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utset Isle was only sparsely inhabited on the surface of the new world. The number of inhabitants who humbly lived there numbered only in the mid- to high teens. Most of the inhabitants actively engaged in barter with one another within the small, close-knit community, and such vices as greed, jealousy, and hatred never seemed to enter the minds of the people on the small pair of islands by the sheer-faced cliffs. Though their memories had been clouded by Nayru's magic so that recent history was merely a legend, it seemed that the events of rumored past hung more heftily upon the people there than all the others in the new land. A fear still clung to their souls, a fear of war and of battle, a fear of swords and of magic, a fear that still represented Ganondorf in all his dark ways though their memories of him was reduced to mere legend. Only one of the entire lot, a man named Orca, still believed in fighting not only as a hobby, but a way of life, and by and large, he was looked down upon by the remainder of the people living there with him despite him being one of the eldest of their number.

Farore's blessing, however, was only a seed of a blessing, one that took time to grow into something important and blossom. The blessing fell in the form of the first raindrop of a light rain, one that landed square upon the blonde hair of a boy named Link, named in honor of King Link the First, but though he had descended directly from Link and Zelda centuries ago, time had caused people to forget his precise lineage, and so it had been given only as an honorary naming. Life in the peaceful calm of Outset Isle was relaxing for the boy, yet it wasn't completely perfect. Link couldn't remember his parents at all, supposedly having been lost at sea when he was just six years of age, whereas the truth was that they had died in the heat of battle against Ganondorf's minions in the now-clouded, now-legendary war. He and Aryll, his younger sister by four years, lived with their aging grandmother Nadima. Neither Link nor Aryll lived particularly exceptional lives as they worked inside the home, played on the shores of the sea, and participated in the island's festivals.

One of the island's most important festivals was the Coming of Age ceremony. It had been a ritual that had been carried over from Hyrule and had been passed down generation after generation among the Outset Isle inhabitants, a ceremony that was created not only from the original Hero of Time's public defeat of the Gerudo sorceresses and rescue of the princess, but also his ascension into the realm of knights. Coming of age had, since those days, been taken very seriously; mothers and fathers alike would be very strict with their fifteen-year-olds as they approached their inevitable sixteenth birthday, hoping and praying to the goddesses that they would be filled with the strength, wisdom, and courage of the Hero of Time. The ceremony would include the giving of gifts to the one ascending into the ranks of adulthood, but most importantly, the new sixteen-year-old would be given a forest green tunic and cap to wear that day to commemorate the transition from childhood into adulthood that Link had made so long ago.

Upon the morning of Link's sixteenth birthday, Aryll, twelve years of age, sought out searching for Link. Link had not slept inside their home last night, and already Link's grandmother was calling for him to begin the festivities of the day. Aryll found him sleeping atop of the crow's nest at the end of the pier and quickly shook Link awake after stifling a few giggles. Link finally awoke from the shaking and his sister's urging voice, and after Aryll's wishing that he have a happy birthday, something Link had almost forgotten about, he blinked his eyes and yawned before climbing down to the wooden planks of the dock below. He ran home as quickly as he could, opening the door to his home to find his grandmother already waiting for him. With a smile upon her face, she wished Link a very happy birthday and then, from behind her back, she held out the ceremonial verdant tunic, sewn from her very needle. Link tried on the clothes, which seemed to have a very nice fit upon him, and then went outside to the others to receive his gifts.

From his sister, perhaps the most prized of the gifts which he received, she gave him the use of her telescope for one day. Aryll had always been fascinated by the sea and enjoyed simply staring through her telescope to look at islands on the far horizon. After the initial ceremonies and gift-giving, Link and Aryll dashed to the crow's nest to stare off in the distance. For the first time, Link was really able to let his attention soar into the great beyond, staring out into the sea to view the glimpses of things upon the horizon, for although he had used her telescope before, it had only been primarily to see something that Aryll had just seen on the horizon. However, after Aryll pointed his attention to the north, Link spied a pirate ship approaching Outset Isle, shooting cannonballs towards the sky whereupon a large bird was soaring through the distance. Link expanded the length of the tube to zoom further to see what appeared to be a teenage girl in the talons of the bird. He related what he saw to his sister when he saw a cannonball strike the bird, releasing the girl over the forest vale at the very top of the island.

Link's first reaction was to go find the dropped bounty in the woods up above. However, the people of the island had been terrified of the forests high up on the plateau ever since one of their own had disappeared within its green and brown walls after doing some exploration there. As a result, years ago, they had blocked off the entrance to the path above with thick reeds that were difficult to break without the use of a blade. Link knew that Orca might be willing to help him, not to mention that Orca hadn't yet given him his gift because of his self-proclaimed ostracism from the rest of the community; Link believed that perhaps he might be able to borrow one of his swords in order to more safely look for the girl. He entered Orca's house and explained to him the situation, and Orca nodded his assent. He merely looked to his armory of weapons and then selected a medium-length blade for Link, one that was light and would not require too much training yet effective in inflicting damage. He sheathed the sword in a scabbard and handed it to Link, entrusting it and the girl's safety into Link's hands.

After cutting through the thick reeds, Link climbed up the mountainside along the grass-covered, unbeaten path, crossing over the bridge into the forest, and while everyone in the village below looked upwards to see him enter, fear once again entered their hearts with the notion that Link would be the next one to disappear, and of all the days to do so on his coming of age. Link quickly found that monsters, who were very displeased with Link's arrival, had seeped their way into the forest above. They charged after the would-be rescuer and managed to nick him a few time with their spears as a result of Link's inexperience with a blade, but the monsters were generally unaware of tactics, and Link was able to adapt quickly to defeat their style of battle.

Link circled through the clearing, defeating all of the enemies within his wake, eventually coming upon the girl, whose descent had apparently be slowed and halted by her crashing into a tree and a lone branch holding her precariously above the ground. Link called to her up above, and the unconscious girl awoke with a start as she began struggling and aimlessly thrashing to get down, complaints about being being stuck in a tree being tossed around. Eventually, the limb snapped, and the girl fell the rest of the way to the ground, landing unceremoniously in a heap. The girl rose up to her feet, only to be greeted not only by Link but also one of the girl's crew, freshly come up from the boat to check upon the girl. After a brief introduction with the girl introducing herself as Tetra, a pirate of the high seas and about the same age as Link, the pirates decided to head to their ship, but upon leaving the forest haven, they arrived just in time to see the great bird pass by to snatch Aryll herself in its claws, for she too had come up the mountain pass to see the goings on within the trees. Link tried to run to save her from being taken up, but he was too late, and Tetra had to hold Link back from his attempted folly to go after the bird.

While Link was rather eager and determined to go after his sister, asking Tetra and her crew to help him find and rescue her, the pirates had other plans that they insisted were incompatible with his. They had no desire to have Link tag along with them on his mad quest and saw no reason for them to help him. However, fortunately for Link, one of the Rito happened to be in the area and overheard the conversation between Link and Tetra. With his help, along with the information that the bird that had captured Aryll had taken up its nest in the far northwest of the land upon a citadel known only as the Forsaken Fortress, Tetra finally relented and allowed Link to tag along with them. However, prior to their departure, Link had a few final goodbyes to say, and after Tetra mumbled a few somethings about keeping it quick, she gave him leave to prepare for leaving the island.

Word of Link's decision to pursue Aryll spread quickly through the tight community, following immediately at the heels of Aryll's kidnapping, and soon everyone was coming to him, wishing him tidings of luck and offering blessings to him that through this he would surely come of age just how the heroes of the past had, finding their courage in miraculous ways. However, Link soon made his way through the crowds to say a final farewell to his grandmother. He entered his house to see a saddened and somewhat panic-striken Nadima. She had already heard of her granddaughter's kidnapping and seemed to be worried sick, the creases upon her face seeming a little deeper than usual. However, somehow she knew of what would come of this; it was time for Link to find his destiny out on the open seas and to let him go explore the world in hopes that he would not only save Aryll but to become like the old Heroes of Time that the legends spoke of. She looked at her grandson once again in his tunic, green as the fields of grass, and gave him a hearty smile. "Link, I have waited a long time for this moment. Your parents..." she said, almost with a slight hesitation, "I know that you have already made them deeply proud of you. Go, destiny awaits you. Find your courage, Link. Be the beacon of hope for all of us..."

With those words, Link headed aboard the pirate ship and stood at the bow of the ship as it reared its way out of the small bay by the island. With a parting wave of farewell to the island's inhabitants, he looked upon his home one last time before embarking on a dangerous mission, one that Link didn't know if he would be coming back from. As he waved his farewells, Tetra merely smirked at the boy. "You'd better not let that emotion get to you in the Forsaken Fortress," she said rather bitterly. "Are you sure you want to go through with this? It's not too late."

Rather than dishearten Link, those words seemed only to embolden him. "You don't know how sure I am of this, Tetra. You don't know how sure..." was his reply. Tetra seemed to accept this and flashed him a rare smile before leaving him be. It would be a matter of hours before they reached the Forbidden Isle, and Link had to prepare himself once again to go into battle.