The Inventor's Curse

Summary

Over several decades after the conclusion of Spirit Tracks, New Hyrule developed more and more steam machines beyond the train, soon entering a steampunk era. While magic still existed, it was something only few could wield. The rest of the population was happy to use steam machines to aid them in their everyday tasks. Many took it upon themselves to become inventors, to sell their life-changing creations to make a living. One such inventor is our hero, the seventeen-year-old Link. Link is eager to share his greatest idea yet, the personal companion, Gagette. The inventors will gather soon in the upcoming pitch session to present their latest inventions, hoping to get funding from investors to make their dreams a reality. Link is certain that a kind noble he knows well, the gentleman by the name of Ganondorf, will be attending the pitch session. Having a positive past with this man, Link is sure he’ll receive worthwhile investment funds from him. However, things take a dark turn when the day of the pitch session comes and something terrible happens at the venue.

Ganondorf takes center stage all of the sudden, and reveals that his body has prosthetics made of steam machinery, a grotesque sight to all. A mechanical arm and eye. Cogs hanging loose, screws and springs uncovered, metal dented and scratched. Unleashing his anger and spite, he threatens to kill the inventors to claim revenge on what they did to him after that terrible accident blew off his left arm and blinded his left eye. Ganondorf claimed the inventors hadn’t saved him when they replaced his body parts with metal and clockwork, but had only cursed him. Now they must pay with their servitude, as Ganondorf plans to make every person in New Hyrule like him, a ‘monster’, a steam cyborg. He chains up the inventors and takes them in tow to devise his next scheme. Now, what about our hero, Link? Well, you know how much of a sleepyhead he is…  

Waking up late to find out that a disaster had occurred, Link realizes he’s the only inventor left in town. In addition, strange steam monsters have been appearing in the wilderness around New Hyrule, and the locals have been getting attacked, struggling to fend the monsters off. While running through town looking for answers, Link bumps into the princess, Zelda, who sees him as their last pillar of hope due to his experience with steam machines. He may have what it takes to fight off the monsters no ordinary swords can effectively combat, and could make use of various gizmos and gadgets. She tasks him with rescuing the imprisoned inventors, recovering their latest inventions along the way and using them as tools to aid in his quest. He’ll need to visit each region of New Hyrule, delve into dangerous dungeons, unlock the powers of the mighty Empyreal Steam Machines before Ganondorf can seize control of them, and take on the Cyborg King himself. Zelda also uses her magic to bring life to Link’s companion, Gagette, who provides essential assistance along the journey.

Full Intro

The sun cast golden beams of sunlight onto the bed of a young inventor, his blankets covering him. Yet once the golden beams inched their way to the boy’s face, he could not hope to sleep any longer with such a disturbance. With a grumble, he shifted and shuffled, until he was upright in bed, rubbing the sleepiness out of his eyes. With a great big yawn, he dazedly turned to his bedside clock. The hour hand pointed between ten and eleven, and the minute hand to nearly thirty. He blinked. “Oh no.”

In a quick series of movements, he dressed himself, stuffed some bread into his cheeks, and headed to his workshop. There he kept a small wagon. Inside sat an object obscured by a thick sheet, waiting to be unveiled. But now was not the time. I’m only half an hour late, he told himself. If I hurry on foot, I could still make it in time to present, even without the morning train.

Grasping the handle of the wagon firmly, he sprinted out the door, into the bright of day. Without a second thought, he rushed down the path, passing by houses, nearly bumping into his neighbours, and apologizing along the way. Then he noticed that shortly up the path, warning signs were raised at the train station, signalling the arrival of a train. He skidded to a stop before the train tracks. Huh, the train doesn’t usually come around here again until the evening. What’s going on?

It wasn’t until now that he finally had the chance to properly look around him. People were huddled together in small groups, waiting for loved ones to return from the train that had just arrived, swiftly accepting them back into their homes and closing their doors.

“Oh, Link… you haven’t heard, have you?” a worried voice called from behind the hasty inventor. “A horrible, horrible man showed up at the pitch session. Rumours say he was hideous to look at, having parts of his body replaced with machinery. We heard tales of kidnapping, and violence. Monsters, even. You shouldn’t stay outside. Go back home where it’s safe.”

Link turned to face the woman who spoke to him. He could see the genuine fear in her eyes before she stepped backward to the safety of her own home. He wanted to ask questions, but realized she wouldn’t have any more information to tell him. If he wanted to find out what happened, he’d have to go investigate himself.

This project means everything to me. If I don’t get funding, I might as well starve. Life as an inventor isn’t as peachy as everyone thinks it is, you know… Thoughts ran through Link’s mind as he pressed onwards, dragging his wagon along still. The path he walked seemed mostly normal so far. Plenty of homes kept their self-operating lawnmowers running. Their machines hung laundry on the clothesline for them, and took dry clothes off the end of the line. And for the few richest households, vehicles were left parked on their driveways. All inventions Link had once seen in the many pitch sessions he had attended before. Now it was his chance to shine once again. Or, well, it would have been, if it wasn’t true that something… happened. He continued on, periodically glancing at his pocket watch to check the time.

As Link neared the center of town, that’s when he began noticing things amiss. He heard faint noises in the distance. The sound of metal clashing against metal, and screams of pain. That can’t be good. The inventor followed the sound, but soon found himself overwhelmed with exhaustion. It wasn’t easy hauling a wagon around so long in a sprint.

But he could now see, off in the distance, a group of terrified civilians, haphazardly swiping their swords at something, a wretched beast made of both flesh and metal. It had the tentacles of an Octorok, but its mouth was a metallic barrel, and it shot some kind of energy blast at one of the civilians, knocking them down and leaving them singed. The others kept batting at it with swords, but to no avail, as they simply bounced off the thing’s protective metal plating. After a bit more struggling, they managed to kick it hard enough to flip it over, immobilizing it as it couldn’t get back up, and began dragging their collapsed friend away.

Link could only watch, horrified, having no energy left to move. Then, all of the sudden, he saw someone approaching in the corner of his eye. When he turned to look, he was surprised to see that of all people, it was the princess of New Hyrule herself, Zelda. She looked resplendent in her regal attire; perhaps she did not have the time to change into more comfortable clothes.

“Princess? What are you doing out here? It isn’t safe!” Link cried.

“I could ask you the very same thing,” the princess replied. “When I heard the news that Ganondorf had turned on us all and captured all the inventors at this morning’s pitch session, I had to come looking for you, Link. You were always a bit… late, from what my investors have told me. No offense.”

Dumbfounded as he tried to absorb the information, Link stared. “Looking for… me?”

“You’re the last inventor we have now, Link,” Zelda clarified, clasping her hands together as if to pray. “I must ask you to do a grand favour for my people, the people of New Hyrule. It is something only you can do.”

“Are you sure you’ve got the right guy? I-I mean, I’m never the one getting the loudest applauses at those sessions, I’m just small-time, a-and—”

“Yes,” Zelda interrupted. “I know this is sudden, and you may not feel ready yet. But I can sense a great evil developing in that man, that Ganondorf. And we need an inventor—someone with your skills with steam machines. You must wield your gadgets, traverse the four corners of our land, free the imprisoned inventors, and unlock the Empyreal Steam Machines. Their power will aid you in taking down Ganondorf and saving our kingdom.”

Link’s jaw dropped. Is this really happening right now? The princess is asking me to go on a quest to—to save the whole WORLD?!

“I can offer you my aid in any way I can. I must stay behind to run the kingdom, but I can send you funding for your inventions and other necessary crafting. And I can lend you some of my magic. Say…” Zelda turned her gaze to the object hidden under the sheet in the wagon. “What’s under there?”

“Oh, this?” Link carefully lifted the sheet off, revealing a small steam robot. It had the appearance of a spry little girl, fit with a bright smile. “She’s my latest invention. I call her ‘Gagette’. You know, like ‘gadget’, but with a fancy accent.” He chuckled to himself. “She’s a personal assistant. I could turn her on and show you how she works…”

“Actually, I have a better idea. Give me a moment.” Zelda closed her eyes, holding her hands out, channeling her magic through them.

Link watched in awe, seeing her arms begin to glow and sparkle, and the threads of magic soon left her arms and found their way into his robotic assistant. To Link’s surprise, Gagette began to turn on, on her own, lights flickering into existence, joints moving, neck twisting as she took in her surroundings. She promptly turned to her creator. “Greetings, Master Link! Personal assistant Gagette, at your service,” she said, taking a bow.

“Wait, I never programmed you to say that!” Link remarked, surprised.

“Indeed, thanks to Princess Zelda. With her magic, I’ve now come to life.” She then turned to the princess, bowing to her as well, in gratitude.

“You’re very welcome,” Zelda replied with a tender smile. “That magic should help her run indefinitely without needing fuel like normal steam machines. And with a mind of her own, she’s certain to be even more helpful to you as a companion. I’ll give you one more gift before you go.” From her purse, she pulled out a small wallet. “This has five silver rupees. I trust you’ll spend it well.”

Link’s eyes widened as he brought his hands forward to accept the gift delicately. “Th-Thank you…”

“Now,” Zelda began, “The first place you’ll need to go is to your local mechanic’s parts shop. Get the parts you need to make some weapons. You’ll probably want to get a pickaxe as well for mining—I don’t imagine many people will be doing it themselves in times like this, so we’re bound to run out of raw materials soon enough. 

“You can come to the workshop in the castle when you’re ready; we have advanced tools for building machines here you can make use of to prepare yourself for the quest ahead. We also have researchers looking into these new monsters’ weaknesses, so they may be able to help inspire you on what kinds of machines to make to fight against them. I’ve done a fair bit of research myself as well, which I’ll be happy to share with you when we meet again. Well, I’ll be seeing you.” And with that, the princess waved Link goodbye, turning around to leave the way she came.

This was the beginning of Link’s quest to quell New Hyrule of the Inventor’s Curse.

Characters

The Empyreal Steam Machines