BoTW Oneshots

Falling - Link

Having the life of a freelance artist has its benefits. I get to go to places most people won't dare so I capture the raw beauty of Hyrule in the form of a drawing. Because of this, I know practically all of Hyrule by heart. Today, I set out to draw the ruins of Lanaryu promenade. I've heard rumors of it being quite therapeutic but eerie at the same time, as if the ghosts of the previous Hylians still haunt it to this day. I've always had a strange passion for ruins. They just seem to call me, as if there is still more stuff waiting to be discovered or unearthed.

I walk along the empty road from my hometown—Kakariko village—in which I don't live in anymore because I travel. I go past the forest that is home to the guardian spirit of the village. Apparently the guardian has been reawakened, so perhaps I could go and draw her home one day. I exit the small forest and continue through the barren path. I hear a few Lizalfos grunting and... battle calling?

I run up the path quickly and quietly so they don't hear me. There are supposed to be more Bokoblins along the path, but I don't see any. It appears that they have all ran away.

I continue down the path, seeing that there is a gaping hole to get to the other side. I guess I'll have to climb around. I near the path, and just to my amazing luck, it begins to rain. The wall will be too slippery to climb across, and the hole is too large to leap across, even if I ran really fast and jumped. It's late afternoon and the Stal monsters come out at night, so I need to get back to civilization where I can be safe. My best chance is to climb across the wall to get to the point I want. I secure my stuff in my bag, and pull out my grip gloves. I put them on and start to climb across.

The wall is very slippery. I can feel my hand start to give way. I move it over, but I just end up pulling down some rocks. I move my hand again, followed by my foot and find myself suspended a quarter of the hole. Crap. If I continue like this, I'm gonna fall in the water, and my stuff is gonna be ruined. Let alone me potentially getting sick or badly injuring myself on the fall down. I gingerly move my hand over to another small outcropping. It seems stable enough, so I put a little of my weight on it. The rock doesn't agree.

KRAK!

Welp, there goes that hand. I'm gripping on my my other hand. I jump over to my left. I'm now halfway over. Having haphazardly jumped, I lose my grip. This time, I am barely able to save myself. Catching my breath, I hear more Lizalfos and Bokoblins cries coming from behind me, and shuffling. I just brush it off. I shuffle over to the last stretch of the wall, only to find that the rain is starting to really beat down now.

Great timing, (Nm).

The rain continues to pour down harder and harder until my grip finally gives way to my weight. I suck in a gasp of air as I suddenly plummet down. I wait for the impact of hitting the water or the column, but nothing comes... I open my eyes a little bit, and only to find that a man had caught me in his arms...

The bottom half of his face is covered by a tight cloth, hair in a neat bun. Two large, azure eyes stare down at me. They look at me with a layer of curiosity.

"You should be careful climbing when it's raining," The man says while putting me down next to him. We're standing on the top of a ruined column. "I of all people would know."

I tilt my head confusedly at this. "How?"

"I have to do a lot of adventuring around Hyrule, you see. Mainly because I'm the last hope or something..." He scratches the back of his head, looking awkwardly down at the glowing slate on his hip. That looks like...

"Holy Hylia—a sheikah slate?! Who are you?" I cry.

The man shushes me. "Please... Not so loud. There are other monsters around, and my weapons are breaking..." He gestures to his cracked eightfold blade. I notice that the rest of his body is actually barely layered. He is only wearing a thin layer of tight fabric. He seems cold.

"But my name's Link, if you're wondering..." He says in a hushed voice, looking over his shoulder and around to see if there are any other people that would yell out. Nope—it's just him and I.

"Link... As in the hero of time from 100 years ago?" I ask him softly, taking the cue to speak quietly when he said not to be loud. He simply nods his head in response. "Then how are you so young-looking?"

"Uhh... I slept for 100 years," He says awkwardly. I'm just not gonna question it. "Anyway, what's your name?"

"Oh. I'm (Nm). Nice to meet ya, and thanks for saving me back there. I could have gotten a broken arm or face or something..."

"Nice to meet you too. Also, if you did get a broken face, that wouldn't be very good. You have a pretty face." He says casually.

I feel my face heat up slightly at the comment. Most people say that I'm kinda average looking, or just don't mention my face. I guess I don't really talk to that many people either. The man takes off his mask to reveal the bottom half of his face. He actually looks younger than I thought. The same age as me. And he too has a nice face. What do you know?

"I think we should probably get off this pillar. You think so too?" I say, gesturing to the broken pillar that we stand on.

"Uh... yeah," He says, looking down. "Hold on a sec." Link pulls out his Sheikah slate and adjusts something on it. Holding out his hand, a light blue emits from the screen which then summons a large ice block sitting on the water.

"Here. We can use Cryonis to make a path across the water so we don't have to get wet," Link steps down onto the ice. He doesn't slip. I join him down on it too. My feet are kinda cold, but I'm not sliding everywhere. There's also an intricate pattern tracing the inside of the ice. How interesting... maybe I could draw it?!

He continues setting up the same ice blocks and jumping from one to another. I follow suit. Eventually we get to the gateway at Naydra snowfield. After climbing up a hill a little bit, I set up my drawing tools while Link goes and gazes at the gate. He looks as if he is remembering a lost memory. A bit later, and once I had gotten started on the base of the drawing, Link calls out my name.

"(Nm)! Perhaps we could travel together?" He says with a smile.

I'll be able to get to see all of Hyrule and maybe even more! I nod back at him with another smile.

Here's where my journey as the sidekick of the Hero of Hyrule and a better freelance artist begin!