Link Meets his Darkness

Part 2: War

Note: Once again, this story was originally sent to a site called North Castle by myself. It is my story and I have not copied it from anyone. I am trying to bring my story to more readers. Here's part 2!

Chapter 1: Vigilantes and Villains

The peace and tranquility has, once again, returned to Hyrule. As the sun greets the inhabitants with a new day, a chorus of birdsong breaks through the air. All is peaceful and quiet. It was five years since the defeat of Dark Link. His quest for vengeance put to a short-lived, abrupt end, with the blade of my own sword. However, not everything in Hyrule was ideal. In Verul, my home village, the people were forced to flee and abandon their village, as the Gerudos invaded, attempting to gain more land. This village would soon be forgotten to history, and become part of the great shifting sands of the vast desert of the future. I was not even there when it happened. I was at Lon Lon Ranch, home to Malon, the woman of my heart, and Talon, the wise and, often sleepy, rancher. The great Hero of Time, Link, also joined in my company. We were standing outside the gates of the ranch, reflecting on the events that had transpired 5 years prior. Link and I had become very good friends since our adventure together. We had been sitting in silence for several minutes, before Link broke that silence. "You know what I still don't understand?" I knew what he was going to mention, but I asked, anyway. "What?"

"Well, when the guards investigated the castle, they only found the body of Toro. What happened to my brother? Or your guardian?"

"I don't know, Link. It is a mystery, yes, but we really shouldn't dwell on it. We'll drive ourselves mad if we try to figure it out."

"Yeah, you're right, Joran. But, there's another thing. There's this vigilante out there, calling himself 'The Blue Baron.' He takes care of criminals the King and his Honor Guard fail to catch."

"So? He's doing Hyrule a favour."

"So, it is against Hyrule's law to take the law into your own hands. I was thinking, because we're kind of honorary soldiers, we could catch him, and reveal his identity to all." Link was always looking for some sort of adventure, while I just wanted to settle down. "Why? He's not doing harm."

"He broke the law, Joran. That's why."

"And how are we going to do this, exactly? The man is said to possess sword skills that can even best yours, Link. There's no doubt he could take both of us on. Also, we don't even know what he looks like. All we have is vague descriptions of some man in a blue helmet. I'd say it's already too late to track him down."

"I don't care what you say, Joran. I'm going after him." With that, Link fetched Epona, and galloped away toward the castle. I simply sighed, went to get my horse, Honor, and I rode straight after him. I couldn't let him go alone, after all.

Flash back five years. In the tallest tower of Hyrule Castle, three men lie dead. But, it's not all as it seems. Dark Link was still there. His essence, part of Ganondorf's evil power, still hung in the air. It re-entered Dark Link's body and he awoke from his seemingly eternal slumber. At first, he couldn't remember anything, but he felt a pain in his chest from the wound created by my sword. He suddenly remembered everything and cried out in frustration at having failed at his goal. What Dark Link didn't realize is that someone was watching him, warily, pretending to be dead. It was Kiel, my guardian, the man who raised me. The treasonous soldier, Toro Beldar, had put a dagger in his back, but the strike had not been lethal. He saw Dark Link get up, stagger at first, then, as he gained his footing, brought out a grappling hook. He attached it to the sill of the window and proceeded to scale down the tower. When Kiel was sure Dark Link was out of earshot of any noises coming from the tower, Kiel tried to stand up. He cried out in pain, the dagger still buried in his back. He cursed at the dead man behind him, and removed the dagger from his back, with another cry of pain. He then managed to stand up. He was still in tremendous pain, but he would make it. He was bleeding profusely, however. He then headed toward the door and stopped when he heard footsteps. The guards were coming up the stairs to investigate. He knew the guards would never believe his story, so he had to find another way out of the tower. He saw that Dark Link had left his grappling hook hanging in the window sill by accident. He thanked the goddesses that the evil young man had been so careless. He pulled himself out the window, and began his steady climb down, just disappearing out of eyesight as the guards entered the room. There they found the body of one man, a man they had known. Toro Beldar, a former soldier to the King, who murdered soldiers he believed to be inferior. Because Hyrule's King was kind, he allowed Toro to live and instead banished him. He had joined forces with Dark Link, but was thwarted and killed by my own hand. Kiel had finally reached the ground and scanned the area around him for any sign of Dark Link. He could find no one, and suddenly felt weak. It was at that point that he remembered that he was still bleeding badly, and decided to head to Kakariko Village to ask for medical assistance. He desperately needed it. He made it around the castle to where his faithful mare waited for him. He mounted her, and rode off toward Kakariko. When he arrived, he saw a frightening scene before him. A large, burly man was holding a sword to a boy's neck and was demanding something. As Kiel approached, he could hear the man demanding rupees from the boy. The boy clearly did not have any, and told him several times. However, the man was persisting and was growing increasingly aggressive. At this, Kiel charged the man and fought him off, even with the wound in his back. The man dropped his sword and ran away. Kiel then turned to the boy. "Are you all right?" he asked. The boy nodded and looked at Kiel, admiringly. Kiel then suddenly collapsed from the pain in his back. The boy helped him to the village's medic. After several days, Kiel's wound began to heal. After leaving the medic's hut, he went in search of the boy. He saw an old blacksmith's forge, which clearly hadn't been used in a while. There was a small shack behind the forge. He knocked on the door and the boy was inside. "Hello there. Do you remember me?" The boy nodded. "Good. What's your name?"

"Fano" the boy said, meekly. "I see you have a forge here. Are you a blacksmith?"

"Yes."

"Really? How old are you, if you don't mind my asking?"

"Fifteen" the boy replied.

"My, you are a young blacksmith. Where are your parents?" At this the boy hung his head, sadly. Kiel could see tears forming in his eyes. "Oh. I'm sorry, lad. Was this your father's business?" The boy slowly nodded his head. Kiel decided to help Fano out. "So, I guess you own the business now, right?" Fano nodded again. "You don't get much business, do you?"

"No, sir."

"Well, lad, I'll solve that problem for you. You see, after I stopped that man from robbing you, I felt like that was something I needed to start doing for everyone."

"What's that, sir?" Fano asked, confused. "Bring justice, lad. Stop the criminals and work for the law. Oh, and by the way, I forgot to introduce myself to you properly. My name is Kiel, so you don't have to call me 'sir'."

"Okay. Nice to meet you, Kiel"

"Now, back to what I was going to ask of you. I am going to need a helmet that will conceal my face. Also, it must be blue, for Nayru. Can you do it?" Fano nodded eagerly and raced into his shack to get his tools and materials. When he emerged again, Kiel spoke to him once more. "Fano, do you know how to use a sword?"

"No, sir."

"Well, I was thinking, if you also made a sword for yourself, I could teach you how to use it."

Fano agreed with this with an enthusiastic nod. "All right. Once you've made my helmet and your sword, we'll set to work with training." With that, Kiel sat down and rested his 54-year-old bones. He was nearly ready to undertake his next quest. It took him a few weeks, but Fano completed the helmet and sword. Kiel took his shining blue helmet. "This is marvellous! How did you get so good?"

"My father was one of the best blacksmiths in Hyrule, and taught me everything he knew."

"Well, he certainly must have been a fantastic blacksmith, for you to be so good, so young." The boy smiled and was clearly appreciative of the comment. "How's your sword coming?"

"Finished."

"All right. Let's see it." Fano picked up his blade and unwrapped the cloth around it. It was a magnificent sword. Its silvery blade shimmered brightly in the sunlight. The hilt and handle were the same colour as Kiel's helmet, a vibrant blue, with the same glow to them. "A fine looking blade. I wouldn't mind having one like it. Well, Fano, would you like to learn how to use it?" Fano nodded and held up his sword. "Whoa, not yet, lad. First, you have to learn how to use your mind, then; you will be ready to fight." Kiel went through everything he had been taught as a young boy by one of Hyrule's finest warriors. He went through everything he had taught to me as well. After another few weeks, Fano had become an excellent swordsman. He even caught Kiel by surprise a few times. Kiel really was the finest teacher of sword skills in all of Hyrule. On his final day of staying in Kakariko, Kiel gave Fano all the rupees he was carrying, a total of 312. "For the helmet" he said. Fano grinned at him, and said "Thank you, Kiel. You are kind."

"Well, what would you pay for a helmet as fine as this?" He put it on his head, and mounted his horse, Farona. "I'll tell others of your skill, lad. Your business shall thrive once more. Also, if anyone tries to push you around, show them what I taught you. They'll surely back off."

"Thank you, my saviour."

"I'm not your saviour, lad. You are. Now, if you don't mind, 'The Baron' has business to attend to. Farewell." Kiel then dug his heels into the sides of Farona, and she galloped out of the village, carrying her master to his next endeavour.