The Legend of Zelda:
Orchestra
By Nezuban
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Disclaimer: I do not own any of the LoZ franchise, its characters, or locations that have been copyrighted. I do, however, own the aspects of the story that I have created.
Author's Note: This story that I'm writing is based off of an old story here on FanFiction.net, entitled "Legend of Zelda: Zagorshida." Since FF.N doesn't allow reposts, and since this is a pet-project of mine, I am re-writing the story in the hopes that it will be more full and complete. I am using some of the same characters, but with different motivations, and a better (I hope) storyline. On that note, let us begin!
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Author's Note II: This story takes place about twenty years after the events in Majora's Mask.
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Chapter One
A StormStorm clouds were gathering in the north and in the west, great black thunderheads with crackling bolts of lightning jumping across the sky, or slamming into the earth. Even from a great distance, you could see the rain pouring down as a great gray blur beneath the clouds. It was a warm mid-summer day, and the air to the east and south was humid. It was a classic example of weather.
To those, of course, who understood what was happening. To the rest, they heard the rumblings of a storm, and hurriedly made their way to shelter.
Under an open pavilion near the gates of Hyrule Castle City, Lyon was handing three small blue stones to a wizened old woman for a loaf of honeybread. As she handed the bread to the young man, she groaned and sucked in air through her teeth.
"I can't see anymore, lad," she said slowly. "But I can feel when bad weather is coming." She looked at him with eyes clouded by white. "It's a storm, it is, lad. Best be on your way. And close the entrance as you leave; this old tent has lasted me a score and five years. It will endure this storm, too. G'day!" Lyon smiled, and thanked the woman as he left the great green pavilion.
Lyon's home was not far from where the pavilion sat, but with the rain already starting to come down, the distance to Kakariko Town seemed to grow. Before the dark-haired, swarthy young man reached the bridge over the Hyrule River, he heard a great boom, accompanied by a white flash, and the rain began to fall all the harder. By the time he reached the steps leading to the town, he was drenched.
"When it rains," he said quietly to no one as he ascended the steps, "it pours." Quickening his pace, he found himself entering the village just as the rain began to fall slantwise in a ferocious gale. No one was outside any longer, even the band of carpenters always hard at work building the town into a city. The great tree that was the centerpiece of the Green of Kakariko was losing leaves and branches in the wind. "Does it ever!" He was running now, and within a few moments, was inside his small house near the windmill, listening as the rain pounded his roof and windows and the wind howled in the mid afternoon. As he looked out his window, he could only guess that the sky was dark as night, but he could not see it through the torrential rain.
Safely inside with warm and (luckily) dry bread, he changed from his wet clothes into a homespun red-brown tunic and black trousers, and dry cap. He began to hum a tune as he set about putting some tea on the fire and slice his bread before storing it in his larder.
Outside, the rain still pounded and the wind still howled.
"Wow," Lyon said as a clap of thunder shook the windows of his house. "We've had storms a-plenty this summer, but the hardest they fell lasted barely five minutes." He threw another chunk of wood into the fire. "Glad I'm not outside anymore. I hope that baker is okay." When the tea was done, he sat on his bed and tried to block out the storm as he pondered what to do with the rest of his day.
"If the storm doesn't end soon, or at least let up, I'll be stuck in here all day." The tea was still very hot as he sipped it, and tasted of lemons. He took a bit of the old baker's honeybread, and it was as flavorsome as bread could be.
Suddenly, he heard a sharp rapping on his door, and then silence. "Who in their right mind could be out at this time?" he wondered aloud as he rose to answer the door. When he opened it, he saw nothing but the torrential rain falling. "Some flying debris, maybe?" Then, as he went to shut the door, happened to look at the front of it, and saw a sheet of parchment nailed to the wood. A shiver went up and down his spine as he considered the implications.
"Damn. It must be extremely important if they go out in a storm like this. I wonder who put this here?" He ripped it off, closed the door, and looked at the note. It only had a handful of hastily scribed words on it.
"Stay at home this night. Harm comes this way."
And it was unsigned. Just a warning note, and as vague as one could get.
"But who put this there? And what harm?" Another shiver. "How could they get the note on the door so quick and leave? Why? It's not likely that I'd go anywhere tonight anyhow, not with the storm." Another shiver. It was just far too creepy an event that made him get anxious like so. He looked out his window again, at the rain, and saw a flash of lightning, as well as a face in his window.
"Ah!" he cried out in surprise. "W-who…!?" There was another flash, and the face was gone. Lyon stared at the window for another good minute, wide-eyed and blinking, before he could get his heartbeat back to normal. "I think I'm not looking out the window anymore," he said out loud, partially to ease himself, and partially because he was too damn nervous to not care how ridiculous he looked talking to himself.
With a sudden, anxious impulse, he reached to his belt and pulled out his dirk, staring hard at the fire as it reflected along the blade. "It might be a small comfort, but at this point, it's enough!" He gripped it tightly in his hand, aimlessly tracking patterns in the air as he looked out the window every few moments. At some point, he fell into a restless sleep, haunted by images of battle, women crying, men screaming and dying, and lone figure in green lying face down in Lake Hylia, with three arrows in his back, and a blue-hilted sword in his left hand.
*******
It was the next morning when Lyon woke, his clothes rumpled and dirk lying on the floor after falling out of his sleeping hand. He blinked a few times, and went to look out the window.
The storm had ceased, and the sky was bright and clear and warm; either in the night or earlier, and people all around Kakariko were picking up the pieces of whatever had blown into their yards. Many were picking up tiles that had blown off of rooftops, others were picking up branches that had blown off the tree. As for the tree, it had been nearly uprooted, Lyon saw. It was tilted, with a few thick roots poking out from the ground. The gale from the day before had left it scarred, almost; the branches and limbs had been wrenched so hard in the wind that they were now stuck in a position that looked like there was a perpetual wind.
Sighing heavily, Lyon put a cap over his dark hair and went outside to see what had become of his home.
The damage was substantial, but not irreparable. Many tiles had blown off his roof, and were scattered among the tiles from many other roofs. There were cracks in the walls of his home, which could easily be fixed with a bonding cement that he could get from the town's carpenters. The verge under his window, however, was most interesting to Lyon, however, as there were no trace of footprints to be found.
"Then whose face was that?" he thought. "Must have been nerves from the storm. That's all." But his reassurances did not ease the anxiety that was still around him. There was still the matter of the note. The nail was still on the door, and the parchment was still on his floor from where he'd dropped it the night before. He shook off his nervousness, and continued to assess the damage.
"Quite the storm last night," shouted a voice from the hill below his house. "Wouldn't you say, Lyon?" Lyon looked down to the speaker, and saw that it was his neighbor, Mac, a lean bearded man with more gray in his hair than brown.
"Yeah!" Lyon shouted back to him, climbing down the steps in front of his home. "Where you here during it at all?"
"No. We were up in Castle City, visiting my mother-in-law. I tell you, I thought I'd never see the day when Mother Nature would best that old hag at throwing a tantrum!" He bellowed at his own joke, and Lyon gave his own guffaw as well. Mac's mother-in-law's temper was loud and monstrous, as all the folk near his home knew. "But that storm came in and I didn't think we'd last the night. Massive damage in the city, too. A part of the castle itself was destroyed!"
"What! You're kidding! What part?" Lyon couldn't see the castle from his home, as the windmill blocked it from view
"The keep itself. Several bricks and stones were just lifted out and carried to the Castle Gardens. So now there's just a big hole in the keep."
"Whoa…" Hyrule Castle was the sturdiest built structure in the Kingdom, and a high curtain wall that was rumored to be nearly a yard thick at the thinnest surrounded the keep itself! "But wait. If the castle was damaged like that, why did Kakariko only have some tiles blown off and a tree uprooted?" Mac shrugged.
"Kakariko's surrounded by hills, the castle's on a hill, maybe. I don't really know. But I can tell you this: the Royal Guard is in a frenzy this morning. The gates to the city are blocked off now, and they're keeping everyone in their homes and shops. I heard one of 'em saying that anyone caught outside their home until everything was organized would be imprisoned."
"Are you serious! Wow, I wonder what all this is about." Changing topics, Lyon said, "So what's the damage on your house like?"
"About the same as everyone else. Tiles gone, cracked walls. I see that's all that's up with yours. Need help fixing it?"
"In a bit, probably. I'll give you guys a hand, too. By the way, did you find a note nailed to your door this morning?"
"A note? No. Why?"
"Well, during the storm yesterday I was just sitting on my bed when I heard someone pounding on the door. I opened it and there was a parchment note nailed to it. All it said was, 'Stay at home this night. Harm comes this way.'" Mac frowned, folding his arms across his chest.
"No, I haven't seen anything like that. You didn't see anyone leaving your house at all? No? That's very strange."
"Not the strangest, though. Shortly after I got the note, there was a flash of lightning and I saw a face staring at my in the window. Another flash, and the face was gone. This morning, I couldn't find any hint of footprints in the mud beneath the window, and I doubt the mud would have washed away so suddenly."
"Scary," Mac said, looking up at the window. Then he grinned. "Spooked by a little storm, Lyon?" He chuckled, but he didn't sound very amused. Lyon just furrowed his brow at the man. "I don't know what to tell ya, lad. But hey, you're a big boy, you can take care of yourself. Right?" Lyon nodded, smiling grimly, then turned back to his home. "I'll be over in a bit to lend a hand, Lyon."
"Thanks, Mac. Let me know if you need my help!"
"Will do!" Lyon set about picking up what tiles he could, occasionally finding some that were not his own. Already, the carpenters were running around the town, asking the people what they needed and telling them the cost. Doing the sums in his head, Lyon figured it would cost him about six hundred rupees to fix all the damage to his home. He could afford it, but only barely. When a carpenter came by to ask him what he needed, the total cost was just about exactly what he'd figured. The carpenter went on his way, and Lyon saw that Mac was yelling at a different carpenter about the cost for his home.
As early afternoon came around, Lyon saw that his larder was low on milk and cheese. Since he had nothing else to do for the day, as he couldn't enter Hyrule Castle City to get to his work at the Bazaar, he would head to Lon Lon Ranch for what he needed. Grabbing a sack for his supplies and putting a cap on his head, Lyon made his way to Hyrule Field and the Ranch.
Hyrule Field was peaceful for the most part as Lyon crossed it. There was some bustle at the raised drawbridge, but all else around the vast countryside was quiet. There was little damage to the area that Lyon could see, except for the roads being all muddy. As he neared the Ranch, he could see that there was similar damage to the barn and farmhouse as there was to the buildings in Kakariko. Suddenly reminded of damage, he looked towards the castle, and, sure enough, there was a large, gaping whole right in the front of the keep, about two-thirds the way up to the tallest tower. Already there was scaffolding making its way up the structure to begin the repairs. Lyon looked down to the area around the city walls, and saw that the great green pavilion was still standing, and the old baker outside beating a dusty rug.
"Incredible," Lyon mumbled as he entered the ranch.
Lon Lon Ranch was in pretty good shape, all things considered. Aside from the damage to the farmhouse and the barn, the corral was in slightly damaged with some fence down, and the silo, the stable, and the mill were virtually undamaged. As Lyon passed the stable, he could hear a sweet, female voice comforting a horse that still whickered in nervousness.
"It's okay, now, Nita," the girl said. "The storm is passed, you aren't in any danger anymore. Shhh…Shhh…"
Lyon knocked on the door once, and the girl looked up and smiled.
"Good day, Lyon," said the redheaded girl. "I trust you're all right after the storm?"
"As well as I can be, Malon," he answered, smiling and entering the stable. "Where's Link?"
"Oh, my husband's out trying to get all the cows back into the corral. He shouldn't be much longer. When he's on Epona, everything just goes so much faster and easier. Came for some milk and cheese, again?"
"Yes, ma'am." He handed over his sack containing two jars and some wax paper to his old friend. The two of them had known each other for nearly seven years, ever since Lyon had worked on the Ranch for a summer when Malon was with child and couldn't work as much. He'd worked with Link, her husband, at tending the cattle and horses, as well as running to the castle for deliveries. Ever since Malon had given birth to a daughter, Elsie, Lyon had been visiting on a bi-weekly basis, as well as offering some help from time to time. Talon, Malon's father and former owner of the Ranch, took care of Elsie most of the time, but Lyon had done his share of babysitting for the rambuctious six-and-a-half year old.
Lyon and Malon were making small talk as she got his supplies when Link entered.
"Malon, I got the cattle in the…" he stopped when he noticed Lyon standing there. "Oh! Lyon, glad to see you! How've you been?" Link was a robust man, even at thirty, with golden hair and blue eyes. His green tunic was stained from dirt and sweat from riding much of the morning. He wiped his sweaty brow with his long green cap.
"Well enough, Link," Lyon replied. "You?"
"Oh, I'm getting along. The wife over there keeps me busy enough!" He laughed heartily, and Malon shot him an "Oh, yeah?" look. Lyon smiled. "Nah! Just kidding! But I'm fine. Quite the storm last night, huh?"
"Sure was. I had some minor damage to the house, but nothing I can't fix. It's expensive, though. About six hundred rupees to fix everything, though." Link winced. "I can afford it, but only barely. I'll have to put some extra hours in with Gus at the Bazaar to make up for lost funds."
"Or you can work here a bit. I don't mind paying you for some help."
"Thanks for the offer, but I'll probably be okay."
"Come now," interjected Malon. "Don't be like that. You're not so prideful to reject a helping hand when needed. That's what friends are for!" Link nodded.
"Lyon?" came a childish voice from the door of the stable. "Lyon!" In sprang a highly energetic girlchild, barely taller than Lyon's waist, with red-gold hair and green eyes. She looked to be wearing some old clothes of Malon's, as they were worn and the colors faded, but the smile on her face and the sparkle in her eyes were all her own.
"Elsie!" Lyon said, crouching down to give the daughter of Malon and Link a hug. "Wow! You must have grown a whole inch since I saw you last!"
"Really? Momma! Daddy! Did you hear that? I'm taller now! Yahoo!!!" She began to hop around the stable, singing and twirling with the inexhaustible energy of a child. Lyon laughed as Malon and Link began to chide the girl, and get her to quiet down.
At that moment, Talon lumbered in, gray haired and overalls faded. He had looked better, in months passed, but he was still the hard-working man he had become since Ingo's departure. "Lyon!" he said in surprise when he caught sight of the visitor. "What brings you out here?" Lyon held up his sack.
"Supplies is all. But a visit with old friends never hurt anyone." Talon, Malon, and Link all nodded while Elsie bounded up to her grandpa.
"Grandpa! Lyon says I'm taller! Am I really?" Her eyes were wide with excitement.
"Elsie," Talon said. "You get taller every day! Pretty soon you will be grown up and married with children of your own!" Elsie schrunched up her nose.
"No way, Grandpa! Boys are gross!" With that, she bounded off again, singing around the stable.
"Come now, Elsie," Link said as he ran up to her. As he had his back facing Lyon, he bent down to pick up his daughter when Lyon had a sudden reminder of his dream the night before. He suddenly saw Link, clutching a sword in his hand, with three arrows in his back. He must have gasped, because Link and Malon were now staring at him.
"What is it, Lyon? You look like you've seen a phantom." Lyon just continued to stare at Link, then at Elsie who now looked at him with frightened eyes.