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Where We End and Start | A Prince Sidon Love Story

Summary:

Ninety-three years after the Great Calamity, a young lone warrior travels the world in search of the one thing Hyrule -- and she -- desperately needs: hope. [Slow to Update - for now]

Chapter 1: One Last Favor

Chapter Text

Somehow, I was privy to a lot more than I should have been.

My horse grazed a few meters off. I sat under the shade of a tree, right at the edge of a little patch of forest. The world seemed peaceful right now; the breeze brushed across the open meadow, the grass bending in little waves. For as far as I could see, which I knew wasn’t that far, there weren’t any monsters around. The few travelers I’d met along the path had warned me of packs of them. One even spoke of mechanical nightmares.

I wasn’t sure if I was ready for any of that. But I didn’t have much of a choice.

It wasn’t normal. A few weeks ago, my warrior coalition got a letter. It was from the Zora, the fish-people tribe. I had never seen them, and not many of my group had either. But the letter requested that a warrior from our coalition come and see their Divine Beast.

This was a first for us. For a long time, we were only mercenaries, vigilantes of an old time long forgotten. Hell, I wasn’t even alive when the Great Calamity happened. But I was here to reap its curses, and some part of joining a group of protectors seemed like a good idea when I was younger. Now, I knew better, but I was still a member, for one reason or another. Maybe I still had some hope, or maybe it was just convenience. But black and red clouds of demonic magic weren’t something you just hoped away. Too few of the coalition fighters knew that.

And now, it seemed the Zora didn’t really know that either. Jisso, our leader, told me about the Divine Beasts. Their mountainous power, bridled by the day’s Champions, were integral in the fight against Calamity Ganon. But they all fell to his power in the end. The Zora were no exception.

But that was why it was strange. In all those ninety-some years since the Calamity, the Zora had never reached out to anyone, according to the oldest members of the coalition. Receiving this letter sent a wave of shock through us. It meant things were truly getting desperate.

And, as if that wasn’t bad enough, I was sent to be our representative. I wasn’t even fully Hylian, not enough to deserve the title. I had no magic, no exceptional skills. So, why did I get nominated to go? Because I could navigate, and because I was under sixty years old.

“Amon, you’ll be much better at handling this than any of us.”

Jisso had tried to convince me, to encourage me. But I was furious.

“How is that possible? I’m the only one here who isn’t Hylian.” I was beyond words. “I can’t believe you’re doing this. I’m the dud of this organization.”

“You are not a dud,” he said calmly.

“To the Zora? Absolutely I’ll be a dud. They don’t even like Hylians; they’ll like me even less.”

“You’re a valuable warrior to us, and you’re a human, and that’s exactly why you’re going.”

“Because I’m not as bad.”

Jisso struggled not to roll his eyes. Years ago, he had tried to break my temper, and it hadn’t worked. Now, he had learned not to bother telling me to calm down. He had to work with me.

“In a way.”

I knew it. “So, I’m just the messenger.”

“None of us are what the Zora are looking for, Amon.”

“I know that.”

He shook his head. “No, just listen. None of us are champions, none of us are even knights. We’re not the Savior, and the Zora will know that just by looking at you.”

“Great.”

“They would know just by looking at any of us.”

“Then why are we sending anyone at all? We’re basically lying to them.”

“We’re sending them the best hope we can offer: a young, resourceful warrior with a keen mind.”

I looked away in frustration. It was ridiculous. I stood no chance against something like a Divine Beast. I knew that and I'd never even seen one.

“The Hylian Warriors Coalition is responsible for maintaining peace and protecting our people,” Jisso said. “I see no reason why that shouldn’t extend to the Zora.”

“None of us can protect the Zora from a Divine Beast.”

“I know.”

“Then why?”

He sighed.

“Because we all took oaths to protect our people or die trying.”

This tension had been building for years. But I never quite imagined it would end like this. I was never the same the men that had always surrounded me, their long white beards and old, rusting armor, bodies that remembered the good days of Hyrule when a sword was easy to swing and the gods seemed to love them more. They dreamed of life returning to those peaceful times, those times I never knew, not once. They were blind with hope, with faith in a prophecy about a Savior and the blessings of the smiling gods. They thought that if we fought hard enough, if we believed, we would be saved. Before, I never had to be in the middle of it. I never had to truly believe it, and they didn’t know the difference. But now, I was out in the open.

“I took that oath when I was fifteen. I’m twenty-eight now.”

Jisso was quiet. For longer than I could remember, he had been a father-figure to me after my own had passed away. My mother, who was part Hylian, had begged on her deathbed for Jisso to take care of me, to protect me, and to teach me to protect myself, too. I was the first girl to be sworn into the coalition.

“So, that time has come.” He was resigned, not angry. “I had a feeling you would turn out this way. I don’t consider it a failure.”

My breath released.

“Amon, you are free to go and do as you like.”

My heart, unexpectedly, began to sink.

“You are honorably released from your oath.”

“Jisso—”

“All I ask is that you go complete this one last mission. It does not have to be in our name. But please tell them who you were sent by.”

I was beside myself.

“Jisso.”

He looked at me.

“I’m sorry.” It was all I could manage to say. He shook his head.

“Don’t be sorry. Don’t have regret. Be steadfast and sure.”

I couldn’t speak.

“Can you do this for me?” he asked.

My chest felt empty. Void.

I forced confidence into my voice.

“Yes.”