The Legend of Zelda:

A call to battle

1

"Link... dost thy hear it? Dost thou not feel it in thy bones? Surely thy can sense the taint of evil approaching this land; the inevitability of war. The call to battle. Link... dost thy hear it? Dost thou not feel it in thy bones? Link..."

With a gasp, a highly startled Link rose up out of bed, clutching his chest. After a series of heavy breaths, he took a moment to survey his surroundings, finding that he was nowhere but his temporary home. A small tent, with a makeshift cot on the earth that he rested on. Outside, he could hear Epona pawing the ground softly with a few snorts and grunts. All was well.

Except for that dream. It was so real, and so frightening. He could scarcely believe what he had seen in it, but he could practically smell the stench of war while it was happening. Those images... all of his friends cut down, lying in pools of their own blood. It was too horrible to dwell on, he decided. Surely nothing more then a bad dream.

Walking outside the tent, he stretched out vigorously. As he did so, he noticed the beauty and tranquility of the forest. Plants still had dew on them, morning flowers were budding, and a very light fog swirled about gently. How long had it been since he left Hyrule? If he remembered correctly, it had been somewhere around 3 years. His thoughts wandered to all of the places he had been to during his journeys.

His first encounter, with the demon mask of Majora, had occurred slightly under a few weeks after venturing off through the woods. After he finished there, he had continued traveling for some time, a few months, coming across many small and friendly villages as he went. He had learned of many things during his travels, like how very many kingdoms there were in this land. He had passed through at least three by now, each time being greeted heartily by the monarchy. It seemed that his deeds as a hero had traveled through time and space with ease; perhaps by that happy mask fellow?

It was about two years ago, Link recalled, that he had come across a strange and desolate castle. Somehow or another, it contained either a symbolic version or an actual manifestation of the Triforce, and he had been sent to Holodrum. Truly a great adventure he had taken part in there, but just as he thought he was done, he was sent to Labrynna. And once again the people asked for him to fulfill his role as hero.

Never would Link have expected to see Princess Zelda there! And as such, he never would have expected to see Gannon there. It was quite a surprise indeed to see one of his best friends and his greatest enemy both in one strange place. Despite the strangeness, he had overcome the hardships, saved Princess Zelda and defeated Gannon once again.

Over the next two years, he had continued to do his deeds of bravery, growing ever stronger as he did. He assisted in things ranging from leading revolts against evil tyrants, to saving farms and villages from pillagers, right down to finding lost children. Anywhere assistance was needed, he was ready to lend a hand. But, one thing had never seemed completely right to Link. True, he felt great for all of his wonderful acts, but he felt as though he was missing something.

Then, there was that dream again. He couldn't seem to force it out of his mind completely. As a matter of fact, he felt drawn ever closer to Hyrule. The call to battle... he had best return to ensure that nothing happen to his homeland.

"Let's ride, Epona."

Epona whinnied affectionately, and Link quickly retrieved his stuff from inside the tent. A quiver of arrows, a bow, his trusty sword made from the finest metal in all of Ravniel, (one of the many kingdoms he had visited), and the hero's shield. Slinging it all onto his back, the bow hanging from two hooks on his shield, and a bag of Deku seeds hanging from his side, he hopped up onto Epona. With a spirited yell, he sent his heels into her middle, and off they went into the mist. They were going back to Hyrule.

Right at this same time, Princess Zelda was having plenty of worries. She had experienced a dream very similar to Link's, and took it for a prophecy. She foresaw a Great War between Hyrule and a neighboring kingdom; probably, she thought, the one they were presently trying to improve relations with. The kingdom of Yixgrin, just to the northwest of the Zora's Domain, was the one she thought of. It was a very powerful kingdom, having control of gigantic forests, large steel mills, the best blacksmiths, and a very happy population.

It was natural the Hyrule would want to be friends with such a country. As such, diplomatic interactions were taking place at that very moment. The ambassador of Yixgrin was in Hyrule Castle, and the ambassador of Hyrule was in Yixgrin Castle. In fact, Zelda was just about to go see that ambassador, to have a talk with her. She had plenty of things to discuss.

Quickly dismissing her attendants, she left her chambers and had a few guards escort her to the room where the conference was taking place. As she peered through the door, she saw that her father and the ambassador were enjoying themselves over some wine. She relaxed a bit, seeing this wouldn't be as bad as she thought; at least that was how it appeared to her.

The King took notice of his daughter quickly, and beckoned for her to sit down with them. "Come, Zelda, meet the ambassador of Yixgrin, Lady Yi."

Yi was sitting quite relaxed, giving Zelda a brief wave while still sipping her wine. Zelda curtsied briefly, as was appropriate, and took a seat across from Yi. The King called out for another round of drinks. The server bowed and moved to gather some. Zelda took notice of the odd way that server always seemed to behave; it was as if, somehow, he could read the thoughts of people. And he had a shifty eyed gaze, too. Zelda didn't like him very much, but all of the other servers had mysteriously become too sick to do anything.

"So, Princess Zelda, your father tells me that Hyrule has many things to offer in an alliance. We were just getting in to some of those things. What do you think are some of Hyrule's finer points?"

Yi spoke with a respectful voice, and seemed to be a very nice person. Almost too nice, Zelda thought, but as an after-note she realized she was probably just being paranoid. There was no reason to aggravate the situation. Thinking for a brief moment, she gave her answer.

"I would have to say the Lon-Lon Ranch is one of the best parts of Hyrule. They make the best milk anyone has ever tasted, even travelling gourmands. And they breed very good horses. Then there's Kokiri forest; true enough, the Kokiri don't like us Hylians very much, but ever since Gannondorf vanished mysteriously, they've warmed up some. The forest is beautiful."

Yi looked a bit surprised when Zelda had said Gannondorf. Choking it back, she continued. "Interesting. I don't know who this Gannondorf is, or why he would have anything to with inter-race relations, but it sounds like Hyrule is a very lovely place."

The King took this time to include himself in the conversation. "Yes, Gannondorf was a very strange man indeed. He was a Gerudo, the only male of their race born in one hundred years, and he wielded awesome power. He claimed to be allied with me for his life, but I was never too sure. Then one day, he just disappeared without as much as a goodbye. Ah, the drinks are here!"

The server bent over and placed the tray containing three goblets of wine on the table. Each person reached for one, and took a quick sip. But just as conversation was about to continue, a choking sound could be heard from Yi's throat. Worried eyes looked at Yi from Zelda, the King, and Yi's guards. She was clutching her throat, and her eyes bugged out a bit. Then they rolled upwards, her eyelids closed, her arms fell limp and her body slacked. To all that were watching, it would seem she was dead.

"Oh my gosh!" Zelda shrieked. She rushed over to see if she could help, while the King shouted furiously.

"Where did that server go! I'll have him beheaded for poisoning the ambassador!"

But he was nowhere to be seen. The guards held Zelda back, already doing the work. It was obvious; there was no breathing, no respiration, and her skin already felt clammy; Yi was dead. One of the guards picked her up, another one looked down and frightened, and the other stared accusingly at the king.

"You will pay dearly for this. NO one gets away with poisoning a Yixgrin diplomat!"

The King glared fiercely right back at him, and stood up from his chair.

"How dare you accuse me of such! That server is obviously a traitor to Hyrule, and he will be put to death for sure, but I had nothing to do with it. If you were a citizen of Hyrule, you would be on your way to the gallows for saying what you just did. Since you are not, however, you and your company will have to face something different, until we can resolve this situation."

The guard scoffed at him. "Do you mean to say that you would put us in prison? You would be bringing down the full wrath of Yixgrin upon yourself! I suggest you calm down and think it through. My company and I will be returning to our kingdom now, and we will be taking Lady Yi with us for a proper burial. Do not try to stop us; you are in enough trouble as it is, sir King."

He was left speechless. Zelda just stood there, a concerned and somewhat frustrated look on her face, as she looked from one figure to the other. Before another word could be said, the three guards had left, and a plethora of Hyrule soldiers came into the room from the other end.

"We heard yelling, my Lord. Is something the matter?"

The King looked at them with a grave face. "Yes, very much so. But we have a first priority. Find the server who was catering to us at this meeting, and have his head put under the axe! He may have just doomed all of Hyrule."

"Understood, my Lord. Search the castle!" All of the guards rushed back out to find the wanted man. The King sat down, highly frustrated. Zelda crept slowly back to her chambers, contemplating what all of this must mean. Her worst fears were coming true. Nothing good would come of this.