A fanfic inspired by dreams.
Coverart image ffVjcwU by unknown artist. PM me if you know.
Chapter 1
Reminiscence
Find the kid…before anyone discovers the fate destined by their land's deities… Before the Legend begins… It's the only chance to save your world.
A sitting knight rests his head against his longsword hilt. The blade, his armour, and short unkempt brown hair glint from sunlight. His meditation is so intense the mysterious forest all around is only surreal, swirling, cloudy whiteness. Even birdsong cascading from the canopy, and music echoing betwixt the trees, falls upon ears that cannot hear.
The detachment led by Mercadier disappeared. Gattamelata led the second and they failed before they got far. Those who went with Alencon became insane… Everyone else is dead. You're all that's left. If you don't do this, so much sacrifice will be in vain. You were given orders, and you can't go back.
The bottom of his blue cloak – which he wears underneath his plate armour and mail shirt – gently flutters. His dreamy meditation begins fading away as he hears rustling grasses and bushes. The wind shakes branches. Birdsong reverberates throughout the trees. Few by few, little creatures of light, looking like shooting stars and glowing snowflakes, whizz through the surreal clouds.
There is nothing left to lose…
He does not open his eyes, but the swirling, surreal imagery ends. He is sitting on a chunk of mossy ruins. Various trees and fairies surround and abound him, a few of the tiny, luminescent beings dancing on his pauldrons.
The knight stands, fairies flying away from him. He lifts his blue hood to cover his head, and reveals his hazel eyes, looking up into the canopy. Everywhere he looks, fairies decorate the air, and the song of the forest plays endlessly.
"Huh. No wonder they call these woods lost. There's not even a trail anywhere." His voice is hollow, monotonous, and rather deep, testament to his high height but low spirits, though he is not a large man. "Where does that music come from? It's as if there's musicians everywhere, yet nowhere, at the same time."
Leaving the tip of his sword in the ground, he picks up his sword-belt, which is lined with several pouches of various supplies. He buckles it on, and sheathes his blade. He finds his dagger nearby in the grass, blade bloodied. He grasps a handful of leaves and wipes the blood off, tosses the leaves, and slides his dagger into its sheath. Last, but not least, he picks up his heaume and stares into the reinforced eye slits. He turns the great helm around and puts in on, feeling the extra weight on his pauldrons.
The knight walks, articulated parts of his armour clicking as he moves. The farther he walks, the more dead and dying trees he sees, less fairies fly, and the music fades. He looks at one dead tree as he passes it, a gloomy face contorted in the gnarly bark. An analogy of his future self?
The walk is long and lonely, but the occasional flying beings crisscrossing his path offer some solace. Soon, pillars of sunlight beam through more and more openings in the canopy. The forest becomes sparser and then opens up to reveal a prairie. The knight sighs.
"Oh, finally. I knew I'd make it! The castle must be somewhere over the horizon." He exits the forest, but cannot help but look back at the Lost Woods. A few trees groan in the wind, as if unhappy. "Hm… I think I'm going to miss that music a little. It was pretty catchy…"
Panting, the knight reaches the top of a long, gradual hill overlooking a faraway castle town surrounding a citadel. The citadel is both ancient and majestic, and of such grandeur that aqueducts and stone bridges merge with its outer and inner walls. Immense evergreens grow out the bailey, yet the keep is the tallest structure, its very presence dominating everything else.
"There it is, the castle. It's…much bigger than I expected." The knight looks down to the side. Off in the distance is the mouth of a ravine, behind it a horizon of dead and dying forests. "Who the hell is that?"
Some fellow wearing a dark, scruffy greatcoat and wide-brimmed hat wanders out the ravine, face hiding behind his map, lost in it as much as the world around him. He has a sword sheathed down his back, and a heater shield slung over the shoulders. He tilts the map to and fro, but struggles to understand. He stops with a huff and straightens his arms, movement causing his hat to tilt down even more. The map has crude drawings of several landmarks and a castle. His arms and shoulders drop. He lifts his chin and sees the tops of the castle's towers and keep far away.
The fellow notices the knight atop the hill. They stare. The knight briefly waves. The guy nods, and the two continue their separate paths.
Farther up the prairie, cacti and oaks sparsely dot the scenery. The knight reaches the top of another hill, and overlooks the castle once more. Turning his head, he sees the same guy again.
"Him again? Does he even know where he's going? He's going the wrong direction…"
The guy passes a tree, his shadow disappearing in the tree's shade. A shadowy figure emerges, following the fellow, who remains oblivious for the next several minutes. The fellow stops and takes a deep breath while stretching. He lightly huffs, arms dropping, and he turns his head, face-to-face with an immensely tall, shadowy humanoid.
A pause. The fellow's wide-brimmed hat masks his surprise. The shadowy entity cocks his head, glowing red eyes squinting.
"Hey, shrimp!" The shadow's voice is deep and hollow. He aggressively puts the fellow in a chokehold, hat falling down amidst the struggle, revealing thick blond hair. As the kid grunts and loses his map, the shadow pulls him around, then vigorously rubs his head with a set of knuckles. The lad can only flap his arms as his head grinds, the shadow laughing.
Amidst the struggle, the shadow's silhouette begins fading away, gradually revealing a smirking, imposing figure. He wears a black leather overcoat with a tall collar, left unbuttoned down the front, a black doublet and belted trousers underneath. He also wears tall leather boots, wide-brimmed hat, bandana, and fingerless gloves, all black and leather. He has short white hair, tanned skin, and red irises, yet he is a young man. An albino?
"What's the matter, kiddo? Can Hyrule's destiny really depend on such a carefree boy?" His teasing voice is quite human now. "The symbol that should be on your hand…it'll show up, someday! Or, maybe not…"
The blond lad thrashes his shoulders, but his assailant is too strong, and laughs again. "Come on, boyo! Let's see how much stronger you've gotten! Hah hah!"
"Let him go!" someone else shouts.
"Oh-whoa!"
The blond lad feels his assailant's arms slip off. He spins around, seeing someone put the albino in a full nelson.
It's the knight.
Keeping his foe in a full nelson, the knight flips him backwards and releases, slamming the albino's head and shoulders into the ground, hat flying off. Both men pick themselves up, the albino holding the back of his neck.
The knight steps forth, "Or you'll deal with me," he warns while unsheathing his longsword.
The albino frowns and tilts his head, "That voice…" Have I met this guy before?
The blond lad also frowns, looking back and forth at the men, unsure of what to do. The lad's height does not even reach the knight's pauldrons, yet the knight does not even reach the albino's shoulders!
"You picked the wrong guy to mess with, friend," the albino threatens. He raises his left arm and make claws with his fingers, shadows seemingly bubbling out his hand, and a shadowy blade bursts out his palm. His hand constantly shakes, curled fingers repeatedly cracking, and all the veins in his eyes and under the skin darken as if under shade.
"I've seen that magic before. It won't save you, warlock." The knight delivers an overarm swing.
"Just watch me, tin can!" The albino bats aside the incoming sword with his shadowy blade. The knight gasps and pulls his sword back, but the albino throws his shadowy weapon into the helm.
The ensuing eruption of swirling and pixelated shadows hurl the knight off his feet, sword spinning through the air and stabbing into the dirt next to his helmeted head. He looks at his reflection on the blade.
"Well, that was close…"
The albino raises his left arm diagonally across his chest, then swings it out, another shadowy blade bursting out his palm. The albino and blond make eye contact, the lad gripping his sword but not unsheathing it.
"I'll handle this. You get to the castle." The blond nods, and after reclaiming his hat and map, scurries off.
The knight picks himself up while retrieving his longsword, armour sizzling with shadowy streaks.
"Ready for round two, bucket-head?" the warlock asks.
The knight snorts and slowly slides his sword across his neck, "Carnificare vobis!"
He makes a wide step while swinging his sword at his foe's legs. The warlock performs a front flip while conjuring another shadowy blade midair, swinging it vertically as he flips and striking the knight's helm. The blow staggers the knight and spatters shadowy specks.
Landing behind the dazed knight, the albino spins around, "Hyht!" push kicking him in the back of the helm, toppling him.
Forming another shadowy blade and gripping it with both hands, the warlock pounces. The knight turns onto his back, swinging his sword sideways. The blades strike into one another, both sparks and shadowy pixels flying out. The shadowy blade entangles with the metal one!
"What the hell…" they both curse.
The warlock tries to wrench his magical weapon free, but it is rather stuck. The two men pull, but neither retrieve their blade. So, the albino pushes downwards, smoothly overpowering the knight. The knight sits up and grabs the warlock's shirt, then pulls him down while raising both feet into his midsection, flipping him over, shadowy blade disconnecting and dissipating.
Both men get up and eye each other. The warlock crosses his arms and leans back a bit.
"Not bad, tin man, not bad at all! I'd reckon you are better than most monsters! You're not from around here, are you?" The knight does not reply. "Not the talkative type, hunh? Just like my little brother…"
The warlock summons yet another shadowy blade and they exchange a flurry of swings, sparks and pixelated shadows whizzing about from impact. They parry each other's attacks, then pull their blades back to block ripostes. Being unarmoured and more agile and dexterous, the warlock manages to hit the knight in the helmet and pauldron. The magic seeps into his armour and hurt, but it just angers him. His breathing is audible through his helm's breath holes.
He's getting tired under all that armour… The warlock's magic intensifies, shadowy blade flickering as if flaming darkness, casting shadows in all directions. "Aahh-YYEEAAHH!" He swings wide, eyes and veins going black.
The knight grips his longsword with one hand on the handle and other halfway up the blade. He raises his sword sideways, blocking the incoming shadow blade. The impact bursts with shadowy streams, but the knight remains afoot. He punches his hilt into the albino's forehead, who rears from pain but remains conscious.
"That's quite a hard head…" the knight quietly mumbles.
The knight lunges his longsword like a spear while charging. The albino skips back and swings his shadowy blade upwards from below, striking the knight's gauntlet gripping the blade. He flicks his hand from pain, but continues the lunge one-handed. The warlock backhands the flat of the blade while sidestepping, then slams his magic into the knight. The eruption blasts the knight back, though he lands on his heels and clumsily regains his footing.
The albino snickers, "What was that?"
"Annuntio vobis mortem!" The knight charges, attacking with a mix of half-swording lunges and hilt-punching. Nevertheless, the warlock dodges while hitting his armoured foe here and there, using the advantages of his height and agility.
Unable to overcome his foe's superior reach and quickness, the knight holds his sword with the blade pointing backwards over his head. He waits. The albino leaps forth, swinging overhead with an fierce shout. The knight skips back, dodging the magical blade as it burrows into the ground.
"Uhnn!" The albino's face widens as he realizes his mistake.
The albino blasts his magical blade into the ground, sending earth upwards against the knight, halting his attack. The knight simply raises his sword again and swings again, rocks raining over his armour. As the longsword whistles through the air, the warlock rolls sideways over his shoulders, rolling around the knight.
"Tsyaahh!" The warlock jumps while spinning, summoning a shadowy blade and repeatedly striking the knight's armour during revolutions.
The knight totters then falls against the repeating blows. Aligning his magical blade, the warlock performs a jumping attack. Sitting up on one knee, the knight thrusts one-handed into his foe's incoming weapon. The shadowy weapon scrapes down the blade and hits the crossguard.
While the warlock pushes his magical weapon against the knight's, the knight unsheathes his dagger with his left hand and lunges it.
"Oh-whoa!" The albino skips back to avoid the short blade.
The knight stands, longsword in one hand and dagger in the other, breathing like a furnace. They swing at each other, both blades striking, then the knight thrusts his dagger. The warlock kicks the incoming dagger aside. The knight tilts his sword around the shadowy one and lunges. The albino ducks and hurls his shadowy magic into the knight, staggering him, then grapples his legs. The knight pummels his pommel into the warlock's back as they fall.
Summoning his shadow blade anew, the warlock raises it. The knight grabs the albino's shirt, pulls him down, and repeatedly headbutts him in the face. The knight pushes his stunned opponent off, shadow blade dissipating.
The knight grips his sword by the blade and swings the hilt down. His foe rolls, crossguard ramming into dirt. The albino jumps while spinning, shadowy blade reforming and striking the knight's backside with every revolution. The knight falls to his knees.
"You're done, tin man!" Placing his hands on either side of the knight's helm, the albino growls, hands conjuring a shadowy current. The magic travels within and around the helm, ensuing pain causing the knight to drop his sword and grab the warlock's forearms. He is unable to wrench the hands off his helm.
Shouting from pain, the knight flails his head backwards, helm hitting his sorcerous foe in the crotch.
"Ohh-uhnn! That really hurt…" The albino staggers while clutching his groin. He falls to a knee.
The knight picks up his sword and gets up, armour emanating shadowy streaks. Knees buckling, he swings his sword with intent to decapitate. His sword strikes another blade, which knocks his upwards. The knight and warlock turn their heads. It's the blond.
The lad jumps and drives his shield into the knight's helm, knocking him down. The blond steps between the two men but faces the knight, sword and shield up.
After a few seconds, the knight regains himself and gets up, panting heavily. His opponent is also on his feet, both combatants hurt and strained.
"What…are…you doing?" the knight asks the lad between breaths. He does not reply, just wiggling his shield a bit.
The warlock's eyes and veins return to normal, but he is still rather uncomfortable between the legs. He groans.
"Now that we're done fighting…I'd rather look a man in the eye," the warlock says,
"Same. It's a way-uh respect," the knight comments. He takes his helm off, revealing sweaty hair and a red face. The albino tilts his head, frowning. "I take it you…d-did n-not mean the boy anything—any harm?"
"He's my brother…from another mother."
"I see. Sorry. This was all-uh misunderst-standing." The knight puts his helm back on, sheaths his sword, then picks up and sheaths his dagger. "Consider our bought a…personal evaluation."
"Agreed."
The lads pick up their hats and put them on. The blond gets his map, blowing dirt off it.
"Was a good fight, though," the warlock admits with a smirk.
"Hah hah. Maybe, one day, we'll finish?" The knight takes his leave.
"Hey," the albino calls. The knight stops and turns. "Is your name Jonathan?"
A pause.
"How'd you know?"
"Let's just say I didn't recognize you with all that armour on. And, it seems you still can't remember anything. This was our second fight."
"Hm."
The albino chuckles, "But, you made it to Hyrule after all. Where's Alencon and everyone else?"
"I'm all that's left." The warlock's smile disappears. "Well, I'm heading to the castle."
"You too? Well, see you later, friend." The two lads watch the knight go.
"C'mon, shrimp. You're not the only one who's destiny involves the castle. Let's get going, we've got no time to lose. Don't want Mido trying to kick you out the village again." The blond nods and they walk a different path.