Link (ACO)

Raised by his uncle Zeke, Link was taught how to fight with a sword and fend for himself in the streets of Southern District before he learned how to write. Until the age of thirteen, Link had been told that his parents had been killed in an incident involving non-humans early on in his childhood.

Zeke eventually took ill shortly after Link turned thirteen, but before he died he confessed to Link the lies he had been feeding him in regards to the circumstances of his parents’ deaths. Non-humans had not been involved at all - in fact, his mother had died in childbirth after his father had died fighting to defend the oppressed from New Hyrule’s military forces. After his uncle’s death, Link spent some weeks alone in the streets before being adopted by Talon. He then spent the next few years working on the ranch in the Eastern District.

As he has grown older, Link has garnered a rather colourful reputation as a small-time criminal involved in riots and street brawls. His friendship with Talon’s daughter Malon evolved over the years into a romantic relationship, both a source of joy and a source of pain for Link as he struggles to stay out of trouble.

Appearance
Link has dark blonde hair and usually looks as if he's just rolled out of bed, which given the fact that he doesn't make a habit of combing his hair is usually the case. Link is able to grow a beard but chooses not to; if he did, his facial hair would be quite a bit darker, closer to brown. His eyes are blue flecked with green, although this is not immediately obvious.

Citizens comment that Link is a reasonably handsome young man, though admittedly he does look a bit rough around the edges. The first riot left him with a long, jagged scar along his left temple, although he manages to conceal this with his hair. As a result of breaking his nose once or twice, while it still mostly retains its long, pointed hook of a shape, there's a slight twist to it and a small bump in the bridge of it. He's got a tiny scar by his bottom lip from some childhood incident. he no longer remembers clearly.

Heritage
Link is the only living son of Clarissa St. John Smythe, a noblewoman originating from the Northern District, and Peter Gallagher, a lowborn knight of the Eastern District. Clarissa was childish in a sense, and while she was careful not to let anyone find out about the affair that began with her knight, she did not anticipate the repercussions of it. When she became pregnant, she was disowned by her family and cast out into the streets. The St. John Smythe family was sure to tarnish Peter's reputation as well, and his knighthood was stripped from him. The two went to live with Peter's brother Zeke, who had been training to become a knight before being too badly injured to continue. Things were going swimmingly until there was a riot amongst the non-humans. Eager to help them in their conquest to uproot the Hylian government, Peter went out and got himself killed. In her grief, Clarissa found herself unable to carry on, and died giving birth to her only son. Clarissa's dying words were her son's name - "Link" - and a plea to protect him.

Early Life
Zeke raised Link until the boy was thirteen, at which point Zeke took ill and died. To keep Link safe, unsure that his child's mind could understand the magnitude of the shame Clarissa had brought to her family and the depth of Peter's betrayal by helping the non-humans, Zeke had demonized the boy's parents in the hopes that he would not ask questions. It worked, but Zeke could not take the truth to the grave, and was sure to tell Link everything before he passed away. Link was forced to live on the streets of Southern District. Because of his age, he was marked as being vulnerable by several others, causing them to take him under their wing. Later on in life Link would discover that the friends he made during this time were prostitutes, drug addicts, and criminals, but he has nothing but gratitude for those who took him in when he was most in need.

Talon Lovette, Zeke's long-time friend, eventually found Link living in the streets and took him under his wing. Link has lived on Talon's ranch with his daughter Malon ever since.