Dawn of a New Day

A rooster crowed as the dawn gave birth to the new day, the sun slowly creeping over the horizon. The plains of Hyrule basked in the glorious light as children made playful flight throughout its rolling hills. The people of all the land rose from their slumber and the castle gates opened to welcome the traders and returning night patrols. The farms and ranches stirred with joy as the livestock celebrated another day of frolicking and amity. On one of these ranches, our hero still sleeps in the hay stacks, a voice calling to wake him from his dreams...

"Link... Link... Link!"

Reality materialized in the boys eyes in the shape of woman's curves and saphire eyes staring down on him.

"Rise and shine!" Malon shouted warmly, pulling Link up from his slumber by his still languid arms.

Malon, was the nineteen year old daughter of the ranch's proprietor, Talon. She stood about 5'3 with a slender frame. Her face was gentle with rosy cheeks with silky red hair that flowed down to her waist. As a Hylian, she had long pointed ears and softly tanned skin from working on the ranch - her hands rough from a life of toil and horse riding.

She wore a short sleeved white blouse with a light purple long skirt and a pair of fine brown leather riding boots along with a matching belt with a pewter buckle embossed with the image of the Triforce. Dyed images of charging blue horses lined the hems on the sleeves her blouse as well as the hem of her skirt. A yellow kerchief draped over her shoulders and was secured around her neck with a golden broach pin shaped like the head of a wild boar. She was careful with her appearance but not afraid to get dirty. The simplicity of her dress enabling her to work unhindered yet flattering enough to maintain her femininity and satisfy the gaze by taunting curiosity.

After a good yawn and a long stretch, Link brushed himself off and straightened out his brown wool trousers. Standing barefoot and bare chested, Link was average height for a male. He had pale skin like any other Hylian and a body chiseled by a life of swinging swords, long treks in the wilderness, and working with his hands. Scars and other signs of battle marked almost every part of his body - their shapes and locations as varied as the assailants that inflicted them.

His head was a wavy mess of straw blonde hair that he usually kept and short tucked up in a hat. His face was square and rounded a strong jaw down to a slightly pointed chin but, his most capturing feature was his deep blue eyes - eyes like a wolf with a gaze of cold steel.

"You gotta get dressed! Dad needs you to haul a shipment into town." Malon said with a giggle.

"Give me minute. I'm still half a sleep here." Link said with a drowsy groan.

Link stepped out of the thresh and rubbed his eyes thoroughly before taking in the sight of a brand new day. The sky was clear, the sun was bright, and a gentle breeze whisped in the air. The sound of hooves drummed on the earth as the horses danced in the morning light. Lon Lon Ranch - it was called, and it was the finest in all the land. Family owned and established nearly a century before, it served all corners of the realm and provided the people of Hyrule with the finest livestock and dairy products - horses and milk being their specialties. They were rarely low in any supply and never charged unfair prices for any reason.

The ranch itself was situated in the middle of Hyrule field - not far from any potential clients. It sat on a thirty foot high plateau that stretched wide, overlooking the western fields and the desert canyons to the northwest. This natural barrier provided security from rustlers and predators while still providing enough room and sunshine to keep the animals happy and fed. A twelve foot high wall ran along the perimeter of the plateau and broke only at the sole entrance to the ranch which lay on the eastern side of the hill. Through the main gate on the left, you would find a large barn with white walls and red roof which housed the chickens. Connected to it, was a house that looked more or less the same and served as the living quarters of the ranch. Link however, still prefered to sleep under the stars.

To the right of the hen house, was another red roofed building. This building served as the stables for about twenty fine thoroughbred horses. Past the two buildings, sat a large open area for animals to graze and frolick in the sun with a generously sized corral for the horses in the middle. A well worn dirt path - mostly used for horse racing, ran around the entirety of the corral and large stacks of hay dotted the ranch.

In the north western corner of the ranch's wall, a large tower stood. Before it became a ranch, this plateau served as the location of a fort used by an ancient military order. They erected a high tower to watch over area but as of now it seems that their watch had long ended. The tower, which had a large base house, served as storage for supplies, tools, along with an area for slaughtering and processing live stock.

Within the corral, a large dray horse approached the edge of fence and reared in spectacular fasion. The horse in question was none other than Link's faithful steed, Epona. She was large with a coat of light bay and a silky white mane that gracefully drapped her neck with white hooves and a long flowing tail to match. She was rather large - the largest of all the horses on the ranch, as she was originally bred as a workhorse. However, when Link was young she took a liking to him and never let anyone but him mount her fine back. She accompanied Link on his journeys outside of Hyrule and continued to faithfully serve him throughout his life.

Seeing her, Link smiled and brushed past without a word.

"You know, you could at least say 'Good morning' to me." Malon grumbled as Link continued without a thought towards the corral.

Link leaned on the fence of the corral, admiring the horse's beauty with a beaming smile. Epona, delighted by the sight of her master, rushed to the edge of the corral to greet him.

"Hey there, old girl." Link said, crouching down and stroking her mane gently.

Epona neighed and shook her head with joy as a smile crept across Link's face. He laughed softly to himself as Epona affectionately licked his hand. The moment was shattered by a shadow that crept over Link. He lingered for a moment, as he identified the looming shade by its familiar curves.

Link stood up with a crack of his back, and swiftly turned about on his heels. As expected, Malon stood before him with a scowl hanging upon her face and clutched in her hand, a tangled up halter and bridle.

"There's a load waiting for you out front." She snapped, shoving the twisted mess into Link's chest, and promptly walking away in a gruff.

Link's smile sustained the animosity from which he was presented his task, as the prospect of making a delivery allotted him a ride with his trusty equestrian companion. With a spring in his step, Link made for the corral gate as did Epona, who followed suit. With a release of the latch and a creak of the gate, Epona trotted out, nudging her master.

"Settle down." Link calmly muttered, as he haltered Epona and slung the bridle over his shoulder.

"There we go. Now, lets get you a drink." He said, gently patting her side.

Link tugged lightly on the halter and proceeded to lead Epona to a watering trough near a clothesline. Once there, Epona began to drink heartily as Link splashed some water on his face before grabbing his clothes off the line and getting dressed.

Link typically dressed in the traditional way of the Kokiri, the children of the forest that raised him like their own. The garb consisted of a simple tightly fitting shirt of white cloth with long sleeves that tied at the collar. After tucking the the shirt into his brown trousers, he would don a short sleeved tunic of emerald green with a brown leather belt and stuffed his hair into a pointed cloth stocking cap of the same color that drapped back like a hood. He shod himself with a fine pair of brown leather riding boots that came up to the knee with his trousers tucked in neatly and slipped his hands into a pair of fingerles leather vembrace gauntlets. Finally, he checked the leather pouches on his belt and drew a blade from a sheath that ran across the back.

The blade itself, was a long knife known as the Kokiri Sword. It was Link's first weapon and it consisted of a broad hand forged steel blade of 18 inches and hilt of 6 inches and was meant to be used as a sword by a child or someone of small stature but, served well as a knife for someone the size of an adult. Originally, it had a simple one piece hilt and gaurd of hard oak but, Link had it replaced with a guard and hilt of solid metal gripped with leather and a diamond shaped pommel of dark blued steel. Link ran his thumb across the edge and inspected for rolls and chips in the steel before sliding it back into the sheath which was made of blue lacquered leather and adorned with a golden locket and chape.

After straightening out his clothes one last time, he started towards the ranch entrance, whistling Epona's favorite song. Epona quirked at the sound of the hymn and gleefully neighed as she followed Link. Once reaching entrance, they happened upon Talon and Ingo, who were stacking boxes into the back of a large wagon.

Talon was the proprietor of the ranch and the father of Malon. His wife died birthing their only child and he never remarried. He was a short and portly man, about the same height as his daughter but, still quite muscular from being raised on the ranch. He was pale of skin, quite hairy with grayed black hair and a head that gleamed bald except for the back of his head and below his temples which lead to a mutton chop moustache. He had deep brown eyes with a chubby face and big round nose. He wore a pair of blue overalls and a short sleeved red shirt and a pair of heavy brown leather galloshes. Around his neck, he wore a shoestring ti with a gold medallion of wild boar that was almost identical to Malon's.

He had a troublesome habit of taking naps whenever he got the chance and if depressed, he could go into a such a deep sleep that it was almost impossible to wake him. Even with his issues, there was not a single soul in all of Hyrule that could match him when it came to breeding livestock - so much so that King himself ordered that all those in his service that required a mount to be provided with Talon's fine horses.

Ingo, on the other hand, was very tall and slender man. He stood about six and a half feet tall with long lanky arms. He kept his thinning hair combed over and had a pair of bushy eyebrows and a scruffy handlebar moustache. He wore a pair of patched up white overalls and a green short sleeved shirt. A hard and loyal worker, he was resentful at times of his employer's habit of slacking off. Although one would not think it, he was quite the rider and had a passion for horse racing. He and Link would often make bets on who could round a horse along the track the fastest or how well they could jump fences.

"Mornin, boy!" Talon said with a grunt as he loaded the last box into the bed.

Link returned the greeting with a simple nod.

"Silent as the grave, as always." Talon added with chuckle.

"They're not as quiet as you think." said Link, who's teeth crept out with a devilish smile.

"Now, now.." said Talon, a tone of worry in his voice and a shine of fright in his eyes.

"Don't be scarring me with those stories again. I'm a man who likes his sleep and to taint my naps with nightmares is just a silly thing to do."

"Maybe it wouldn't hurt if you slept a little less!" said Ingo with a cackle.

"Can it, or you'll be shovelin' turds til' dusk."

"Hey, at least that's an honest living, unlike countin' sheep all day."

Talon stood flustered with a furl of the brow as Link and Ingo snickered to themselves.

Once the levity had subsided, the trio promplty returned to the the task at hand. Link, strapped Epona into her rigging and checked that the lines were properly ran and without tangles. Ingo quickly inspected and wagon wheels and checked each of their lynchpins. Talon made sure that the cargo was properly secured and draped a large cloth over the wagon bed to keep the sun off.

"Shes good to go!" Ingo shouted as he stood up and began wiping his greased hands with a hankerchief.

"What am I hauling today?" said Link, as he climbed up into the wagon seat and settled in, letting the reins dangle in his hands.

"Butter, eggs, milk, cheese, and fresh beef. The finest of the finest and all for the Royal Family. Have this shipment at the castle within an hour so it doesn't spoil and since you've put Malon in a mood, it'd be wise to picker' up somethin' pretty. You know she doesn't get out much." said Talon as he grilled Link with a facetious smile.

Link rolled his eyes at the request but agreed to oblige with a reluctant nod.

"Get along now, boy!" Talon said, banging his fist twice on the side of the wagon.

With a firm grasp, Link pressed hard and released the hand brake. The wagon lurched forward with a creak and with a flick of the reins Epona started her trot and the pair were off.

The day was still young and the sun was still creeping into the sky as Epona and Link rode from the gate of the ranch - the wheels of the wagon treading softly atop the dew soaked grass. Sitting high in his seat and looking about, he slowly took in the natural beauty of his homeland, and recalled all of his great adventures to every far corner of the world.

From its central plains, Hyrule was surrounded by a landscape that was as varried as the flora and fauna that dwelt within it. To the North, the great mountain range of Snowpeak scraped the sky with its sleet capped summits - dwarfing the high walls of Castle Town that lay at its feet.

The town - now on the verge of becoming a small city, was the de facto capitol of Hyrule. Established at the end of the Hyrulean Civil War, it became both an epicenter of trade and the seat of power for the Hylian Royal family, who reigned over all other realms in Hyrule, and served as the custodians of the Temple of Time.

Just northeast of the capitol, through a canyon mountain pass, a village lay tucked away in a small valley. Kakriko - it was called, and it was established by a nearly extinct race known as The Sheikah or 'Shadow Folk'. The race itself, was said to have been created by the godessess to be the caretakers of Hyrule and serve as the custodians of the Shadow Temple but, nearly the entire race was devastated during the war. Now, the village was almost completely populated by Hylians and its cemetary housed the tomb of the Hylian Royal family. Kakariko boasted the finest weapon makers and smithies in the land - a tradition passed down from the original founders of Kakariko. They owed their success to their prime location.

Kakariko sat at the southern base of an active volcano known as Death Mountain, which towered over all of Hyrule, even the belittling the mighty sierras of Snowpeak. So high did it stretch, that a giant cloud of steam formed a ring around its billowing mouth. A narrow mountain trail lead from the village to a pair of deep caverns. The first - lower on the trail, was a trecherous place known as Dodongo's Cavern but, higher up the trail was another large cavern that was known as Goron City.

This subterranian abode was the home of the Gorons - a race of burly and humanoid creatures with incredible strength, tolerance to heat, and stone like flesh - as if they were born of the earth itself. The Gorons only respected strength and power which gave them the befitting distinction of being the custodians of the Fire Temple, which resided within the volcanic crater of Death Mountain - a place that only Gorons could pass through due to their resilient physical qualities. From within mountain, the Gorons used their strength and skill at moving earth to extract the finest ores, gems, and and other mineral compounds from the dark and fiery depths, providing all of Hyrule with these vital and precious resources.

To the east of the ranch, The Kokiri Forest stood in all of its arboreal glory. This deep and enchanted forest was home to Link for the first nine years of his life and where he was raised amongst the Kokiri. The Kokiri, were a race of immortal children who's bodies never aged but, their minds and knowledge were ever growing and maturing. Keeping to themselves throughout the ages and almost never venturing from the forest, those with even the most basic knowledge of the Kokiri's existence were few and far between.

In the far and dark corners of the forest, a place known as the Lost Woods stradled the edge of creation. It had earned its name from the woods' endless twists and turns which made sound navigation nearly impossible. So abundant and immense was its growth that it allowed no light passed through, save for the dim shine through the canopy that gave the woods a mellow gloom.

If one knew their way around, the Lost Woods proved to be a wonderous and intriguing place, teaming with the strangest and most reclusive creatures in Hyrule. Among its secrets, a small clearing known as the Sacred Forest Meadow was hidden amongst this remote labrynth and in that grove was the entrance to the Forest Temple which had for long been abandoned to the ever encroaching woods.

Between the Kokiri forest and the Death Mountain Range, a large river of crystal clear water flowed down from the eastern heights. At the head of this river, in a system of water logged caverns, resided what was known as Zora's Domain. The Zora's were a humanoid like race of people who resembled fish. They grew tall and streamlined, with blue scaled skin, gills, finned arms, and webbed feet.

As the most aquatically apt creatures in Hyrule, the Zora were tasked with overseeing Hyrule's waterways which ran from Zora's Domain, down Zora's River along the northern border of Kokiri Forest, snaking out into Hyrule Field towards the northwest, serving as a natural moat for Castle Town before turning west and flowing into a desert canyon, down a great waterfall before cutting far south through the canyon into a great basin known as Lake Hylia. Being the largest body of water in Hyrule, the Zora's took it upon thsemselves to maintain its aquatic life and serve as the custodians of the Water Temple, which lay hidden at the bottom of the lake beneath the basin itself.

Finally, in the northwestern corner of the world, a dry and dusty place known as the Gerudo Valley lay nestled in a desert canyon. The valley itself had been completely fortified by an entirely female race of warriors known as the Gerudo. Hostile, but minimally loyal to the Royal Family as a result of their rivalry during the war, the Gerudo made their living through thievery and raiding which alotted them a life of fighting and sedition.

From their fortress, one could pass through the only clear route into the Gerudo desert. The desert itself, was bisected by an area known as the Haunted Wasteland. Easily the most unhospitable place in Hyrule, the wasteland yielded nothing more than strange hauntings, perpetual sandstorms, and dunes that could swallow whole caravans that were foolish enough to veer off a path of checkpoints that the Gerudo erected to facilitate the only feesable way of negotiating one's way through the desert waste.

On the other side of the desert, in a calm and shady oasis, a magnificent rock formation jutted out of the sand that was known as the Desert Colossus. Here is where the Gerudo made regular pligrimages to offer sacrifices at the Spirit Temple. Carved stright into the rock face, the temple was the most sacred of places to the Gerudo, so much so that they never permitted anyone other than Gerudo to enter the temple or send prayers and other offerings to its altar. Owing to its exceptionally remote and nearly inaccessible location, the Gerudo used the Spirit Temple as an unthouchable commander center which saved them from complete annhilation during the war.

Taking one last look around, Link placed the reins on a hold and kicked his feet up along side the wagon. He leaned back along the seat with his hands laced behind his head and breathed a long sigh as the wind met his skin and gently whisked at his hair. His eyes scanned the great blue above for clouds and panned down to grass below.

Link pulled his cap down over his eyes and began to nod off as the wagon gently rocked along and all of his thoughts began to fade away. Epona knew the way to the castle, so taking a short nap was of no concern but, no matter how relaxed he was, the dream from the previous night still lurked in the back of his mind. As he bathed himself in the warmth of the sun, he pondered the matter for sometime, unsure of how to interpret the possible omen. Deciding not to trouble himself during the course of his duties, he let go of his conflicting thoughts, and slowly came to ease as he scattered all worries to the winds of his conscience.