Act 1 Scene 5 "Hero of Time"

The moonless night sky gave Link little inclination of knowing where to go. Secretly, he had hoped for the old man to offer him a place to stay. However, Link understood the fear for one's safety all too well, often in the past ten years forcing him to adopt uncanny sleeping arrangements. Link hoisted his belongings onto his shoulders, looking inland. The destruction and remains of the buildings looked monstrous with only the star light defining their thick hideious shells. Link cautious stepped forward and examined around the corner. Observing only the darkness, Link crouched as he calculated his plan.
"I can't see anything. I could get a torch or camp here for the night but that may attract unwanted attention. Not only to myself but to the old man's presence. I need to be careful. Who knows what creatures and monsters Ganon has."
Link peered over more time around the corner. He spotted what he assumed was the edge of another building. He took a deep breathe and ran breaking the cover of the corner. In Link's mind the distance counted down until his body collided with thud against the crumbling bricks of the building. The impact stunned Link for a little bit. His eyes darted back and forth searching for the next location. He spotted a large broken brick section of a roof that slid off. It was a fair distance away presenting Link a dilemma.
"I can run but that will create a lot of noise or I can approach slowly but quietly."
He lowered himself down and venturing his head around to do a quick scan. Nothing. He braced himself and sprinted towards the decaying roof section.
The sound of his boots echoed through the streets. His shield and sword clinked rattled and smacked into each other and himself. The debris under his boots snapped and crumbled. Link focused on the roof section and his breathing as body sprinted closer. He slowed down as he came within a few meters of the rumble. Link breathed deep and looked around the corner, he could barely make out the forest outline that lay out in front of him. Scanning around both behind  him and above, he checked for any  of Ganon's monsters or other creatures that pose a threat.
"Nothing I can see. Not that there is much to see without any light. I should be safe in the forest a little off the road. I just need to remain quiet. I'll need to get all my old equipment before I continue any further. I need to find someone who can told me more of the current situation. Better move out while I can be reasonable sure it is safe."
Link stepped out quietly and headed for the forest's edge. The distance from the ruins to the forest left Link open; however, The dark night masked any sight of Link once he stepped inside the forest. He removed the Master sword from its scabbard, Link kept to the tree line barely in sight of the road. The forest's thick mossy underbrush muffled each step as Link gracefully sneaked through the trees. A salty sea wind blew through the trees, Link stopped short of a tree, taking in a deep breathe. This would be the last time he would breath in fresh clean air. The air when Ganon took over was always a bitter sour air that stuck to his tongue and stunk of decay. Fatigue quickly set into Link with the fresh air reminding him that he had been awake since early in the morning. His stiff back ached with the weight of the shield and his other supplies. Link slipped his pack off and stretched out his back. Link's body slide down to the ground, the soft moss cushioning his back and head. Staring up at the shifting leaves in the wind, Link closed his eyes to drift off into sleep.
"I wonder how many more nights like this I will have before the horror and strain of fighting Ganon again."
Slowly Link's sense became oblivious to the world as sleep crept upon him.
A sudden crash broke sleep's hold over Link. He jumped up with his sword in the hand. Quickly scanning around he didn't see an immediate threat. Another crash  gave him a direction to look. Glancing, he caught a tree falling onto the path. He rolled behind a tree to catch in his sight several human figures running and leaping over the tree. Muffled voices appeared within seconds. Link hoisted his shield to his arm and followed the figures over the trees. Link followed the sounds of the voices into a clear opening. Link stopped at the sight before him.  
A dozen lizalfos fought against about 10 humans. The battle appeared to be going poorly for the humans with about 10 more on the ground dead or wounded. The shrill cries of lizalfos pierced the screams of the dying humans, their bodies staining the ground. Link took a second to steady himself before charging into the fray with the sword raised high and shield close to his chest. By the time he reached the battle, the ten had been reduced to four, three men and one woman. Link took the closest lizalfo to the woman coming behind it. It was caught completely unaware of Link's presence until the blade of the Master Sword eviscerated it. The woman was startled by the quick appearance of a new man and his quick kill of the lizalfo. Link tumbled past the woman and leapt into the air slicing another one's head in half before the others could register Link's quick entrance into the battle.
The remaining lizalfos concentrated on the new assailant in the fray. Two moved from behind Link to flank as another two approached from the front. One cared two small swords and the other carried a large mace. Unaware of the flanking lizalfos, Link crouched down and shielded himself from the advancing lizalfos. One lizalfos stepped forward and swung its swords at Link. He threw his shield up, blocking one of the swords and using his swords to parry the other blade. With in a second, the other lizalfo in front attempted to pummel Link the head. Tumbling to the side, Link dodged the mace blew intended for him. As he recovered, Link focused all as energy into his sword. The blade began to glow and reverberated in his hands. The lizalfos unsure of the blade and the magic being used approached quickly to strike down an easy target in their mind.
Link twirled as the magic and blade cut through the air and the reckless lizalfos. The four attackers had their stomachs split open, the blood gushing out as they clutched their wounds before collapsing to the ground dead. The last of the lizalfos quickly reevaluated the new opponent.
Letting out their sharp piercing cry, the four lizalfos bounded back away from the remains of their group mates and the powerful fighter. Link recovered from the attack and threw his shield up to protect his torso. He quickly sided stepped around. The remaining humans backed away and gathered together as they watched in silence the new man slay the lizalfos with ease.
Two lizalfos felt brave and lucky strode near Link with their swords ready. With their swagger, they leaped towards Link thrusting their swords at him, forcing Link to dunk and tumble. They continued to swing and flourish their swords at Link as he blocked each attempt. Link continued to use his shield as a cover as he waited for the right moment to make his move. The blades of the lizalfos clashed against the shield, clanging and banging. Link shift to the side bit by bit as he tightened the muscles in his legs from his anticipated jump. The lizalfo's relentless assault began to wear themselves thin. Fatigue set in on their attack as they slowed down. As one swung its sword, its footing slipped enough that it missed Link's shield completely. Seizing the opportunity, Link tumbled out and around leaping into the air. His sword slit the back of the lizalfo and severed the spinal cord. The body crumpled with a thud to the ground in a heap as blood soaked into the ground.  The two lizalfo staying out of the fray bull-rushed Link knocking him prone on the ground.
The three lizalfos circled Link as he gathered himself together and righted himself. Standing tall, he tumbled towards the nearest one and slammed his shield into its face. Blood poured down its face from the broken nose, the lizalfo screamed. Link grabbed onto the leather strap on its chest, and plunged the Master Sword deep into the gut. He twisted the sword and pulled it out kicking the lizalfo into the other two. The force of the impact bulled the remaining two over. Seizing the opportunity to end the battle quickly Link pounced on the two. The blade cut off the heads with ease.
Link wiped the blade off on a piece of cloth and sheathed the sword. Turning around, the four humans stood frozen from in the rapid and daring display of bravery and sword prowess. The girl human approached cautiously.
"Thank you sir. May I ask to whom I am speaking to?"
"Link."
"LINK! You are alive. I thought you were dead after all these years. You saved us from Ganon all those years ago.I know you can do it again."
"Thanks. How do you know though?"
"Its me, Link. Malon. Remember I taught you my mom's song Epona loves. Lon Lon Ranch?You do remember don't you?"
Link's face lowered at the sound of Epona's name.His eyes started to swell as he lowered himself to the ground. His body weak from the battle and the mention of his horse destroyed his mental resolve.
Malon crouched beside him and hugged him close to her chest. His tears streamed down his cheeks.
"I'm so sorry Link," she said holding his head and kissing the top.
Link wiped his tears away, and mustered a "it's ok." He hoisted himself up from the ground within minutes of the emotion breakdown saying nothing to Malon as he did. Link harnessed his shield back on his shield ignoring all those around him. Malon sat on the ground staring at Link wondering what happened to him to make him so hardened.
She thought back to the memory of the young boy she met seventeen years ago. On the outskirts of Hyrule castle as she waited for her father to delivery some milk. He had fallen asleep and Link came to the castle just in time. She found out latter that he had a cucco and used that to wake her napping father. Later, Link appeared at her father's ranch. The look in Link's eyes was one of determination and caring for the world he sought to save. Years later, she would recognize that look in the eyes of a young man who saved her father's ranch from Ingo and rode Epona out. This man, while sharing the looks and physical characteristics of the boy and young man, was different. Hardened and grizzled, Link had lost that part that made him seem incredible.
"Thank you for showing up and helping us when you did Link. We would have died without you. It was incredible what you did. Thank you so much."
She gave him a hug. Link stood emotionless, making no attempt to reciprocate the gesture. He turned away after she let go of him.
"Where is your camp? I'll escort you there make sure nothing happens to you." Link asked her.
"It is about a mile to the west from here. I'll lead you there."
She turned without a sound and began to stroll westward. Link followed her close behind.
"How have you been Malon?"
"Life was going well until a while ago. I'm sure you know all too well what has happened here. Where you have been?"
Link stopped and brow furrowed. "I've been away. Much longer than I planned for."
"Where did you go? You must have some interesting tales to tell; How long have you been fighting Ganon? Are you going to fight him now?" Malon bounced as she finished.
Link looked her directly in her eyes, "I just arrived today. I barely learned about Ganon today. I'm not ready for Ganon. Let the shock settle first!"
He glared hard at her as she turned around and stormed west as she thought to herself.
"What happened to him. He was so nice all those years ago. Now he is rude and emotionally a wreck. He did a complete turn from sad to angry."
The rest of the walk continued in silence except for the private thoughts of everyone walking. They reached the camp within minutes of the battle. A small remains of a fire smoldered quietly with the red glow of the embers providing the only indication that a camp existed.

Act 1 Scene 4 "Hero of Time"

 Link started to breathe and gain an awareness of his current location. The man with the deformed leg was still there but his face looked less fearful and more concerned.
"I don't think you are with Ganon at all; you have a bad reaction to the name. Are you alright son?"
Link opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. He continued to stare at the man for another minute before tell him that he'd be alright. Link struggled to get up before the man gave Link his hand to help him. Link smiled softly at him, his lips cracking by the movement. The man stood by Link, dwarfed by the size of Link no longer afraid told him to follow him where they can talk if Link wanted to. Link sheathed his sword and holstered his shield on his back. Link stared at the man before starting to follow him. It took ten minutes before the two arrived at a small building with one side collapsed forming a small overhang. The old man crawled underneath the overhang into the darkness. Link followed suite and crawled underneath the rubble of the building. In the cramped confines of the tunnel, Link managed to make out the figure of the man dragging himself along. The tunnel wasn't made for Link's frame, which encompassed much of the tunnel forcing him to suck in his gut. This didn't save him from the scrapes and cuts from roots and old debris in the tunnel. Link emerged from the tunnel bleeding from his hands, knees and faces covered in dirt.
The man sat on a small ratty brown mat around a small fire. The smoke escaped from a small opening in the short hut's ceiling. The man motioned for Link to join him around the fire, which he did. He set his pack on the ground yet keep the shield and sword close. The interior was small and dirty with small clay pots strewn around the the dirt floor. The walls consisted of roughly hewed rock burned from whatever catastrophe had befallen the port town. The in the corner was a dripping noise, Link surmised it was the man's source of water for his house.
"Sorry to have surprised you son. It seems like you really lost yourself when I said that name. You have the look of a foreigner. I think if you were from Hyrule you would know better than to be out by yourself even if you are armed.You must have been in Hyrule before 10 years ago. Weren't you?"
Link just nodded his head taking in the rest of the room. There were some pots on a shelf nearby and some  crates. Behind the crates, straw was laid down for the man's bed. Link looked at the worn master sword; taking the scabbard off his back, he stretched out a bit. The old man continued talking.
"I think 10 years ago when Ganon was defeated, some young boy did it. And I think the Princess Zelda was there too. He left shortly after that. Kinda wish he stuck around. Ganon came back only a couple years ago. His wraith was pretty terrible. He has people searching far and wide for the boy. I think the boy's name was Link."
Link's mind flashed back to the final battle. 10 years ago in the ruins of Ganon's castle. Link thought Ganon was already dead after the first fight. The heat from the wall of fire caused Link's clothes to stick to his skin; the difficulty breathing he had from the heat and dust.After what seemed like hours, Zelda channeled the power of the Sages allowing Link to kill Ganondorf. Well, he had thought that. Apparently, Ganon, the King of Gerudos had come back while he was away in other countries fighting evil there. Link had assumed that Ganon was dead. He would haven't left Hyrule if he knew that was the case. He imaged himself possibly having a family.
Link's mind slowly came back to the present. The old man remained there across the fire smiling a toothless grin. The old man stood up quietly and went to the back of his home and opened a pot. Pulling out a pale crusty piece of bread, he walked back to Link. He softly set the bread in Link's lap and walked back to his ragged mat across the fire. Link quietly stared at the bread before picking it up and taking a bit, his teeth scrapping against the crust knocking crumbs onto his tunic. The bread tasted sour and made Link gag slightly when he swallowed it. After eating the rest of the sour bread, Link looked across the small fire flitting around the wood.
"My name is Link. I used to live in the Kokiri Village a long time ago about 17 years ago."
 The man sat undisturbed by Link's comment. The old man's lips curled up.
"Nice to meet you Link. I thought the Kokiri people stayed young. Or they did when they were still alive. Slaughtered by Ganon when he was resurrected. Tell me Link, where have you been?"
Link stood up and dusted off his ripped, stained tunic. He took a deep breathe exhaling slowly before commenting,   "I've been travelling around the world. I fought cartels, bandit leaders, and all other types of people.After leaving Hyrule 10 years ago I swore I would always fight injustice where ever I could find it. Or so I thought."
The old man didn't seemed phased by Link's comment. "I see. Well you certainly look the part of a warrior. You've been gone for a long time. Let me let you in on what's occurred over the past couple of years."

The old man's face took a grave look as he began the long winding tale of Link's past adventures as a boy and older when he defeated Ganon. Link smile to himself at certain points knowing of the old man's version were incorrect. The boy in the story didn't disappear for seven years to study martial arts in the desert with a hermit. Nor did his horse, Epona, have the magic ability to fly. After the events that he participated in, Link leaned forward and sought to understand every word coming out of the old man's toothless mouth.
"The boy disappeared shortly after Ganon laid dead on the ground. The only other person who knew what exactly happened to him was Princess Zelda. She hasn't told a soul however. Some said he went back to the desert to continue to train but never made it. Regardless of his fate, the story continues. The kingdom began to  rebuild and the people returned. Castle Town was cleared of all the zombies things, redeads I think they were called by people. It was really close to being back to normal, although it would never be the same as a giant hole was there rather than the beautiful castle. I miss the castle."
The man paused a second and closed his eyes tight. Link could see the man's eyes water up as tears began to travel down his dirty cheek. The man steadied himself and took a deep breath, resuming the story with his voice shaky.
"2 years ago, I heard rumors that Ganon had returned. Hyrule was on the verge of being back to normal. I, people, no one took the rumors seriously. We figured the boy who saved us last time would be there to save us again. We were wrong. Ganon's revenge was brutal. He annihilated populations without remorse.My family was in Castle Town where he first appeared. Now, it, is..."
The old man sobs froze Link. He was clueless what to do and how to help this old man. Years of fighting had detached Link emotionally; he didn't know what to do. He stared at the old man sobbing profusely.Remember seeing something on a travel five years ago where a father comforted a boy, Link stood up without a noise, pulled out a small clothe piece from a pouch. He squatted next to the man while putting his hand on the man's shoulder handed the piece to him to wipe his tears.
"Thank. You." was said between deep breaths.
Link crossed back to his spot. The man wiped his eyes and blew his nose. After a minute of breathing he resume the tale.
"Ganon next attacked the Gorons and the Zoras. Few have survived, many people have been forced into work camps to make monuments to him. I was in a camp for six months before I managed to escape. This port town has hidden me since. In the last year and a half I have seen three people and hundreds of Ganon's minions. Yet all of them came from inland. Which brings me to you. You are the only person in all the time I've been here to get off a boat. Why did you come here?"
The man's face looked grave. Link knew he needed to answer the man who had been kind to him. Yet he knew he didn't want to give away who he was or more accurately, who he had been. Link opened his mouth to speak but paused before a word was formed in his mouth. He paused a bit. Staring at the fire, he spoke.
"I came home to rest after leaving ten years ago. I had fought long and hard here and wanted to help others in distance lands. I did so but at a price."
The man nodded quietly. The man wobbled to his feet and approached Link.
"I will give you some food and water. But son, its best you not stay here. I fear you are needed somewhere besides the ruins here. Somewhere you might do some good."
With that the man, gathered some small scraps of food and a waterskin for Link and sent him back through the hole to the outside where it had grown dark.