First of all, I want to say that SoH is an amazing work in overall. It is dramatic, serious, interesting, tragic and soulful. Sometimes bloody, frightening, maddening, mind-blowing. But sometimes funny, colorful, warm and with unpredictable twists and turns. This game has completely unpredictable, intriguing situations, but they all add up to one big, overall picture. Each story chapter intertwined into one incredible book that you read out. You empathize with the characters, you understand them, you laugh with them, you cry because of them and fight for them.
Sure, you can make your MC a bad, rude, bloodthirsty person. You can do bad things and not delve into other people's problems, but what hooked me personally in SoH… is the opportunity to be a real hero without a demonstrative label. I can't stand characters who literally boast about being kind, fair and helpful. It looks so pompous, unpleasant and lofty. As if you are nothing compared to the beacon of justice and law. When a "hero" like this talks, I want to roll my eyes. I love when person shows who they are through their actions, even if, at first glance, they seems most unreliable and immoral.
The main character, ronin, is precisely like that. They don't trust anyone, have a hard time opening up to others, hate themselves more than all their enemies hate them combined… and at the same time, they embody a true talented, wise hero (if you play this route, of course).
Take for example my ronin. Akio. A man who hates himself, carries the weight of responsibility, guilt and a painful past on his shoulders, pushes people away… is incredibly caring, protective and conscientious. At first glance, just a drunkard mercenary, but in fact, a man with a heart of gold. Sometimes sharp-tongued, sometimes straightforward and stubborn. He often hides the truth to protect others and always suffers from some inadequate inner instinct of self-sacrifice for the sake of others. He doesn't think about risks, he just helps. It's in his nature. He doesn't believe in his own importance, but people are drawn to him. He fights, doesn't give up, shows strength, resilience, and will. To put it simply, at the beginning of the journey he is a real mess. He suffers from an innate sense of justice, bleeding heart, self-loathing, and men in love with him. He come an incredibly long way from a dirty dog to a man ready to learn self-forgiveness.
In this wonderful art, drawn by @tokiko220, I tried to show the connection between the past and the present. The way my ronin has changed from first book to the last one. How he looked at the beginning of the journey and where he is now. As you can see the "past" ronin have dark blood under his feet, and the "current" ronin stands on clear water. Streams of blood and water collide, mixing and like a river stream, flow away. The symbolism is that the past and present are inseparable, but now the ronin himself chooses whether the river will be clean or bloody.
I like that the ronin is not a permanently invulnerable hero. He can lose, he can grieve, he can see the consequences of his decisions. He may be in a complete despair, on the very edge. He can be weak, he can be scared. He can be human.
Plus, honestly, it's so funny that MC doesn't believe that someone can love, care and desire them, but most of the characters (both main and secondary) adore ronin with a variety of feelings.
Well, also, this applies only to my personal walkthrough, but after a long time my Akio become calmer, more graceful, more elegant and more wise, as if a real experienced sensei. But despite all his strength, incredible martial talents, leadership, he still revains sensitive and needy of love. I don't know if this could be called as a certain trope, but I absolutely adore when a strong, skilled, fearsome hero becomes soft, gentle and becomes vulnerable/open onlу with the loved one.
To put it simply, I never get tired of taking screenshots of favorite moments and admiring this rare, thoughtful story. The text is well-written, colorful and easy to read. You can understand how subtle the author feels his work, how much attention was put into the details, how much information been studied for the authenticity. The descriptions are captivating, the emotions are touching, the battles excites imagination and every character you met, carries something that you will remember. In your head every word transforms into a breathtaking series (or anime).
The story has exactly what lacks so much sometimes — a real, sincere, selfless kindness and the opportunity to make the world a better place. SoH can be very dark, expose baser aspects of human nature, frighten with real situations and fascinate with mythical mysteries. But among all this struggle and survival, I see a thrilling adventure full of inspiration, friendship and the desire to fight for good. SoH is about justice, about the desire to protect and learn, about hope in the darkness, about the strength born from love, care and protection.
SoH makes you think, feel, experience emotions, and only a great book has the power to do that.
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Though he wouldn't admit it to anyone, Link had spent most of the night playing foolishly with the sword, battling imaginary foes and breaking a few items in the process. It wasn't until he almost broke his laptop that he finally gave up with the idea that he'd ever be some hero with a sword and tossed it into his closet to be forgotten about. So when he found himself in his first period class the next morning, he was more tired than usual, and all he wanted to do was fall asleep in the back of the room. But as luck would have it, he would not be so fortunate.
Feeling a presence standing before him, Link lifted his head off his arms and looked up. There, in front of his desk, stood Zelda with her arms crossed. Clearly, she couldn't tell he was trying to take a nap.
“What?”
Her figure relaxed slightly, a wave of curiosity flashing across her face. “What did you do with the sword?” she asked.
He put his head back down on his arms and yawned. “It’s in my room.”
Zelda rolled her eyes and returned to her desk as Mipha approached. She glanced at Zelda before taking her seat beside Link.
“Copying her notes?” Mipha asked with a grin.
Link didn’t answer her. He straightened in his seat as the door opened and their teacher entered. She immediately began discussing the previous night's homework, and Link had quickly tuned her out as he usually did. He let his chin rest in his hand as he spaced out, staring blankly at the board, his thoughts wandering to the sword.
What was most peculiar about it was the familiarity he felt when he held it. The voice that called to him seemed to be one he had heard before, though of course that was impossible. The sword seemed to be an entity all on its own – as if a spirit lived inside of it, watching over it, luring Link to it. He felt a comfort being around the sword, as if he were in the presence of a friend.
He was so lost in thought that he hadn't even noticed the test that was passed out until the teacher came back around to collect the blank pages from him. He looked up at her sheepishly, meeting her disapproving gaze, and slouched pathetically when she told him to hang back after class. He caught Mipha's disapproving gaze as the teacher moved back to the front of the room and he rolled his eyes.
He tried to sneak out quickly at the sound of the bell, but Ms. Muller peered at him over her glasses and beckoned to him with a boney finger. He stepped away from the door like a guilty dog as the rest of the students filed out, leaving him alone to his inevitable death.
“I'm not going to sit here and lecture you, Link. I know you're better than this, and you know you're better than this. You may have been able to skate by with mediocre grades, but lately, you're not even doing that. You're failing, Link. At this rate, you won't even get to senior year.”
Link turned his gaze to the door. From the rectangular window, he could see Mipha on the other side, her arms crossed and her head shaking. He rolled his eyes and sighed again.
“I'll give you one last chance, Link. You can stay after school tomorrow, or come in during your lunch. Make up the test. Do some extra credit. Take advantage of this, because you won't get other chances in the future.”
Just enough time to get the answers from Mipha. “Thanks.” He hurried out of the room before she had a chance to lecture him further, breathing a sigh of relief when the door closed behind him.
“What the hell?” Mipha hissed at him.
“Get off my back,” he muttered.
“You're acting like a child. What's the matter with you? You spaced that entire test.”
Link gave her his best puppy-dog look. “Can I have your notes?”
“No!”
“Come on! I need to study for the make up!”
Mipha hesitated. “Are you ever going to take anything seriously?”
“Life's too short,” he said with a shrug.
Mipha narrowed her gaze on him. “Wrong answer.” She turned sharply on her heels, her red hair flying out behind her.
“Come on, Mipha,” he whined, but she ignored him as she disappeared in the crowd. Unwilling to chase her, he sighed and made his way to his locker. To his surprise, Zelda was there waiting for him, a wide grin on her face. Link eyed her suspiciously.
“What are you doing here?”
“I just wanted a chance to make fun of you.”
He spun the code to his locker quickly, opening the door and blocking her face from his view. “You've got some shit on your nose.”
“Too busy playing with your sword all night?” Zelda said, ignoring his comment.
Link shoved a textbook onto the messy shelf and grabbed the first notebook his hand landed on. He let the door swing shut and raised a brow to her. “No one else will.”
“Ugh! Really?” She rolled her eyes, turned her nose up at him, and left him alone at his locker. He scanned the crowd as students milled about, switching out books at their lockers and talking among one another. Through the windows, he could see his friends gathered in the courtyard between classes, but he didn't feel up for their interrogations.
Instead, he made his way to his next class, where he made a slight effort to stay awake. It was easier to do when he wasn't being forced to stare at math equations first thing in the morning, and even slightly more exciting when his chemistry teacher announced that they would be doing a lab. Link wasn't sure exactly what concoctions they were putting together, but the end result was cool enough to hold his interest. By third period, he was starting to grow hungry, and ignored most of the English lecture. What did he care about Romeo and Juliet, anyway?
At the sound of the bell, he found himself back at his locker, where he switched his notebook out for his lunch. Going against everything he had ever known, he made his way back to the empty math classroom to take the offered make-up test.
*****
Link trotted down the steps of the school with the rush of students eager for the end of the day. Mipha was not yet outside, and Link debated whether he should wait for her or not. He looked around, but his friends weren’t even gathered at the corner of the building like they usually did.
He shoved his hands in his jacket pockets and strode across the school’s lot towards the road. A few cars were lined against the sidewalk, waiting to pick up students. One of the cars was a black town car that Link immediately recognized. Typically, Dorian stood outside of it, waiting to pick up Zelda, but this time, an older woman stood outside, and she was staring at Link, her brows knit together. He immediately recognized Paya, one of the sophomores in his math class, standing beside the woman, and she, too, turned her gaze to Link. Her eyes were hesitant, almost worried, before she tore her eyes away from him and onto the ground. The old woman beckoned to him with a bony finger and Link hesitated. He looked around him for a moment, hoping she was talking to someone else, but seeing no one else moving towards the car, he hesitantly obeyed.
“Where is the sword?” the woman asked.
Link blinked at her. How did she know about the sword? He glanced at Paya, but found no answers, which was almost expected. He didn't think he had ever heard her talk once.
“At home,” Link said slowly. He turned his gaze back to the woman and raised a brow.
“Link,” Paya said quickly. “This is my grandmother, Impa. She is -”
“Sheikah,” Link said simply. They weren’t typically easy to recognize, but he knew most of the Sheikah in the city had connections to Zelda and her father, the city’s king. The only reason he knew of Dorian was because he was close with his father. He wasn’t the smartest student in the school, but he had enough common sense to put the pieces together. The town car bore the crest of Zelda’s family, so it only made sense that Impa was someone of importance.
Impa raised a brow at Link. “You’re smarter than you look,” she said. “Get in.”
Paya took the opportunity to slide into the passenger's seat as Impa walked around the car. Link watched Impa carefully.
“I, uh, actually have to -”
“I said get in,” Impa barked at him. “We’ll have you home soon enough.”
His parents always taught him not to get into a car with strangers, but he got in, anyway. If he were being honest, the old woman kind of scared him. But what harm could she do to him? She was Paya’s grandmother, after all. He didn’t know what she wanted with him, but maybe this was just her way of inviting him for cookies and milk. He could go for some homemade grandmother-styled cookies.
With a small shrug, he got into the backseat of the car. He leaned forward towards Paya. “This isn’t a trap, right?”
Paya blushed and giggled. “No,” she said softly. “Grandmother only wants the sword.”
“She’s not going to kill me, is she?”
Paya grinned and shrugged. “I can’t make any promises.”
Link sat back against the seat. Paya was never much for conversation, so it surprised him that she knew how to even make a joke. At least, he hoped she was joking.
“So,” Link started as the car pulled away from the school. “Where are you two taking me?”
“We’re just going to the shrine,” Paya informed him.
“I need some answers from you,” Impa said matter-of-factly.
“Answers? You couldn’t just ask nicely?”
“Our questions for your are classified,” she said. “Strictly confidential. I cannot risk our conversation being overheard by the wrong people.”
“The wrong people?” Link muttered. What the hell had he gotten himself into? When no one offered any further explanation, he crossed his arms and muttered to himself. “Guess I am being framed for murder.”
The ride felt much longer than it really was as they sat in an uncomfortable silence. Link kept his gaze out the window, fully aware of Impa's hard stares at him in the rearview mirror every few minutes. He watched as the traffic thinned and the streets narrowed as they made their way to the outer edges of the city.
The land rose and fell more freely and the streets weaved themselves along. If they drove any further, they would have left the city completely and found themselves in Hyrule's more rural countryside. And even further still, the road would take one into other cities and eventually, the coast. It was a long drive to the coast, and Link had only been a few times before, but this would not be one of those times.
Instead, the car turned onto a dirt road shaded by trees on either side. The road made its way up and around until they were on top of a small hill where the shrine sat, just out of view of the road. Link gazed upon the shrine in surprise, never knowing for a moment such a building existed. When the car stopped, he stepped out with Paya and Impa and followed them inside.
Zelda was already inside the shrine when they entered. She turned and automatically frowned when she saw Link. “You’re here, too?”
“Not by choice,” Link muttered. “Why are you here?”
Zelda sighed lightly, clearly irritated. “That’s a good question.”
Paya moved across the room and through the doorway into another room. Impa strode in behind her and motioned for Link and Zelda to follow her. They glanced at each other for a moment before following behind the elderly Sheikah woman into another room. This room was large and open. A variety of weapons and practice weapons were lined up against the far side of the room. Impa strode towards a bokken, picking it up and tossing it at Link.
Link fumbled with the bokken and promptly dropped it to the floor at his feet. Impa rolled her eyes at him as he picked it up and studied it. “What’s this for?”
“Training,” Impa said simply.
“Training?” Link raised a brow. He swung the bokken clumsily in front of him. “For what?”
“Stop that,” Impa hissed as he continued to swing – then promptly dropped – the practice weapon.
Paya entered with an old book in her arms. She made her way to Impa’s side, handing her the book carefully.
“The sword you found is the Master Sword,” Impa said in an almost bored tone as she opened the book and flipped through its pages. “It is a legendary sword that is over hundreds of thousands of years old created by our Goddess, Hylia. It is imbued with the power to vanquish all darkness and evil and is all that stands between Hyrule and our enemies.”
Zelda raised a brow. “Enemies?”
“Since the dawn of time, Hyrule has been cursed to repeat history, and it has become the responsibility of the Sheikah to prepare for the rise of our enemy, Ganondorf. It is he who holds the Triforce of Power which allows him to rise from Hylia’s seal time and time again. He seeks out the other two pieces of the Triforce, and if he obtains them, he will be granted absolute power and Hyrule will cease to exist as we know it.”
“The Triforce,” Zelda said thoughtfully. “That’s the symbol in our crest.”
Impa nodded. “The other two pieces, the Triforce of Wisdom and the Triforce of Courage, are said to be passed down through the ages. The descendant of Hylia is said to hold the Triforce of Wisdom, while the descendant of the great hero holds the Triforce of Courage.” Impa turned her gaze to Link. “Only the Chosen Hero – the one who possesses the Triforce of Courage – can pull the Master Sword from its pedestal and awaken the power that is inside of it.”
The bokken fell from Link’s hands and clattered loudly against the wood floor. He stared blankly at Impa for a moment before narrowing his gaze at her. “Excuse me?”
“It is your duty, Link, to save Hyrule from Ganondorf’s dark forces when he rises once more. It is only a matter of time before he does. That’s why the sword summoned you to the forest.”
Link laughed sharply and turned away. “Come on,” he said to Zelda. “Let’s get out of here.”
Zelda hesitated, her eyes moving from Link to Impa. “I think she’s serious,” Zelda said.
Link stood beside her and stared at her. “Are you kidding? You believe this bull shit?”
“Yes,” she said softly. “My mother always spoke of the legends. She always told me that we are descendants of Hylia. I never thought anything of it before…”
“Hylia’s power sleeps inside of you, Zelda,” Impa said. “That is why you could hear the voice from the sword, just as Link did.”
Link narrowed his gaze at Impa. “How do you know that?”
“I may have told her,” Paya said sheepishly. “Grandmother has been training me my whole life to carry on the duties of the Sheikah. When I heard you guys talking about a voice, I knew that that meant Ganondorf’s rise was imminent and that we must prepare for war.”
“The legends are real,” Impa said, passing the book to Link.
Link’s eyes scanned the pages of ancient Sheikah text, none of which he could understand. But there were various images through the pages. Images of the Triforce and the Master Sword. Images of a hero clad in green and a woman in white battling ferocious beasts. There were pictures of ancient technologies, ancient races that have long died out, and even old maps that depicted what Hyrule once looked like.
“It is the duty of the Sheikah to record history and to ensure that it is never forgotten the curse that Hyrule was put under. It is our duty to seek out and prepare the chosen heroes who must play their role in the oncoming war.”
Link closed the book and pushed it into Impa’s arms. “You have got to be kidding.”
Impa’s brows knit together fiercely. “Whether you like it or not, you have a duty to keep Hyrule from falling to Ganondorf. The Master Sword called for you and you responded. You must accept your responsibility in this war. I will train you to wield the sword to fight Ganondorf.” She turned her gaze to Zelda. “And I will help you awaken Hylia’s power that sleeps within you. Together, you must stop Ganondorf and bring peace to Hyrule.”
Link met Zelda’s gaze, hesitant, before turning back to Impa. He picked up the bokken and handed it to her. “I think you need to find yourself a new hero,” he said. He turned his back to her and left them alone in the shrine.
Zelda followed Link outside the shrine, jogging to keep up with him. “You can’t leave,” she hissed to him. “I need your help with this.”
“I can’t believe you’re buying this bull shit,” he snapped at her.
“This bull shit,” Zelda snarled, “is what I’ve been hearing my whole life.” She stopped walking and stared after Link. He hesitated and turned back to her as she continued. “I never knew it would happen in my lifetime, but I knew that I had to pass on the legends to my children, and my children to their children. It is the duty of the royal family as it is the Sheikah. That’s why we work so closely together. Whether you want to believe it or not, Link, it’s true. Ganondorf will rise, and it is our job to stop him. I cannot do it without you.”
Link studied her carefully as she spoke, still skeptical. Link had never seen her serious about anything besides school. For once, she didn’t sneer at him or roll her eyes at him. She looked concerned, but confident in her role. Ready to put her life on the line for some legend that was passed down through the ages.
A legend. And legends weren’t real.
But he had heard the voice. He had felt the power when he grasped the Master Sword. It was something he could not explain and would not have believed if it hadn’t happened to him.
He turned away from her. “Heroes don’t exist. Legends aren’t real.” He left her alone in front of the shrine and walked down the road, heading for home.
My MC Akio from Samurai of Hyuga (@samuraiofhyuga). He suffers from an innate sense of justice, bleeding heart, self-loathing, and men in love with him.
