Epilogue

Kass soared past the Ruto Precipice, enjoying the rush of wind over and between his feathers, sending slight chills down his spine and providing slight relief from the relentless heat of late summer. The river below reflected the mountain walls and clouds above, yet despite the shade and the promise of rain the wilderness was almost as sweltering as it would be without the clouds.

Kass much preferred Rito Village, as it was never so warm, even in the summer.

Although, he mused, perhaps it is because I live in a place so cold that this air feels so abnormally hot. There would be some sort of natural explanation, he supposed, but he much preferred to let nature have its way and not worry about the why.

There were so many other things to worry about, anyway. But it was difficult to think about them when the heat gripped his head in a sweaty vise. Kakariko will be cooler, at least, he hoped, gliding lazily on the warm drafts wafting in from the ocean nearby. To be fair, of course, he hadn't expected Zora's Domain to be as hot as it had been, but it was made of stone, which grew warm in the sun, so perhaps it made sense. Kakariko, however… it was a village nestled in the mountains, high in the mountains, so perhaps the greater elevation would at last bring him respite from the summer warmth.

The wind dropped a little and he flapped his wings, dipping down lower into the shadow of the mountains at his side. A finger of doubt curled around his soul.

As a bard, he prided himself on weaving story into song. Yet, try as he might, he could not seem to find any solid tales on how, in Din's name, Ganon had been defeated. Only a handful of people, the managers and guests of the Woodland Stable at the time, had actually witnessed part of that final battle, from a distance,of course. Flashes of light arcing through the sky, the Princess shrouded in golden light, and a man.. A shadowy man with a blade glowing blue, stabbing straight through Ganon before tumbling to the river below, practically right on the river's doorstep.

And that was it.

Kass sighed heavily. The stable manager, Kish, had at least confirmed that the shadow-man was in fact the Hero's Shade, the same mysterious being said to be travelling the land doing good deeds, but so little still was known… Not much yet to sing a song about, he mourned, beating his wings.

In the months following Ganon's demise, he had travelled from Rito Village to Goron City to Zora's Domain, those areas home to Divine Beasts mysteriously set free. Here, too, stories and rumors of a shadowy man with a shining blade. So clearly this person was influential in Ganon's defeat—but how? What exactly did he do? He couldn't very well make much of a song out of that—"Oh, have you heard, the tale of the Hero's Shade, who went through the land doing good deeds and freed Divine Beasts and at last with the Princess' aid proved to end Calamity Ganon's reign?" He could imagine the awkward pause afterwards, and the hasty explanation—"That's, er, all there is to the story."

No. He couldn't do that.

Frowning, he soared over the Rutala dam and tucked his wings close to his sides, gaining a brief rush of speed as he turned further westward, following the mighty river below in the hopes that somehow it would be cooler. He was on his way to Kakariko, where the former Princess was said to be living. She had been there when Ganon fell, had played a crucial role in vanquishing him… perhaps she would have the answers he needed.

The sky darkened further. Thick rainclouds were swiftly growing heavy above him as he flew over the Samasa plain.

He tilted his head, thinking deeply. It was curious, he thought, that the Princess had made no attempt to install herself as Hyrule's ruler. But in a way he could understand; Hyrule and its people had survived, had thrived, for a century without a single unifying power. The individual races ruled themselves, and the Hylians had become successfully independent, relying only on local leaders to guide them. It made sense that the Princess did not want to upset the peace that had fallen by trying to force things back to the way they'd been.

Rain began to fall, big heavy drops tumbling from the sky, swiftly soaking into his feathers and weighing them down. Lightning struck nearby and thunder cracked, shaking the earth. Kass beat his wings heavily, heart racing, and deliberated for a moment—Do I continue or stop for the day?

Another fork of lightning split the sky and he made his decision, folding his wings to his sides and plunging downwards, pulling up at the last moment and hovering for a moment, scanning the ground for a rocky overhang, a cave, some sort of shelter. A strong wind ruffled his damp feathers and he shivered, flying towards the Rabia Plain—no caves or anything, but surely it would be better to hide beneath the boughs of trees than to wait out in the open.

As he neared, he saw nestled within a thick copse of pines a simple cottage, only one room, made of logs and stones, with golden light spilling from the windows and a thin trail of smoke weaving up from the chimney. A small stable stood nearby; within he could see a little mare with silvery splotches across her coat. An odd spot for a dwelling, to be sure, in the middle of nowhere—but Kass was grateful. Perhaps they might be willing to shelter me.

He landed lightly and swiftly approached the simple front door, knocking politely. After a moment a woman answered the door, her dark hair tumbling down behind her ears, violet eyes quickly switching from relieved to confused. She glanced outside, studying the storm, and then stepped aside, beckoning. "Please; come in. You must be freezing."

"I don't want to intrude—" Kass began, but the woman shook her head.

"Have you seen the skies?" she asked him, a smile playing at her lips. "This won't be over soon, I'd wager. Please stay here, where you'll be safe."

Kass bowed. "Thank you." Hesitantly he stepped inside; it was a very simple home, with only one room, one bed, a desk, and a bookcase and a cupboard. He sat before the fire and stretched his wings out, sighing happily. "Do you… live here all alone?"

She blushed slightly, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. "No; my husband lives here, too… He'll be back soon, I hope, although he's certainly stubborn at times—I wouldn't put it past him to stay out until he catches something."

Kass nodded slowly, thinking. "And… Kakariko is not far; I suppose you're not entirely isolated…"

The woman laughed. "No. Not with Impa as a neighbor, and her sister, at times. And several children with a fondness for exploring."

Kass tilted his head, thinking of his daughters. "Children come here? Certainly Kakariko is not far, but for children…"

"They take our horse, Mist," the woman explained. "She's very patient with them."

"Why don't you live in Kakariko?" Kass asked. "If you have friends there…"

The woman smiled gently. "We prefer the wilderness. We can find everything we need to survive right on the Rabia Plain—water, food, supplies for tools and building. It feels more peaceful out here than in the midst of a bustling village, small though it may be, and if eventually we have children we're not so isolated that they wouldn't have a chance to learn and play with other children as well."

Kass studied her curiously. "It seems you've given this a lot of thought," he noted.

The woman shrugged. "What about you?" she wondered. "What brings a Rito so far east?"

"I'm searching for something," he sighed, turning his gaze back to the flames. "Though I'm not certain that I'll ever find it…"

"Perhaps it is best that some things remain hidden."

Kass turned in surprise as a hooded figure entered the cottage, a bag smelling strongly of fish slung over one shoulder. Kass's eyes widened—the man's eyes burned red; snowy white hair framed his youthful gray features. The Hero's Shade. Nayru's love, he does exist…

"I believe you're the very person I was looking for," he realized excitedly. "You—you vanquished Ganon!"

The white-haired young man scratched his head awkwardly. "Well… I helped," he admitted.

"Will you tell me how it happened?" Kass asked eagerly. "I'm a bard by trade—I've been searching for months for the story behind this!"

The young man exchanged a glance with the violet-eyed woman and took her hand. "This is perhaps our only shot at a normal life," he murmured softly. "If people know what we did… what I did… even if they knew I was here… we might lose it all."

Kass felt a sinking feeling in his heart. Of course the man had a point—he was already a legend, which was a heavy burden to place on anyone's shoulders. And the fact that he was so visibly… different… it made sense that he would want solitude, to avoid curious stares. "I understand," he said heavily. "So you feel that… that this story, at least, is something that should remain hidden?"

The young man nodded gravely. "But you've come all this way for a story."

"Link," the woman protested, "if word gets out—"

Link shook his head, smiling ruefully. "He won't be the first to wonder what happened. It might be for the best that people are given an explanation and then told that the hero and the enchantress went into hiding, to live out the rest of their days in peace." He met Kass's gaze. "I'll tell you what happened, if you include that last bit."

Kass smiled gratefully and Link sat down beside his wife, turning his gaze to the flames. Inhaling deeply, he began to speak.

"The Yiga had been waiting for a century, waiting for the perfect opportunity to exact their revenge on the Sheikah and the Hylians, to plunge the kingdom into eternal darkness. But though they were well aware of threats from without, they did not account for dissension from within, piercing straight to their heart…"

FIN

So I just wanted to say, thank you so much to everyone who read this story! I had no idea that so many people would want to read it, and it really makes me so happy that you've all made it to the end with me!

I would first and foremost like to thank you for sticking with me all this way, and a special shout-out goes to everyone that reviewed. So thank you Ania Nicole, Guest, StraightedgeEpyon, Kaze, Nombot, The Big Bad Wolf-9, Koblenz, James Birdsong, damsel0of0darkness, OnePunchFan8, Londonbongo, Pandora Finesilver, Aura, TBDawnWMPC, Callie, 23, RedtheWolf2, and XMarkZX for all of your very kind reviews! I know I haven't replied to all of you, and I'm really sorry about that—in future stories, I have a better idea about responding to reviews, so be on the look out for that!

I'm also extremely grateful for absolutely everyone who decided to give this story a chance! In November alone, it's gotten hits from nineteen different countries! Thank you, all of you!

My main reason for writing anything isn't attention or popularity. I write because I love to; I write because it helps me work through issues that I'm dealing with; I write because if my writing was able to help me, perhaps it can help someone else as well.

As far as this story and future fanfictions go… I absolutely love the world of Breath of the Wild, but I didn't want to write a novelization because I was really happy with other novelizations that are out there and didn't feel like I could do any better. My goal with fanfictions is to write something unique, something that doesn't get boring or repetitive over time. So a story in which a Yiga Clan assassin falls in love with the very person she was sent to kill… I thought that would be a fun story to write, and hopefully a fun story to read as well. I've let you know my plans for future fanfics; it'll be awhile before I start writing it (because I've had an idea for a non-fanfiction story that's been waiting a long time to be written) but I will get there eventually! Until then… have a great life!