BOTW: The Lonely Knight

The Assassin

Link felt the slash mark on his back where Tanis had hit him. He healed it using Mipha's Grace, the wound quickly sealing itself.

The Champion headed over to look at where he had fallen from. There was a pile of snow from last night's avalanche. Link tried climbing up the wall, but slipped down and onto the pile. The stone was covered in a layer of ice, making it quite slippery. Pulling out his Sheikah Slate, Link readied himself to teleport away.

Just as he was about to, he suddenly heard something. It was faint, but he could hear it. Breathing. Heavy, labored breathing. Link looked around trying to find the source. And that is when he saw him. Tanis lay there on the ground, unconscious. His mask most likely had come off during the avalanche, and his hood had fallen back, leaving his face visible to the young Hylian.

He was a teenage boy, the same age as Link. His white skin was as pale as the snow, a sign that he was suffering from the freezing temperature. His raven black hair was tied up in a ponytail.

Upon seeing him, Link began to think. He could leave him there to die, thus ridding himself of the person who had been tracking him all across Hyrule. But the thought of it didn't feel right to Link. He wasn't another monster, he was a person. And he couldn't just leave him there to die.

He looked at the map on his Sheikah Slate. He was inside the Pikida Stonegrove. From the map's directions, if he headed southeast, he would arrive at a nearby stable.

"I can drop him off there and then teleport away before he tries to kill me. That will do. But first, I need to make sure he survives the trip."

He quickly dug Tanis out of the snow and dragged him out of the pile. From the looks of his clothing, it was clear that he had been using some form of potion to keep him warm, as the Yiga uniform did not seem like much in terms of protection from the cold. Link had to find a way to keep him warm.

He grabbed a wood bundle from his inventory and started a small campfire with some flint, before laying Tanis down beside it. He saw the wound on the clan member's side, as well as the injuries he had received from the avalanche. Those would not heal that quickly.

Link pulled out the bottle of fairy tonic he had been keeping. Knowing that it would save the young man's life, he opened his mouth and poured the potion in. The young Hylian watched as his wounds began to heal.

After a few moments of waiting, Tanis finally began to wake up. His eyelids fluttered open, revealing his light brown eyes.

"Argh..."

He raised his head, surprised to see a fire in front of him, warming him up. He stumbled to his feet, looking around. It was then that he realized that he was not alone, as he saw Link, sitting in front of the fire.

"YAAH!!"

The warrior quickly drew his sickle as he went in to attack. Link quickly reacted, grabbing his wrist and stopping him in his tracks.

"You shouldn't try to move so much right now, you're still weak. Take some time to rest." Link said blankly.

"What are you doing? Answer me!" Tanis yelled.

"I found you unconscious in the snow. I brought you over to the fire to warm you up and I helped heal your wounds."

"Oh I see how it is, you want to persuade me into sparing your life? Well it won't work! I will-"

"You will not survive without my aid." Link said bluntly, "I can lead out of this place to safety, but only if we cooperate together and cease hostilities. Once this is over, you can return to being my enemy, but for now, we must work together to survive."