Silent Winds

"We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented."
"In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
Finished with my adventures across endless seas, I sought to return home to my sister and grandmother. I felt fulfilled, and that my actions would keep the world at peace. One moonless night in my journey home, I docked at Windfall Island. I walked the narrow streets, breathed the sea air, and remembered the hours I had spent on the island. I had helped many people across the Great Sea and the time had come to rest. A cold wind blew through the town, and as I huddled against it, a brilliant flash of light seemed to break open the sky itself. Through the breach in the sky, I could see countless gaunt and pleading faces. One person approached the portal, and spoke to me.
"Hero, help us," he said in a tired, desperate voice.
I walked through the rift and it closed behind me. I was in an underground hall, with thousands of people staring at me. Every person had a hopeful, but unexpectant look on their face.
"Are you the Hero of Time?" asked the mage who had spoken before.
"I am the Hero of Winds," I replied, and the tension in the room gave way to silent disappointment.
"We are sorry to have brought you here," the mage said. The room began to empty.
"Wait, I can help," I said, "What do you need? Let me help!"
"We are beyond even the help of the gods," another mage said.
"What? No, they can still help you! Why do you need the Hero of Time?"
"Ganon is destroying our kingdom, and a black beast is ravaging the land. We have lost this war. Only a hero could save us now."
"I am a hero, but you reject my help," I said, and looked again at the saddened faces. "How many heroes have you summoned?"
"Too many. Hundreds, perhaps."
"Hundreds? You have been that dedicated to finding a hero? How much magic have you used? How long have you been trying? Why have you not been using this magic to end the war?"
"No hero has succeeded, and you will fail as well. We cannot leave this place. It is not safe. We would surely die."
"You will not fight? You will not speak against the evil that has plagued your land?"
"This war is beyond us. There is no more hope. We must stay silent and hidden if we wish to live."
"No! No, you do not know," I turned to address the entire room. "Hear me! I know what Ganon is capable of! I have defeated him before! If we do not act now, he will gather more power and will be truly beyond defeat. Let me lead you! I can help you win this war!"
But my words like silent raindrops fell, and echoed in the silent, empty hall. I ran to find where the people had gone, and as I ran, I came to realize that I was in a massive underground city. I found thousands of people gathered in another enormous room. They were bowed in prayer to a statue of a soldier carrying a battleaxe. 
I heard a voice echo through the room, and the voice said, "You are safe here. No harm will come to you. Remember the words of the prophets and the inevitable return of the Hero of Time. There is strength in silence."
I knew then that the people were lost. But the land was not. I would have to save this world myself, in spite of the people I was to rescue.
I turned to leave the room and faced a knight dressed in green. His face was covered by a helmet. Upon seeing me, he held a finger to his helmet to signal me to be silent. Then he beckoned me to follow.
He led me out of the underground city, to a waiting horse with a white mane. The horse's saddle bore the wingcrest of the Hyrule Royal Family. Doom filled my mind. I was in Hyrule before it fell.
The knight stroked the horse and seemed to speak to it, but I could not hear his voice. He turned to me and held out his hand. In it were a pair of red, flame-like earrings. I took them and stared at the knight.
"I know I cannot stop Hyrule from falling," I said, "but I cannot do this alone."
But the knight turned away.
"Please," I implored.
The knight looked to the ground and took a deep breath, but said nothing.
"Sir knight," I said, breaking the silence, "Are you a hero?"
The knight raised his head and looked into the distance. He turned to look at me and hesitated, then shook his head. He backed away, and held up his hands, a swirl of green magic appearing in them. He crossed his left hand behind his right, with the backs facing me. I noticed something odd on his right hand, but before I could recognize it, he was engulfed by a whirlwind of green magic and vanished. I felt a gust of air rush to where he once stood.
I looked to the sky and saw that it was black as pitch, with no stars shining through. I saw smoke rising from a mountain crowned by a swirling cloud. In the sky above, I saw the smoke clear for just a moment, and a faint star shined through from the forgotten sky. I picked that as my destination. Along the way, I would try to break the silence that plagued this doomed kingdom. I knew I could not stop its demise, but I could ease its suffering.
"Farore guide me," I whispered, climbed onto the horse left to me by the Green Knight, and began my final quest.
== Location ==
Silent Winds can be found in The Ruptured Towers - Crisis, in a chest accessible after defeating the boss of the dungeon.
== Notes ==
The opening quotes are by Elie Wiesel and Martin Luther King Jr.
Silent Winds establishes that the Hero of Winds was summoned after the events of Phantom Hourglass. It also establishes that Hylian mages summoned so many incarnations of Link that they lost count. The book serves as contrast to The First Hero, in which the mages are optimistic. In Silent Winds they seem to have given up, and the Hero of Winds may be the last hero they summoned.
It is possible that Silent Winds takes place in a Dwemer city.
The statue that the mages pray to may be that of Boethiah. Shrines have depicted Boethiah carrying a battleaxe. It is strange that Boethiah, as a lover of battle, would manipulate mages to hide instead of fight. Perhaps the Daedric Prince sought to continue the Last Great War of Hyrule by keeping the mages out of the conflict, or enjoyed watching incarnations of Link fight in the war.
The horse given to the Hero of Winds is likely Epona.
The red, flame-like earrings mentioned in the book are likely the Fireshield Earrings.
Silent Winds mentions the Green Knight, a mysterious paladin. The Green Knight seems to use Farore's Wind to vanish from the presence of the Hero of Winds. The action of the Green Knight crossing their hands is reminiscent of a similar action performed by Sheik in Ocarina of Time.
The Hero of Winds picks Death Mountain as his destination and reaches it in a companion book, All Things End.
== Background and Inspiration ==
Silent Winds was added with Crisis in version 6.5. It was added to explore the details of the Battle of a Thousand Heroes and to establish the Hero of Winds for Crisis and Rage and was originally in Rage, as the Earth Tower was planned to be first. Once the order of Crisis and Rage was reversed, the book was moved. 
Silent Winds essentially begins a trilogy with Last March of the Kokiri and All Things End.
Silent Winds references "Seven Days to the Wolves" by Nightwish as well as "The Sound of Silence" by Simon & Garfunkel. JKalenad had wanted to include "The Sound of Silence" as a poem in Relics of Hyrule, but decided that the lyrics were too modern to fit the setting. 
== See Also ==
Ruptured Towers - Crisis
Last March of the Kokiri
All Things End
Farore's Shrine
Category: Books
Category:Lore
Category:Relics of Hyrule Canon