Link (umbral_persona) is a later, alternate reality reincarnation of the OTHER Link who happens to be taller and has issues with turning into a dire wolf when exposed to Darkness. So far, he's shown signs of being a bit of an emotard, albeit a well-spoken one. Luckily, Midna makes up for it.

Link claims that he is sixteen but his mental and spiritual age is uncertain, since he doesn't talk like a sixteen year old or think like one. He is deeply interested in Link (The Hero of Time)'s stories and thinks he must have had more fun back when they were the same person. (He's still dealing with the fact that's he a reincarnation and feels that maybe he isn't allowed to exist on his own terms. In other words: ANGST)

Understand? Awesome, explain it to me.

History In-Depth (no big spoilers)

Link is a stable creature until the subject of his reincarnation comes up. When asked about his past, Link snarls and tells you that it is not your place to know such things of him. In his opinion, as a mere human, you are lucky enough to have encountered him at all and further inquiries beyond this initial boon will only serve to tempt the fates. Despite his obstinate nature, there is a hint that his present circumstance is not all that favorable, and his willingness to join with you contradicts his supposed distaste for the company of others.

Link’s personal history is a long and confused one with no definite beginning and certainly no end.

As far as most scholars can tell it all started when the Triple Goddess of Hyrule manifested its power into an ethereal object known as the Triforce, which marked the entrance to the Sacred Realm.

Link, a young Hylian raised by Kokiri (a race of child-like wood elves) during the Time of Troubles, answered the call of destiny and fought his way across Hyrule to obtain the shard of the Triforce called the Triforce of Courage, that is, the manifestation of the will of the Goddess Farore. Link used Farore’s power to conquer a tusked sorcerer named Ganon and rescue Zelda, the Hylian princess who carried Nayru's Triforce of Wisdom. He also used a magical artifact; the Ocarina of Time, in his quest.

The Triforce and the Ocarina somehow then trapped Hyrule in an endless cycle of Death and Rebirth. The Goddesses seemed to intend for this to happen, as if it were a safeguard against some greater evil only they could sense. Perhaps the same evil that now plagues the world from some far off place.

Due to the Cyclical Mythos of Hyrule there are, then, two Links: Link the Anima (The Hero of Time) and Link the Persona. Link the Anima is the will of Farore, working through the Triforce of Courage. It is born again in each new Cycle but the new lifeform has only the consciousness of Link the Persona. The Persona varies physically (and, often, psychologically) in each cycle but ends up being mostly identical to the original Hero of Time, after all past memories are restored and the two forces are sealed into a single entity. Some Personae take longer to awaken than others and some never recover all of their memory but are able to fulfill their destiny nevertheless. Sadly, the Personae also have short lifespans, seldom living past their teenage years.

The Personae are the changeable aspect of the entity called "Link" while the Anima is the undying aspect. Every new Link is truly the Anima beneath their skin. Since the powers fuse upon death, the Anima reincarnates with its previous memories as a part of it. This is why each incarnation of Link has brought some new weapon into the Hero of Time's arsenal.

This time, Link the Anima was born into the son of a shepherd. This Persona grew up tending flocks in Ordon, a village that lay beyond the Sea of Olives and the border of the Holy Hylian Kingdom. It was a quiet, peaceful existence with nothing more than a neighborhood bully to be worth worrying about. His tasks were usually waking up early, feeding the farm animals and occasionally playing minor roles in various seasonal and holiday festivities. His favorite thing to do was ignite the fires for Beal-tine, the Festival of Light.

When he was born, the Persona was named "Ya-Nsia" the Sixth Child. Some wandering prophets came by the village with a collection of relics and laid them out before the village boys. Each child, most of them little more than infants, went through a series of trials; picking objects from the sheepskin blanket. Ya-Nsia picked those relics that had belonged to the Hero of Time, proving him, to the prophets at least, to be the next incarnation of that hero. That was when his name was changed to Link.

Growing up, Link thought little of his name, since he had always assumed he was merely named after the Legend and not forit.

This notion ended on his sixteenth birthday when he woke up and discovered the fiercely glowing Triforce of Courage on the back of his left hand. His Awakening had begun.

It was, all in all, a rather fitful day. A festival was approaching and everyone was in a general uproar. Link spent the day entertaining the village children by demonstrating his sword techniques but it all came crashing down when he was sent into Hyrule Kingdom as a representative of his village for Beal-tine. A shadowed monster on a giant Dire Boar ran off with one of Link's friends and its lackies took various villagers prisoner. Link chased after the creature, of course, but the whole fiasco proved to be only the beginning of a long, arduous journey.

In the Community

Link volunteered to collect Heartless for Ansem in exchange for a bigger wallet. Apparently he's used to missions like this. It was a good way to meet people, though.

Link likes

• Link (The Hero of Time)
• Midna
• Ichigo

He's still forming opinions on everyone else.

QUOTES

Link: Every time I wake up belly-down on the hot flagstones outside Hyrule Castle with a craving for goats I think of you, Midna, honest.

Link: My earliest memory is myself holding a sword and watching some terrible being tumble away into a sealed existence, the Triforce burning overhead. This first memory is dark and fireshot. The memory is not mine. You could say that it is less a memory than a dream of the past, something in the blood, something recalled from him, it may be, when he still bore me inside his body. I believe such things are possible. So it seems only right that I should come and seek he who was before me and who will be after I am gone.