Hello everyone, this is my first FanFiction I've ever started and got a chapter done. I hope you all enjoy and I want to give a special shout out to arbmaster 16 for helping me make a few adjustments. I appreciate any criticism as long as it's constructive.
The New Era Begins
Disclaimer: This story is based off of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and Hyrule Warriors which are owned by Nintendo.
The only character that I own and created is Matthew.
Prologue
While there was a time of peace and prosperity in Hyrule, it would always be followed by an age of darkness and doubt. Before Hyrule could even begin to react, enemies from across the past began to pour unto the once peaceful land. As the princess of the land, Zelda began to order her army to fight against the dark creatures. Despite the strength with the Goddess's chosen hero, Link, on the side of Hyrule and the princess, there was still a great need for recruits. Matthew was one of the many who was recruited, and in time would serve for a purpose higher than he could imagine.
Matthew was a simple villager in the land of Hyrule. He lived peacefully outside of Hyrule Castle with his mother, father, and five sisters. Matthew was a senior knight in the Hylian army, as was most men in his family through the generations. Despite not being the strongest in his unit, Matthew always had an optimistic look on the battlefield and a strong sense of courage regardless of how the odds looked. Little did he know that he would not only lose his peaceful lifestyle, but would be involved in the biggest change Hyrule will ever witness. The story begins during the time when different times of the hero were opened, unleashing all the evil and beasts that existed in those times. Matthew's unit found itself fighting in the era of the SkyWard Hero.
The unit was caught in the Era of the Skyward Hero. They were near the temple where the great demon lord Ghirahim was located. Ghirahim had bordered himself from the hero and the army he led with a horde of Bokoblin and Traitorous troops willing to die for the success of the demon's mission. Caught in the heat of battle, Matthew's unit was caught at the temple with hope dwindling before them.
"Push through men, we can't allow Ghirahim to activate the Gate of Souls!" One of the Hylian Captains shouted as hordes of Bokoblin chewed through their ranks.
The battlefield was consumed with chaos as the Allies were fighting both Traitors and Bokoblin. Matthew's unit was steadily losing hope and preparing to flee.
"We're getting overwhelmed here! Is anyone going to help us!?" The captain screamed as loud as he could.
As the horde grew and the unit shrank, hope was diminishing that they would survive. As Matthew witnessed his unit crumbling, he charged with his sword and shield towards the Moblin leading the raid party. Amazed by his bravery, a few fellow soldiers charged with in hopes of taking down the captain and causing the enemy unit to crumble.
"Men, take out the Boko's surrounding the captain!" Matthew shouted as he began to attack the Moblin. Matthew successfully dodged the first attack by the Moblin and countered with a jab of his sword into the beast's arm. The Moblin let out a cry of pain and quickly tried to counter with a swing of his spear. Matthew quickly ducked and slashed at his gut.
"Rarrrrgh!" The Moblin screamed as he dropped his shield and spear and grabbed his gut, which now had a large slash over it.
As Matthew prepared to land the final blow, he was struck down from behind. Matthew fell down and was paralyzed from the trauma for a brief moment. As he began to look up, he noticed it was the captain. Matthew quickly noticed that the fellow soldiers that followed had been dispatched by the rest of his own unit.
Before Matthew could get a grasp of what happened, the captain raised his sword above Matthew's neck and said "Your death will help our lord succeed in his task." Before the blade could fall, an arrow struck the captain through his breast plate. As the Traitorous captain realized what happened, he was struck by another and quickly collapsed. As the captain fell, the remaining Bokoblin panicked and retreated.
As Matthew tried to get up, he noticed a shadow approaching him. "Are you alright?" Matthew heard as he saw a hand reach to help him up off the ground.
"Yeah, I'll be fine" He replied as he got up and wiped the blood and dirt from his armor.
"Thank you, Link" Matthew said firmly.
"No problem." Said the fairy hovering over Link's shoulder.
"You must be Link's little side kick, Proxi." Matthew replied which was followed by a small chuckle.
"What's so funny!?" Proxi replied with quite a bit of anger.
Despite the circumstance they were in, Matthew and Link could not help but burst into laughter from Proxi's reaction.
After a few moments, Matthew quickly remembered the task at hand and shouted "Enough chitchat, we must stop Ghirahim before he can use the Gate of Souls!" Realizing how dire the event was, Link nodded as the two followed by Fi, the spirit that resided in the Master Sword, and a small number of Hylians and Gorons began to storm the entrance.
As everyone arrived, they were halted by a gate made from wood almost as crimson as blood, reinforced by steel beams that were pitch black and eerily seemed to stare back into your soul.
"Master, the entrance still seems to be barricaded." Fi stated in a calm, relaxed tone.
"Looks like we'll have to blow it up with some bombs!" A goron shouted with an enthusiastic tone. As the soldiers tried breaking through the entrance with the ordinance they had, Matthew saw a small gap through the wall.
As Matthew examined it further, he could see into the room. "Hey, there is a hole we can go through to get inside!" Matthew shouted which drew the attention of Link, Fi, and a few Hylian soldiers.
"There is no way to get through that with our armor." One of the soldiers said bluntly with a disappointed tone. As everyone went back to get ready to blow the gate open, Matthew shook his head and ripped off his armor, exposing only his clothes and bare chainmail.
One soldier noticed Matthew begin to crawl through the hole and shouted "Are you crazy!?" Matthew ignored him and continued until he entered a room that shined white despite some of the erosion and vegetation that was around him. As Matthew drew his sword and readied his shield, he froze as he could feel cold, chilling breath that only someone of pure evil could possess run down his neck.
"You must feel privileged to be in the presence of a demon lord." An unknown entity whispered into Matthew's ear.
"That shall be the last thing yo-" Matthew paused as he quickly turned to see nothing behind him.
Then, in an instant, the sound of someone flicking their fingers echoed "You shall utter. Ahahaha!" The entity shouted as he appeared from thin air.
Realizing that the mysterious figure was Ghirahim, Matthew quickly tried to strike Ghirahim while he had his guard down. Matthew quickly drew his sword and landed a blow upon the deity. Despite the hit landing, Matthew froze as his sword had shattered from the blow.
"It is a pity that your friends will be welcomed with a fresh corpse, rather than the appearance of a demon lord." As the deity finished, he disappeared, then shortly reappeared delivering a substantial blow to Matthew from behind. The strike cut through the chainmail like paper and left a horrifying wound. Ghirahim then approached the Gate of Souls and appeared to activate it within moments.
Before stepping through, he turned to Matthew and said with a devious grin "Do not be afraid, not a soul is longed for this world. Although, you might still be around long enough to see the world change before your mortal eyes." Ghirahim finished, then stepped into the Gate of Souls and disappeared.
Matthew was paralyzed with extraordinary pain and weakly said to himself "I've failed Hyrule and my family." A few tears escaped at the thought of what gruesome fate awaits his family and the rest of Hyrule.
Shortly after, the sound of an explosion filled the air. The gate had finally been breached. As Link and the rest of the soldiers followed, they saw Matthew, bloodied and injured with a massive slash across his back.
"Come on, I got you. You'll be fine." A soldier said helping Matthew up.
"What happened!?" Proxi said nervously, since Ghirahim was nowhere to be seen.
"I… think… he used the gate" Matthew said weakly.
"May the Goddess have mercy on our souls." The soldiers said weakly with fear.
"Link, go through the Gate and find him!" Proxi shouted which caused Link to full sprint to the gate.
Before anyone could react, a quick but violent tremor erupted which shook everyone to the ground. As everyone began to get back up, confusion began to stir as Link was nowhere to be seen.
"Did he go through the gate?" A soldier asked.
"I believe the Master may have been erased from our time." Fi said in her usual tone but seemed to have a hint of distress.
"What do you mean!?" A soldier asked demandingly.
"I'm afraid that the Master may have been removed from existence. It could be the result of Ghirahim's use of the Gate of Souls." Fi said calmly despite the chaos that was building up.
Before anyone could react, another tremor shook through the land. But when Matthew tried to lift himself up, he saw many of the soldiers in their uniform but instead had eyes that were pitch black and armor that was rusted and crumbling. Perhaps the most horrifying thing Matthew saw was the soldiers were rotting corpses with exposed bone and flesh dangling from what was left of their muscle.
As Matthew got up, the corpses approached him and their eyes had begun to bleed and glow red. Matthew was petrified as he saw the few soldiers unaffected began to be mauled by their former allies. As he witnessed the horror taking place in front of him, he couldn't help but notice the gate begin to glow brightly with the color of gold. "Matthew, approach the Gate. Time is short!"
Seeing no other option, Matthew began to run as fast as he could with his injury. "This is it!" Matthew yelled right before he jumped through the Gate.
"Where am I?" Matthew asked.
"You're in a safer place now." A deep mysterious voice answered.
As Matthew began to investigate, he could only see walls glistening white, clouds that barely concealed a light blue sky. After he remembered what he heard, he sprang up and looked for the source of the voice that he heard.
"Is someone here?" Matthew asked, hoping for a reply.
"Yes, my child." Said the mysterious voice.
"Show yourself!" Matthew demanded. In an instant, a great beam of light appeared. As Matthew caught a glimpse before covering his eyes, he noticed what the light looked like a massive statue exit. Once the light died down, Matthew was in awe as he saw what could only be described as a legend. A two story tall statue with veins of light covering his body.
"Who are you?" Matthew said in a surprisingly calm tone, despite the fear that was filling in his heart.
"I am the Guardian that was entrusted to watch over the Hero chosen by the Goddess." The mysterious guardian said with a deep, stern voice. "My task was to ensure the Hero succeeded in his task against the Demise to prevent darkness from consuming Hyrule for eons to come." The guardian explained.
"Wait, why would you summon me instead of Link?" Matthew asked. "And if you are the ancient guardian who watched over Link in the past, what caused you to come back now?!" Matthew said demanding answers.
The guardian stood silently for a moment, then began to explain "I have awakened from my rest because there was a disturbance in the flow of time and history…" The guardian continued to explain while Matthew listened and tried to understand. "The one called Ghirahim was unfortunately successful in utilizing the Gate of Souls. Once he had control of the powerful relic, he used its divine power to return to the earliest ancestor of The Goddess chosen hero. Once he arrived, he searched for the ancestor throughout the land and sky. Once he finally found the hero's earliest ancestor, he took his blade and executed him without a moment's hesitation." The guardian finished and left Matthew to think and realize what he was seeing before his eyes.
"So without a hero, the darkness that the first hero fought was unleashed?" Matthew asked.
"Yes, and there was no hero to ever rise up and fight the evil that plagued Hyrule." The guardian replied.
"So why am I here?" Matthew asked weakly.
"You are the only Hylian who also has a connection with the hero's ancestors." The guardian answered, sounding strangely confident.
Matthew pondered what the full meaning could be. After a few moments of thought, Matthew asked "Can I stop Ghirahim?"
"Yes." The guardian answered.
"Then send me back and I will save Link!" Matthew said with a courageous tone.
"It is not that simple." The guardian said after a huge sigh.
"What do you mean?" Matthew asked with a now disappointed tone.
"What Ghirahim has accomplished cannot be undone." The guardian said replied.
"Then what can I do to stop him?" Matthew asked.
"You cannot fight him in your current state and be victorious." The guardian continued as Matthew's eyes had widened from what he was hearing. "If you wish to stop Ghirahim and bring peace and order to Hyrule, you must become the Goddess's chosen hero and fight this evil as the one before."
Matthew paused and felt both anxious and honored. "What happens if I go back?" Matthew asked out of concern for his family's wellbeing.
"Once you go back, all of your memories and emotions will be lost." Matthew began to realize the full cost of what has been presented to him while the guardian continued. "You will be reborn and set on the path the hero originally followed. However, the events that occur will not be the same and I can't guarantee you'll follow the enlightened path as Link did before."
"If I do not go, will anyone else be able to defeat him?" Matthew asked, wondering if he was truly the last hope.
"No." The guardian said sternly.
As Matthew put his last thoughts aside, he finally answered. "I'll go."
"You shall have the Goddess's blessing in your new destiny." The guardian finished as he began to transport Matthew's spirit to the Era of the first hero.
Matthew knew that he was going to lose everything and be reborn anew. His final words were "May the Goddess guide me through my journey, and protect her people from whatever evil that will be unleashed." And with a final shout, Matthew's spirit was now in Skyloft, during the Era of the SkyWard Hero.
"May the Goddess bless her new hero on his journey." The guardian said before returning to his slumber, waiting until he was needed.