The Legend Of Zelda

Mark Of The Goddess

Chapter 1

The setting sun cast an orange glow across the kingdom of Hyrule with its dying light. Fields of emerald grasses blown side to side gently in the breeze became blanketed by
shadow as the sun slowly fell. The full moon shining in its glory appeared behind a cloud as the sun finished its descent. The light of the moon softly caressed the lands below and
illuminated the now dark purple night sky. Link watched this while laying in the grass, beside him lay Zelda, his long time girlfriend and princess of Hyrule. They lay together as they did everything together, in secret. The king of hyrule, Zelda's father would never allow Zelda to be with Link, She was royalty and he just a poor farm hand from a squalid town. Zelda who loved her father but hated his pretentious attitude and stifling sense of protection regularly snuck out of the castle which was how she had met Link.

The two of them had been fifteen at the time, Link had been walking through Chambry forest near his hometown of Cliffside, looking for yellow mushrooms, a vital ingredient for his uncle's famous stew. The townsfolk of cliffside had all tried numerous times to emulate the dish but only Link's uncle Crispus ever got it right "It's a secret recipe you see and it'll never the leave the family" he'd explain proudly. Link had so far collected enough mushrooms to cook at least the night's dinner but figured a bit more couldn't hurt. He'd seen a few of the bright yellow mushrooms growing close to a leaning tree near a pond a little ways to the west and Link moved quickly through the greenery towards the spot. The day had been warm and bright, the vibrant colors of the plant life around him fascinated, one flower in particular seemed to glow in the bright sunlight peeking through the canopy of trees above, it was light blue. Link knelt before it and gently touched the petals, they were silky smooth and thin feeling. "It's quite pretty" he thought "One of these days, I'll have to show Rima this flower." Link's little cousin Rima was obsessed with flowers and had quite the green thumb in the backyard of their home Rima had a menagerie of flowers blooming in all colors. Link rose to continue on his way and saw Zelda leaning on a tree ahead of him. She was taller than him but not by much, her hair was the color of gold tied into a long braid going down her back, her eyes were a piercing green. Link's breath caught in his throat for a second as he studied her. He thought she was gorgeous and he made to greet her but found himself at a loss for words.

Zelda had stood there with a faint smile on her face, watching Link. He had shoulder length hair just as golden blonde as hers and icy blue eyes, he stood there openmouthed staring at her, which she found cute. He wore a loose fitting blue tunic with brown leggings and boots. Within his right hand was a large basket of yellow mushrooms. "What in the world could you possibly need all of those for?" Zelda had asked playfully, "M-m-m- my uncle makes a great stew with these, he's the best chef in cliffside, probably all of hyrule" Link replied. Zelda laughed and walked forward. She had on a white shirt with two buttons undone at the top and black tights with boots of her own. Link noticed the way outfit fit her form and blushed furiously. He averted his gaze to his basket of mushrooms and studied them hard. Zelda held her hand out and introduced herself. Link slowly turned to look at her and did the same. That day she'd walked through the forest with him searching for mushrooms and when it began to get dark, Link and she walked together to the main road through Hyrule field where she went north and he to the cliffs in the east. That night he thought of her all throughout dinner and many nights after she visited his dreams. They met again quite a few times, riding horses through the field, walking through the forest searching for adventure, one night Zelda had even joined Link and his family for dinner. That night he'd walked her all the way to Hyrule castle town where she admitted to a crestfallen Link that she was the daughter of the king. Zelda took a chance and kissed Link on the lips that night, the kiss had stunned him so badly he'd been unable to reciprocate. Zelda had stared at Link for some time, worry etched on her face but he'd smiled broadly, pulled her to him and kissed her deeply. Zelda got into quite a bit of trouble for all the sneaking out she'd been doing and eventually stopped doing it, opting to just walk out the front gates instead much to her father's chagrin. For three years Link and Zelda met almost daily to spend time together, to the world they were best friends, enjoying a companionship forged by the wonderful strangeness of youth but alone they were a young couple experiencing the strange power of growing up called love.

"I'll have to go home soon" Zelda said to Link. The two had been laying in the field for some time watching the sun set and now staring up at the bright full moon and the glittering stars. "I know" Link responded dejectedly. Zelda sighed and sat up, leaning on an elbow. She looked down on Link and brushed some of his hair off his cheek. She softly caressed his cheek and smiled. She lowered herself down to kiss him and kept her forehead pressed against his. "You're so beautiful" she whispered to him. "That's my line" he replied softly chuckling. Zelda laughed and wrapped her arms around Link's neck. "I'd rather spend the night out here with you" She whispered in his ear. "I've no objection to that" He told her. The night was calm and cool, a welcome relief after the days burning heat. "Pretty soon, I'll be leaving cliffside and headed on my trip, then we can finally be together whenever we want" Link promised Zelda. "You know leaving for me won't be that easy. My father won't have the princess turn her back on hyrule and walk away. He means for me to be trapped in that castle for the rest of my life" She told Link. "You're not to be queen, anytime soon, it shouldn't matter if you're there or not. He's made a grave mistake with you he has" Link said. Zelda lifted her head to look Link in the eyes "And that is?" She asked. "He's stopped seeing you as his daughter and started seeing you only as the princess, you're more than that… so much more" He told her. "The emissaries from the kingdom of Shihara arrive tomorrow, they're going to be staying for the rest of this last year you intend to be in hyrule. Be patient my love, wait till their forms can be seen vanishing over the horizon and away from Hyrule and then we will leave" She told Link. "You have my word" Link replied. The two rose and kissed each other goodnight then headed their separate ways.

The next morning far off to the south of hyrule lay a barren wasteland. Hard rocky ground, crumbling mountains and burning sun, beyond this area even farther south was an enormous chasm with the remains of a bridge swinging in the wind and to the east of this sight a path winding down miles of rocks, the further down the path to the south one went the more grass there was to see and trees began to appear along the road. Thousands of miles more southwest were large emerald hills dotted with flowers and wild animals running across the fields, a river cut through the lands winding like the path, a parallel to it and led to a valley nestled between two large hills where a small village sat. The village was the last town in the Shihara kingdom before the boundary where Shihara turned into Hyrule and it was through this town that the emissaries of King Rotha of Shihara had ridden. King Rotha himself led the caravan on a grey stallion, behind him was a battalion of his finest soldiers brought to ensure his safety on the long trip to Hyrule and his advisor, Korri. A lone horseman rode at the back of the procession staying at the back the entire time they blasted through the numerous miles. A young man with short cut black hair and black eyes. He was the advisor's son, Kline. He had been allowed to make this trip with his father and the king, but while they were going to sightsee and chit chat with the king, Kline meant to go seeking adventure. He'd heard tales of the many temples and shrines all over Hyrule dedicated to the goddesses and of the legendary hero who in many different generations had arisen to face off against great evil using the mythical Master Sword. Kline meant to see all these things himself and more in time, he himself had a blade revered in Shiharan history, he'd found it in an underground system of tunnels near his hometown and kept it hidden for many years, knowing no one would believe him and his father would flog him had he known he'd been down there. The place was reputed to be the former home of a foul religious sect that had worshipped a dark god older than time itself named Rivid. "I wonder if that sword is really stronger than mine" Kline thought to himself as the caravan reached the great dividing chasm. They began riding around it and would be at Hyrule in a day's time. The legends Kline had read, spoke of a power greater than any in existence, the raw essence left behind by Rivid in the blade called Kaska, a jet black sword with crescents carved into it's length and a myriad of dusky jewels set into the hilt. Kline patted the bag Kaska sat in and turned his attention to their destination. "I'll have to find the hero, let him find the master sword and test my strength against him, that's the only way I'll know."