TOTK: The Lonely Hero

Search for counsel

As sunrise greeted the tiled roofs and mushroom decor of Hateno Village, Link was already up and early. Standing by the well outside his house, he groggily pulled the rope up, hoisting up a bucket of water.

Setting it down on the edge of the well, he first dipped his hands in, letting them feel the cool liquid, before splashing his face with a handful of it. His eyes quickly shot open, as the frigid water hitting his face shook off the last of the sleep from him.

Once he finished washing his face for the day, he began to lower the bucket back into the well. As he did though, his ears quickly perked up as he heard it clang against something metallic.

Hoping to find out what the source of the sound was, Link peered over the edge into the dark of the well. To his surprise and confusion, he spotted a metal ladder, nailed along the side of the well.

Wanting to know where it led, he hoisted himself over the side of the well and began to descend the ladder. As he climbed down, the narrow opening of the well soon was replaced with the wider room of a small, damp, moss covered cave.

The walls were illuminated by brightbloom seeds, planted by the edges of the pool of groundwater where the bucket floated peacefully

Built over the part of the water was a wooden platform, allowing Link to slide onto without risking getting wet. On it was a wooden desk, a chair, and some shelves containing various books.

A wooden board stood behind the desk, upon which were nailed several drawings. Link recognized them as ones the schoolchildren had drawn for Zelda.

"What is this?" Link wondered. Walking over to inspect it, he found an open book on the desk, right beside two brightbloom seeds, a cup, an ink bottle, quill and a few other items. Flipping it open, the knight quickly stopped himself as he saw the signature on the first page.

"Zelda's Diary?"

Shutting the page, he began to think back. He remembered a year ago, Zelda had asked Bolson to renovate the house. At first Link had thought she had meant simply repairing the leaky roof. Now he realized that was not the only thing she had asked him to work on.

"So this is where she went to do her research," he realized. Looking beside it, he found a wooden flute lying beside it.

"She must have been planning on giving me this, after I lost my old one," he realized. Running his hands over the smooth wood, he smiled, remembering the nights where she'd listen to him play a tune, her eyes and ears reserved only for him and his sweet songs.

He remembered the look on her face when he played that old song his ancestor had taught him. No one but her mother had ever sung it to her. Before him at least.

"My ancestor..."

As he picked up the diary, he spotted one more thing lying on the desk: a single blue, well-worn hairband.

Link's eyes widened in shock. It was his old one from more than a hundred years back. He thought he had lost it for good a while back when he dropped it into the well.

"She must have found it down here."

Glancing at his long, dark blonde hair. If he kept it in that state, it would certainly at some point cause some inconvenience while traveling. So, picking up the hairband, he pulled his mane back, promptly tied into one, orderly ponytail.

Later

After leaving the well, and packing up for the journey ahead, Link found himself at the Hateno Ancient Tech Lab. Walking around, with Purah Pad, Link felt it vibrate and ring out as it sensed a nearby shrine.