-Just to go on with the times: I am now using Sidewiki to impart some of my thoughts about the chapters of this story starting with this one. It is just experimentation. Have you guys known about Sidewiki yet? It's a new feature in Google Toolbar that lets you share your thoughts about any particular web pages. Go and install it, and read my entries on this page—tell me what you guys think about it.

-This is a new story with a new plot, and I reckon it will be much easier to read all around compared to my previous story, Fickleness of Fate. However, just like that story, this one will also feature no connection whatsoever to any of the Zelda games already or will available out there in terms of plot. Basically, I am just borrowing Zelda themes and characters in telling my own, original tale. Oh, and, this is still Link X Zelda, since I am a great sucker for Princess-Hero cliché. Also, this first one does not contain a lot of exposition and story since, well, it is a prologue after all. I promise that the next chapters will be more... meaty :)

-I am not native in English and never formally studied the language in any way, shape, or form, so do not expect a display of perfect grammar or Shakespearean vocabulary in here. Reviews or any kind of feedback would be appreciated.

Best Regards,

Pizza Blade

A fan-fiction based on the popular video-game series Legend of Zelda

Legend of Zelda: Iter Itineris of Fortuna

Written and directed by Pizza Blade

--o0 PROLOGUE 0o--

"What fates impose, that men must needs abide; it boots not to resist both wind and tide."

~William Shakespeare~

Prologue

The Hyrule Market that was usually filled with people during the time the Sun still reigned supreme in the sky looked so solemn right now when night has arrived. So quiet, almost serene, with no one in sight. All of the shops were closed, and the only thing moving past the streets were the winds blowing ever so quietly into the darkness of the night plus the occasional stray animals that whimpered as they were walking through the dust, ignoring the world around them as the world ignored them.

The moon's light swept through the land gently, softly caressing the corners of houses, roofs, streets, and pavements, basking the world below with a tender radiance that exuded a rather sublime beauty. The lights coming from flickering lanterns hung on the rooftops of houses and now-empty shopping stands strewn about on the streets looked like a collection of fireflies, illuminating the surroundings with a simple yet somewhat poignant atmosphere.

…

Then, suddenly it happened.

First, it was nothing but a small drop… and then, another—another, and another. It took only around a minute before a single drop turned into a mighty rain as the black clouds on the heavens poured all of their tears onto the earth down below. The winds that were so gentle before turned into something that moved through the land with careless abandon, streaking across with relentless pace and raging front that created a rather fearsome display of power. The lanterns that were hung on the stands and on the windows of houses shook violently—some got their lights dosed off and some even met their early demise as they fell onto the ground because they couldn't stand the pressure from the raging force of the winds. Thunders snapping one after another from the clouds high up there, making an orchestra of incredible fierceness that could shook even the hearts of the mightiest warriors. What was the view of a serene, quiet atmosphere of a night-time inside Hyrule Market before has now turned into the stage where Mother Nature showing her mightiness at its finest.

The empty shopping stands that stood outside could do nothing but to sit idle helplessly accepting the brutal attacks of the weather—it was a guarantee that the owners of those stands would shake their heads in disgust when the next morning comes.

…

And yet, even amongst all those conditions, there was a single woman walking on the street slowly, her steps looked so heavy as if she was chained with all the burdens of the world. She wore a long robe with a cape on the head that covered her entire body from top to bottom—her face couldn't clearly be seen because she walked with her head tilted down. She seemed to be carrying something inside her robe, and whatever it was it was clear that she thought of it as something incredibly important, because all of her movements were seemingly coordinated to ensure the its safety.

She kept on walking forward, ignoring the fact that practically there's no spot left on her that was left not incredibly soaked by the unyielding pour of the heavy rain. Not once did she lift her face up to see what's ahead of her—she continued to walk with her face down, her cape covering almost the entire upper portion of her head, as if she wanted to hide her face from the rest of the world.

She kept on walking, and walking. As far as the eyes could see, all of the doors and windows of the houses on Hyrule Market were closed tight, and the lights turned off, signifying the fact that the citizens of Hyrule seemed to prefer sleeping their way through this horrible weather condition in the night. The only living creatures watching her walking on the streets were the stray animals hiding under the empty shopping stands to protect themselves from the rain. Not that it did them much good, but even they seemed confused as to why there's actually someone willing to brave the fierceness of the conditions around without so much of a protection like the woman right there.

The harshness of the situation did not seem to faze the woman. She just kept on moving, walking through the streets of Hyrule Market with her head looking down all the way. Despite her staggering steps, however, she navigated the streets quite fluidly. It seemed like even with her not looking on the road in front of her, she already knew instinctively which way to take, which way to move. Her movements at first might suggest that she did not have a distinct destination in mind—that she's just moving where her legs took her. But apparently that was not the case—her movements, albeit slow, were precise and smooth; not once she seemed to hesitate about which way to take or stopped to consider the next direction. It looked like her body instinctively knew the correct path to traverse in order to reach wherever destination she had in mind.

…

It took a couple of minutes of more walking before she finally stopped. She stopped in front of a solitary house that was located in the back alleys of the Market. Although the house was built from solid bricks, it looked shabby nevertheless. There was some rubbish placed near the front door that was just left there unattended, and they created a somewhat pungent smell that was certainly unpleasant for the nose. The walls were damaged in some spots, and the paints were torn off on many places—the heavy rain right now also did not help matters. Whoever lived there clearly did not have a penchant for hygiene or aesthetics.

For the first time, the woman lifted up her face to look at the house in front of her.

Hers was a face of beauty, a beauty that could still clearly be seen even when tampered by the assaults of the elements. It was the kind of beauty that did not dazzle but rather enchant—the kind of beauty that could enrapture anyone as if they were trapped inside a magic spell that would not allow their eyes to break off from her. Her eyes were cerulean blue, and they contained a subtle display of calmness and clearness—the eyes of a person that have seen and experienced many things, eyes of a person that have felt and passed through the most turbulent of what life has to offer.

She muttered something inaudible, and suddenly there's a gentle glow coming from inside her robe. She took out the thing that she's been carrying all this time carefully and gently with both her hands.

It was an amazing sight. The thing that she's holding—which turned out to be a small baby sleeping peacefully and wrapped inside layers of soft fabric—was fully enveloped with a gentle glow that could seem to, inexplicably, repelled all of the waters from the rain coming from the heavens up above. Each time a single drop of rain was about to touch the baby, the gentle glow amazingly fended it off forced it to change its direction. Thus, even under such heavy rain the baby still remained dry. And not just the rain too—the gentle glow seemed able to repel also the winds or anything that may disturb the baby it protected. It was a magical protection that did not have any loudness in it, but the fact that the baby could still sleep soundly regardless of the heavy rain and winds all around was testament to its impressive effectiveness.

…

The woman gazed quietly at the baby she was holding. Her gaze was a combination of fondness and sadness, and her face was filled with an expression of someone not wanting to commit something yet realizes that it must be done regardless of the cost.

She took a step closer to the closed door of the house she's standing in front of, and gently put down the baby right next to the door. She stood back up and gave a look towards the baby—her eyes looked both solemn and serene, both contemplating and determined.

She took a few steps back, and it was in those small steps signs of hesitation first appeared in the way she conducted herself. She hesitated in furthering the distance apart between her and the baby… Nevertheless, she had the look on her face showing that she knew that it was all no longer could be prevented from happening.

The woman then took one final look towards the sleeping baby.

She muttered something inaudible once more.

And then…

…

Just as a gigantic bolt of lightning appeared on the sky, the woman suddenly disappeared from sight. She didn't walk or run away, she didn't turn her back and went off, she didn't move farther away from the house. She's just completely disappeared out of sight like she was swallowed by the darkness of the night itself.

And as if on cue, the rain bizarrely decreased in intensity as soon as the woman was gone. Just as it suddenly appeared rain and thunders before, so did the same rain and thunders disappear like someone flipped a miracle switch and turned the weather off. The black clouds on the sky were moving away from one another, and the heavy rain was gone along with them, leaving only the broken lanterns and the wet streets and houses as proof that they're here no matter how short it was. The winds that were so strong just before has softened considerably, and now it was nothing more than a gentle blow that could do nothing but to sneak pass through the streets calmly and quickly.

The heavy rain was short and quick, although very intense.

The moonlight that broke through the clouds above once again swept the land and glaze through Hyrule with its quietness. As the light touched the baby that the mysterious woman left behind in front of the shabby house, a soft light could be seen emanating from the baby's right hand, illuminating a faint-looking symbol seemingly carved on the back on the baby's right palm.

The gentle glow that protected the baby from the elements before suddenly disappeared, and as the cold air left behind by the rain before managed to find its way to the baby's now unprotected body, the baby's peaceful sleep was forcefully halted.

As the cries of the infant roared through the stillness of the night, the machination of fate began to turn, carrying with it the beginning of something that would later envelop all parts of Hyrule into one big maelstrom of fated events, a maelstrom which would determine Hyrule's future inside the passage of time……