Chasing Magic (A Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Fanfiction)

1 - Link: Mysterious Sorcerer

"So, the slumbering Hylian Champion finally strolls out of his cave, huh?"

At the voice, Link flinched, startled. He'd just landed on the concrete path after obtaining the promised glider from the old man, revealed to be the former king of Hyrule, King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule — and Princess Zelda's father.

He turned around and glanced up, the first noticeable feature of the voice that had called out to him being the royal blue cloak that the person before him wore, lightly lifted by the gentle breeze. Whoever it was, their face was hidden beneath the cloak's large, drooping hood. Adding to their ominous presence, the next thing his cerulean eyes landed on were the brown belts they wore, one around their waist, and two strapped around each of their thighs in the shape of an "X" and the ripped hems of their black pants, and lastly, their lack of shoes.

Why would anyone go barefoot? And why are they seated way up there, on the edge of the Great Plateau? he wondered, but instead, after a sigh escaped his lips, the question he asked was, "Are you another person I'm supposed to remember? I don't, I'm sorry."

The person let out a chuckle. "How old do you think I am? I'm not nearly old enough to remember a time before the Calamity." They paused. "Or am I?"

Link's eyebrows arched, unamused. "Which is it?"

"It's impolite to ask a stranger their age, you know." Simply by their tone of voice, he could imagine the person must've been scowling at him underneath that hood. "Besides, it matters not. You and I have never met before."

"But you know who I am, clearly."

They scoffed. "Who doesn't? I know all of the fallen Champions by name. They're all anyone speaks of nowadays, with the Calamity upon us." They lifted a hand to their hidden face, the long sleeve of their black turtleneck adjusting accordingly, their head tilting to one side as they leaned forward, probably resting their chin in the palm of their hand. Though he couldn't see their face, their gaze made him uneasy. "I've heard rumors that perhaps the Hylian Champion was laid to rest in the Shrine of Resurrection all those years ago, recuperating from a near-death experience... so out of curiosity, I came by to check periodically, but I never expected those rumors would actually prove true."

Link paused before saying, "So you're at least as old as I am."

The stranger sighed and hopped down from their seat, and, had Link been unaware of the existence of magic in Hyrule, he would've been surprised to see them floating down towards him, slowing in front of him, but not actually landing. A sorcerer... or perhaps, a sorceress? Link couldn't tell. Their voice wasn't quite deep enough to strike him as masculine, but he wasn't sure if he could rule out the possibility. He also didn't want to assume this person was a female based on their voice alone.

"Since it bothers you so much to not know — yes, Link. I am roughly as old as you are."

"Are you Hylian?"

"Yes."

He squinted his eyes. "How are you still alive, then?"

The sorcerer laughed. "In the future, I hope you'll be wise enough to not question the abilities of a powerful magic user." They tilted their head, the gesture causing their hood to give way enough to reveal the smirk stretched across their lips, the sight sending a small chill down his spine. "Now, forgive me if I'm mistaken, but I believe you have a world to save, hero. Chop chop."

With a snap of their fingers, the person vanished before Link even had a chance to think of stopping them. He stared at the space they had just occupied up until a second ago before turning to continue on his journey, shaking his head.

"What an odd entity."