10 replies to this topic

[Wolf O'Donnell]

Now, I was thinking of doing a Legend of Zelda fanfic where magic is cast through singing. As Ocarina of Time (and by extension, Majora's Mask), Wind Waker and Twilight Princess featured some musical elements, I thought it was a logical progression. I realise, of course, that Tales of the Abyss has already been there as has the Escaflowne movie, but I thought why not borrow the mechanic?

The only thing that's stumping me is how to begin.

There are two options available:

Should Link be a choir boy thrust into adventure because of his talent?
Should Link be an adult member of the Royal Guard?

Option 1 suggests the possbility that the hero, the fighter, the swordsman or swordswoman could be someone else.
Option 2 would suggest that Link goes out of his way to protect the choir boy or girl.

I was so stumped I consulted the I-Ching, which suggested I seek advice from you guys. Should have done that from the start.

[Masamune]

Well, if you were making this a game and not a fanfic, Option 2 would make more sense. Link isn't going to be singing, what with him being a fairly quiet sort of hero. So giving the singing over to an "NPC" would work better. All in all, it would fit thematically better with the Zelda series.

Just remember to make the NPC extremely annoying and tedious and we'll feel like we're in a real Zelda story while reading the fanfic.

[TheAvengerLever]

Option 1. Go.

[SnowsilverKat]

Gotta agree, option 1.

[Egann]

Music as a magic-casting mechanic makes sense, but I'll warn you; it is NOTORIOUSLY difficult to write music into prose. Tolkien is one of the legends of modern writing because he did it successfully...by treating it like poetry. It will probably work best for you if you write short, rhyming incantations no longer than three lines, and say it is sung to cast.

In any case, I just can't see Link being a choir boy. Legend of Zelda is very Deistic in its outlook, and basically temples are built and maintained to house powerful religious/ magical relics more than to maintain a relationship with or offering praise to the gods. The authority Link is always obeying is Royal, and the power he seeks is divine. That's the exact opposite of medieval Christianity and is radically different from every Western religion going as far back as the Greeks and the Druids.

Link being a royal guard member? Works OK. Not perfectly, but OK. Link follows Royal orders, but he obeys at such a distance he basically is doing his own thing. To put things in modern terms, Link is more of a contractor than an employee. Being in the royal guard puts Link on the bottom of a totem pole he's never really been a part of.

But he has been in a lot of contact with that totem pole. If you think a bit about your bio and how Link reacts to his circumstance, it could still work.

[Wolf O'Donnell]

Huh, at the moment, the community is as divided as I am.

Egann, I wasn't even going to include the verses, but you've brought up a valid point. I may have to think about it a bit more.

Edited by Wolf O'Donnell, 25 July 2012 - 01:27 PM.

[Showsni]

Both! Start with Link as a choir boy, then during some epic showdown his voice breaks. Losing the power of song, the castle is nearly overrun or whatever. Years later, Link is a somewhat bitter guard, knowing that once he was the most important boy in Hyrule, and now someone else has taken that role from him... Can he overcome his prejudices to protect the new singer? WIll the new singer face the same problem? Etc.

[SOAP]

Option 2 basically describes Skyward Sword. Sorta. Link gets knighted towards the end and Fi sings magical songs that empower your sword and allow you access to the Silent Realm. And she's technically not a she according to Nintendo so....

Hey there goes some ideas for your fanfic. Singing certian songs that allow Link access to a parallel world.

Oooh! And this idea just hit me. Make music outlawed in Hyrule for some reason. Maybe because Zelda was cursed by a song to eternal slumber or something like that that caused the King to banish music from the realm. The choir boy could be thrust into adventure because his singing attracts the attention of an underground resistance who are trying to bring music and life back to Hyrule. Maybe the choir boy's voice is the key to waking Zelda up?

I don't know. Maybe too cliche.

[Wolf O'Donnell]

Option 2 basically describes Skyward Sword. Sorta. Link gets knighted towards the end and Fi sings magical songs that empower your sword and allow you access to the Silent Realm. And she's technically not a she according to Nintendo so....

Hey there goes some ideas for your fanfic. Singing certian songs that allow Link access to a parallel world.

Oooh! And this idea just hit me. Make music outlawed in Hyrule for some reason. Maybe because Zelda was cursed by a song to eternal slumber or something like that that caused the King to banish music from the realm. The choir boy could be thrust into adventure because his singing attracts the attention of an underground resistance who are trying to bring music and life back to Hyrule. Maybe the choir boy's voice is the key to waking Zelda up?

I don't know. Maybe too cliche.

So, you're saying Option 1 because Option 2 is too much like Skyward Sword...

Geez, the forum is just as divided over this as I am. I'm going with Showsni's suggestion. Do both.

[SOAP]

Actually I'm saying Option 1 because of what Egann said about Link being more of a contractor than a royal guard. The closest Link has been to being the royal family's payroll would be Skyward Sword but Zelda wasn't a princess then and all she does is bless him as a knight as a goddess.

If Link were to do a personal protector role, it'd be something more akin to the Huntsman from Snowwhite. Some random guy who gets approached by the royal family to be a body guard for someone traveling through dangerous parts.

[Wolf O'Donnell]

Actually I'm saying Option 1 because of what Egann said about Link being more of a contractor than a royal guard. The closest Link has been to being the royal family's payroll would be Skyward Sword but Zelda wasn't a princess then and all she does is bless him as a knight as a goddess.

If Link were to do a personal protector role, it'd be something more akin to the Huntsman from Snowwhite. Some random guy who gets approached by the royal family to be a body guard for someone traveling through dangerous parts.

I only asked because you talked about nothing but Option 2 throughout your entire post. Your suggestions near the end were phrased in such a way that I genuinely thought you were giving Option 2 suggestions. Then you voted Option 1.

I like your suggestion though, but I'm a bit wary of doing something on that scale.

Oh by the way, I've overcome the lyrics problem by taking Psalm 18 and translating it into Latin. It more or less has everything I need.

Edited by Wolf O'Donnell, 28 July 2012 - 10:49 AM.