I read this fic back when I was 13 and still in middle school. I had just gotten into fanfiction when I stumbled across this story. I remember reading it for the first time and instantly falling in love. 7 years later and I could still remember the first chapter like I had just read it. Of course, after 7 years I had forgotten most of the plot, but I still had this story bookmarked. Almost lost it a few times when my phone lost all of its data twice over the years, but I always managed to find it and bookmark it again.

I’m 21 now and I’m college. I’ve reread a lot of fics that I’ve bookmarked over the years and almost none of them held up how I remembered. I avoided rereading this because I was scared I wouldn’t enjoy as much as I did when I was 13. Well, I just finished rereading, binge read for a few hours and wow. I’m glad I waited, because not remembering major plot points made all of the big shocks exciting. I didn’t remember Link wielding the master sword in the spirit temple, didn’t remember Sheik finding out Link was the hero, and I didn’t remember Link getting the triforce of power from Ganon. All of those moments hit hard this time around and I enjoyed every moment.

One detail that I remembered over all the years was Link shooting Ganondorf and telling him he remembers. Despite remembering that moment, I wasn’t any less excited to see it play out again. I loved watching Sheik step into his role as the new hero of Time, and I loved Link’s role in this.

When I read this the first time, I don’t think 13 year old me fully understood what was happening, at least not on a deep level. I just remember enjoy the action and the banter between Link and Sheik. Now, I can step back and truly appreciate this fic for what it is. I know a lot of authors on here have abandoned their accounts, so odds are you’ll never see this review, but I just wanted to say thank you for this story. It’s hard to explain how a fanfic has impacted my life, but just know this story has a very special place in my heart. I hope to come back to it again and relive the excitement I felt both times reading this through.

Thank you for this.

This is amazing!

One of these days, I hope so much that you do a sequel to this! This story is amazing and seeing more of Link's adventures as the King of Gerudo would be a dream come true!

I am loving this so far. I was skeptical at first but you are playing it out really well. Nice job.

Huh, now that I'm re-reading this, it occurs to me this segment with the Gerudo and the Spirit Temple would have been a perfect place to introduce Midna instead of just suddenly shoving her into the story near the end.

I only got about half way through the first chapter before I decided I'm really going to enjoy this fic. Thank you for dumping the status quo and writing this. It's just what I needed.

I must say that this story gave me an idea for a Star Wars Zelda cross-over fic. I like the idea of Ganondorf being Link's father so.. Heh! I will probably base the Star Wars part in an AU I am working in which Vader turns Luke but treats him very poorly. Though I don't know. Would it be OC for Ganondorf to care about someone other then himself, even a little?

lol, Link went full Darth Vader on that guy xD

*sniff* DAMN SHEIKAH CUTTING ONIONS! Dx

A little bit sappy end indeed but that's alright. In fact, what I found sappy was Midna's addition. Don't get me wrong, I love her. One of the best female characters in the Zelda licence. But I think you could have brought her into the story more smoothly. It felt a lot like at some point you thought "Oh, I don't want Link to end up alone. Let's get Midna in!" and well, it doesn't completely fit if you see what I mean, it's a bit too obvious. I think I would have preferred for Link to fall for an OC or a very secondary character from OoT. (or even a great fairy) I don't really like cameos that feel forced out. Or on the contrary, I'd have liked Midna's addition before if I was shown more of her since after Ganondorf's defeat. Oh well, all can't be perfect and please everyone, can it?

That being said, I liked this story. It was fun and entertaining. As mentioned in my previous review, it's not as fascinating as Masked Dreams in terms of character depth, it focuses more on the action. However, I loved what you did to Sheik and how he came to accept to become the hero. I loved all the idea behind it, really. And Link was great, as was getting into his mind and trying to undercover what happened to him (I wonder how it must have felt for people who read your explanations in the beginning instead of letting the story unfold. I really struggled with myself not to read it at that time, just because I tend to read the ANs too but I'm glad I didn't. It would have taken part of the fun. And on that matter, I thought that Navi would come back somehow, so yay! I thought Sheik could be the one helping Link get rid of the vengeful Navi, so double yay!).

I loved his struggles to understand what was genuine, to understand what was happening and where the justice was. I loved that even after understanding he wasn't in his right mind, he kept believing in Ganondorf as a father figure. I loved when, all those chapters ago, he drew the parallelism between the Great Tree and Ganondorf. I loved that after all, Ganondorf's influence on him didn't disappear. I loved how not knowing he was the hero must have played into it. Link truly feeling like he was nothing special, how could he explain all that Ganondorf did instead of killing him? And actually, that's one of the sides I'm still unclear with. What prompted Ganondorf to keep Link alive?

I think Link was extremely lucky not to be discovered earlier. Really, really lucky. Mostly during the meetings with the sages. I'm still surprised he wasn't mentioned in the temple of fire. He was seen, the sage had seen him, joey he was here, but someone else came in and he didn't express surprise or worry? At all those meetings, I really wished you'd let us glimpse into those encounters between the sages and
Sheik.
But I loved when Link's nature, as the hero then as Ganondorf's was revealed. That was great. When he betrayed Ganon too.

The fights were very nice and Link didn't disappoint. In the last chapters, he was Badass (loved how he negotiates with Zelda and Co, you see he'll keep people on toe and that it will be hard when they've got to settle for subtle negotiations.)

I wish Link had been a little bit harsher with Zelda. I'm convinced it would have helped solve their resentment if both had said what all that they thought of the other. But well, I liked the tension too... Tough choice that you had there.

Well, I don't have anything else to say, it was fun, entertaining, and it's hard to comment on those. Thank you for this story and the sleepless night it have me. You're a wonderful story creator!

Hi, Carottal reporting as she's half way through reading a second story from you. Nearly missed the mask because of a very emotional moment in this chapter. Had to take a break and decided to make it useful.

Anyway, so I have two things to say right now. The first is, Navi, the second is just a quick over all impression after reading half of the fic.

I cried. Well, I shed one tear. But from me, it means a lot. I've been waiting for that moment for some time now. Since the beginning, I wondered if Navi was really her, someone else, or more than likely, Link's guilt after remembering her. I liked this last possibility best, and the last few chapters pointed towards this direction. During this heart breaking dialogue, I wondered whether she was talking to Link, Link's mind found a way to protect him, or Sheik was helping. Again, I lingered on the last possibility (making me squeeze with delight at Link calling out Navi's name.) but how would Sheik call Link by his name? It would mean he'd know and I'm not sure he would act the way he did with Link if he did. So was it Navi reaching out to him thanks to the proximity of the temple? Or was it Link? Or had it really been Navi all along? I wonder. But yeah, I also wonder how the next part will feel without her. This Navi was true to the one from the game. Annoyingly intrusive, but maybe Stockholmy loveable. And in this first half, the matter of what was happening in Link's head was one of the most interesting. I still have those Gerudos symbols and the suspense of what will happen next, when the word traitor will be used to qualify Link and by whom. So I'm not worried at all. But I wanted to tell you now, that Navi in this fic was a great idea and I loved her till death. I wonder if she'll come back somehow.

About this fic, I'm liking it, a lot, but for now, I prefer Masked dreams. This one is not finished, so it's too soon to judge and it may really well get this tinge of epicness Masked Dreams didn't have. However, I'll say this. For now (Link getting all his memory and giving his name may change it) this looks a lot more like a story driven by plot than one driven by characters. As such, the characters are good, not shallow at all, but don't feel as deep as in Masked Dreams and I don't think they will ever for a simple reason : they're not as intertwined together here, because Link is more alone. That being said, I think seeing Link interact with present Gerudos could help it. But yeah, I think this is a story of plot, a very good one, that I'm enjoying, a lot, as such.

Thank you :)

I normally read Star Wars fan fics, so I'm having a hard time not reading Link in Luke Skywalkers voice and Ganondorf in Darth Vader's. But yeah. Great fic!

BRUH. A Staldra, with a sword and fire-breath? SIGN ME THE EFF UP. That is a beautiful concept for a monster. I wanna fight it right now holy crap yessss

Wow, thanks for this awesomeness!

The twists... the angst... the epicness... thanks!

Wow! This is really amazing! Okay, I admit that I was a bit miffed that Link had given away just like that his title of Hero of Time, but that doesn't mean that this fic isn't amazing, because it IS.
So, thank you for giving the Gerudo screen time, and for making Link a slightly nutty, but still lovable badass!

Kudos!