Kingdom of Power, of Courage, and of Wisdom

Zant's War - Slave's First Castle

-Jouto, Link-

Link stayed in Kanyou up until he received a paper from Zelda granting him a piece of land from the Jouto region, as well as a house. He was granted freedom from slavery and was compensated with a small sack of silver to help get him started on his new life. He was allowed to keep Midna's blade. The papers were stamped with the palace seal, and with a quick goodbye, he was off.

When Link laid eyes on the village, it did not look the same as before. It had the same people, but they did not feel the same to him. Whether it be something he consciously recognized or not, he had grown. His exposure to battle, death, to things bigger than him and his little problems, all of it had opened his eyes in a way he never would have expected.

The villagers returned to their old village in Jouto, and started the process of rebuilding. Link's friends Bi 'Bucktooth' Hei and Bi Tou cried when they saw Midna's body. Link held to Zelda's secret and claimed she died helping him defend the throne, a lie to which the Mayor held to. So the night of Link's return there was a feast to celebrate the village's life and a funeral for Midna. It was a night of both joy and sadness, and between the exhaustion of emotions from weeping and the drinking, no one woke the next day.

Midna was buried on a grassy hill overlooking the village of Jouto. Her body was bathed in oils and wrapped in linen donated by Zelda.

While Link had grown, let it not be forgotten he was still very much Link. He stopped by the shop while most people were drunk (he detests alcohol after what the soldiers put him through) and ordered milk. A chicken walked by, and when the two saw each other they stopped to glare hatefully at each other. How a chicken can glare at a human being is beyond understanding, but then one could argue that Link is barely human by multiple standards and sources. Link added chicken to his order, and the chicken proceeded to panic and flee to Link's amusement.

The house Link was given was little more than a shack. It was barely an upgrade from his previous hut. The only true discernable difference was the addition of a wooden floor. Tou felt sorry for him but quickly changed their tune when Link yelled.

"It's my house! It's my first house! Look at it! Isn't it awesome!" Link ran in and admired it. "It has a wooden floor and everything! It has a fire pit so I can cook when I want! It's near a river, so I can bathe when I want! Shit when I want!"

"Yeah..." Tou chuckled. "It's just like you to see the bright side of things. Are you going to work on it?"

"Nope." Link smiled. "I don't plan to be home enough for that. Now that I'm free, I'm going back out to the battlefield. This house is going to grow into a castle. Just you wait."

He chuckled in disbelief. "Sure... sure."

-Later-

"Link." The mayor said, "I need your help."

Link jumped up in excitement. "Sure thing! What you need! What general am I being sent to? Did the princess put in word for me? I knew they would be hearing about me, but I didn't it would be this quickly! Where is Qin being invaded!?"

"It's nothing like that..." The mayor muttered. Just where did the young man get all this energy? He had been asking himself that for as long as he knew the boy, and he never could figure it out. "The princess has claimed the throne, and as a loyal vassal, we will be showing our allegiance to her rule by offering tribute. We also have a shipment going to Joket."

"Yeah?" Link asked, just a little bit disappointed.

"I know in the past you worked as the merchant's assistant-"

"Is that another word for human donkey?"

"-but now that you are a warrior, and one of the only ones in Jouto with any fighting experience, our merchants have asked me to hire you as a bodyguard. It's an important job, Link. Many of our crops were burned by Ketsu, and we have to rebuild the village. We need to keep up the trade and prove to our clients we are still dependable."