I do not own the rights to the Legend of Zelda series.

Please read and review.

Steel clashed against steel. Swords, axes, maces, halberds, weapons of every kind were being swung left and right. Blood spilled and soldiers screamed. The yellow sands at their feet turned crimson with the mass of death. Up above the battlefield, a large, dark-skinned man clad in bronze and leather armor watched over the violent skirmish.

"General!" called a voice from behind, "General! There's too many of them! We have to fall back!" The lieutenant approached the General, blood running down his face.

"Retreat?" the general spat, "From these swine that Arcturio calls soldiers?"

"Sir!" the lieutenant said again, "They outnumber us fifteen to one! We can't win!"

The general scowled. "Go get your wounds treated. Send the healers to aid any stuck on the field. Have them guarded as they work."

"Yes, sir."

The general narrowed his eyes and glared across the field. "Lieutenant," he called as the lieutenant limped away.

"Sir?" he turned and asked.

"Do you know what separates a rat like Arcturio from a soldier like me?"

"…Sir?"

"A rat will only fight when it is most suited to," the general continued, stepping towards the ledge. "A soldier fights always for his men and his people." He drew the bronze greatsword that had been resting on his back, and leapt off the ledge and onto the field.

Almost immediately, enemy soldiers began to attack him, some even ignoring their current opponents. One lunged their blade towards him. The general sidestepped it, and knocked the soldier to the ground with a swing of his arm. He then took hold of his blade with both hands and plunged the greatsword downwards and into the soldier's spine. Another attacked him, and was met with the sole of his boot. The general picked up his sword and gave a mighty swing, slicing straight through their armor and leaving deep gashes in the soldier's chest.

"General!" one of his own men called out to him.

"Keep your spirits and your swords up, boys!" he shouted to his soldiers, "We're not beaten yet!"

Having caught a second wind, the general's army began to push their enemies back.

On the opposite side of the field, a knight in dark crimson armor with long, grey hair sat in his tent, looking at the charts laid out before him. "If we can push him southwest, he'll be caught like an animal. Anywhere else shouldn't really pose a problem, but should he flee to the east…"

"General Arcturio, sir!" called the royalist captain, "He's stepped onto the battlefield, sir!"

"What?! So soon?!" screamed Arcturio. He stood up and walked towards his officers. "Give me that spyglass!" He shouted, snatching it from the user's hands. He looked through it and, sure enough, the rebel general had stepped onto the battlefield. "That bastard!" He tightened his fist around the spyglass and turned to his officers. "SEND OUT ALL REMAINING FORCES! CUT OFF ANY ESCAPE TO THE EAST, TRY TO FORCE HIM SOUTHWEST!"

"Yes sir!" they acknowledged, and dispersed.

"It's too late for them to turn this around us," the captain stated, "…isn't it, sir?"

"If there's one thing I learned after near thirty years of military service," Arcturio muttered, "It's that that man can alone could change the entire outcome of a battle." He collapsed the spyglass and moved back towards his tent. "Prepare the wagons and pack horses in case we need to retreat."

"Yes, sir."

Another one of Arcturio's men fell to the sand.

"They're flanking us!" called one man.

"Predictable, Arcturio," the Rebel General chuckled, "He's trying to force us southwest."

"Southwest, sir?"

"Into the canyon," the general said, swinging his blade at another one of Arcturio's men. "It won't be so easy, Arcturio. I hope you at least know that." Smiling, he raised his sword into the sky. "FORWARD!"

The Rebels advanced. The weaker-willed royalists began running away.

"RUN!" shouted the general, cutting down another foe, "RUN HOME! RUN BACK TO YOUR CASTLE WALLS! RUN BACK TO YOUR MAD KING! TELL HIM WE'LL TOLERATE HIS TYRANNY NO LONGER! TELL HIM HIS PEOPLE WILL SOON BE FREE OF HIM AND HIS OPPRESSION!"

The bellow of horns sounding the retreat rang out across the skies over the battlefield. Arcturio had signaled the end. The royalists fell away from the battlefield, fleeing for their lives.

The rebels all cried out a victorious cheer. The day was theirs.

"We won, General," the lieutenant said, "What next?"

"We rest," said the general, removing his helmet, revealing his red hair and golden eyes, "Tomorrow, we push forward."

"Yes, General Dragmire," the lieutenant said, turning towards the men. He quickly turned his face back towards his general and said, "This victory would not have been possible without you, sir." He turned back to the soldiers, "LONG LIVE GENERAL DRAGMIRE!"

"LONG LIVE GENERAL DRAGMIRE!" the soldiers chanted back. "LONG LIVE GENERAL DRAGMIRE! LONG LIVE GENERAL DRAGMIRE!"

The men continued their chant as General Ganondorf Dragmire walked back towards his tent. He chuckled and shook his head, and retired for the night.

So, what did you think? This was mainly a practice to try and improve my imagery. I don't think I've ever been really good at that.

This is the first chapter of what I hope to be an entertaining story. Maybe I can actually finish this one, eh? I haven't abandoned my other projects, I just don't know how to proceed. It's far too common of a problem for me, I know. I'm sorry, I'll try to get them up and running again, I swear.

But I doubt it will be any time soon. As of May 8, 2013, I am going on hiatus. I'll maybe post a few more updates between now (April 30, 2013) and then, but no promises. The hiatus will last until AT LEAST May 8, 2015. Let's just say I'll be away and not press the matter any further. I'll keep trying to develop my stories, but there will be no updates until that point.

As that date is so close, I am obviously NOT going to finish this story unless I can crank out about seven chapters a day. Which is not going to happen. But I had this great idea and I didn't want it to rust away in the back of my mind, so I figured I'd get it started and jot down notes for the rest elsewhere.

So, tell me, what did you think? Was it good? Bad? How so? Can I make it better? How so?