Seashells | BotW

Prologue -

T.w.
Blood
Severe Injury
Near Death Experience/Mention of Death

3rd person POV

Link wasn't afraid of the Lynel at Shatterback Point; he'd decided he was prepared enough to fight it despite not having freed any of the Divine Beasts yet. He'd made it a priority to kill the Lynel, even if he already had enough Shock Arrows to calm Ruta before anything else. The large creature had been tormenting any and all visitors who wanted to go to Shatterback Point or anywhere near it; Hylians and Zora alike.

He sat behind a rock with his bow pulled back, aimed at the distracted Lynal, prepared to loose the arrow. He exhaled softly and let the arrow fly. The creature let out a deep huff at the sudden pain it felt in its body from the arrow and turned to look for the source of whatever had hit him. Link ducked back behind the rock, breathing heavily when he heard the sound of Shock Arrows being drawn by a bow. He didn't want to suffer the effects of a direct hit from one of those, and he didn't bring any Electro Elixirs with him. "Stupid, stupid, stupid," he thought to himself, panicked.

He looked through the weapons he had to fight the large destructive creature with. The best weapon he had was a Lizal Tri-Boomarang. He took a deep breath of courage and jumped out over the rock he was hiding behind and met the Lynel face-to-face. The menacing beast glared at him, put away it's bow and drew its own blade. It ran past Link, circling around the field before charging at him at full speed, swinging its sword wildly in front of it. Link jumped away from the blades just in time, unleashed a flurry of attacks on the beast in a single second. The Lynel reared back and roared for a moment before running past him a circling again. This happened a few more times before the Lynel decided to switch up its attack patern.

Link was tired and sweating. He'd lost his Tri-Boomarang and Rusty Claymore to the Lynel, somehow breaking them both in the fight. The only weapons he had left that he could use here were a woodcutters axe and throwing spear. I may as well give it a shot, he decided, grabbing the spear and throwing it at the Lynel as it ran to the opposite side of the small, circular field. The spear shattered immediately upon hitting the Lynel, infuriating the huge monster. It reared back before charging at Link, running on all six of its limbs. Link reached for his axe; it was the only weapon he had now. He looked up the moment the Lynel had reached him. He had barely a moment to react before one of the Lynel's horns pierced his body.

Time seemed to slow down in that moment. Link let out a soft gasp as the Lynel launched him over its body. Link felt weightless in those few seconds that he was soaring through the air before he landed roughly on the ground in a small puddle of water in the field.

He felt like every breath he took was tearing his skin apart with a flaming blade. He gasped and groaned every time he moved a muscle in his body, his ears were ringing, and he felt like screaming as he reached for the Sheikah Slate on his belt. His vision began to fade to black as he pushed a few buttons on the slate before disappearing into the air in a small flurry of blue particles of light. He was barely conscious enough to think. All he knew was that he had to get back to Zora's Domain and get help.

Time Skip

Bazz, the head of the Zora guards, stood just outside the Shrine under the Domain, at the top of the staircase, waiting for Link to return. He had been waiting patiently for his long-time friend to return since he left for Ploymus Mountain to retrieve the Shock Arrows needed to appease Vah Ruta from the horrifying Lynel that had made it's home there.

He heard a soft whooosh behind him and turned back to see the figure of a small Hylian appearing at the base of the Shrine. He smiled softly, knowing that he would get to see his friend again. His smile quickly faded when he saw the condition Link was in. There was blood on his tunic, his arm, legs, and dripping from his mouth down his chin. He was pale in the face, slouched forward, writhing in pain and pressing his hands against a dark, bloody wound in the middle of his torso.

Bazz instinctively dropped his spear and rushed towards Link as he stumbled forward, nearly collapsing into the water below him. Bazz managed to catch the small Hylian in his arms and cradled him. Link was coughing and gasping softly, curling himself into a ball and hissing at the pain in his body.

"Rivan!" Bazz called out to the other guard, who luckily happened to be nearby. "I have a job for you. Go talk to Prince Sidon and tell him that the Hylian Champion had returned from Ploymus Mountain and that he is gravely wounded. I will be taking him to the Seabed Inn; you and Sidon need to meet me there!" Rivan nodded quickly and departed to find Prince Sidon.

Bazz tried to comfort Link as best as he could. He pressed his hand against the wound on his torso, making Link wince quietly. He held his hand there, and he stood, holding the small injured Hylian in his arms. Link squeezed Bazz's wrist with his own small hands. He was small and light enough for Bazz to hold him with one arm while pressing his other hand against the bleeding gash in his body.

Link's vision was fading more and more to black. The sounds he heard were muffled, and his body ached. He felt numb to anything touching his skin, and he felt lightheaded.

He had remembered something he'd learned while training to be Zelda's designated knight; if you're bleeding out, don't fall asleep. Falling asleep could lead to death in that case. He stayed conscious by periodically squeezing Bazz's hand, and Bazz would squeeze his back until Link felt himself being laid down on a soft bed.

He exhaled sharply and closed his eyes when the soft touch of the bed grazed his back. He heard muffled movement nearby; shuffling back and forth between him and some other area that he assumed was a few feet away from him. He felt his shirt being pulled off bandages being wrapped around his chest and around his lower left leg. The pain in his body subsided after a few minutes, and his breathing returned to a normal pace. He relaxed himself and lay limp on the soft bed he was in.

As afraid for his life as he was, he'd put enough trust in the Zora, who he assumed were helping him, to let himself finally sleep for a while. He let his consciousness slip away, and his mind faded into darkness. He prayed, hoping the Goddess would hear him.

Please, Hylia, let me wake up again..