Afterword

"You've got to go through it to get to the end of it."
-Katniss, Catching Fire

It's hard to believe it's been exactly a year today since I posted the first chapter of Blood and Spirit on … A long, hard year, filled with ups and downs in both my real life and my writing. Over the course of this past year I have gone through the entire course of my senior year of high school, and through it all, all of the incredibly busy days and nights, I've found ways to brainstorm for this story as well as write it all because of my devotion not only to this story, but to my lovely readers as well (but I'll thank you all in a little bit). I set my mind to writing this story and by some miracle, I managed to finish it all within a year and the indescribable feeling of having reached the end of the beginning of my epic, game spanning trilogy fills every bone in my body, especially as I look forward to the glorious tale that awaits all of us with Light and Shadow (and to a lesser extent Wisdom and Courage).

And so, here we are in the afterword, which is basically going to be me rambling about the entire Bound Destinies Trilogy, so if you're into that sort of thing, please, read on! :D

Writing Blood and Spirit

The original idea for Blood and Spirit came about as I was writing Wisdom and Courage (the 2nd story in the Bound Destinies Trilogy; yeah, I kinda wrote them out of order… :P I wanted to form a trilogy based around many of the lore-staples I had dealt with in Wisdom and Courage, such as the connection between Hyrule and Termina, the Fierce Deity, the Dark Interlopers/Twili and their origins, the nature of the Blood of the Goddess and the Spirit of the Hero, the history of Hyrule at large, the Sheikah and more. Of course, from the beginning, I wanted to have each book in the trilogy be set as a sequel to a different Zelda game. Since Wisdom and Courage was set after Ocarina of Time/Majora's Mask, I came up with the idea to have the first book be set after Skyward Sword and the third book set after Twilight Princess. I was so excited to write book one, since it would be set after my absolute favorite Zelda game (Skyward Sword), and that I would get to try my hand at writing these characters and this world into a huge, epic story!

I had always been fascinated in the story of the Dark Interlopers from Twilight Princess, and so I decided to let that be the framework for B&S, incorporating the Fused Shadow, Mirror of Twilight and more! Of course, I wanted to incorporate the corruption subplot into the story, and did it in a way that would also explain the origins of the Fierce Deity, as well as Hyrule's connection to Termina. From the very beginning, I knew I wanted to ship Link and Zelda hard, just like I did in Wisdom and Courage, but even more so here as I had the two of them tie the knot before B&S was even halfway over. As for Fi returning, I knew that I wanted to do that since she makes appearances in the other two books of the trilogy as well and so I had to give her the role of Link's companion once more, though the idea to give her more emotions came from its convenience to the plot and how I could develop her character in an interesting way. Veress came about from me trying create a villainess who could start the line of evil lady Interlopers/Twili and right from the start I wanted her to be ruthless, but also very cunning and crafty, which I think she turned out to be (as well as crazy, which was also what I wanted her to be). Sheik's character came about as a way to not only feed the love triangle I wanted to create, but also to serve as the one who would connect Link and Zelda to Veress (which I did through their shared backstory). Here's a fun fact! In my original ideas for B&S, Sheik was originally going to betray Link and Zelda during the final battle and join Veress, but then the whole subplot about her falling in love with Link came along and I knew that doing that would pretty much make her hated in everyone's eyes (and personally, I liked her too much to do that myself!). As far as Terminus goes, I created her so I could cement my theory that everyone in Termina is a foil to everyone in Hyrule, hence Terminus being Hylia/Zelda's counterpart and the Fierce Deity being Link's. And finally, what I really wanted to do at the end of B&S was detail the establishment of Hyrule, something I hope I succeeded over the course of the resolution. Overall, I have to say that the process of writing B&S has helped me to grow so much as a writer, testing my limits and pushing me to the emotional edge of everything, but I have had so much fun writing it! I sincerely hope that all of my hard work has shown throughout the story, from its highest moments to its lowest lows, to everything in between!

Dedications & Thank Yous

First of all, I'd like to thank God, through which all things are possible, even writing immense stories such as these! :D

Next, I'd like to dedicate Blood and Spirit to my absolute BFF, Iva (also known as TheJediAvenger). Without her help and random bursts of inspiration, I have no idea how some of the ideas in this story would have come about (not to mention pointing out that glaring typo in Ch. 11 (you know the one, with Fi? Lol ;D) But seriously, thanks so much dude… couldn't have done it without you! :D

Alright, now before anything else, I'd like to thank everyone and everyone who has supported me as I wrote Blood and Spirit, starting with my fabulous reviewers! I have to say you all are an INCREDIBLE group! I never thought I would ever accumulate even over 100 reviews for any one story, and yet, thanks to you guys, I'm happy to say that Blood and Spirit has reached (at the time of me posting this) 334 reviews! You all don't know how happy and successful that makes me feel! After all, I put my all into Blood and Spirit and I know that you guys thought so too, since I can't recall a single negative review at all! And so, I'd like to extend by heartfelt thanks to (starting from the earliest reviewers and working our way up): TheSpiritMaiden, Zelink005, Nintendoman01, Synea827, silverhawk88, BlueFrenchHorn97, Mekuda, Leina16, Vocaloid302, WolfRunner326, ShadowNinja1011, TheRealPurpleLink, ixPinkRoses, Lovely girl 10, Beforethedawnbreaks, DarthPhoenixFire, Anon, Nikrael, Vivi-ntvg, Princesszeld450, Connor, spyfuttonbutton, MadlyPurple, TheJediAvenger, Spotty-Chan, Tangolikeoak, Tavros'-Yuujinchou, Yuuten Keidy, Animegirl160, YueMelHamachi, kittykruger, sslamajama97, Jarvis R. Yeriel, RandomButLoved, Twilight16, Random Nobody, LooneyCat55, NoSignalBlueScreen, Kai2, erico637, So evil, Pandora151, GO ZeldaXLink, CupcakePride101, WorriedTimeLord, Specslash, Legionary Prime, Coola13, and last but not least, all my Guest reviewers! Again, thank you all so much! Your reviews were what inspired me to write this story to the very best of my abilities and they kept me going even when I didn't want to write or when writer's block hit me! I love you all so much and I hope you all continue to read the rest of my stories! :D

Now, I'd like to thank all 90 of you who have followed Blood and Spirit (as of 7/9/14): Acchan the 13th, AFightingDreamer, AmyVideogamer, AngelWildWings181, Animegirl160, Arison Nakaru, Bebe-Susy, Beforethedawnbreaks, Blade Assassin, Born of Prayers, Callisto, Celeste Fox, Coola13, DakotaBlacky, Dark Link 24, Ecraft14, Evy Disa, Farli30519, GO ZeldaXLink, HeroofTime9891, I Wumbo, Jarvis R. Yeriel, Jennywise, KPGirl1227, Kai2, Kookiri, KromedSkorpion, LEva114, LadyNoob, Leina16, Libby8980, LooneyCat55, Lovely girl 10, MadlyPurple, Mekuda, Nasakegan, Nikrael, Nintendoman01, NoSignalBlueScreen, Pandora151, RandomButLoved, SB2Lazy, ShadowNinja1011, Sheers Man, Specslash, SpiritOfHyrule, Stardastarly, Synea827, Tangolikeoak, Tavros'-Yuujinchou, TenthDoctor21, TheJediAvenger, TheRealPurpleLink, This is not a good Name, Tloz-H50, Tuba Girl Wonder, TwilightWakerofTime, Vivi-ntvg, Vocaloid302, WolfRunner326, YueMelHamachi, Yuuten Keidy, Zeldafreak64, Zxynwin, adamsimpson8081, amwick, .5, chibi387, draftcrafty, erico637, fanheart1296, fluentzelink, foREVer72339, kdldvs, legendary-retrouvailles, momobeann, pyroknight95, rilish, silverhawk88, sonicxjones, spyfuttonbutton, supersmach, . , tr1pp89, vxgpako, x102reddragon, xXSwimmieXx, .tsubasa19, zelinkforeverlovers and anyone else who might follow this story later on! Thank you all so much for taking this epic journey with me! I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have and I hope you all continue to follow me on to Wisdom and Courage and Light and Shadow! :D

Now we move onto all 74 of you who have favorite B&S! 1 up, 425rudy, AFighting Dreamer, Acchan the 13th, AmyVideogamer, Animegirl160, Anytime, Arison Nakaru, Beforethedawnbreaks, Blade Assassin, Coola13, CupcakePride101, DarthPhoenixFire, Dex-El of Krypton, Eclipsegirl4488, Edwina Elric, Evy Disa, FaeLion, Farli30519, GO ZeldaXLink, HaLfBrEeD2021, HeroofTime9891, I Wumbo, Jarvis R. Yeriel, Jennywise, Joemon8, KromedSkorpion, Legionary Prime, Leina16, LooneyCat55, Lovely girl 10, MadlyPurple, Mekuda, Neos the Final Builder, Nintendoman01, Pandora151, PrincessZelda1468, RandomButLoved, RightHandOfPalpatine, Sheers Man, Specslash, SpiritOfHyrule, Stormy Trix, Tangolikeoak, Tavros'-Yuujinchou, TenthDoctor21, TheJediAvenger, TheRealPurpleLink, TheSpiritMaiden, TheThreeKings, Tloz-H50, Tuba Girl Wonder, Vivi-ntvg, Voicaloid302, WolfRunner326, YueMelHamachi, Zeldafreak64, adamsimpson8081, amwick, blitzburn, .5, fluentzelink, hammerbrofro64, legendary-retrouvailles, missladyjune, momobean, pyroknight95, silverhawk88, sonicxjones, spyfuttonbutton, tr1pp98, x102reddragon, xXSwimmieXx, .tsubasa19, and anyone else who might favorite later on! Thank you all for loving this story, since I love it too!

Sources of Inspiration/Quotes

Alright, so as you've all most likely seen, before each chapter, I have placed a quote that sums up the theme of each chapter and so now I'd like to reference all of the places that I have taken them from, as well all of the things that have inspired me as I wrote this story (and in some cases, things that I directly quoted or referenced within the story itself). They include, but are not limited to these movies: Maleficent, Frozen, Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, and probably others that I can't recall at the moment. These shows: Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Legend of Korra, Adventure Time, and again, possibly others, though I'm not much of a TV person… :P Books: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins, Divergent, Insurgent, and Allegiant by Veronica Roth, The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Manga by Akira Himekawa, Hyrule Historia (which was basically like my guidebook for all of the lore related things in this story), the Bible, and other sources of literature I might have missed. Singers/musicians: Michael W. Smith, Lykke Li, Birdy, Lorde, Christina Aguilera, Serena Ryder, Coldplay, Ellie Goulding, Sia, Ed Sheeran, The National, and possibly others. And finally, games: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (to which I owe some of the basis for the corruption subplot), Child of Light and maybe more… Plus, also helped a lot throughout my writing process with lore and details and the like. And so, with that said, now you can all see my sources of inspiration for the development of Blood and Spirit! Yay!

Disclaimer

Some of you may wonder why I, unlike some other fanfic writers, don't put a disclaimer before each chapter. Well, that's why I'm putting it here in the afterword, so I won't be sued for what little money I have by Nintendo ;D So, aside from all of the quotes in my story that I have taken from the above sources pointed out, I'd also like to say that quite a bit of this story is not actually mine (well, the plot, writing, and ownership of it are mine, since my mind was the one who came up with all of these things) HOWEVER, I do NOT own: Link (although I wish I did… I have a MAJOR crush on him!), Zelda, Fi, Sheik (well, not the canonical Sheik, but the Sheik in this story is actually an OC so… idk), the Fierce Deity, the Dark Interlopers, Majora, Skyloft, Hyrule, Termina, Din, Nayru, Farora, Hylia, the Ocarina of Time (though I do have a replica of it), the Master Sword (again, only a replica), the Goddess's Harp, Loftwings, Hylians, Sheikahs, Twili, the Twilight Realm, or ANYTHING else in this story that has its roots in the beautiful Legend of Zelda series! All of that stuff belongs to Nintendo, and I have simply borrowed it in the purpose of creating a story based around all of these things. Now the scenario of the story, and original characters including Sheik, Veress, and Terminus (as well as a few others…) actually are mine, so please, no taking without asking!

Q&A

Ok, so now that all of the boring stuff is out of the way, let's move onto some fun stuff! (and yes, I am saving stuff about W&C and L&S for last, thanks for noticing!) Because I can't get enough about talking about my story, I have devised several questions that you all may not have even though about, considering my writing process, inspiration, details about the story and the trilogy at large and more! And so, without further ado… here we go!

Q: What was the best part of writing Blood and Spirit?

I'd have to say that the best part of it all was capturing the emotions of the characters, characters that I have grown to love so much over the course of the story. Blood and Spirit is a very character driven plot and everything that happens within it was written in a way so it could resonate off of the characters and see what their take on each event is. The romance, the drama, the angst, all of these things were what I tried to focus on even more than the lore or the action of the story, knowing that without trying to breathe life into the characters of the story and making them as real as possible, this story wouldn't even be worth reading.

Q: What was the hardest part of writing Blood and Spirit?

Dealing with writer's block. Plain and simple. Sometimes, coming up with winning ideas is hard and often times, I'd sit in front of my laptop without a single clue, but I overcame it by forcing myself to think through the plot holes and missing details, until everything somehow came together!

Q: What is your favorite part/chapter of Blood and Spirit?

That's a toughie… Hm… If I had to narrow it down to three chapters alone, I'd start with chapter 25: The Mark of the Triforce. Its such a dynamic chapter, filled with so many great moments. It pretty much focuses on every chapter at least once, and it is filled with so much angst, drama, romance and more that it sums up what I think an excellent chapter is. I also love chapter 22: Strong Enough, as it is a really pivotal chapter in Link's character development, and by far, writing for him was one of my favorite parts of B&S, simply because I think SS Link has such a great personality, even though he never says a word in-game. Finally, I also love Chapter 34: Mortal Goddess… just the tearjerking moments in this chapter alone, mixed with all of the angst, drama, romance, tragedy, action and more were some of the best moments I was able to write throughout B&S (plus seeing everyone's shocked reactions to how it ended were also pretty great ;)

Q: What is your least favorite part/chapter of Blood and Spirit?

Chapter 5: Where to Start, hands down. I freaking hate that chapter. It's the equivalent to the dumbest high school romantic drama bull crap ever, and even as I wrote it, I didn't like it, but I knew I needed it for some reason that I really can't remember now… Looking back on it now, after writing the rest of this deep, emotionally impacting story, its like comparing a mud pie to a gourmet cake. In fact, it's the only chapter in this entire story that I would say is worth skipping T_T

Q: What character what your favorite to write in B&S?

Link, and not just because I love him, but also because of his original intent of being a blank slate for the player. Of course, in a fanfiction, you can't really keep him like that, and so I formulated a personality that seemed to be fitting for him: bold, brave, impulsive, somewhat naive, selfless, and yet also conflicted, therefore showing that even though he is a hero, he's only human and not perfect, especially considering what I put him through as far as the corruption subplot went. It was for that reason that writing the corruption subplot was probably one of my favorite things to do in B&S, as it was such a deep, personal, invasive struggle for Link, one that allowed me to really tap into his character and do things I never thought I could.

Q: Where did the inspiration for the OCs in this story come from?

Well, for Sheik, I developed her character based upon several sources: largely, she acts like Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games trilogy, mixed with some Tetra from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and Midna from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Her character arc also draws a lot from Eponine from Les Miserables, as far as the unrequited love and dying part goes… heheheheh….

Veress's character was inspired by quite a few bad ladies out there, but by far, I got the most inspiration for her from Azula from Avatar: The Last Airbender. In fact, the mirror scene in which Veress went insane in chapter 31 was directly inspired by a similar scene in A:TLA in which Azula herself has a villainous breakdown. But aside from her, Veress was also inspired a bit by Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty/Maleficent, who is the base for all three of my female baddies in the BDT.

Terminus's character draws from Hylia's (or how I would expect Hylia to be), as well as Hilda's from The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds and Elsa from Frozen (her melancholy plays off of Zelda's Anna-like personality).

Q: If the Link and Zelda in B&S got married, what does that mean for their descendants who might fall in love in later stories in the trilogy? Wouldn't they basically be committing incest?

Actually, not at all my friends. Consider this as an example: all humans in the entire world are descendants of Adam and Eve (but if you don't believe in creationism, PLEASE don't rage! Just hear me out) and yet in the present day, our relations to each other are so distant that we're basically not even related in a way that could qualify as incest when we marry (unless it actually IS inscest, but that's a different story). In the same way is Link and Zelda's situation. The Blood of the Goddess is directly passed down through the royal bloodline, and therefore, each incarnation of Zelda inherits it. However, the Spirit of the Hero is a bit different. It is not always directly passed down through bloodlines, but it does frequent among certain populations (namely, the Hylian knights), which means that even if OoT Link IS a direct descendant of SS Link, the relation between OoT Link and Zelda would be so distant, (like over the course of several centuries), the two of them basically wouldn't be related. Same goes from TP Link and Zelda… ;)

Q: WHO exactly is the father of Veress's baby!?

I dunno; its none of my business. :P

Q: So, how many kids to Link and Zelda end up having anyway?

Well, just for finality's sake, they both grew quite old together and were able to watch all of their kids, grandkids and even a few great grandkids grow up. Since Link and Zelda both loved children so much, I'd like to this that they had quite a few children. In fact, for the sake of the trilogy's canon, I'd say that they end up having seven, one being a reference to each eventual sage of Hyrule. Here are their theoretical names (and I might write something in the Side Stories about them…;), from oldest to youngest: Zelda II (also known as Tetra, and pointing to Princess Zelda, the seventh sage), Daphnes (name taken from Daphnest Nohansen Hyrule, the king in Wind Waker, but also something of a reference to another old guy: Rauru, the sage of light!), Sheik (in homage to Sheik of course, but since her name has Sheikah origins, it also points to Impa, the sage of shadow), Nabiri (referencing Nabooru, sage of spirit), Rutella (referencing both Rutella from TP and Ruto, the sage of water), Darmani (referencing both Darmani from MM and Darunia, the sage of fire) and finally, their youngest Sareen (referencing Saria, the sage of forest). And yes, they all make an adorable family! :D

Q: Where did the Light Spirit Ordona come from?

Again, I don't know. Figure that out for yourself. :P

Q: Where did the title Blood and Spirit come from?

The Blood of the Goddess and the Spirit of the Hero, duh. :P

More of the Bound Destinies Trilogy!

Ok, folks, here is FINALLY the part where I talk about all of the other facets of the BDT, such as sequels and whatnot. And so, here we go!

Bound Destinies Side Stories:Ok, so firstly I'd like to talk about the little offshoot side project I've kinda put on hiatus, but plan on working on very soon: The Bound Destinies Side Stories! What they basically are is a series of one-shots and side stories related to all three stories in the Bound Destinies Trilogy, ranging in a wide variety of themes, genres and topics. They will range from drama, action, angst, romance, humor, fluff, tragedy, lore, hurt/comfort, mystery and whatever else I may feel like dealing with. The writing style for each one will also vary, going from third person, second person, and occasionally even different forms of writing entirely, such as poetry or songs. Some stories will take place before a certain book in the trilogy, providing character or situation back stories, or sometimes just fluff and the like, while others will take place during a certain book, detailing things that were overlooked in the original writing or going to another character's point of view on a situation. And even some others will take place after a certain book, detailing what happened to the characters once the story is over and helping to connect the stories to one another. And even still, a few others will be "what-if?" scenarios, giving way to a ton of other possibilities you may not have ever thought of! So, if you'd like a sampling of what the side stories have to offer, you may go check it out and please, feel free to follow/favorite/and review! You may find it here: s/9944270/1/Bound-Destinies-Side-Stories

Wisdom and Courage: Book 2 in the Bound Destinies Trilogy, which is currently undergoing revisions at the time. But before I talk about that, allow me to give you a summary of the story. Wisdom and Courage is set seven years after Ocarina of Time/Majora's Mask, in what would be the child timeline (that leads into Twilight Princess and the like). In this story, Link and Zelda are both 17, about how old they would have been in the adult portion of Ocarina of Time. The first few chapters in the story are mostly fluff, focusing on Link and Zelda, who have been very close friends ever since after the events of Majora's Mask, traveling to Termina for a vacation, but there is some main plot foreshadowing here and here. The actual plot begins on their way back, when they are attacked and captured by Veran, the Twili sorceress of Shadow (not the same Veran from Oracle of Ages), a descendant of Veress, who seeks the Triforce pieces that the two of them hold. To this end, she curses Link by binding him to her will and forces him to search across Hyrule for the pieces of the Fused Shadows (which can be used to extract the Triforce) in exchange for the princess' safety. Veran uses the Fused Shadows to posses Zelda to extract the Triforce pieces from her, Ganondorf and Link. The sorceress gains the complete Triforce and uses it to easily conquer Hyrule, leaving Link and Zelda for dead. Since Veran turned the hearts of the people of Hyrule against their princess, they are forced into hiding and discover that only one with the "blood of the goddess" and one of the "spirit of the hero" can defeat Veran. At the same time, Link finds out that the only thing that can truly destroy the sorceress is the Fierce Deity's Mask, though using it could lead to the complete corruption of his soul. With the fate of Hyrule placed solely in Link and Zelda's hands, the two of them must decide who to save: the kingdom, or each other. War will be waged, love will be tested and sacrifices will be made… Ok! So, that's the basic synopsis of Wisdom and Courage, which in case you need more persuasion, will feature more heavy Link/Zelda shipping, angst, drama, action, lore, romance and a ton of beloved characters from OoT/MM! Now as far as the publishing schedule for it goes, all me to explain. I had originally written W&C before I even thought about writing B&S, but as I got into writing B&S (the first book in the trilogy), I knew that there were a ton of inconstancies that I needed to correct with W&C and I also wanted to improve the overall quality of both the story and writing. And so, a few months ago, I decided to completely overhaul W&C, reediting it, taking chapters out, adding new ones entirely, adding new plot points, making things add up better for B&S and for L&S and more! And so, as it stands, now that B&S is done, I plan on trying to finish W&C as fast as I can before starting L&S, since there is a ton in L&S that would spoil W&C so… yeah… But anyway, please go check it out here: s/8664013/1/Wisdom-and-Courage And while you're there, please feel free to follow/favorite and review, even if you are a new reader to W&C! I LOVE freedback! Now as far as the posting schedule for it goes, at the shortest amount of time, I'd say the editing process will be done in like a month or so if I really get on the ball, but I am about to start college within the next month, so I may not be able to update as regularly as I'd like, but I'll try my hardest for you guys, since I really want to start Light and Shadow! Speaking of which…

Light and Shadow: Ok, so I am SUPER excited for this one! Back when I first began writing Blood and Spirit, I had absolutely NO clue about where to go with Light and Shadow, but as I wrote this one, I figured out a starting direction for it and worked from there! Now as much as I can't wait to get into this one, I'll try hardest not to spoil too much during the summary for it: Light and Shadow will be set a few months after Twilight Princess (assuming that TP ended in the summertime, L&S will take place during wintertime). The story will begin with Midna fleeing the Palace of Twilight for her life after Verona (Veran's descendant and Midna's cousin) launches a huge attack on the Twilight Realm, easily conquering it and forcing its princess into exile. Alone and injured, Midna desperately escapes the Twilight Realm and searches for the one person she knows can help her defeat this new evil... Meanwhile, Link, while trying to resume his old life in Ordon Village, is contacted by Princess Zelda, who wishes to thank the hero for all he has done for her kingdom, as well as invite him to her upcoming coronation. The two meet and become fast friends, spending time together as their new found friendship slowly starts to become something more. However, just when it seems like all is well, Midna appears and begs for Link's help in stopping Verona, who plans on coming to Hyrule to claim both the kingdom and the Triforce as her own. And sure enough, the queen of shadows soon arrives, imprisoning the new queen within her own castle and placing a deadly curse upon the hero. However, unlike her ancestors, Verona knows that the key to victory is to tear the one with the blood of the goddess and one with the spirit of the hero apart. And so, as a pall of darkness settles upon the land once more and foreboding secrets about the Triforce come to light, the queen of shadow sets out to turn Link and Zelda against each other, turning kindness into bitterness, love into hatred and light into shadows... And that's all I can say about it for now! I have a clear path in which I want to take this one, but like I said, I won't really be able to start it until Wisdom and Courage is either finished, or almost there. I have about up to chapter 14 and then some already completely planned out, and so I hope you all check it out once I post it, since I intend to make even better than Blood and Spirit (or at least try to!)

Also check out…

Twisted Fates: While its not a part of the Bound Destinies Trilogy, I encourage you to go check this other work of mine out, that, admittedly, has been placed on hiatus, but I do intend on continuing work on it eventually! Now, there had been a time that I wanted to make the BDT a quadrilogy (or tetralogy) with 4 books instead of three, one of these books taking place after Wind Waker, another one of my favorite Zelda games. However, I soon came to realize that doing so would be quite difficult, since WW kinda plays by its own set of lore and such. And thus, a new idea: Twisted Fates, was born! Now, here we go with the simplest plot explanation I can manage (since it's a kinda complex story line): For clarification, Twisted Fates' prologue is set a few months after Wind Waker (Around the time you would think Phantom Hourglass would start). It starts with Link and Tetra (who will both be 12 in the beginning of the story, as that's how old I think they are in the game) and the pirates, sailing around, looking for the land that will become the next Hyrule. Like in the beginning of Phantom Hourglass, they encounter the Ghost Ship, but here's where the retcons to the events of PH start to come in. Instead of Tetra leaping onto the ship like in the game, Link does instead and the ghost ship appears to go down with him on it. Tetra and the rest of the crew believe that the Hero of Winds has been killed in the sinking, but in reality he was whisked away to the waters of the Ocean King (from PH, ya know), where he becomes stranded for quite some time thanks to the monster Bellum, who is terrorizing the area. In both worlds, five years pass simultaneously (and in my interpretation, time passes in the same way for both the Great Sea and the world of the Ocean King, unlike in the game). Link, now 17, was able to defeat Bellum, but because of the Ocean King's significantly weakened state, the hero was unable to return home all this time. However, during a rare natural phenomenon, Link manages to finally find a way to return to the Great Sea, one that he gladly takes. Meanwhile Tetra, also 17, has spent the past five years embittered by the loss of the hero, whom she had considered to be one of her few actual friends. She blames herself for the accident and as a result, she keeps to herself, letting no one, not even her loyal crew in on her inner heartache. However, on one fateful night, she encounters the hero she had long thought to be dead and despite Link's clear joy in seeing her again, Tetra refuses to believe that he is anything more than another dream or illusion sent to haunt her. The hero continues to pursue the pirate captain, desperately trying to convince her that he really is back, but little do either of them know that something treacherous is rising up from the depths of the sea. An evil that seeks the life of the hero and the love of the pirate girl... The Great Sea has changed, and its nothing at all like it used to be... Ok, so, there's that! Now, understand that it recons the actual canon of the games quite a bit, but it still takes influences from Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass and eventually even Spirit Tracks! And so, if you'd like Wind Waker and want to read a story that is about as dark and dramatic as the Bound Destinies Trilogy (cause it eventually will be), go ahead and do so, and don't forget to follow/favorite/and review! You may find Twisted Fates here: s/9684447/1/Twisted-Fates

Links to More Fun Stuff!

Ok, since this is the afterword and its all about self-advertising, let's do some here! Can't get enough of the Blood and Spirit and the rest of the Bound Destinies Trilogy! Check these links out then! (If none of these links work, you can also find them on my Fanfic profile page!)

Tumblr:
Contains tons of supplemental stuff for the Bound Destinies Trilogy, including art, music, links, discussions, questions, commentary, quotes, updates and more! I also post general Zelda stuff there, and so if you're into that, go check it out and follow me! :D

Facebook: pages/MiniJen/612120238856976
Though I haven't used it much, if I gain more likes, I'll begin posting things such as updates, art, links and more, just like the Tumblr page, but for those of you who prefer to use Facebook instead!

DeviantART:
Where I post ALL of my fanfic related art! Go here to check out all of the covers for my stories up close and personal, as well as some other illustrations that I draw (by hand) for the trilogy from time to time! Go there, and give me some comments, follows and everything else while you're at it!

YouTube: channel/UCLoISUDUdn15SfVfX4LTI7w
Not any real reason for me to put this up here aside from promoting the new playlist I made inspired by Blood and Spirit, which could basically act as a soundtrack for it filled with songs from a variety of different sources! You may find that here: playlist?list=PLC3VWDKBnJXuwM_rdF6Ir0efOv30fj7eY

TV Tropes: /FanFic/BoundDestiniesTrilogy
The Bound Destinies TV Tropes page (made courtesy of Nintendoman01) basically acts as a sort of Wikipedia page for the trilogy, filled with all of the different wonderful tropes that each book is composed of. Complete with a variety of different subpages, it's your guide to the BDT so go there and check it out, and if you'd like to, you can even lend a hand in contributing to it!

Also, if you ever have any questions/comments/thoughts/suggestions surrounding the trilogy, please feel free to shoot me a PM if you'd like! And don't forget to follow me right here on for updates on the Bound Destinies Trilogy as well as my other stories!

Closing Remarks

Well, I think I've rambled here long enough, so I'll make this brief. Writing Blood and Spirit has been such an incredible experience, one that I am so overjoyed that I had the chance to complete. Simply writing a story that I know reaches so many people fills me heart with joy and inspires me to become a writer in the future someday. Sharing this story with you all has been my pride and joy and I cannot thank you enough for all of your heartfelt support. And, even if Blood and Spirit may be over, it gives way for all new adventures to begin. For as long as the Blood of the Goddess and the Spirit of the Hero are bound throughout time, so too will their stories be told… And so I thank you one last time, my dear readers, for taking this journey with me. I hope it has been as wonderful for you as it has been for me… And so, it is with a heavy, yet happy heart that I say, for one last time…

UNTIL NEXT TIME!

Love, MiniJen