Was she in the afterlife? Raven cautiously sat up to survey the room. She was on a platform surrounded by water. The room was a large dome. A voice startled her.

“Raven, this is the Sacred Realm.” It was Rauru who spoke.

Raven stood to face him, her eyes wide in wonder. Rauru was aged from when she knew him. He wore long white robes with gold trim and possessed a mystical air that she knew was within him, but never had experienced. His eyes were eerily calm. His voice was deep, his words confident. She stood frozen in awe as Rauru continued.

“Long ago, I made a promise to you. You were cursed by Garof and transformed into the form of a raven. For hundreds of years you searched for a way to be human again, and when you found it, the Hero of Time, he came to you to change your history. I promised to make you human again. I can do that, Raven.”

“I saw my future as Garof sent his curse toward me. My blade pierced my skin. I felt it rip through me,” Raven looked into his stilling eyes. “I’m dead, Rauru. I should be with my father, now.”

“No, Raven. The body of your curse was destroyed. Your human form can continue from where you were in the future. I can’t return you to your original time. You’re dead, there. There are loopholes in the Triforce, however. Ganondorf has known about them for years. That’s what makes him close to immortal. I didn’t expect it to turn out like this, but I can keep my promise.”

“…The future?” Raven tried to take in all of what Rauru told her. If she lived in the future, what would be left for her? What connections could she make? “What will become of Espergrai? Link? Sahmaraf?” Raven asked cautiously, her eyes darting about the room.

“I suppose I do owe you a bit of a history lesson,” Rauru smiled gently. “Link traveled safely back to the time I’m about to send you to. He believes that you are dead. If you ever meet with him again, he may recognize you. It’s up to you if you wish to see him.

"As for your horse, he became a wild inhabitant of Hyrule Field. No one could get near to him. He did sire quite a few foals, however. Many of his descendants live in Hyrule. Link’s horse, Epona, is one of them.

“Espergrai had a very interesting life in a fate quite similar to your own. The Hurali women nursed him back to health after he was captured. For a while he served as a leader for them, but Ganondorf grew up fast. He put a curse on Espergrai and turned him into a dragon, much like Garof’s curse upon you. He was lost in the Haunted Wasteland for hundreds of years.

"Eventually, he found his way to a temple, guarded by a Hurali woman. The women of that race had since become independent warriors, travelers of the desert with the Lens of Truth. Espergrai remembered the woman as Nabouru. With her help he made his way back to the village. Ganondorf was their leader.

“He and Nabouru someohw convinced Ganondorf that they could lead him to the Triforce. He claimed that you’d told him the key to this Realm, Raven; mentioned something about a song he could only sing if he were in human form. He nearly tricked Ganondorf into capture, but escaped with his life. The Hurali are known as the Gerudo, now. He’s there, Raven, in the time I’m sending you to. He lives in Kakariko Village.”

Raven took in Rauru’s words carefully. It was all a surreal fantasy. But as she stared into the gentle waters that surrounded her, she felt a disillusionment. A part of her was still very dead. Would she adapt to such a different world? She stood very still in contemplation.

A new start lay ahead of her. Nothing could be done about the past. Her father would have wanted her to move on. Whoever she was as a raven spent hundreds of years trying to accomplish it. Her eyes flickered up to Rauru’s, the shadows of the water dancing across them.

“Thank you, Rauru, for all you’ve done to help me,” she said softly. Her head felt clearer, unburdened. She thought of Espergrai and smiled gently. “Take me there.”

She stood, moving not a muscle. Her gaze was transfixed upon the fire, in utter awe and terror of its beauty and power. The orange flames reflected in her deep brown eyes, creating the illusion that they were dancing with that same flame. If one were to look into those eyes, they would have seen the dull twinkle as they followed first one licking flame with them, then jumped to another. She blinked regularly, slowly, lost in her reverie. The logs in the fireplace crackled and shifted at the fire ravaged them.

She mused that she would have to throw another log on soon. The other villagers stood or sat nearby, laughing and talking of things so strange and insane any Hyrulian would know immediately that this could only be Kakariko. The villagers were trying their best to ignore her, none of them dared approach her, for fear of... fear of what?

No one knew exactly, yet the desire and intent of evil that lurked in her transfixed stare was like a ten-decimetre force field keeping anyone from approaching her. Or, perhaps it was the look of utter concentration evident in her furrowed brow.

"Would you like to sit down, Raven?" a villager named Timberwolf asked her, offering a chair.

She looked at him briefly, quizzically, then shook her head slightly. Her gaze fixed once more upon the flames. Timberwolf saw her move her left hand toward the hilt of her sword, and feared that she might draw it upon him. It was a beautiful sword, he marveled. The hilt was plated with pure silver, a slight contrast to the pewter necklace and bracelets she wore. She had never told anyone about her sword, though she would. All in good time, her history would be revealed to them.

She was not reaching for her sword, though, but merely getting another log to throw upon the fire. She tossed it into the pile of wood and ash, sending small embers in every direction. Timberwolf’s eyes widened, alarmed that she might catch fire from the spray of embers.

Though Timberwolf had known her for over a year, he didn’t really feel as if he truly knew her. However, no one truly knew him, either; the town was full of secrecy. The girl had entered dressed as a warrior; it was evident that she’d fought many battles and been through hard times. Her clothing had been black, faded, yet it suited her nicely; still portrayed a simple elegance. Her black combat boots laced nearly to her knees.

Yet, soon after entering the village, she’d settled into a calm, quiet life with Espergrai. Their first meeting had been awkward for all of five minutes, after which they were inseparable. They’d been married a year after their reunion. Though they rarely spoke of the past, they were still very much connected by it.

She now wore a simple black skirt, and short black, sleeveless shirt. She also donned a long, tattered black cloak for the cold winter months. When the wind caught it, it looked as though giant black wings billowed behind her. She carried minimal weapons with her; usually only a staff. Sahs, her small grey horse, a descendant of Sahmaraf, never roamed far from her.

Her dark brown hair shone, the fire bringing out chestnut highlights. It was long, nearly to her waist. The same colour as her eyes, ever-staring at that magnificent fire. She was as she was meant to be in appearance, as she was before the death of her father.

Her thoughts wandered, back in time. She could almost imagine being perched by a fire to rest her weary wings as she listened to the stories of elders and sages. She rather missed those phantom wings; the ebony feathers that helped her to soar across Hyrule and beyond. Yet, her time as a raven had been misery for her. She was glad to be human once again.

She thought back even further, to her childhood in Sahaar. If only she could remember so long ago. She was known only as "Raven" to these villagers, as they were unaware she'd ever possessed any other name. But she had; she remembered her mother whispering to her as she slept, when she was no more than three.

“The doctors told me I could never bear a child… but I have... I won’t let anything separate us… never...” her mother would always say as she left the room, quietly shutting the door.

But that was over. Sahaar was no more, burned to nothing but a memory by the fire that Garof had set to it. Garof was dead. The girl somehow felt that he was the reason she could not leave the thought of her name, though, of the meaning. Was he the one who’d made her forget?

The fire comforted, terrified, entranced and intrigued her. And so she stood, not moving a muscle, no longer fueling the fire, but simply willing it to go out. She was not free of Garof, as he still had the one thing she cherished most, her identity. ...I won’t let anything separate us... she said softly to herself, struggling to remember, as the fire in front of her slowly became nothing but glowing embers, the eyes of Garof.

The other villagers had quieted all of them simply watching Raven’s expressionless face, as the embers played eerie shadows across it. They knew was facing some inner battle, yet they could never comprehend the magnitude of that moment in her life. Everyone kept a distance, almost afraid to approach her, but for Espergrai. He strode slowly to her, then wrapped his arms around her gently, mentally willing her to win whatever battle she was fighting. Raven’s gaze never left the embers; Espergrai couldn't tell if she was even aware of his presence. She was facing away from him, but he was almost certain he heard her utter, very softly, “Esper…”

Espergrai was the last of the strength that Raven needed. The embers died out completely, taking with them the memories of Garof that had haunted her so. They were the embers of her past life; it seemed, for suddenly she knew. Her name meant… not ever letting go... but... she’d just let go of- it came to her.

She stared into Esper’s eyes deeply, understandingly. As she closed her eyes and rested her head on Esper’s shoulder, a slight smile about her lips, she uttered softly, in unison with her long lost Espergrai:

“…Nevar.”

Nevar and Espergrai eventually left Kakariko Village in their own wanders, where they came across a small forest in the depths of the Lost Woods. Those who lived in the Lone Forest with her, including Timberwolf himself, knew Nevar as the Wanderess, and so that name she kept. Esper and Wanderess built an Inn for such free spirits as themselves who happened to come across the Forest.

Link continued his adventures as the Hero of Time. He fell in love with the Princess Zelda, though whether or not they married was never known. His thoughts of Raven faded over time.

Though years later as he galloped through Hyrule Field, lunging forward with Epona’s every powerful stride, he thought he heard the faint, minor tune of the song she sang to him so long ago. As the setting sun shimmered through Epona’s mane and across the lake in the distance, his gaze drifted across the landscape. As the pair flew through the tall grass, he swore he saw, just for a second, the small, splayed corpse of a raven lying in the last rays of light. He smiled.

Credits...