Link's Awakening: The Novelisation

In my Final entry piece in the ZU competition, I wrote about Link's Awakening. I thought that piece was a lot better than my collection of stories on ZU. So, I started my Link's Awakening Novelisation from scratch. So sit back and enjoy the action, adventure, humour, and romance of Link's Awakening!

WARNING: Features blood and gore references. Do not read if you are under 12.

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Link’s Awakening
Chapter 1: Stranded!

As the storm surged across the dark, unforgiving skies, Link attempted to pull his boat away from the crushing waves. A lightning fork struck the mast, and ripped the sails apart, practically dooming Link. But still, Link attempted to keep the boat afloat. It was like a small ladybird fighting against rain in a birdbath.
Soon another fork of lightning crackled down into the sea, and landed right in the middle of the boat, tearing it in twain. The waved consumed the ship like a hungry sea monster, and the last thing Link remembered, was he was sinking into the crushing dark oblivion of the Great Sea…

* * * * * * * *

As Link woke he felt a strong amount of light against him. His eyes opened slightly and he saw a young girl coming towards him. He fell back into a world of taunting shadows and dark skies.

* * * * * * * *

Link lay on a soft surface, but he was not awake. He tossed and turned, lost in a world of nightmares and dark shadows surrounding and taunting him. He was astray, and he had no idea how to get back. Suddenly a soft voice, like the sound of angels in this dark realm called him back. His eyes snapped open.
Before him stood a young beautiful girl, who was looking at him, apparently relieved at something, but he knew not. What had Zelda got to be worried about? Zelda started inspecting him, and Link took in his surroundings. What first struck him as odd was he was in a small wooden house, not Zelda’s castle. What more was there a short, fat man looking at him intently from a corner of the small home.
Link turned his attention to the young girl fussing over him.
“… Zelda?” Link moaned. The girl looked up at him, and stared into his eyes with a look of confusion crossing her youthful features.
“Huh? No… My names Marin.” She replied, still slightly confused at, in her eyes, this lost youth.
“Marin?” Link asked, his brow frowning slightly in concern. “What is going on?” He thought to himself.
“You’re lucky to be alive. I honestly thought you would never wake up. It must have been weeks ago now when I fished you out of the water down on that beach.” She continued, unaware of Link’s look of confusion and concern. “You looked so battered and bruised; I honestly believed that you had been in the middle of a hurricane!
She continued to speak as Link started tossing again, reminiscing about the nightmares he had just had, “You were tossing and turning in that bed for days and weeks, constantly moaning and crying. I kept trying to wake you up, but you must have been having some really bad nightmares, because you actually started punching thin air!”
“W… Where am I?...” Link questioned her weakly, after he finally stopped tossing and turning in mental anguish.
“Why, you’re on Kholint Island! Birthplace of the Windfish, our landmark!” Marin exclaimed, somewhat excited now. This youth was actually getting better. Link looked out of the window, following her gaze outside. His eyes widened at the impressive and mysterious sight of a huge, spotted egg on a mountain, resting like a giant sentinel looking down on the people from it’s kingdom in the heavens. It was the weirdest sight he had ever seen, and Hyrule had some crazy images.
“What’s the Windfish?!” Link muttered to himself, as a rhetorical question. Obviously the small, chubby man in the corner heard and answered.
“No-one quite knows!” He answered with enthusiasm. This man appeared quite full of activity, despite his unhealthy structure. As the man waddled forward, Link noticed that he had a rather large, black moustache, perched on his mouth like some form of furry animal.
“Well Link, lucky I found your shield. I expect your sword is still down on the beach. Anyway, here’s your shield!” The man said, handing it to him “By the way, my name’s Tarin!” He finished
“How…how… how’d you know my name?” Link inquired, a little scared since he hadn’t mentioned his name himself.
“Is that shield yours or not dummy?! It has your name engraved in it!” Tarin cried out with animation, bouncing on the balls of his feet.
“Yes Link, you should see the beach. I noticed your sword was there, but I was afraid to fetch it because there were several monsters guarding it!” Marin commented.
“OK, I’ll be fetching my sword then. Thank you for your hospitality!” Link said, thanking them on his way out. As Link stepped out, he squinted in the bright sunlight. He was in the garden of the house, and there was a small village around him. It was quite darling and sweet, and Link took care to commit every place to memory. There was an unusual house with what looked like a giant bowling ball chained to a post outside.
He also saw a building with the name ‘Trendy Game’ on it. “What on Hyrule is a Trendy Game?” Link wondered out loud. The village had plenty of other sites that were strange and unusual, such as the house that looked like a tree with a strange ornament on it. Link couldn’t see that clearly from his spot, but he swore that it was not made of stone, wood, or even metal…
Out here he had a much clearer view of the Windfish’s egg, and he pondered it for a while at he walked through the small Hamlet. The giant bowling ball continued to turn and twist, making barking noises.
“This place certainly is strange!” Link thought to himself.
He continued out of the Hamlet, past two young boys tossing a ball back and forth, past a small house on the outskirts, right to the edge of a series of steep cliffs. He was about to make his way down, when he noticed the multitude of creatures gathering at the bottom.
They had snouts like pigs, yet they had very rounded bodies and short legs, like octopuses almost. Then one shot a rock from its snout. Link realised these were a real threat, so as he clambered down the cliff side, he took care to avoid these monsters.
His foot crunched on the beach. He sniffed in the fresh salt air greedily, and sat a while, listening to the soothing sound of the waves. Then grabbed a coconut from a nearby palm tree and cracked it open, draining the refreshing juice inside, restoring his energy.
“Delicious!” He cried as he slurped the rest of it, smacking his lips.
He tossed away the rest of the shell, and carried on down the sandy beach, looking out onto the clear blue ocean. As he got closer to the sea he noticed something glinting in the bright sun. He looked closer and his eyes lit up with relief! It was his sword!
He rushed forward only to come to a dead standstill as he noticed a cluster of urchins around it. He snorted!
“Monsters indeed!” He scoffed. He shuffled closer and pushed them away, only to meet one the snout monsters behind it. He scattered back, getting hit a couple of times by those rocks.
He simply grabbed his shield and threw it the monster. It retreated with a nasty welt on its head. Link walked up gratefully to his trusty sword, and plucked it from the ground. He felt it in his hands, and as he held it in the air, he felt an electrical charge surge through his body, revitalising him, and giving him the strength he had lost. He waved it around with vigour, and destroyed the urchins around him.
“YES!!!!” He screamed with joy, jumping up and down!
As he screamed, a fluffy, small, brown owl landed beside him with a soft thud. Link stopped at once and he slowly turned around. He stared into the eyes of the owl, and they stared back.
Link backed away slightly, trying to get away from those uncanny eyes. It was as if they were boring into his very skin, taking a look at his very soul, making examinations like X-Ray vision.
After about a minute, Link slowly walked back. As he started across the damp beach, the owl hooted, and then spoke!
“Hoot, hoot! So, you are the hero who owns the sword. Legends told of a boy who would indeed come to this island and vanquish the spirits of darkness.”
As it spoke, Link jumped backwards with surprise, not actually taking in what it was saying, as it continued it’s speech, Link inspected it. It followed him around, and Link realised it was actually too big to be a normal owl. He also picked up smaller details like its feet seemed too small to actually be able to support it.
“So, you now know your quest! Collect the eight sirens of the island in the dungeons. First though, proceed to the Forest. Hoot! I will be waiting for you there. Hoot! Hoot!”
And with that, it flapped its powerful wings, and launched into the sky, becoming only a small speck in the sky, like a star on a clear night sky. Link turned his attention back to the beach. He slowly ran through what just happened in his mind. Talking owls? This island truly was crazy. He thought it would be best to follow the owl though, if he wanted to get off this island. He trudged through the sands, as the water lapped at his feet.
He noticed a small house before long. He decided to investigate anyway, and made his way inside. He took in that there were many bananas on some shelves, but most of all, he observed a large blue crocodile smiling at him in a friendly way. Link didn’t say anything, he just backed away.
Back outside, he made a small note to himself. “Don’t. Go. Anywhere.” He carried on through the beach. Back at the cliffs, he met the creatures, and stabbed one of them in the snout, and pulled the sword up, having himself splattered with blood, and slashing through the skin of the creature while listening to the small creature squeal! The carcass fell limp on the grass as the red blood and gore slowly seeped down the cliff face.
More creatures came to him, and soon there was a pool of this precious mercury, and various bits of organ, as well as flesh and bone. Link didn’t enjoy killing, but since he had been practically brought up with it, he was able to do it without hesitation. Now, breathing heavily, and covered with blood, he made his way back up the series of cliffs, scratching himself many times, but determined to meet this owl.
At the top, he pulled himself through the wildlife, past the library, and into the village. The two boys, who had been playing catch earlier, were now teasing the giant black bowling ball. They stared at him as the marched by. The blood on his clothes dripped off, and that caused more people to stare in his direction, very anxious as to how he became to messy, dirty, and covered in blood. Link didn’t care about the people gazing at him. He was used to it. By the time he got back to Marin’s house, there was a large crowd outside the small dwelling.
Link stepped inside, and as Marin turned around, she gasped and dropped the plate she had been washing, which shattered on impact like her very thoughts, which were scared at how he became to be in this state.
“What happened?!” Marin asked with worry.
“I ran into a little trouble on the beach” Link answered ambiguously. Marin didn’t push the subject, and started tending to his wounds. Suddenly Marin noticed the people staring through the window.
She came to the door and shouted “Oi! There’s nothing to see here!” When people didn’t move, she screamed “You’re on private property! Now scram before I get the police!” People scattered at that.
She came back, and continued with the plasters. “Marin. Where’s the forest?” Link inquired.
“The nearest forest is the one just west of here. Carry on down the road, and you will see a sign pointing you in the right direction.” She explained “If you are going there, can you find Tarin? He went to pick mushrooms, but hasn’t returned in hours”
“Sure.” Link replied “While I’m there I find a pool to wash this blood off as well.” He finished. He turned to leave.
“Link… Be careful.” Marin whispered. Link turned back. They had a moment. Link then nodded and carried on out of the house. He took back roads this time in the village, not wanting to be any later to the owl. He soon reached the wooden sign. He moved north as instructed, into an area where it was darker, and the grass was wilder. He moved further up, into a glade where there were many trees surrounding him, and lots of grass and bushes, all untamed. As he made tracks north, the bushes rustled, and out jumped several Moblins! Link didn’t even know how the Moblins got on this island, but they soon surrounded him, spears out. Circling him, they snorted with excitement and mirth. There must have been fifty or more, and somehow Link knew, he’d never get out of this…

TO BE CONTINUED…


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Well? What do you think so far?

I actually really enjoyed it. There were some errors here and there, but overall it was pretty well-written. Nice cliff-hanger at the end.

I had to laugh at how ridiculous the Octorok scene was. I don't think Link would hold it up and splatter himself with blood.

He waved it around with vigour, and destroyed the urchins around him.

What you mean to say is

He waved it around with vigour and destroyed the urchins around him.

or

He waved it around with vigour, destroying the urchins around him.

a giant sentinel looking down on the people from it’s kingdom

should be

a giant sentinel looking down on the people from its kingdom

Stuff like that. Just try running it through spellcheck. I'll be looking forward to more of this.

After a huge absence chapter two is released.
This sees his adventures in the woods...

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The Sun settled on the woods, but wasn’t able to penetrate the cold, exterior of the inside. Maybe it was the good thing to, for inside these woods, a cruel event was taking place to do with Link, the hero of Hyrule…

The moblins circled Link, snorting and laughing with excitement and mirth. Link kept pushing them back with his sword, but they soon overpowered him. More and more kept coming until they had Link clamped down on the muddy floor. Link didn’t particularly like the dirty ground, with all the rotting leaves and tall grass. It was like a zoo with all the wildlife, and yet it was a graveyard to leaves.
However, it was preferable to having his face shoved up close to the mottled flesh of the moblins. With its horrible colour and vile odour, you somehow know that they have never heard of the notion of ‘cleaning’. Five moblins set about removing his weapons and tying him to a log, whilst the rest started dancing around him and laughing. They looked so horrible up close, that Link just shut his eyes. He felt a sharp pain in his arm, and saw that a Moblin was poking his left arm with a spear. It squealed with joy.
Link turned away, not wishing to give it the satisfaction. Knowing this, it got the spear firmly in it’s grasp. A huge shot of pain raced up his arm, like an electricity bolt down a metal pole. Link screamed with agony as the blood dripped from the gaping wound. The Moblins all cheered, and the one who had done the work was carried around like a hero. As it passed, Link got a gob of saliva, and spat at it. A nearby Moblin reacted by clubbing the young hero around the head, knocking him unconscious.


“What shall we do with him?” asked a gruff voice
“Take him to the leader. We will use him as bait for the villagers.” A more menacing one answered. Link pulled his eyes open to find himself in a clearing. A roaring fire was in the middle, and there were many upside down Moblins, sleeping. There were two deep in a hushed conversation. They were different type skin to the others. Something told Link they weren’t meant to be there. What was weirder was that they weren’t affected by being upside down.
He soon realised that it was in fact he that was upside down. The young hero struggled vainly at the bonds, but ended up making himself swing, causing himself to almost puke.
“- will the leader want with him?” A small one finished as Link retuned into the conversation.
“We’re going to steal that precious beast. But we’ll need bait for it to follow! First- Ah! He’s waking up…” They turned to Link, huge smiles on their faces.
“Careful, he’ll bring the entire pack down on us!” The small one whispered with concern.
“Not likely.” The bigger one chuckled darkly, “I put them all to sleep with sleepy mushrooms. An earthquake couldn’t wake all these up!” It pulled out a knife, and walked towards Link’s bonds. It cut his legs out first, thinking that would prevent an attack. Link put him at ease with a bash on the head.
The Moblin yelled with pain, and Link, ignoring the searing pain in his head, used his legs to pull away at the other bonds. He collapsed in a heap on the ground, giving a chance for the smaller one to move in.
It was too cautious though, and Link had enough time to use the bonds as a whip. He whipped the smaller one until it squealed into submission, crying with pain. Link grabbed it’s sword, and faced the challenge of the now ready bigger Moblin. It took a lunge at Link with it’s spear, which Link narrowly dodged. Link took a swing at it, to which it grabbed the sword and spun Link into the bushes. It threw the spear, getting Link in the shoulder.
Link shuddered, and found it hard to move. Somehow, he managed to roll out of the bushes, into a chasm below. It wasn’t preferable, but he lost the Moblins. He grabbed hold of the sword, and pulled. The screams could have torn down cities. It was stuck there, like it was welded. Right in the muscle it stayed.
The hero got some patches of clothing, and sealed the wound. He stumbled on, but with little hope. The huge spear was defeating him. He stumbled over, and broke off the shaft. At least he wasn’t being weighed down. He somehow got to a huge, sparkling spring.
He ripped through the tangled weeds, and rolled into the water. He gulped it down, and completely washed himself over. The blood disappeared, and he got some relief. But he still couldn’t last with the huge wound. He prepared to tug at what remained of the shaft again, when the water suddenly shone like the sun.
He scrambled out of the water, and knelt by the edge. It started rippling in the centre, and a figure was formed out of the water. Link stared up in awe. It was a great fairy. He stared at how beautiful it was, and followed it’s every movement.
“Link. You are weary.” It spoke. It sounded like the angels of heaven, “Here. Take this. Rest well, and be happy.” It put it’s hand on his back, and all his pain went. He stood up, and felt his shoulder. Nothing, not even a scar!
“Come here if you are ever in need of magical healing.” And with that, it sunk back into the pond. Link stood, staring at where it had been. After a few minutes, he pulled himself back together. He ripped apart some vines, and got back into the tangled mess of a forest.
He was shielded from the heavy sun under the towering oaks and heavy treetops. The animals of the forest seemed to chant like a choir, and several squirrels scampered around at his feet. At this scene it was hard to believe Moblins prowled these woods. He hacked away at some thick vines and flowers to a large clearing. It was the same one where he fought the two Moblins. The blood was still on the ground, slowly caking as if it was cooking.
He rolled under some bushes and inspected the area from afar. There was no sign of any of the Moblins, sleeping or fighting. He breathed a sigh of relief! He really didn’t want another fight. He crawled out of the bush, into the clearing. Brushing many seeds off him, he grabbed a mushroom on the floor. It was spotty and red, a very odd type. He pocketed it nonetheless, and set off into the murky woods again.
He travelled for many hours, hacking away the wild, untamed grasses, and shooing away many insects and pests. Finally, after much cursing and tiring slashing, he emerged outside the woods.
“Damn! Must’ve passed the key!”
He carried on, clinging to the hope that this was all part of the woods. It didn’t seem like it though. This place was barren, and the grass, although thick and tall, was brown and drooping. The mud was as hard as rock, and even the trees looked sad, looking down on Link like witches on a meal.
The young hero proceeded for many miles, not encountering any enemies. That is except for the sun. Here, it scorched the earth bare, stripping bark, and evaporating Link’s spirit into the cloudless sky. The trees provided no shelter. He was thinking of turning back, when he saw a doorway in one of the trees.
“Might as well catch my breath!” He muttered to himself, “And some shade!”
He turned into the doorway, and at last, was able to flee from the merciless sun. It suddenly became hotter, trying to get it’s victim back, but to no use. Link sat in the doorway, breathing relief.
He pulled his head up, and focused on the other resident of the tree. A witch! Stirring a huge black cauldron, muttering words under her breath.
“How stereotypical!” muttered Link with humour
The witch looked up.
“Oh we have a guest Finch!” She cried, probably talking to her pet cat, “Let’s see what he- AH!” She cried out in shock, startling Link. He jumped back in surprise as she ran to his side. She focused on his belt, and plucked out the mushroom, “He has the Sleepy Mushroom! Let’s fix this up in a jiffy!”
She worked at lightning speed, mixing the mushroom in with her ingredients. After a few minutes she stopped, and poured it all into a container. The mix was heated until only dust was left. This was bagged by the witch, and secured.
“Here you go lad! Sprinkle it on many things…” She turned back and got down a recipe book. Link raised his eyebrows in confusion, and stepped back out into the unforgiving heat, and his arch enemy.


A few hours later, he was back in the woods. He took a left passage, and found himself in a clearing. He sat by the single Oak tree. It must have been as big as the Windfish’s egg! Pulling out the bag of dust, he noticed a raccoon in the corner. That was not the odd thing though.
This raccoon was standing up, was red, and lifting weights!
“Okay! This place really is crazy town.” Link sighed.
He turned away from the raccoon. He got a pinch of dust, and examined it. A gust of wind blew the dust out of his fingers. It rested under the raccoon’s nose.
“Ah… ah… ah… … … … CHOOOO!!!!” It made a terrible sneeze, and it propelled it back. It bounced around the clearing. Link scrambled into a space between the trees worriedly. It carried on bouncing for several seconds before smashing into a tree, destroying the tree in a huge explosion. After the dust cleared a man was in the raccoon’s place.
It was Tarin!
“Are you alright?” Link asked him
Tarin replied, “Never better! Why do you ask?”
“Because… never mind.” Link sighed. He started down a northern path.
“You know… I had the funniest dream! I dreamt I was a raccoon, doing weightlifting. Funny huh? Sure was fun though!” Tarin exclaimed, “Well, I’m off home. I’m sure Marin’s worried.”
The hero shook his head, and made his way down the north path. There was a chest at the end of the path, covered in vines. The vines were hacked, and the chest opened. It creaked like an old screen door.
Link pulled out the bronze key inside. It was quite rusted, but not so much that he couldn’t make out the engraving on the top. A rather curious head. A flapping of wings was heard above as he examined the key.
“Hoo hoo!” the owl hooted as it rested beside him, “Now you have the tail key, you must head to the South Shore. There you will surely find a cavern you must conquer. Kill the guardian inside and collect the first siren. Hoo indeed!” And with that it fluttered off.
Link breathed the air deeply. Now it was time.
But one thing remained… Why was he here?
What was the Windfish?
And most important… Who was that owl?
And with that, he set off, back through the forest, in search of this elusive cave…

TO BE CONTINUED…

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