The last scene is foreboding. I wonder what's gonna be!

This story starts strong, Link vs Ganondorf is always a treat!

But poor Midna. Looks like the quest is not over yet...

I’ve been reading and rereading this story for thirteen years, and I’m not tired of it yet. The Silent Kingdom grew up with me, and I’ve read it in waiting rooms, on buses and planes, in different countries. Thanks so much for these characters and this beautiful world, Freedan. Hoping to see a White Mask update soon!

i know this has been completed before tears of the kingdom, but when ganon said more than the tri force, my mind went to the secret stones...

I've been here many a time over the past decade and maybe even a bit longer than that, and I will be here many more to come. This remains one of my all-time favourite pieces of writing and I am so glad I can still come back to it at the click of a mouse.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing it with the wider world. Please imagine it as a well loved, much dog eared book I keep on my shelf 3

All these years later I still can't understand how someone can just take 100 chapters of build up and throw it in the trash while thinking it's the best decision. It doesn't make even a little bit of sense that Link and Midna would willingly separate AND just see other people after everything that happened. It not only doesn't make sense but seems like spitting in the face of your audience, like "oh you wanted a smoothie? Here's some liquid shit instead, bon Appétit.". I'll never understand writers in general making things in stories even more depressing and confusing than real life already is while swearing its profound.

I just wanted to say that this fanfic has been one of my most favourite to return to again and again for...gosh it must be over a decade now! I think I was a teenager when I started and I keep coming back like a moth to a flame. (no complaints here!)

Thank you, thank you THANK YOU for writing this and being here all this time and continuing the story like you have. It continues to delight me, no matter how many times I read and re-read it! 3

Just a note: to say that there isn't a thing not frozen. I say BS. Anything flying at the time would be unfrozen. Granted, all the animals would starve, but still. You established the rule, follow them. Great writing other than that.

Awesome!

Well, it has been quite a long time since I've actually read through something that long, granted, I will say I cheated a bit in some spots since they generally went over things that were already explained in various points of the story. I wouldn't call myself a diehard Zelda fan by any stretch, but I always did enjoy Twilight Princess and the characters involved, so I'd figured I'd give this one a shot. I'm writing my review after the "end" of the Silent Kingdom story, as I gathered in my mind what I felt was gonna happen afterwards, and once going a couple thousand words into the Wrath of Cain bits - I was unfortunately right. Either way, I greatly commend you for being able to put this kind of work into writing. Pretty mind boggling that you have the capability to throw it all out there and stay committed to this massive project.

All that being said, I don't plan on reading anything that is cannon beyond this point, I suppose, as like several others, my main draw to this story was the relationship between Link and Midna. I do unfortunately have to agree with some of the other reviews I noticed that pointed out the rather poor structure and growth of Midna's character throughout the narrative, and while she did have good moments, it did seem that after all had transpired the general plan was to give the majority of the significant development to Zelda, Gannondorf and the other OC characters. Nothing wrong with that for sure, as you did a fantastic job bringing the many characters to life and explaining backstory and character experiences/growth, though sometimes it would go overboard in massive walls of text.

All said and done, this is a fanfiction, and a highly exceptional one, mainly based on the world and mythology you did build around the characters as a whole. I do feel Midna wasn't the only character to suffer, however, as Alexander also seemed to get "nerfed" down quite a bit the longer the story went on. When he was first introduced, I got the feeling he was meant to be an antihero/rival for Link's character and eventual ally that could meet him on his level within reason, and for the most part that did occur, but as it went on he pretty much devolved into a comic relief side character that I couldn't take very seriously anymore. Still had his moments and I do enjoy the relationship growth between him and Sil, but still felt quite a bit jangled with his arc. I also feel Minerva didn't quite experience the development she might have deserved. I unfortunately didn't feel much after her death with such a brief amount of pagetime.

Of course, the hot brand topic for some, haha and I'd be lying if I said it wasn't mine either, but the way you concluded the relationship between Link and Midna was just really ... well, for lack of a better description, was a kick in the nuts. I honestly sat and had to take it in for a good 10-15 minutes and think about it and how it didn't make much sense in my mind. Naturally, most go into stories tagged with certain characters and expect relationships between them to generally hold true, but I also felt something was brewing the moment the "love triangle" with Kili was introduced, and even before that, I felt Kili didn't really have another character in the story that she could possibly be with, so by default, she had to be in there for "spoiling" reasons. Don't get me wrong, her development is fantastic and I did enjoy the character, but I was pretty much praying 100 chapters in that it wouldn't be going there. I do understand that in your mind for the character of Midna she couldn't "logically" stay due to Zelda's character arc, but I think this could have been better spread over the bulk of the story instead of having Midna essentially seem "All In" from the very start, and experience events and moments between her and Link that would only deepen that resolve. I never once got the feeling she would want to leave Link, even while asking herself if she could leave her people. Maybe this could have been solved with a bit more backstory involving her character ... or perhaps getting perspective from the Twilight Realm while she was missing.

During most of the story, a good 130 chapters or whatnot, it is pretty much inferred that Link and Midna share a deep soul bond, that beyond any doubt, would never be broken - come hell or high water. Well, that did happen in the story, they banished this great evil, something that caused him to literally fight through a hellscape world and risk his sanity and natural body to save the one he cared about. Now, while Midna's development is a bit stunted in this process, Link's was fantastic, and I truly got the feeling of what he felt for her that drove him to go to such desperate lengths. After all this was over and experienced, she concludes that none if really mattered by virtue of having to live up to the image others around her have set. I don't fully think this was the logical choice based on their actions over the length of the story, I simply sat there saying to myself: "So ... what was the point then?". At least in terms of the dynamic between Link and Midna.

In the end, it's your story and you made the choices within it based completely on your own views on how the characters would feel and act, so you did what you felt made sense for your world. I certainly respect that, but once more, I can only feel that her overall character and motivations were spurned in favor of most of the OC's and fellow prime characters. Perhaps that was the way it was planned from the very start. You seem like the type that would have all these things organized in some manner and laid out, but I really just couldn't enjoy this ending by virtue of everyone pretty much getting what they desired ... except for Link and Midna haha, the two prime characters tagged and generally pushed for the entire story and in ways that make you think "it's safe". Even the final scene that essentially was them abandoning this bond was practically a footnote in terms of length and time. You did say you liked the bittersweet endings, but I really only feel it's bittersweet and or disappointing for those in favor of that particular relationship. The way Kili was pushed makes me feel safe in assuming that Link will end up having a happy ending of some kind beyond the original conclusion of the story ... though it would be painful for me to see.

Character relationships and choices aside, editing was a pretty common issue, but that's to be expected in something this massive, and I'm sure others have pointed it out plenty and it's just something you're clearly comfortable with in your writing style. While I have to say I'm disappointed with how it ended, your talent is very noticeable when it comes to painting a picture and displaying character moments, it was a pleasure to read quite a few scenes involving the interactions between heavy hitting perspectives. If I had to give an award to my favorite characters it would likely go to Roxim and Ralthas, with honorable mention to all the Ninja characters. Was also fun to see how many different pop culture references you dropped in many big moments. Keep writing for sure and best of luck on your future stories. I'll simply have to envision an alternate reality of my own for how the ending fit my mind's eye. Best of luck!

I actually prefer your timeline to Nintendo's official one, which has left me with the impression that the official timeline will be revised. I never liked Four Swords Adventures occurring when it did. Not to mention that references made in BOTW suggest a single, Unified timeline that never split, although I have always been left with the impression that Twilight Princess only happened a few generations after OoT, although you have explained why the Temple of Time 'moved' so far from Hyrule Castle Town. I imagine that moving Skull Kid, or at least an enchanted forest that may be created by Deku Saplings, is easier than moving the temple. So good job, normal timeline theories induce headaches, but yours works!

Make an AU with Link joining Midna in the Twilight :C

I have yet to read another story as good as this one. it beats a lot of real books. I wish this was a printed original book though...

nooooo, dont let Alex die, he was such a good person, please, I'm scared to go on now...

Loved this story.

The ending... did nobody really NOT check to make sure a sorcerer with centuries (millennia?) of experience was actually dead? LOL! I hope you make a sequel just for the reaction... Really great story.