Facades of Destiny

Chapter 1

Of Dreams and Nightmares

I stood, staring at a man with crimson hair and aurulent eyes. His skin was primarily gray, but it looked as if there was a sickly green tint to him, as if something were corrupting him. Behind him, thunder struck the earth and dark clouds prevailed. The rain hit me hard, the storm's gale crashing into me. There was nothing I had to protect myself from this storm, stuck only in my tunic. This man with yellow eyes... I didn't know who he was, but I knew he was after me. A twisted grin pursed his lips as he approached me, donned in ink-black armor. I felt the storm increase tenfold with each step toward me, the wind almost knocking me off my feet, the lightning rampant, the rain never ending. The raindrops hit me like searingly painful stings from multiple hornets. The world seemed to darken around me. I began to notice the only source of light radiantly shined from his right hand. A golden shimmer that emanated power. It hit me that I feared this man... I wanted to back away, but my legs stubbornly held their ground.

It was as he stood two feet away that I noticed how tall this sickly-skinned man was. I thought I was tall, but I only came up to his chest. Everything about this man seemed to scream power. He rose his shimmering hand, the light increasing and glowing more fiercely. Goddesses, it shined more brightly than the sun! "My eyes...!" I tried to grunt, but I couldn't find my voice.

The radiant light seemed to burn through my eyelids. I screamed, from pain or fear I don't know, hearing my voice finally echo in my ears..

I woke up with a start, almost leaping from my bed. I sat up quickly, looking around wildly. I felt my heartbeat beat fast in my chest almost painfully, my breathing fast and rapid. I tried to calm down, closing my eyes and focusing on my breath. "Man.. I feel as if I just ran for ten minutes." I said, touching my face.

It was wet with cold sweat. I got up, tossing my blanket from my body as my feet touched my wood floor. I didn't have a bed room, more like a sleeping platform. My house wasn't a 'house', but a hollowed out tree. It was a large place, but it was only one room, save for a cellar. I climbed the ladder leading down from the platform holding my bed in place, reaching my ground floor. Everything besides my bed was on the ground level of my treehouse. A cooking pot with a stone fireplace, a desk with a few scraps of paper on it, a table and a side table with a few opened letters on it, all addressed to my parents. In the far side of the room was a trap door that lead to my cellar that had some junk in it. Without bothering to change my clothes, I grabbed a cloth off the table. I knew where I wanted to go. On my way out the door, I stopped by a rack and picked up my sword. Granted... It was a stick. It's not like in my village we had excess steel to make a sword out of.

I walked out the front door, dragging my 'sword' with me.

My front door was on ground level. Upon walking out, there are two roads. One leads deeper into the woods and the other leads to the village. I lived on the outskirts, mostly in solitude. I walked down the path to the deeper wood, leaning my stick against my shoulder. I hummed a bright tune to distract myself from that dream. The area I lived in was a forest, a vast one. It was on the country's border, a not-too important village. As far as I could tell, we weren't given too much attention from the capital.

I listened to the birds and the scuffles of small animals around me as I walked, feeling my spirits already brighten. I love the forest. It was a nice place to find solace from mental troubles. The sounds of rushing water already hit my ears, drawing me to turn into a small spring that had a light waterfall. I ran to the edge of the pond, gathering the water in my hands and throwing it against my face, enjoying the cool sensation. It felt cleansing. I did it a few more times before wiping my face off with my cloth, before staring at the water for a moment.

It rippled peacefully, the ripples not too big. I could make out my blue eyes staring back, my blond hair tossed all about. I frowned, dunking my head underwater to rid myself of bed head. After a second or two, I resurfaced and used the cloth to dry my head.

"Drop something in the spring, Link?" I heard a voice call out to me. I immediately knew who it was, looking back to see Cyrus, my best friend.

He was one year younger than I was, with green eyes and dark brown hair. One odd trait he had was that he only had little freckles on one of his cheeks. "Yeah," I said, looking back into the water to hide my grin. "Trying to find the rest of your freckles."

I could feel the eye roll as he sat down next to me. He was wearing a simple robe over a shirt and slacks. Looks like I wasn't the only one who just got out of bed. "Lazy like me, huh?"

"Today's our day off. Of course I'm going to be lazy," he said with a yawn, covering his mouth as he scratched his head. I could see his hair point in several directions. His hair was longer than mine, long enough that he had it in a ponytail. Mine just framed my face. "I stopped by your house, but you weren't there. I knew you'd be here." I huffed. He knew me well.

"Hey, Cyrus," I looked back out to the spring, thinking for a moment.

"Yeah, Link?" He asked, looking to face me.

"I think... I've made up my mind."

Cyrus paused for a moment, I could hear him sigh. "Everyone knows you're too restless for your own good, Link. But.. No matter how much you want to leave the forest, joining the Knights of Hyrule..."

"Don't try to talk me out of it, Cyrus," I waved him off, leaning back on my hands and looking skyward. "People think the only person who cares for this village is the tax collector who comes every month. But... They actually came here! The Knights, ten years ago.. During the war." I closed my eyes to remember them. There were five of them, a squad. They were dressed in steel armor with the crest of Hyrule proudly on their chests, their swords and shields donned to their horses. I remembered one of them distinctly.. The captain.. He had short, golden hair with a scar across his left eye, which was gray in contrast to his other blue eye. I assumed the scar is what made the color shift.

He reached out a gloved hand and pat my head, smiling strongly. "Don't worry, son." He said to me. His voice was also fiercely deep, yet soft. Trustworthy. "You're village is going to be alright. The Knights of Hyrule are here."

I was infatuated. The villagers tried to talk me out of it, from the Mayor to the Ranch owner... But I can't help it. I was caught in the romance of becoming a respected knight, who fought for honor and to protect.

"It's because of your parents, isn't it?" Cyrus asked after a few moments of staying silent, looking at me analytically. I could see his eyes were still relaxed, calm, but they had an edge. He was testing me.

I looked away, thinking for a minute. "...Yeah." I agreed. I lost my parents in that war. I don't remember them, but the villagers tell me my father was an excellent swordsman and my mother a fantastic nurse. They went to fight off for the war...

They didn't come back. All I have of them is a single frame on my desk, a lone picture: drawn. From the looks of it, I inherited my father's eyes and my mother's hair. I briefly touched one of my bangs, rolling it in my fingers.

"They fought to keep me safe." I looked back to Cyrus, grinning wholeheartedly. "I'm going to fight to keep people safe, as well. I feel like it owe it to them."

Cyrus nodded, seemingly content. "Noble reason. Typical Link, though." He closed his eyes and rubbed his head. I felt the air shift around him though as he looked at the spring.

"Link, can you kill someone?" He went straight for the spearhead. He didn't need to look at me to know it was a question I didn't want to hear.

Although that was typical Cyrus, it was my turn to quiet down. That question, though so obvious, was unexpected. I looked downward. "After all, most soldiers will fight for the same reasons you do. They pick up their swords and bows for their friends and families. They fight for their kingdom, for glory. For romance," Cyrus continued. "Could you do it?"

I hesitated. I hadn't thought about it like that before. Could I take a life..? I looked at my reflection in the spring. Cyrus was right, as always. My reflection looked as puzzled as I. I thought about it hard. Wars happened for many different reasons. Wars weren't like the stories. Good people would die, like my parents... and Cyrus'.

I felt a clap on my back, startling me, distracting me from my thoughts as Cyrus stood, smiling softly and offering me his hand. "You don't have to answer that now, Link. But.. it's something you need to think about. I'm sure you'll make a fantastic knight, Link."

I smiled a little, taking his hand and standing. No use thinking about that now, in the least. Becoming a Knight was far off, three years away. In order to be a Knight, I have to be eighteen. Becoming eighteen and a few other things. But the age was the main one keeping me at bay. I looked skyward for a moment. Cyrus had made me feel a little better. I was sure, too. I had to be the best Knight I could. Excited, I ran ahead, Cyrus stumbling after me.