Linkguistics

Part 22: Hyrule Castle

Link looked at the gate and smiled. The wolf and him had dismantled a few more machines on the walk through the field. Link let Scruples do most of it since he was conserving his strength for this place.

Link and Zelda had a semi-victory ten thousand years ago with the sealing of Ganon. It couldn't be said to be a proper victory when Link was dragged into the Dark world with Ganon. The Malice may have soaked into his body but his spirit could not be dimmed and could not be broken. Link was still Link, despite spending so much time soaking in the darkness and Malice. Ganon may as well have tried to pickle a diamond. Ganon had a semi-victory one-hundred years ago thanks to Zelda. He could have screamed, 'If it weren't for you meddling kids!' In a way, it was a tie. Both of those times, Link had been taken by surprise. This time, he was truly prepared with his sword and his armor. Spirit orbs granted by monks bolstered Link's resilience and there were no people to have to take hits for.

"I think Zelda's been waiting too long..." he said to Scruples. He then cupped his hands to his mouth and yelled to Hyrule Castle. "All right ugly! It's round three."

The Hero of Antiquity was a force unstoppable, a light unquenchable, and a spirit unpicklable. He was going to win.

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The following excerpts are found in a certain diary. Paya flipped past the pages as perched in a good vantage point to keep an eye on the castle. It was a very safe distance from the patrols of ancient machines.

"After sleeping for ages, Master Link has finally awoken. It seems his memory is completely gone... But that was nothing compared to the difficulty of speaking to him. I believe this is the first time I've ever seen Grandmother confused. Master Link himself looks so gallant... He is the very picture of the hero I always imagined. His blond sideburns flow like a golden waterfall over his dignified, pointy ears. And the way his hair is so perfectly parted to the side, wow! I don't know why, but my heart won't stop beating a mile a minute..."

"I must admit that I'm still not great at interacting with young men. But I think I am finally able to speak to Master Link while looking him in the eyes! It started as I was sweeping the porch and saw him looking into the waters below our home. Those wonderful eyes were filled with intense concentration... He finally smiled and pulled a glowing blue orb from the slate. He dropped it into the pool and detonated the explosive. Right by the base of the island which our home rests on. I really shouldn't have, but I asked him what he was doing when he climbed back to shore with our prized symbols of strength, the Sanke Carp. Naturally I still get a little embarrassed thinking about that... but I can't help it! I am so conflicted. Should I have lectured the Hero of Antiquity? Should I have let him devour our fish as he pleases? I blame his beautiful blue eyes and lack of familiarity with the present day. Ugh. This is all so confusing..."

The next entry was much shorter.

"Today I found Link cooking not only our prized Sanke Carp, but he was garnishing it with the endangered Silent Princess flowers."

It was many weeks later before this next passage was written in Paya's diary. In between there are notes about the infrequent visitor and his requests for help making a dictionary. These are mixed with complaints about various oddities of behavior and attire. Paya flips past them all and starts writing on a new page.

"I spoke to Grandmother about what's been weighing on my mind lately. For the first time... my heart know what it means to love. Though it may be a love that is never shared or returned, just having it for myself is gift enough. Although I must admit, Seeing him brings me great irritation too... I bet he has that effect on everyone. He came today to speak with Grandmother and he has been through so much. He wanted to leave his notes with her in case the worst should happen to him. His battered journal and all the secrets it holds are in our possession now. Grandmother has asked me to watch the castle for when Link succe..."

"Good day, Miss." Kass said, startling Paya.

"AAAAA!" Paya stopped herself retaliating with a knife. It was a Rito. Kass was also someone she'd seen flying around before.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. This is just a good vantage point to watch the castle away from the Guardians, you see."

"Oh? I'm, I'm w-watching the castle too." She held up the spyglass she'd brought

The two didn't quite see the small blue lights on an armor-clad figure which were approaching the castle. Trees blocked some of the explosions of Guardians unlucky enough to be patrolling the field. It was also really far away.

"As a bard, it is my responsibility to record events of great importance. I believe a young man by the name of Link intends to rescue the princess today." Young-looking. Kass fully intended for his journals to speak the truth. The songs would too, just... more poetically and with less details. "Have you met him?"

"Um, He is a regular visitor in Kakariko." Paya said while thinking, Actually, he's more irregular.

Kass and Paya ended up comparing notes as they watched the castle. Paya thought Link would try sneaking in to the Castle through the underground passages. Kass' thinking was that Link would paraglide in past most of the defenses.

As it turns out, Link didn't end up using the oversized Zora armor. Nor did they spot a blue and orange array of lights dangling from a paraglider. The two were watching different sides of the castle. Kass eventually had to do a double-take. He had much sharper eyesight than even Paya's good eyesight. (Being a bird-person had many advantages.)

"Miss Paya... Is that him going through the front gates?"

"S-Surely he plans to take a less-guarded side route?!"

They could only hope as they lost sight of the blue and orange light. They then found that they were able to see that no, Link was not going through a side route. Flames, smoke, and explosions in various explosions sprouted from the windows, towers, Guardians, and rooftops. Objects flew.

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Fire and explosions were nothing new in the history of heroes fighting Ganon. Explosives were traditional, even if no one remembered much about the other Links after a few-thousand years. This one was giving less thought to load bearing walls and personal explosives safety than others. Wholesale and wanton slaughter of monsters? Bog-standard. When it came to Triforce of Courage, or as Ganon personally thought of it the Triforce of Stubborn, chosen ones had a tendency to wipe out evil armies.

What Ganon was not expecting was the maniacal laughter. That was new. Links gave the occasional giddy yell after a plan worked. Sometimes they would let out a triumphant burst of laughter from the sheer joy of being alive. This Link was cackling with dark glee. The wolf cast him worried glances in the middle of shredding enemy throats.

Had Ganon not given up on proper reincarnation and gone the mindless monster route, he would have been worried.