Foreword; I won't do this every chapter but I figured I'd put this here for some context. I had this idea many years ago, and I've tried to write this story many times over. Each time I tried, I did something a little bit different but nothing held my interest. This time however I've decided to change the story and the way I write it in a few major ways, just to see if that helps carry me over the finish line. I hope that brief and vague explanation is enough of a warning that things may get a bit... Eccentric and eclectic at times.
Winters are the hardest. Not because of the cold killing off any possibility of fresh crops, though that always plays a role. Not because the goat cheese and preserved foodstuffs become quite the stale offerings at every meal. And it isn't even the short days and chill that creeps into your limbs. No... It's the lack of things to do. The sheer boredom that seeps in as you have nothing to keep your mind blank with exhaustion. Well... At least it was for me. For you see, some people are not created equal. Some people live quiet, unassuming lives. Can simply live and enjoy the monotonous rise and fall of the sun as they continue to exist. I... I used to be like that. I used to be able to put in a hard year's work and enjoy the quiet moments of winter. I used to be able to listen to the wind, to fish in the stream, to wrangle the goats without a care in the world except for my home and family. My life was so small then. So small and unassuming. But now... Now I wish it were so.
But isn't that a part of growing up? Of growing older? Things eventually change or something eventually happens and your life is forever altered? You do something that you end up regretting, or you fail to do something and it eats at you. You wish you could go back, you wish you could have done something different. I never used to feel that way. Everything I had done, while maybe not perfect... Hadn't been regrettable. I acted when I needed to act, I helped when others would or could not. I have done so many things... But now... Now I know regret. At the time I had so little concept of the very nature of this feeling that I did things which are clearly ill advised. I dared to dream, I dared to look forward and feel hope for what the future holds. What a fool I was. I tried so hard, I fought the ever mounting odds, I traveled the world, I righted wrongs, I rescued the people I loved, I saved the princess, I even collected all those damn bugs! And for what?! To blindly be unable to act when I needed to most. To seize up and be unable to find my voice when I knew I needed to call out. I didn't used to feel regret, didn't used to have this weight hanging around my neck... But... Now I do. This painful reminiscing wasn't doing me any favors, but at least now the wounds are old and have lost most of their bite.
My feet trudged through the snow as I walked, the fur lined boots doing wonders to keep my toes from turning black and falling off. I wish I could be as confident about my cloak however. It was old and well loved, which naturally meant that it was thin in many places. I would need to acquire a replacement as soon as I could get back to civilization. But there wasn't anything to be done about it now. With a resigned sigh I simply pulled the garment closer to my body and kept walking. Despite the cold I took solace in the fact that I had been through worse, much worse in fact. Those however were thoughts that were better saved for some other time. I had a destination in mind after all and it wouldn't do to be late.
As I continued to walk however, my mind betrayed me once again and cast itself back to the reasons why I was all the way out here. No, I couldn't just walk in comfortable silence, I had to think about so many painful things this journey. During the years after saving the princess and ending the kingdom wide crisis, I had tried to go back home. I tried to settle back into where I had come from, to force myself to stay confined to that little village, to live my simple and carefree life once again. But it didn't work, it did nothing but cause me to run circles in my own thoughts. "Why?" "What if?" "How could I?" and other such questions kept me up at night, kept haunting me. What was worse however was everyone else. All the townsfolk could see the pain and sorrow I held so plainly on my face. Eventually I couldn't handle it anymore; the pitying looks, the carefully worded conversations... The kindness shown to me that I knew was because they loved me but I couldn't bring myself to accept as genuine. So I left, I took to exploring the world beyond my home, beyond even my kingdom. At first it was simply me trying to escape myself, escape my regrets... And maybe even end it on my own terms. Thankfully that uncomfortable situation never came to pass. Instead I ended up seeing more of the world, learning a bit about many of the surrounding land's cultures.
My internal musings were cut short, however, as a noise broke the silence to my left. I instinctually dove forward into a roll, drawing my sword and hefting my shield as I raised myself into a crouch. Slowly I rotated, my eyes scanning the landscape broken up by trees and foliage. Whatever it was had ample cover, and stayed well out of sight. I was ready for what may come, despite the cold and isolation, I held no fear. Be it man, monster or hungry beast, I was ready for it to make its move. Nothing... Everything was silent. Nothing moved, nothing breathed, nothing was seemingly there. I knew they must have been biding their time, watching from the shadows hidden from sight. I knew what it was they were waiting for, maybe not in a way I could put into words but as an instinct. They were waiting for me to blink. Devious, in that micro-instant where my eyes would close, they were planning their attack. I knew I couldn't hold out forever, not in this cold and bitter environment. So I did the only thing that was logical, blink now and force their hand rather than let them wait and prepare fully. My eyes snapped shut and instantly I could hear them, the sudden crunch of snow directly before me. So fast it had come that I nearly startled, nearly. I reacted without even the time to open my eyes, I simply brought my sword up into a lunging thrust and hoped to land my strike before theirs.
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My blade struck something soft, and yet immovable. It was as if its very flesh was made of some impenetrable substance that could be pressed but refused to be pierced. I grit my teeth and braced for impact; knowing that for my effort, all I would earn was a swift retaliation. A moment passed, then two, then four... the blow never came. Instead a noise greeted my ears, one that chilled me more than the snow ever could. A wry chuckle, one that spoke volumes to the self indulgent nature of its utterer's amusement. My eyes opened with the swiftness of a whip as I processed the sound. My vision, whilst traveling up the blade and to my assumed assailant, fixated upon the placement of my strike. The tip of my blade was grasped firmly within the relatively thin fingers of the figure before me. No shaking was felt in their grip and no blood was pooling along the edge. It was as if they simply reached out and gingerly took hold of the tip of my weapon, despite the fact my weight was still very much pressed behind it. In my travels I had seen similar such techniques used by knights. By holding the sharpened edge of the blade, with the right hand strength and grip, they use the guard or pommel as a bludgeon against heavy armor. But I've never seen nor heard of such a man so confident and skilled to catch an enemy's blade bare handed. Grabbing the enemy's blade and using it as leverage after it had been stopped, yes, especially when the fight gets into grappling range. But to simply stop the blade mid thrust?! It wasn't possible via mundane means, whoever-. Nay whatever this man was, they were clearly preternatural!
"So, we meet again and at last hero, you certainly have aged since you've completed the goddesses' bidding. Is that a beard I see upon your visage? It suits you. But I forget myself, you are wondering why I'm here? Well the truth is the divines clearly will have no need of your current incarnation any more. But that doesn't mean you cannot continue to be the hero you were destined to be. So how about you lend an ear to an old friend hmmm? I'm sure you'll find what I've to say very intriguing. Unless of course, you don't want the opportunity to wield your sword with purpose once again? Or maybe... You'd rather have the opportunity to undo your biggest regret?" Their voice was downright jolly, even if it did have slithering undertones of inherit threat. But their words... Their offer... It wasn't simply interesting, it was enticing in a way that I had no defense for. But... How? That was the part that latched onto my conscious thoughts with a vice like tenacity. How?
"You wonder how I can promise something that seems so impossible. Worry not hero, you'll come to learn those answers in due time. But I suppose I must give you something to prove my claims. Some form of carrot that I may dangle before your nose. So how about... This?" With his non occupied hand he withdrew from his robe a familiar looking object. One that had haunted my dreams many a night. It was a crown carved from stone, featuring two large horns and when worn it would cover one of its wearer's eyes. But... How? This object had been broken before my very eyes, crushed in the grasp of the one whom I was destined to defeat. But there it was, fully intact and grasped gently in the hand of this mysterious man. My stance relaxed, my arm fell, and my blade's tip was released to drop harmlessly into the snow.
"Speechless hero? Not surprising seeing as this artifact had been destroyed by powerful and dark magic. But when you've been alive for as long as I have, you tend to pick up many skills and tricks. Repairing this beautiful mask was an honor for someone such as myself. Sadly I couldn't find its counterparts... A shame really, I would have loved the opportunity to work on the complete set." My face was struck dumb, surely there was no other possible expression upon my face. Dumbstruck was all I could muster as he extended his hand and gently placed the object within mine.
"A gift, may it act as proof of my good will, as well as a proof of concept. I was able to restore this powerful artifact back to its previous glory, so what other artifacts could I possibly restore hmmm? How about a certain mirror?" Those words caught my attention once again and broke me from my blank stare. His eyes had narrowed into slits and his grin was wide with satisfaction at my sudden attention. He was playing me like a fiddle and he knew it. I brought the crown to my chest and looked at him with suspicion, not willing to let my curiosity nor my eagerness drive me into the awaiting arms of some dark seducer. His face turned into one of pleading as he clapped both hands together as if in prayer, leaning forward at the hip.
"Oh please do not take my excitement as anything that it's not hero! I am but a man whose humble request is for your aid, and in return you'll be able to put to rest your deepest regrets! You are getting the lion's share of the reward out of this venture I assure you! While I could eventually handle this matter on my own, it would take the better part of a lifetime! Please hero I beg of you!" His pleas were irritating to say the least. Somehow, no matter the words or how he spoke, that unsettling undertone remained. As if he wasn't human, and despite speaking and trying to sound natural... There was just something incredibly off about him. But his offer was incredibly enticing. Too good to be true, sure, but also too good to ignore. After a moment or two of careful consideration I sighed. I needed to know if he was capable of making good on his word. I nodded.
"Oh hero! Savior of the kingdom, and ender of perpetual twilight! Thank you! Thank you! You won't regret this partnership I promise you! I swear, I might not look it at times, but I know what I'm doing! Now hero please lend me your ear, for there is much to be done and so little time to do it all! Now-"
"Link." My interruption confused him, his expression frozen in place and the slow blink told me as such. So I decided to speak again. This time I figured I should elaborate a bit more. "The name's Link. I'm not interested in being treated as a hero. Nor do I want to constantly be called that. The name is Link." As if a switch had been flipped in the mysterious man's face and his expression widened into a toothy grin once more.
"Of course, Link, I apologize for my rudeness. Introductions certainly long since overdue. I've traveled the world and have been called by many titles, but my name is known to few. You may call me, Orin." As he spoke he offered his hand to me in greeting, the same hand that had caught my blade so effortlessly. I felt the urge to run well up inside me but I pushed passed the feeling and clasped his outstretched appendage in mine. For better or for worse... The bargain had been struck.