Memories of Hyrule Past

Chapter 1 - Childhood at the Domain

All of the writing is from Link's point of view.

My name is Link, and these are the notes I wrote to record lost memories I recovered.

I don't recall much of my young childhood, only small snippets of memories. My mother must have passed away when I was very young, as I have no memory of her at all. My father was a knight in the Hyrule Royal Guards.

My first visit to Zora's Domain occurred when I was only four years of age. A group of those in service to the King of Hyrule were asked to visit the Domain, and my father was one of them. While I was there, I met a very nice Zora girl. I was always an energetic child and played hard. She noticed my bruises and took me aside.

"You're hurt," she said. "Let me help you."

She took my hand, and we sat down together. She had a kind expression, soft golden eyes, and a gentle way of talking.

I was amazed at what she did next. Her hand glowed, and as she waved her hand over the bruises, they all started to disappear. After a few minutes, my arms were as good as new, and my eyes must have been popping out of my head.

"You've never seen this magic before, have you?" she laughed. "There, all better now. My name is Mipha, by the way. What is yours?"

"Link," I answered. "Thank you for healing me. How did you do that?"

"You are very welcome. It's a gift I have," said Mipha.

My father returned to the Domain soon afterward. He was assigned as a liaison officer there. Mipha would sometimes come over to talk to me when she saw me alone. And if she saw any cuts or bruises, she would offer to heal them. I don't remember many of the times we spent together at that age, but a couple stands out in my mind.

The first one was when we were in the plaza together. My friends weren't around, and I was there alone. Mipha thought I would have fun sliding down with her on the waterways that flowed from the higher levels above the plaza. She took my hand, and we walked up to one of the structures above the plaza. Then we would slide down the waterway, the water splashing along with us, and laughing the whole way down. It was great fun, and I felt very secure with her. We did that several times until Mipha's father showed up as we finished one of our slides into the plaza.

"Mipha, may I ask what you are doing?" he said.

"I am playing with this little Hylian boy, father," said Mipha. "His name is Link.

"It's nice of you to play with him," he said, "but sliding down waterways is a bit unbecoming of a princess, and the little boy might get hurt."

A princess? Mipha was a princess? Up until that moment, I had no idea of that.

"Yes, father, I'm sorry," said Mipha. "I won't do it anymore."

With that, her father left. I remember staring at Mipha.

"You're a princess?" I said.

"Yes, but think of me as your friend," Mipha said. Then she walked me back to where I stayed with my father and said goodbye.

The other early memory I have of Mipha was when she taught me how to swim.

"You know, if you want to play with Zoras, you need to swim well," said Mipha. "If you have time, why don't I teach you."

I had plenty of time. She took my hand, and we climbed up two enormous flights of stairs to a reservoir lake. Then she held me as we entered the water and started teaching me how to swim. I could tell it was hard for her because swimming came so naturally to Zoras, and they swam differently.

"Now, let me see," said Mipha. "It's a shame you don't have any fins, so the best we can do is use your arms and legs. Unfortunately, your fingers have no webbed skin between them, so you will need to hold your fingers tightly together. And the best we can do with your legs is to either alternate kicking them or try to hold them together and move them up and down."

I was not the fastest learner, but she was very patient with me, never got discouraged, and in the end, I did swim much better.

I would always be grateful for Mipha's kindness to me as a child.

My other childhood friends were two Zora boys and a Zora girl I met named Bazz, Rivan, and Gaddison. They had formed a little club called the Big Bad Bazz Brigade, and after they got to know me, they invited me to join. We used to swim together, play soldiers, and have mock battles or secret missions. Our missions were generally just the typical good fun and games young boys and girls have when they play together. Every now and then, we crossed a line. Bazz was the gutsiest of the group, and so he was the leader.

One of Bazz's missions involved putting frogs into the slumber pools in the upper level of the Domain. We dutifully collected as many frogs as we could from the surrounding pools of water and put them into a container. Then, when the pool area was unattended, we poured the frogs into the water there. Then we hid to see the reaction. When a couple of Zoras entered the pool to relax, they were so startled by all the frogs jumping around, they screamed and jumped out of the water. We laughed so hard, but a guard noticed what had happened, and we were quickly caught. We were ordered to collect all the frogs and bring them safely back to where they belonged. And we had to spend an afternoon scrubbing and cleaning all the pools as well. We had other crazy missions, but I don't remember them.

Eventually, my father was transferred back to Hyrule Castle, and I naturally went with him. I missed my friends but was soon distracted by attending school. I remember some of that time, but nothing particularly noteworthy. I was a decent student and took learning seriously. But I was by no means a scholar and finished only in the upper half of my class.