Author's notes: Hey all, welcome to my story. Legal shenanigans: I don't own any rights to any of the characters or setting in this work of fan fiction, please don't sue me because I'm fresh out of coins to fetch from between my couch seats to give you. I'm just writing this for my own enjoyment and because I've been playing way too much Hyrule Warriors: Legends recently. Go get the game, it's totally worth it. Also buy Warmachine because it's fun as hell.

I'm not going to claim for this fic to be any good, but if you read it and like it, reviews are always appreciated.

Chapter 1

Time was an important thing in Hyrule. Legends of heroes traversing it like a river, moving in-between future and past and present filled the books and scrolls of the scholars. Farmers depended on the seasons for their planting and harvest, merchants kept accurate track of their businesses by measuring the hours and minutes they paid their workers for. The natural rhythms of the days and nights were mathematically broken-down based on the movement of the heavens, and each hour's end was marked by the tolling of a bell in the Temple of Time.

The massive, clockwork-filled building was constantly humming with the dull roar of the furnaces below. The Goronite fire heating the water from the Black River had been burning for nearly a century straight, and the steam that billowed from the top of the chimney that ran through the clocktower turned so many gears and crankshafts and pulleys that multiple maintenance teams were required to specialize in keeping different sections running smoothly. Huge, oilskin-bound tomes full of blueprints had been locked away in the temple archives, and the pile of scrolls detailing improvements, replacements, corrections, and annotations seemed to grow more mountainous every day. As ancient as the imposing, white marble building was, and with its doors flung open for any citizen of Hyrule, it was considered to be one of the most important structures in the city.

Everything within the capital city of Caspia was set to the clarion tones of the temple bells. There was the Bell of Commons, the smallest, lightest-tone, and most often-rung bell that was used every hour. Then came the Bell of Lords, rung once to announce the sunrise, again to announce the sunset, and during special occasions, such as weddings, graduations, or coming-of-age ceremonies. The final bell was the Bell of Kings. Rarely heard, it was rung only on seasonal holidays held at the solstices and equinoxes of the year. That, and on days of national importance.

Though the Planting Festival had passed just shy of a month ago, today the King's Bell echoed like thunder throughout the streets of Caspia, its tones with a chill note on this warm morning. Its call drew forth the citizens from all the walks of life, and there in the shadow of the temple clocktower, they gathered. The crowd was hushed, reverent, and the somber sound of the massive bell passed over them in waves. A few among them asked what was going on that would cause the King's Bell to ring. Most of them knew already.

As the ringing stopped, a silence fell on the crowd like a linen sheet. Out of the temple, and down the white marble steps came Lord Commander Link of Old Hylia. He walked with immaculate gait, and stood sharply at attention, the blues and golds of his dress uniform, blazing bright colors against a white canvas. His blond hair was high-and-tight, and his piercing blue eyes gazed out over the crowd, like he was looking for some sort of signal before unlocking the intricate clockwork lock emblazoned with the royal seal of Hyrule on the white parchment scroll he held in his right hand. Unlike many of his people, he wore no hood, headband, or hat to hide the long, pointed ears that marked him as a Hylian, instead having them pierced in the traditions of his people, with simple gold hoops that could have just as easily been rings for his fingers. He looked every bit the hero of the people that every citizen of Lanayru Province held him as: young, strong, invincible in combat. His exploits were rapidly becoming legends in their own right.

Though he was indeed the stuff that stories were written about, there was no cheer for Link this day. No hearty slaps on the back after a heated battle, no noble ladies 'accidentally' losing their handkerchiefs in a fit of very sudden fainting, no young boys rushing up to him and asking if they can be as great as he was some day. He silently fetched a tiny, impossibly elaborate key, no longer than his thumb, from a gold thread around his neck, and inserted it into the lock, and for the first time in his already storied time as Commander of Lanayru's prestigious Third Army, his people could see that today, their hero stood before them, defeated.

Without preamble, he read. "Noble citizens of the Kingdom of Hyrule, people chosen by the Goddess Hylia, and all who walk the many countries and wildernesses of the world, we ask today for a single moment of decency and reverence. King Leto Raelthron Hyrule, after his long and prosperous reign of forty-seven years, four months, and ten days, has joined the royal line of Raelthorns, to serve at the behest of Nayru, Farore, and Din. May the golden power of the Triforce watch over him eternally." He brought the scroll down, and with all gathered, from the common people that had flooded the square in front of the Temple of Time, to the nobles and merchants in their nearby towers and shops, bowed his head for a full minute. At the end of which, three times more, the Bell of Kings rang, three blows finalizing the worst fears of everyone in the kingdom.

People were ready for it. Leto the Kind, Leto the Humble, Leto the Magnanimous, had been Leto the Old, Leto the Sickly, and Leto the Unseen for almost a year now. Still, he had been the best ruler that historians had ever had the pleasure of documenting, even during darker times. He would be missed dearly, have endless paintings and statues in his image, and spoken well of, even by his enemies… mostly.

And here was Link, needing to go on with the first post-Leto-era proclamation ever, wondering why the world was a little fuzzy, and why this paper was heavier than a mortar shell right now. Still, he hefted it aloft again, and continued. "As the people know, King Leto has passed without any royal heir or heiress, and formally declined to appoint a Regent, citing personal reasons. He has been publicly quoted to 'know of no-one who would serve the people of Hyrule before serving themselves' when asked who he would nominate for his replacement.

"The High Council of Hyrule will continue to be the governing body of the land. The seat of The Crown on the council will remain vacant for the time being. The Seats of The Ring, The Shield, The Scepter, The Scroll, and The Coin shall remain unchanged. In accordance with the King's final wishes, the holder of the Seat of The Seal, currently occupied by Calvin Davenport of Corvis, shall receive an extra Council vote, to be used only during the event of a tie." This caused a whisper to spread throughout the crowd. While all the other Council Seats were chosen by the Nobles, the combined vote of confidence of the Army, Navy, Guards, and Spymasters, the Interfaith Board, the Dean of the College, and the Merchant's Guild respectively, the Seat of The Seal was occupied by a citizen-elected commoner ineligible for any other Seat, provided that he had no prior criminal record. One final act of generosity to the lay people of Hyrule from King Leto was to place his trust in them as he parted this world.

The Seat of The Crown, obviously, was intended to be filled by Hyrule's monarch, whoever that may be. "The King," Link continued, "also wishes to express his deepest regrets, and would like to apologize to the people of Hyrule in the sincerest fashion. While at this time, there is no current royal heir or heiress to the throne, the line of Raelthorn is suspected to not be at an end." A shocked gasp rose from the crowd. A secret heir? The energy of the entire yard shifted. Where people were at first content to go about mourning and scoffing at the imagined bickering that the country would fall into while six politicians squabbled over who should be the next King of Hyrule, now things were interesting. While the line of Raelthorn wasn't always the best for the kingdom, history had proven that it could produce some amazing people.

Questions rose quickly, and though unvoiced, Link could hear them already. Why did the King tell nobody about this? Why wait until his death bed? Who is this person? Lord Commander Link read on. "Nearly twenty summers ago, during a diplomatic trip to Llael, King Leto Raelthorn Hyrule had a brief… indiscretion, with a woman of Hylian blood." He gave no time for a comment to be made. The king had wished this to be revealed, but it was Link's decision not to let it get ugly from here. "It is known that this night was not without its miracles. Though unrevealed to the public, King Leto supplied the Hylian woman, Alyndra, with ample resources, if sparse communication. In one of these letters that the King had kept, it was revealed that he did, in fact, have a daughter. This was later verified by a priestess of Nayru, being an expert in the arts maternal. The King visited his daughter but once. While he spoke little beyond confirming her existence, he described her as being fair-haired, with green eyes, and her Hylian blood is obvious via her ears. In the tradition of Hyrulean royalty, the first daughter of the family was given the name Zelda.

"This description is being passed along by the High Council of Hyrule based on the King's final wishes that Zelda be placed on Hyrule's throne, and serve as the Seat of the Crown, but only if it is to her wishes. Therefore, a bounty of five hundred Wieldworths has been earmarked for the safe and willing return of Princess Zelda Raelthorn Hyrule to her lawful and rightful home of Hyrule Castle." That certainly changed the tempo of the already-flowing gossip. If the government was ready to deal in actual coin instead of its paper Warworth bills, it meant that they were serious.

"Finally, King Leto Raelthorn Hyrule bids his people happiness, peace, and prosperity, and sincerely hopes that he has preceded the best days of his kingdom. His wish is that Hyrule becomes a kingdom with a future so bright that his very reign is forgotten behind its future glory." He closed the scroll and finished, "But I think we all know there's little chance of that happening. History has a way of immortalizing its heroes. Back to business as we know it, everyone. The funeral procession will be held tomorrow at Lord's Bell, and it will be a national holiday. For today, put your backs into it. There's a war on, after all."