Terror and despair. The deepest of sorrows. Regret and unfulfillment. Endless darkness.

Silence. And pain. So much pain.

He knew neither time, nor reason, nor purpose. Only the roaring disquiet and the chilling bleakness of eternity remained with him. He was nothing. He had always been nothing. Always would be nothing.

A fragmented shard of a thought would occasionally cross his mind, disappearing as quickly as it came:

Flowing blonde hair. A flurry of blue feathers, prideful and arrogant.

A swirling vortex of dark purple malice. A pair of vibrant yellow eyes, full of life and love.

All back to pure nothingness. It would always return to nothingness.

Then suddenly, a light. Like the tip of a sword piercing through the darkness, begging him for his focus.

Muffled noises began to echo through his dulled hearing.

"..."

A muted voice. He tried to make sense of it, failed.

Silence.

And then again, indistinct and faint:

"...Open your eyes…"

The light in front of him began to grow, slowly enveloping him. His world was aglow with its yellow brilliance. Its presence was foreign to him...and yet... somehow familiar. Just like this voice that seemed to call to him from such a lonely, distant place...

"...Open your eyes…"

The sound was a bit clearer now. The vibrant yellow light shimmered and shone, then gave way to blue glow. It was a blur at first, then it quickly focused.

He could see.

And he could hear just as well now, quite clearly.

"Open your eyes," the voice said.

"Wake up, Link."

That was his name. Link. The realization of this seemed to greet him, warmly, like a long-lost friend. As his sight and his hearing returned, so too did his sense of touch. His skin was warm, then suddenly cool as a strange fluid that had completely enveloped him now drained away. The cold air that took its place was biting to him at first, even in its mildness. He sat up, his blue eyes scanned the area... Unfamiliarity greeted him.

Link was sitting in a tub-like structure that was covered in strange etched symbols, brown in color. Similar markings adorned the walls of the large chamber housing this bizarre structure. A blue glow was ever-present in the room, enhancing its mystery.

He groped at his face with his hands, ran his fingers through his shoulder-length hair. It was already tied up in a small ponytail behind his head.

He tested his motor functions, moved his arms and legs. All working.

Link found himself calmly exiting the tub, his body moving on its own with some automatic sense of duty. As his eyes further adjusted to the light in the room, he noticed a short pedestal in the distance.

He walked towards it, carefully touching its surface. Its top glowed with the same mysterious blue light as the tub he had woken up in, and at his touch, the top of the pedestal began to move. The center elevated itself, and a small rectangular object spun around within it to sit up and face him. A glowing eye adorned this object's back, staring at him. Beckoning him.

The familiar female voice from before spoke to him again, louder and clearer than before.

"This... is a Sheikah Slate. Take it," the voice said. "It will help guide you after your long slumber."

So he'd been sleeping, he noted. His name was Link, and he had been sleeping.

Two mysteries solved, yet several million more to go.

Aside from his minor recognition of this voice, he had absolutely no real reason to trust it. Regardless, he immediately grabbed the rectangular object with both hands, lifting it from its place. It was a small slate that hummed and glowed in his hands. The orange handle on its left side was warm to the touch. The slate whirred to life instantly as he stared intently at it. He had never seen such a strange device before, and yet it too seemed oddly familiar to him.

The pedestal that once housed this odd slate seemed to recognize its absence, resetting itself back to its original position. A nearby door began to open, pulling itself up and out of the way like a great stone curtain. Link walked through the doorway, still holding the slate in his left hand.

He looked around this new room. More strange markings and glowing blue torches lined its walls. In the center of the room stood several large wooden boxes, and a small chest. Link couldn't quite place why, but he felt a compelling desire to open the chest to see what was inside. Within it, he found an old pair of pants and a worn-out shirt. There was also a set of boots and belts at the bottom.

Simply seeing these clothes sparked a strange recognition within him. Link looked down at himself, tilted his head, and shrugged; he was naked, save for a pair of skintight blue shorts. Despite feeling quite natural in his bare state, he put the clothing on anyway. Moreso out of a sense of expectation rather than of desire. The pants and shirt were comfortable enough, but they were a bit small for him - and threadbare in some places. Still, the pants had several belts with hooks attached, which made for quite a convenient place for him to carry this new slate with him.

Where he would carry it, however, he hadn't a single clue.

He stepped into the boots, also comfortable, and began to walk towards what he assumed was another door. This one was much larger, however. Strange patterns criss-crossed its surface and a large eye symbol protruded from its center. Another small pedestal sat next to the door, except this one glowed orange instead of blue. A small blue circle was at the center of it.

That familiar voice chimed in his ear, yet again.

"Hold the Sheikah Slate up to the pedestal. That will show you the way."

Link did as he was told. He examined the strange slate, still humming and glowing… It seemed to have a mind of its own. He held the device up to the pedestal. The second he did so, that small blue circle in its center exploded in a wave of blue light. The orange glowing etchings in the pedestal changed to the same blue color as its center, and the doorway opened itself up in a manner similar to the previous. A light suddenly erupted from the doorway. It wasn't quite as brilliant as the earlier light he first knew. But its radiance warmed his skin, and its brightness caused him to squint as he stepped into it. He stared far off in the distance, at its source. The ache of despair and sorrow he felt was slowly fading, replaced with a growing sense of wonder and curiosity.

"Link…"

The voice that spoke to him now sounded expectational, hopeful.

"You are the light - our light - that must shine upon Hyrule once again." A strong feeling of responsibility and courage began to flood into Link's heart.

"Now go."

Link nodded in response. With a newfound sense of purpose in his gait, he stepped forward into the light, the warmth, the welcoming breath of open air.

Out of the cold darkness... and into the wild unknown.

Chapter 1 - Strangers

"I BEG YOUR PARDON!" the old man shouted.

Link was startled, dropping the baked apple he had picked up off the ground nearby.

He'd previously exited a large cave - one that housed the resurrection shrine he had apparently been sleeping in for some time now - before finding himself on a hilltop overlooking a sprawling, unfamiliar landscape full of trees and shrubbery. Large mountains loomed in the distance, framing in the picturesque view.

This angry old man had been squatted near a fire nearby, and he had appeared to be the only living soul for miles. Link had decided to visit with this mysterious man… although he was beginning to regret that particular decision.

"I do believe that is my baked apple!" the old man continued ranting. "You can't just go about taking whatever you please!"

Link stared for a bit, unsure if this guy was serious or not. He decided to explain himself to him in an effort to defuse the situation.

"I...was only trying to pick it up for you." he said, flatly. He was surprised by the confidence his voice carried. "No need to shout..."

Without thinking Link had firmly placed his hands on his hips as he spoke, thumbs tucked in his belt. Old habits returning perhaps?

A grin of recognition spread across the strange man's face.

"Hohoho!" His laugh was jolly and full of mirth. "Forgive me - I could not resist pulling your leg!"

Link eased up a bit at this. The old man looked harmless enough. He was portly, a bit short, and probably old - if his large white beard was a reliable indicator for his age. Dressed plainly, he sported a red hooded cloak and a pair of worn brown pants with matching gloves. In his hand he held a walking cane, a strange canister dangling from its top. Whatever memories Link once possessed were long gone of course, but he found it an encouraging sign that he was at least able to recognize some unfamiliar things rather quickly.

"Please help yourself" the old man said. "An apple and an open flame make for a succulent treat." Link humbly obliged, picking the apple up again, dusting it off, and consuming it quickly. He hadn't realized earlier, in his confused state of sensory overload, but he was absolutely famished. The old man chuckled a bit at his loud chewing, but Link ignored this. Table manners were pretty far down on his priority list at this point anyway.

"It is a bit strange to see another soul in these parts…" the old man said.

Link squatted down by the fire and tilted his head towards the old man, still chewing.

"Who are you?" Link blurted out, his mouth still full of chewed bits of baked apple. Being plainspoken came naturally to him he supposed.

"Me?" replied the old man. "I'll spare you my life story. I'm just an old fool who has lived here, alone, for quite some time now." The look of mild sorrow that crossed the old man's face as he said this was enough to stop Link from inquiring further. For now.

"What brings a bright-eyed young man like you to a place like this?" the man asked, changing the subject.

Link had the distinct feeling that this man knew quite a bit more than he was letting on. But if he was at all familiar with Link and who he was, he certainly did a good job of hiding it. Link decided to dodge the question; especially since he had no real answer for him anyway.

"Where are we?" Link asked bluntly.

"Answering a question with a question!" the old man mused. "Fair enough. As I cannot imagine our meeting to be a simple coincidence... I shall tell you."

He definitely knew more than he was letting on. But Link decided to play along, if only to glean as much precious information as he could from this stranger.

The old man explained to Link that they were currently on the Great Plateau, and that it was the birthplace of the entire kingdom of Hyrule. The name "Hyrule" seemed vaguely familiar to Link, and he recalled the mysterious voice from earlier using that same name. But he failed to dredge up any memories of such a place.

The old man then gestured to a nearby construct a short ways away. It was a massive dilapidated temple; one which time had clearly been mistreating.

"That temple there… Long ago, it was the site of many sacred ceremonies," he explained. "Ever since the decline of the kingdom 100 years ago, it has sat abandoned, in a state of decay. A forgotten entity. A mere ghost of its former self."

The old man said nothing more about it. He just sat down in silence, turning to face the fire again. Link continued to stare at the temple. Nature had long began the process of reclaiming it, with greenery taking over its decayed walls. There was a certain intrigue about the temple, and a curiosity grew within him that he just needed to satiate. The old man offered Link a few more baked apples, which he gladly accepted. But otherwise, nothing more was said.

The message was clear: if Link wanted answers to questions about his past and purpose, exploring this ancient temple could be a start. It wasn't like he had anything else to do at any rate. He stood up, dusted himself off, and began to make his way across the short distance to the temple.

"Thanks for the tip" he called back to the old man.

No response.

Link shrugged, and kept walking. Along the way he picked up a large tool… an axe , he recognized, which was wedged in an old tree stump. Familiarity came upon him as he wielded the tool in his hands. He swung it around, testing its weight. For chopping down trees, he realized. ...Among other things.

He also found a pond nearby, with an old-looking metallic object stuck in a rock in its center. For reasons unknown, Link felt compelled to retrieve it. He quickly disrobed, and dove straight into the pond with perfect form. He found that he felt perfectly at home in the water, his body moving gracefully and naturally through it as he kicked his way to the rock in the center of the pond. For a split second, memories flashed before his eyes:

Shimmering scales in many colors. Finned and flailing limbs. Jets of cool water.

...Those haunting, beautiful yellow eyes again.

The visions left as quickly as they came. And before he even knew it, he had already cleared the short distance across the pond. One thing he must have been in his previous life, clearly, was a great swimmer. Link wondered what other skills he had yet to dig up from the past.

From the large rock in the center of the pond he retrieved the metallic object: an old rusted broadsword. He strapped this weapon, along with his new axe, to his back using the belts he'd also found in the chest back in the cave. Fully dressed again, he resumed his walk towards the mysterious temple.

Link's mind swirled with thoughts and questions. Hyrule was apparently once a magnificent kingdom, now totally ruined...by what? When he had stood on the overlook earlier, just after leaving the cave, he had noticed another large structure looming in the distance. A castle? Hyrule castle? He felt he'd have to make his way there soon if he wanted more answers.

He also wondered just how long this "slumber" of his had lasted. And if perhaps he used to live in this now-declined kingdom himself at one time. If this were the case...that meant he'd been sleeping for 100 years!

Link shook the thought from his head. Baby steps, Link. Baby steps. It was too much to consider. Besides, he'd finally arrived at the ruined temple. It was even bigger and even more imposing up close. And is if on cue, that mysterious female voice from earlier called out to him again.

"Link...head to the point marked on the map in your Sheikah Slate."

The slate! He'd completely forgotten all about it. That was no good. No use trying to remember things if he was already forgetting what he was learning…

He quickly pulled out the slate, tapping through its glowing face. Sure enough, a bluish-black square with a glowing yellow dot appeared. A map? Okay...

The dot seemed to spin across the slate's face depending on the direction Link aimed the back of the slate. It was a neat trick, and Link found some bizarre but pointless entertainment with poking and rotating the interactive device. As he played around with this new discovery, a snarl from behind him suddenly caught his attention. He spun quickly, his senses on high alert.

The source of the noise was an angry and odd-looking creature, standing upright. A bit shorter than him. It had glowing blue and purple eyes, and was solid red in color. Its large ears and snout made it look almost comical and non-threatening - except it also brandished a large spiked club. Caked with something…red.

Ah, blood. Lovely.

If the visual cues weren't enough, Link could also immediately sense the hostile intent of this weird snarling beast. He slowly hooked his Sheikah Slate back on his waist, carefully keeping his eyes on the creature for its inevitable attack. Sure enough, it began to charge towards him in fury.

An old instinct suddenly kicked in, long forgotten with age but nevertheless sharp. Link drew the rusted broadsword from his back and took a firm stance against this creature. A wide grin automatically spread across his face.

It was time to fight.

And somehow, in his heart, Link was absolutely certain that he was going to win.

Updating this note since nobody wants to read an unscalable wall of pointless text. Basically this is a Mipha x Link-focused novelization of Breath of the Wild. Expect way more dialogue, way more memories, and loads of insanity, violence, sadness, and humor. Hope you enjoy this stupid journey with me, you fellow red-finned fish loving fools, you.

See you in Chapter 2: Raising Towers.