NNWM Story: Hands Along the River

Goal

10,000 words about a team of ranch hands relaxing in the midday sun. The group of young Hylian men goof off and make bawdy jokes about each other and their romantic lives.

Overview

The warm sun shines down on a river bank as five young men get off of their horses. The horses drink while the lowing of cattle is heard nearby. One of the men takes off his boots, setting his feet in the cool stream. A smaller, more awkward man attempts the same but is pushed in, falling face first. The group laughs as the first man helps the other, both chuckling at this routine prank. These two men are brothers, while the other three are simply fellow hired hands.
The group relaxes along the bank, one fully in the water. They joke about the day, times gone past, and their bosses son. The son is slightly younger than them, but takes after their stubborn and unforgiving employer.
While the men laugh and talk, two figures ride up on horseback: The boss and his son. The five men are severely reprimanded while the younger man smiles. His father turns and praises him for his wisdom, informing him of the loafing around and tom foolery. The young man is Link Tafural and he has grand plans even at his age. He begins to point out the beautiful river to his father and how it's course is swift and true every season. Wouldn't it be a wonderful place to install a new grain mill for the town, one with a waterwheel?

Plot points/Scenes

Introducing Nature

The opening will hilight the natural beauty of the plains and forests of Southern Hyrule and should be fairly pastoral in its telling. The handful of ranch hands should be described using nature based comparisons, especially the carefree Obal who will suffer the most under the Tafural's "order".

Lives Beyond the Page

Each character should get time to bask in nature and bring up a measure of their life. Spouses, children, siblings, parents. At this point, if reading in order, the story should feel like a broader expansion of the previous Autumn Love. Each character is a "good" person and we should only feel the bare minimum of conflict in their lives. Things that are relatable and part of any readers day-to-day.

Themes

Chaos vs. Order

The ultimate thematic setup in this story is that natural chaos can be good, even healing, but is quite often controlled and infringed upon by tyrannical order. The appearance of a Link in a *Zelda* story who is willing to break others down to raise up himself should point to readers how desperate the current setting really is. A slow, dreadful feeling of anti-enviromentalisim should creep in as the longer Link is in a scene as he seems to control the natural world around him.

Parent Plot

NaNoWriMo Plot 2021

Related Characters

• Link Tafural

Related Organizations

• Tafural Family

Related Locations

• Haranuhi