Prompts Challenge

Open Your Eyes (LoZ)

I did a song for that one LoZ entry, so I thought I'd put this here. It's a remix of the sounds and music in Breath of the Wild, named 'Open Your Eyes'. It's a really good remix, so while it may not completely match the mood of my writing for this week, I'd definitely recommend listening/watching it. Who knew songs like this could make you excited to play a game you've already invested 100+ hours in? :-)

>(<>)<

No one really had a concrete explanation for how the Hero of Courage came to be.

     Everyone knew the story of the other two pieces of the Triforce, however.

     Once upon a time, there were two deities, Hylia and Demise. Hylia was a spirit of good, who fostered loyalty and love among her people. Demise was a wicked spirit, one who was constantly envious and attacked the good things Hylia brought forth. The stories said that the two fought for so long that the three goddesses began to get angry with their creation. They cursed the two; banishing them to forever reincarnate in mortal form among their creations.

     Hylia was born as the wise Princess Zelda.

     Demise became the powerful Gerudo, Ganondorf.

     Since both were cursed deities, they did retain some of their magic from before. Hylia's wisdom became the first piece of the Triforce, allowing her mortal reincarnation to use it for the good of her people. Demise's terrible magic took the shape of the Triforce of Power; Ganondorf often abused this power to take control over many nations.

     Still, a Triforce needed three pieces, but there were only two deities. 

     This was where the story varied.

     The most common explanation was that since Hylia didn't often remember her past lives (and Demise did), she couldn't properly match the evil set before her. If it weren't for the goddesses' intercession, she would have been quickly destroyed.

     Hylia was gifted a hero to help protect her, a hero who wielded the final piece of the Triforce.

     The Hero would reincarnate alongside the princess through every cycle, always being beside her to help protect against the looming darkness.

     Zelda knew these stories by heart, and she continuously repeated them to herself as she waited. She was trapped within her own power with the Calamity swirling around her. She had nothing to do but wait.

     She did not know how long she had been trapped.

     All she knew was that she had to wait for her Hero to save her once again.

     Zelda remembered Link's condition quite clearly. He had fought off nearly twenty Guardians at once as they fled the palace, getting himself severely injured in the process. She had begged him to save himself, but he threw himself in front of another Guardian's laser to save her life. Zelda, realizing he was too weak to survive the blast, stepped in front of the Hero, unlocking her sealing power at the last second. Her Triforce of Wisdom was ignited, wiping the malice out of all the Guardians.

     Link had collapsed on the ground, on the verge of his last breaths.

     It was all a blur after that. Sheikah warriors came to take Link to the Shrine of Resurrection, where he was to stay until he fully healed from his wounds. Zelda went on to fight the Calamity alone, knowing that she could at least trap the Calamity within the walls of the castle.

     And there she had remained, unageing and unmoving in the golden light, waiting for Link to wake up. He was the only one who could defeat the Calamity. She could only seal it away.

     Zelda's fight against the Calamity was relentless. She knew she could not last forever, and it knew it as well. It would constantly whisper into her ears, trying to persuade her to drop the shield.

     Zelda, there are people outside the castle. They are weak and helpless. They need a leader, or they will fall apart.

     Zelda, wouldn't it be nice to see the green grass and feel the touch of the breezes?

     Zelda, the Hero is dead. You will not last forever. And you know the tale; the Hero will only reincarnate—

     "If I die, yes, I know." Zelda's cold voice quieted the whispers. The legends always said that the Hero would be born exactly two months before the princess. That was so he could potentially be there from her birth, looking after her until the day he died. "Link is not dead."

     At least, she hoped not.

     The Calamity's words were gentle at times. He would remind her of all that she was missing while holding him back. Other times, he would try to make her hopeless. What if she was waiting for nothing? The Calamity would say anything to get her to respond, trying to make her let down her guard.

     As hard as it was, Zelda always refused.

     The Calamity gave her no indication of how much time had passed since she trapped them there. Zelda always wondered if the endless stretch of time was only a few hours, or a few years.

     Then, something strange happened.

     She could... almost feel it. A presence, other than her own, stirring. It was beyond her mind, beyond the Calamity. It had been asleep for a very long time.

     Link? Zelda held her breath, wondering if it was him. Wondering if he could hear her calls. Open your eyes.

     The water was slowly draining from the pod. It was finally time for him to wake up.

     Open your eyes. Zelda urged, feeling him stir once again. Wake up, Link.

     She could sense his eyelids moving, opening for the first time in... one hundred years.

     It had been one hundred years.

     He was confused by his surroundings, wondering all types of things about himself. Who was he? Why was he here? And who was speaking into his head?

     Zelda realized that while the Shrine had healed him, it had some devastating side effects. Link no longer remembered who he was. His Triforce was buried deep inside of him, and it would take many acts of heroism to bring it out once again. She would have to guide him to his destiny.

     Link's awakening gave Zelda a newfound strength. She had been trapped for years, but now, her Hero had finally arisen to help her seal away the darkness. They would fight the Calamity together, just like the reincarnations before them.

     And maybe this time, they would finally win. 

>(<>)<

A/N

The Legend of Zelda lore is amazing, though the timeline is one of the hardest things to follow. I know after Ocarina of Time it splits into three different segments, and the BotW/AoC games, while being canon, still don't have an official place. I know my version of the lore is probably a bit off, but I just wanted to write about what I gathered from various fan-comics and whatnot. 

It was a lot of fun to think about how Zelda handled being trapped inside that bubble of malice for 100 years.

If you want another fun version of this prompt, go check out therearenooptions's half! She's continuing the Soldier AU from before, which is a really creative take on a Kailor story. :-)

Thanks for reading and I'll see you all next week!

~squidneyxd