In the fields of Hyrule, Queen Zelda of the Hylians leaned down over her work, ignoring the sounds of Link's sword slicing into flesh. She sighed slightly as she manipulated the Sheikah Plate in her hands. After a moment of using the device and listening to the sound of Link yelling in the background, she looked up at the area around her.

It had been a full year since she'd finally been released from her battle with Ganon. A full year of traveling with Link, rebuilding her home. Hyrule Castle was in the distance, a series of Guardians scurrying across the structure as they worked on the ancient building. The spider-like creatures that had once terrorized the land glowed blue in the distance. Zelda looked over at the shrine she was working on. She'd managed to open a panel on the access plate, and had a set of wires running to the Sheikah Plate.

"Link, can you come over here and help me?" She turned to look at the knight.

"Hayah!" The Master Sword swung into the flesh of a Lynel's right pectoral, biting deep. The massive creature roared, its eyes flashing with rage.

In appearance, the two combatants couldn't have been more different. The Lynel was a massive creature, as large as the elephants Zelda had heard of. They had the heads of lions, massive torso's chiseled with muscles that lead to, of all things, a powerful horse body. It sounded ridiculous if you didn't see it in person.

If you couldn't see the muscles bunching up beneath fur that shone like steel. The enormous cudgel of stone the size of a Hylian male, a brute instrument of power, clenched in clawed fingers as lethal as any sword. The way the eyes flashed with hatred, or its fangs shone, and the smell of its musk filling the air with a sweet, rotten scent.

In comparison, her knight was almost minuscule. He was in the air now, flipping back as he roared in fury. Though he'd grown much taller in the year since he'd freed her, he was still tiny compared to the Lynel, his blue tunic fluttering about him as he swung out the Master Sword. A shield of blue light combined with the light of the glowing sword to illuminate his pale skin, blonde hair, and bright eyes in a hue of sapphire.

But for all the difference in size between them, none could doubt the shared ferocity of the two. The rage, the hatred they shared, was clear as day.

Link landed, his eyes hard. His hands tightened around the hilt of his sword, his Ancient Shield up high. The Lynel swung its cudgel at Link. The knight twisted his shield into the blow, blue light parrying hundreds of pounds of stone away from him. In a quick twist, he lashed out with his other hand, stabbing the Lynel in the right pectoral as the large beast staggered. The Lynel roared in pain and rage.

Link didn't hesitate. As the Lynel reared back, he stepped forward into its grasp and began to slash. Like a butcher gone mad, Link slashed into the skin of his opponent. Zelda only saw a blur of speed floating alongside the Lynel as the massive beast stumbled back. Cuts opened in the side of the creature, cut by an invisible blade at incredible speeds.

It was over with a vicious stab to the heart.

Link didn't give his enemy even the dignity of watching him die. He simply turned and walked over to join Zelda as the Lynel fell to the ground and bled out onto the grass.

Zelda smiled just a bit. One hundred years ago, she might have felt shocked by Link's almost business-like attitude towards the battle. She may have felt pity.

But that was one hundred years ago. Before she had held herself in constant battle with darkness itself and watched her home fall to ruin. Now, she ignored the corpse as she held out the Sheikah Plate to Link.

"There are some files I must access. These may be the most complete ones I have found so far, at least in terms of size," She explained as Link took the plate and began manipulating the controls with practiced ease. "I'm hoping that it will... well, help with everything."

She looked out over the land once more. It was beautiful. Tree branches were rustled by the wind. Sunlight shining on the water.

But then there were the ruins she remembered as thriving villages. The farms of wheat that were now empty fields of grass.

As Zelda mused on this, Link handed her back the Shiekah Plate. She turned and smiled a bit ruefully. "I must say, it is quite vexing that only the Hero of Light has full access to the Shrines. Do I get nothing as Princess?"

Link quirked an eyebrow, nodding firmly in agreement with her disappointment. Zelda pouted. "Well, as long as you are here." She took the plate back and began to look through the files.

"...Oh," Zelda's eyes widened. "Oh, my! This is even better than I'd hoped!"

She spun to Link. "I think I have found the answer! Come, we must hurry to the castle!"

-

In the year since Calamity Ganon's defeat, a lot had changed. The once desolate and ruined Hyrule Castle was now a bustling small city. Hylians, Gorons, Rito, Gerudo, Zora, and Sheikah roamed where monsters once had, destroyed dining rooms and halls now almost completely returned to their former glory.

The biggest change, however, was in the area around the castle. As Zelda rode behind Link, she could see the new structures surrounding the castle. Made in the styles of the people of Hyrule, the place was a lively mishmash of Gerudo style homes, Rito towers, and several workshops made from ancient technology, with blue flames alight across the city. Blue and orange lights flickered across the city, and several Guardians strode the streets above the inhabitants.

Of course, Zelda barely had any time to appreciate the city she was riding through. The most she got was the flicker of a familiar face. This was due to the fact that Link rarely rode on horses anymore. Not since he received the Divine Beast Master Cycle Zero.

The horse Divine Beast sped around a carriage as Zelda held tight to her knight's waist, whooping with excitement. Her hair blew in the wind of their passage, and Link smirked. They went down newly raised streets, and people called out to them in happiness as they sped past.

"Faster!" Zelda cheered with glee. "Faster!"

Link released a short bark of laughter. The Divine Beast under them seemed to roar in agreement, and they blasted forward.

As they reached their destination, Link and Zelda tensed. At the absolute last second, the pair flipped off the Master Cycle Zero. The Divine Beast spun around as they landed, parking itself with a final purr of noise.

Zelda tried her best to return to her stern demeanor as Link took his place behind her and just to the right, his usual guarding position. Riding the Master Cycle was just so... exhilarating! She pushed down her smile and simply walked with her knight into the building in front of them.

The building they strode into was based on the design of Sheikah homes, just much larger. On a stone monument next to the building entrance as they walked in was a set of names.

Mipha. Revali. Daruuk. Urbosa.

Zelda didn't give the monument a glance. Neither did Link.

Four others, however, did. As they strode with Link, they gave the monument bearing their names a glance. Nothing more.

And then they were in the main room.

Zelda smiled at those awaiting her. "My Champions."

The warmth of her voice filled the room.

"Princess!" Sidon, the prince of the Zora barked happily, pumping his fist in his usual manner. His red skin gleamed in the light, and his shark-like teeth flashed with his happy smile. He stood to the right of the circular table in the center of the room. For a moment, Zelda was sent to another age, when he was far younger, smiling at his older sister. The moment passed, leaving a familiar ache.

"Milady," Teba, the Rito warrior, nodded simply from his seat across from Sidon. His white feathers fluttered slightly, and though he didn't smile, he seemed satisfied. He was tending to an unstrung bow in his hand, one scavenged from a Lynel based on the various blades on its surface.

Riju, the Gerudo Chieftess, smiled as well, though she frowned when she looked between Zelda and Link. It was only for a moment before she smiled again, but Zelda wondered briefly about it. The tiny chieftess of the Gerudo was wearing her usual clothes, her large red ponytail brushing her ankles. She had grown in the past year, showing muscles in her arms and abdomen that she hadn't displayed before. But she was still minuscule compared to the others. On the table before her rested the Thunder Helm, a mystical object that she had once loaned to Link.

The last of them was the largest. Yunobo, the Goron Champion, dwarfed everyone in the room. He wore only a skirt made of steel and a blue scarf, similar to the blue cloth the others included in their ensemble. He slowly chewed at a piece of stone in his hands, massive jaws slicing through granite with ease. On the entrance of Link and Zelda, he hurriedly tried to put away the stone, swallow, and wave. Instead, he coughed, massive bulk shuddering as bits of stone got caught in his throat.

Zelda graciously ignored the Goron Youth's plight, instead stepping towards the table as Link went to smack Yunobo on the back. As the superhuman Hylian slammed a powerful palm onto his friends back, Zelda began to speak.

"Greetings, Champions of Hyrule. I have news of great importance," she began. The group sat, Yunobo swallowing the stone in his throat. "For the past week, as part of our recovery efforts, Link and myself have been traveling between the shrines. Using the research of Purah, Robbie, and the other Sheikah, as well as my own notes, I began to 'hack' into the shrines."

Sidon blinked at that, shark-like teeth flashing. "Hack? I thought we were trying to keep them safe."

Riju chuckled. "Not that kind of hacking. It's an old Sheikah term. Means going into the tech without permission."

"Indeed," Zelda said, though she noted the strangeness of Riju's familiarity with the term. "I was researching records of old allies of Hyrule, those who came from across the seas."

Teba quirked an eyebrow at that. As he restrung his bow, he spoke. "Old allies. What for?"

"To aid in our rebuilding," Zelda said sadly. "As it is, Hyrule is nowhere near its former strength. And I fear that, with Calamity Ganon gone, others may try to take advantage of us. Enemies once held back by his power."

"Let 'em come!" Sidon declared proudly. "We're the Champions! We can handle them!"

Zelda looked at Sidon. Then she looked at Link, leading Sidon to look over at him as well.

Link was eyeing Sidon sadly. His eyes had changed color from their usual blue. Instead, they were a familiar brown, slit like Sidon's. Zora eyes. Eyes of another person.

Zelda turned away. Sidon faltered, eyes widening with a sad pain. Link, as always, didn't speak. He simply looked around the room.

"...Point made," Riju said, sighing. "Okay, Princess. You said something about enemies?"

"And allies," Yunobo added. "Who did you mean?"

Zelda smiled. "In my research, I discovered reports of a man called, 'The Builder'. A wise human King."

"Human?" Teba asked. "I thought they only lived in other parts of the world."

"At times," Zelda admitted. "But at certain parts of Hyrule's history, humans aided and even lived among us. This particular one was credited with building Hyrule Castle."

Yunobo whistled. "He must have been really good!"

"Indeed," Zelda said. "Since he created it 8000 years ago."

"I didn't realize the castle was so old," Teba said with a frown.

"Not all of it is," Zelda admitted. "But the foundations and much of the main structure couldn't have been done with the Builder's aid. At least, according to the records I have. In return, he asked for access to one rune. Cryonis."

"The ice rune?" Teba asked, his frown growing deeper, the serious-minded Rito raising a hand to stroke his beak in thought.

"In the end," Zelda continued. "He offered the aid of his people, should we ever need it."

Riju scoffed. "Yes, 8000 years ago. As far as I know, even Zora and Sheikah can't live that long, let alone humans. I don't think his descendants will be willing to help for nothing."

Sidon nodded. "They'll want things from us. We need to decide exactly what we want from these people, and what we have to give in return," the Prince of Zora said.

"How do we even find them?" Yunobo asked. He scratched the back of his head slowly. "I mean, where did they come from? Where did they go?"

"I do not know, Yunobo," Zelda admitted. "But the last of the files I compiled showed records of a final shrine."

Link grimaced. The others looked over at him, Riju smirking. "What's wrong hero? I thought you couldn't get enough of shrines."

Link only sighed, leaning back in his seat. He was famous for the fact that he had traversed into the depths of over 120 shrines, known throughout Hyrule for it as one of his many feats. Only those knew would realize how annoying he found them, especially from the look in his eyes.

Zelda held back her amusement at the petulant way Link was acting. "Luckily, this is not a true Shrine. Instead, it is a gateway of sorts. The Builder had his people create one in his own land. If it works, it will allow us to traverse between the two points instantaneously!" Zelda declared happily. "I believe it must use some form of Sheikah technology to make the two points exist, for a moment, in the same location, like folding a piece of paper than unfolding it! This technology must be incredibly powerful, possibly combined with magic in some way!" She stopped when she realized how enthusiastic she was getting, barely holding back a blush.

Of the group, only Teba and Riju looked as though they had followed what she was saying. The others only stared at her in surprise. No wonder. Even after a year, it took a lot to revert her to the eager scholar she had once been.

Coughing gently, she continued. "I believe it would best if we, as the Champions of Hyrule, go through first. Not only are we representative of Hyrule, we also all the skills to defend ourselves if need be from hostiles. I only ask that you join me for a month at most, but if you wish not to-"

"I'm in!" Sidon declared instantly.

Teba frowned. "I'll have to tell my wife... but I think it will be all right."

"The Gerudo will be lead by Buliara while I'm gone," Riju said calmly. "As long as I'm not gone too long."

"I-I'd like to go as well!" Yunobo stammered. He chuckled nervously. "It sounds fun."

Zelda smiled, warmth filling her. For a moment, the faces of four others covered those of her New Champions. But she let the pain of old failures and the beauty of old memories fade away.

After all, if someone tried to kill her new Champions... well. She'd gained quite the mastery of her magic in the past one hundred years.

-

On another continent, Eddard Stark stood before Winterfell with Rodrick Cassel and Luwin, the Lord of Winterfell, his maester, and his master-of-arms staring at the phenomenon in front of them.

"Anything yet?" Eddard asked.

Luwin shook his head. "All I can tell you, my lord, is that this is, according to ancient records, not some sort of attack. This structure was always supposed to appear."

"Old gods protect us," Rodrick said simply.

Eddard only folded his arms.

Before them, to the left of the gates of Winterfell, was a large and round building. One that glowed orange across the surface of a strange metal. Only one sentence, carved above what could have been a doorway of sorts, gave a clue to what it may have been.

Aid them, as they aided us.