The Legend of Zelda: Zelda's Honor

Appendix C: Chapter Author Notes

APPENDIX C: Author Chapter Notes

Prologue: Army of One

For the Prologue, I knew that I wanted Majora's Mask in the story for specific events in the final chapters, but I wanted to introduce it here to place its presence in the minds of the readers even if it didn't appear for a long while. As for setting up the primary villains of this piece, I aimed to make it formidable. The only piece of information I wanted to give away at this juncture was simply its size; the other properties would come later.

Chapter 1:The Choice

It was really hard to come up with a decent way of introducing Link and inviting readers back into the world Ocarina of Time had created. I felt it best to jump right into his new role within the Hylian Royal Family and his personal thoughts about it as well as his interactions with Zelda. At the time of writing, I had originally wanted a love triangle between Zelda, Malon and Link however as time wore on, I felt this wasn't exactly the best way to go about their relationships. So her attraction and protectiveness over him stems from another reason altogether that is later revealed in Act 3. Despite this, I still used their strained relationship to push Link out the door and southwards towards the start of his journey.

Chapter 2: A Moment of Respite

A bit of foreshadowing occurs with regards to the items Link purchases on his way out the door to Lon Lon Ranch; I wanted to be realistic about what Link would have on his person by detailing when he got them. I had originally written the first 27 chapters long before I restarted the story from scratch in Feb 2014. The interaction between Link and Malon was embellished little and remained almost exactly as it was when it was first written; it felt sweet yet rambunctious, a telling sign of their future relationship. The introduction of Harden was significant because of the horse's role to play as Malon's personal steed and best animal friend. It was something both Link and Malon could share since they were there at its birth.

Chapter 3: The Messenger

The first half of the chapter was actually part of the previous chapter in an earlier rewrite; however I felt it needed more embellishment to more firmly establish the character of Talon and all their relationships together. So I expanded the scene with Link, Talon and Malon to help readers identify with this family since it would be the primary one going forward for the remainder of the story. Like the strained discussion between Zelda and Link in chapter 1 to get him out the door; I needed another event that would push Link towards the enemy. The Sheikah messenger provided that effortlessly; possibly a scout coming back from the border of the Lost Woods and alerting them on the way back; the threat to the Kokiri would naturally cause Link to make this rash decision. The second half is brand new as of the new rewriting; I realized there was no section detailing when and how Zelda prepared for her journey to leave the castle, she just showed up at Kakariko with no explanation. So this section was written to help transition her move from the castle; furthermore, I had the brilliant idea of including an old foe in a subsequent chapter as a result!

Chapter 4: Fall of the Kokiri

This was the first taste of what Link and co. are up against. I wanted it to be shocking and dramatic; I wanted to surprise readers with the pure brutality of the new threat. I wanted readers to immediately empathize with the Kokiri and absolutely hate the villains; by utilizing the Kokiri as those first, primary innocent victims, it helped place Naar and his commanders over the moral event horizon and become true monsters straight out of the gate. I also introduce a new ability that they have but I didn't truly show my hand with the true threat they posed until the very end, which is the first true cliffhanger of the story. I hoped readers would want to keep reading after seeing how hopeless a situation Link was left in; by injuring one of them, it created the needed tension and suspense the next chapter would provide.