The Legend of Zelda: The Desert Heroes

XXIV

"Hey, Link. Been quite some time, hasn't it?" Daylen answered.

Link hugged him and looked at his friend. "Are you alright?"

Daylen nodded. "I have decided to stay in my settlement until your quest is over. Then, I will go to Gerudo Town to see you." he answered.

"Fair enough. I'm sure my quest to save Hyrule is near over. I'll be back before you know it." the hero reassured his friend.

Daylen raised an eyebrow. "Where are you going next?" he questioned.

"Not exactly where. When." he responded.

"What's that supposed to mean? When?" the boy asked curiously.

"My current objective is back in time. To the year following the Hyrule Warrior's death. It's near Lurelin Village." the man answered calmly.

Daylen sighed. "Well. I suppose you should go ahead and get that done. I mean- I suppose you already have done it if it was done in the past, but you get what I mean."

The hero nodded and smiled. They hugged and returned to their separate destinations. Link went along the path back to the Dracozu River. As he walked along the river, he realized something.

Ganon also had a journal that the Hyrule Warrior wrote long ago. It mentioned dreams the hero had of an alternate universe. It was another hero. He had to save a long-ruined Hyrule from Calamity Ganon after falling in battle one hundred years before and being placed in a very long sleep.

He had to free the spirits of four people who had to control a great power to defeat Ganon. An old lady was heavily involved and adequately mentioned, someone named Impa. And there were several trials involved, one on the Great Plateau, and four scattered across the outer lands of Hyrule, where the four races resided. The princess, Zelda, was trapped in the castle for the entire century.

He had also lost his memory, so he had to regain all of his memories by visiting locations marked in pictures by an ancient tablet.

Link looked down at his waist were the Sheikah Slate thumped softly on his hip as he walked along the river. This was the same device used by the Hyrule Warrior. But what if it was also the device this alternate hero used?

Say, a ruined Hyrule. Overgrown with plants and wilderness vaulting across old structures. The nature reclaimed the land for its own. the hero thought with a sudden dawn of relization.

This hero was one with the wild. He had traveled across the wilds of Hyrule following a devastating attack on the kingdom. He survived only by the ingredients he gathered in the wild, only going to civilization when he truly needed something.

The Hero of the Wild. his brain whispered.

The Hero of the Wild. It had a nice ring to it, with a hint as to the history of the hero.

He finally reached the Temple of Courage. Link walked into the back room of the temple, where the gate spun slowly. It clicked softly as the gears turned it.

He activated the Gate of Time and Link walked through. He stepped out onto the temple floor in the past. The hero walked out of the temple and towards Dracozu River.

Lurelin Village...

He came into view of the village to find the elder waiting for him at the entrance to the village.

"Sav'saotta, Trevian." Link said politely.

"Good afternoon to you, too, hero. I see you briefly visited your time, correct?" the elder asked.

Link nodded. "Had to reassure a friend from the future."

Trevian sighed. He walked with Link through the village. "I once had a friend like that. He always made sure to tell me where he was going."

The hero nodded. "Daylen. He's a young boy, sure to become a knight. He resides in a settlement near the Great Bridge."

The elder looked at Link with a raised eyebrow. "A settlement near the what bridge?" he asked.

"Great Bridge Settlement, as I call it. It is a settlement by the Great Bridge, which you know as the Bridge of Hylia." Link explained patiently.

They were coming up on Palmorae Beach as well as the ancient mirror pedestal. The elder man stopped suddenly, clearing his throat to warn Link of his abrupt stop.

"What's wrong?" the hero asked.

"Nothing, young boy. I have a village to watch over and you have a kingdom to save as well as a mission in this time period. Move along now." Trevian said with a note of pushiness.

"Of course. Sav'orq, Trevian." the young man said to the Lurelin elder.

They walked off to their separate ways. Link found Garini still studying the old pedestal.

"Garini." Link called.

"Ah, yes. Link. What's up?" he asked politely.

"Where am I going again?" the hero asked.

"The four Divine Beasts. Vah Ruta, residing in the East Reservoir near Zora's Domain. Vah Rudania, residing in the Death Caldera near Goron City. Vah Medoh, residing on its perch above Rito Village. And Vah Naboris, residing on the right spire of Spectacle Rock east of Gerudo Town." Garini answered.

"Thank you." the hero answered.

"Anytime, Link." the Lurelin man responded happily.

Link took out his Sheikah Slate and tapped on the Gate of Time icon. He appeared within the temple and walked out of the temple. He decided he should save Gerudo Town for last, since he already had that icon and could easily teleport there.

He began his journey towards Zora's Domain. Link looked up at the sky.

It was time to begin his new quest.

Goponga Village...

Link had stopped in the town yesterday for supplies. He had been running low on provisions and was beginning to wear out his Gerudo splauder. He had already worn a hole into the sash the covered his chest.

The village sold large Hylian clothing luckily, but it was still a little tight on him.

He looked at his trousers. His appearence was far different with Hylian clothing on instead of his usual Gerudo attire. He seemed like a normal citizen of the kingdom here rather than a hero that appeared through a gate from the future.

He had already gotten a bunch of food from the general store down the road as well as a flask to hold water in.

If he had to be perfectly honest, the Lanayru Wetlands were absolutely atrocious to stand in. The sparse solid ground available was near entirely mud and whatnot. The water wasn't clear but instead flowed with loose sediment and mud from the activity of wildlife in the area as well as the village.

The air was active with humidity and fog, so water clung to Link's skin as if he were in a cloud. He hated how much moisture there was around him.

He hated the thought of the Gerudo Desert eventually becoming something like this.

Or perhaps it could become kind of like Hyrule Field. A vast grassland with streams running through lively meadows. Link imagined with a smile.

An image. An unfamiliar boy with blonde hair. Rain falling on grass. The sun sparkling in the sky. The flowers dancing peacefully in the wind.

"Gerudo Plains." the boy mouthed.

Then the image faded. Link looked around, finding himself just outside of Goponga Village once again.

Well. Link thought calmly. If I wish for Gerudo Plains to exist, I should begin.

And with that, he began to walk across the wetlands towards the path to Zora's Domain.