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.