he lost consciousness, but before his soul left him, he was brought to the Shrine of Resurrection.

'She shouldn't have had to save me,' Link thought numbly, 'I should have been stronger.'

With this thought, he was woken out of his groggy reverie. Lying on the ground, he realized he soaked through to the bone, and shivering violently. With a grunt he pushed himself into a sitting position, and looked up once more at the Guardians perched upon fallen pillars around him. He felt an unnerving twist in his gut when he looked at them, and could almost imagine them coming alive once more with that all too familiar red flare.

He called Nocturne, who had wandered off, and she came running within a minute.

'I've died once', he mused, standing and fishing an apple out of her saddle bag, 'but I've been given a second chance to save her, and the kingdom. That's my duty.’

While Nocturne ate the apple from his palm, he stood silently, thinking. He shuddered with a sigh, leaning into Nocturne’s cheek. Nocturne whinnied softly, nudging her muzzle against his hair in response. The gesture seemed...familiar, and he was reminded of a ranch, in a village nestled just outside Hyrule. A home in a land unknown to him.

These visions had meaning, meaning lost to memories just out of his reach it seemed. Link sighed, and returned the warm gesture, twining his fingers through Nocturne’s mane with one hand. He pet her nose with his other, and she snorted as he stroked her muzzle. A wave of frustration flowed through him as he tried to think of the source of that nostalgia. After a few moments of thought, he threw Nocturne’s reins over her head, looping them around the horn of her saddle.

'Never mind that,' he conceded, and swung himself up onto her back.

The two headed off in the direction of Hateno Fort, it’s silhouette dark against the sun. Settling back in Nocturne’s saddle, Link allowed himself to relax. This was who he was now – a fated hero, sure, but every bit an adventurer as well. It was silly, but he felt calmer, about the whole destiny thing whenever he sat in Nocturne’s saddle. The worn leather beneath him and the reins in his hand, yes. He truly did feel at ease here.

The ride was short, but by the time he spotted the familiar glow of the Fort’s torches it was nearly twilight. It had gotten late far quicker than he anticipated.

They passed through the gate, and left misty moorlands for densely wooded forests. It would soon be dark, and though Link knew that they had a bit further to go, he didn’t want to work Nocturne straight through the night. Deciding to visit Calip, a shrine researcher in the area, he stopped to gather some honey as a gift.

Last time he’d shown up unannounced the old man had reprimanded him for his manners, and he was not eager to endure the stern scolding again. With little trouble Link had gathered a small jar of honey from one of the numerous hives in the surrounding forest, and they were on their way once more, gift in tow. When he and Nocturne arrived at the old researcher’s cottage, Link let his steed graze as he went to visit calip. He was at his desk, pouring over some ancient riddle.

"Ah, young adventurer. You've returned!" Calip greeted him with a tired smile as he continued, frowning slightly, "but you look terrible."

Link didn't doubt it, he’d fallen unconscious in a marsh for several hours, and that tends to sully one’s appearance. With a grin, he greeted the man with a wave and procured the jar of honey from his pack.
“How splendid, Link, thank you,” Calip took the jar from him, smiling once more, “My work on this new verse has taken up all my time, I haven’t been able to get any in some time.”
He set the jar on a shelf near the fireplace in the back of the cabin, rearranging a few other jars around the shelf before returning to Link.

The two chatted, Link signing and Calip responding with the occasional yawn. The usually crabby researcher seemed mellow with sleep deprivation. After awhile he got up to make a pot of tea, all the while chatting as he went about gathering herbs and brewing them over a small stove. The tea was sweetened with courser honey, and was dark and rich. When the two had finished their drinks, Link got up to go.

"Do tell me if you decipher that ancient verse," Calip had said, and Link promised he would.

Once he left, he took Nocturne’s reins in hand and walked her down to the road, which really more of a well trodden deer path in this section of the forest.

The two set off down the road in the direction of Hateno Village.

Link decided that he better visit Purah to see if there was any more to be done with the Sheikah slate before returning to Impa. Plus, on a more selfish note, he enjoyed the quiet, thriving life of Hateno Village, and ever since he had purchased a house there, he found himself friends with many of the townsfolk. The promise of his home and his own bed spurred him forward, and another hour passed before he found a safe clearing to camp in for the night.

He gathered wood and built a fire before removing Nocturne’s tack and setting his bedroll down on the forest floor. Kneeling down, he smoothed the roll out on the grass, and bunched up one end to make a pillow. Nocturne nickered, and came to stand beside him, and she pushed him with her muzzle. Link turned around to look at his horse, and she took a step sideways, now parallel to the bed roll. Sliding her limbs beneath her, Nocturne laid down protectively behind Link. Laughing softly, he moved towards her to pet her nose in

appreciation.

Link settled down to rest, but sleep seemed to evade him. Today's events, the final memory… so many questions plagued his mind. If that really was the last of his memories, then what happened to his life beforehand? Sure he remember the weeks leading up to the Calamity, and Zelda, but what about his family? He couldn’t remember his mom, or his father, or any of his childhood. He wondered if he had had friends, other than Zelda and the champions. Did he have siblings? Surely he wouldn't forget his own flesh and blood.

He couldn't remember anything. He searched and searched for a shred of recollection, something, anything. He had remembered his horse, but god, what was his horse's name?
Maybe it was selfish to ask for more, he'd already been brought back from the dead. But in this moment, Link allowed himself to be selfish. He sat up and rubbed at his temples, trying to remember a face, anyone's.

He sighed and resigned himself to the blank slate he was handed.

'At least I'm alive now, to save Hyrule,’ he reasoned, 'I can make new memories after.'

He fell asleep sometime later, and slept without dreaming, which in itself was its own small blessing. In the morning, as he packed up camp and readying Nocturne, it came to him. Almost like a whisper.

After he blinked the blurry sleep from his eyes, Link packed his bed roll away and reached into his pack for breakfast. He still had apples left from a few days ago, so he quickly built a fire in the pit from the night before and nestled a few of the fruits in the coals. While breakfast cooked, he took out his comb and brushed his hair back into a semi-passable bun. He would need to go swimming soon to wash his hair out, and a trim maybe, it was getting quite unruly.

A few minutes later, he drew the apples out with a stick. He ate after they cooled and burned the cores in the dying embers. The sun was rising quickly, and he needed to get on the road to Hateno Village as soon as possible. He called Nocturne, who had gone off to graze once he awoke, and she came trotting. He brushed her down quickly and tacked up his steed.

Her bridle and saddle went on easily, and Link was relieved that she wasn’t giving him any trouble with the girth today. Although she was a gentle animal usually, she was a wild and mischievous beast at heart and couldn’t help but mess with her tack at any time.

'Epona'

That was what his horse's name had been.

Epona.

He smiled, fingers playing with the saddle blanket in his hands.

'Maybe,' he thought.

'Maybe, there's hope.'