Darkness stretched on for as far as the eye could see; nothing visible to the one who travelled its endless reaches. Where am I? Link tried to look around, moving but not walking. He couldn’t feel his body, unable to hear any sounds. Total silence surrounded him; sensory depravation of the highest order greeted him on every side. The silence was broken by whispers from the darkness, murmurs growing louder with each passing moment. Link found himself trying to block everything out, hearing the voices growing louder.

“You don’t belong…” He turned, finding the darkness gone. He could see clearly, looking down at his hands. He glanced around, realising he was standing in Hyrule Field. It was the field he knew and loved; only it was different, darker and barren. It looked like it did during Ganondorf’s reign, dark clouds lingering in the sky.

“You don’t belong…” Link spun around to face the voices, finding several children standing there. Each one wore similar clothes to his, forest green tunic and brown boots. More appeared, glowing balls of light hovering around them. Link recognised the lights as fairies, the children as Kokiri. One child stood out amongst the others, emerald green hair shimmering in the faint light.

“S-Saria?” He stared at her, trying to make sense of the vacant look on her face. She no longer seemed like the girl he’d grown up with, no longer the childhood friend who he had shared his youth with. He stepped forward, stopping when she spoke.

“You don’t belong here Link; you don’t belong in the forest. You’re Hylian; you belong outside the forest…with them…” Link stared at her blankly, feeling tears begin to form in his eyes. He didn’t have time to reply, the children before him seemed to ripple and distort before fading. More voices snapped him away from the empty space in front him, urging him to turn around. He obeyed, being greeted by a group of Hylian children. The same words hung in the air, haunting him. Their expressions were just as blank as those on the Kokiri, devoid of all emotion. A young girl stepped forward, her long red hair making her stand out from the crowd. Her clothes were simple, a plain white dress with a small gold amulet around her neck.

“Malon? What’s going on?” Link looked at her, hoping for an answer. The expression on her face was the same as the one Saria had worn, blank and emotionless. He took a step back, watching her look up at him.

“You don’t belong with us. You were raised as one of them, a Kokiri. You belong in the forest.” The children began to fade away, disappearing one by one. Link reached out to is friend, his hand passing through her as though she was simple an illusion, rippling like a reflection in the water. The voices never ceased, hunting Link from every side. He dropped to his knees, clutching his head in an attempt to drown out the noise. Tears fell, falling silently too the ground. He could hear something approaching, footsteps growing nearer. They were coming from behind him, where Saria had been. He turned to face the source, hoping to see his friend. His eyes widened in fear, his body frozen. An armoured figure stood before him, towering over him. The armour shimmered in the light, the blades of its battle axe sparkling with deadly beauty. Link recognised it, an Iron Knuckles. The beast raised its weapon high above its head, Link’s eyes closing tightly as it came down. The sound of steel impacting the ground echoed all around, the last sound to be heard before everything grew dark and silent once again.

Link bolted upright, sweat running down the sides of his face. He looked around, his mind slowly taking note of where he was. He found himself in a small room, sitting on a bed. Just a nightmare…just the same stupid nightmare… He glanced down; pulling the covers up higher when he noticed the top of his tunic was missing. White bandages were tightly wrapped around his ribs, another around his head. A wave of nausea and dizziness washed over him, making the world around him spin. He groaned as he leaded forward, sitting up again at the sound of a familiar voice.

“Glad to see you’re awake, you had us really worried.” The half dressed boy looked around, seeing Maria sitting on a chair beside the bed. He glanced past her, seeing his equipment lying in the corner of the room. Maria followed his gaze, reaching into a pouch that hung from her waist.

“You hit the tree pretty hard; a lot of your stuff was damaged. Your bow, sword and shield escaped undamaged; so did your masks. I left them in here so the little ones won’t try to play with them. There was…one other item that wasn’t damaged…” Maria turned her gaze to meet his, pulling a small object from the pouch. She held a beautiful blue Ocarina, three small golden triangles glistening at the base of the mouth piece. Link recognised it as a gift from one of his closest friends, the Ocarina of Time. He gently took it from Maria, pulling it close to his chest and closing his eyes. He smiled; relieved it hadn’t been damaged in any way.

“Thank you…” Link’s voice echoed softly throughout the room, making Maria smile. She brushed a strand of black hair from her face, pushing him back down onto the bed.

“You’re welcome. Now, get some rest. You need it.” Link nodded at Maria, giving a yawn. The nightmare had taken its toll on his already tired body, his eyes drifting closed as he lay there. In a matter of moments he was asleep again, Maria watching over him. She brushed some hair away from his face, moving it behind his Elvin ears.

“Sleep well…you have a long road ahead of you…” Maria watched him smile in his sleep, holding the Ocarina close to his heart. She couldn’t help but smile, leaning back on her chair as she watched over his sleeping form.

“Your journey’s only just begun…”