Hello! Tsunami Storm here! I'm now in yet another universe, this time 'Legend of Zelda'! So this story takes place about seven years before the events of Twilight Princess, and occurs in the Ordon and Faron provinces. I have to add Bo as a character too, but you can't have more than four characters for any story. Anyway, pairings are Rusl and Uli, and that's about it for chapter 1. This story is rated K for pure Kawaii! As always, Read, Enjoy, and Review!

Disclaimer:I do NOT own Legend of Zelda, or any of the rights to the games. I do have copies of a few of them, which shows my love and support for the series. All credit goes to the genii at Nintendo for creating an epic series that has flourished since 1987! Thank you, Nintendo! (and Shigeru Miyamoto!)

Prologue to the Twilight, a 'Legend of Zelda' fanfic by Tsunami Storm

Chapter 1: Destiny

"Come on Dad! I'll race you home!" Ilia called, dashing ahead of the portly Mayor- who was huffing and puffing behind his nine-year-old daughter. Bo groaned. "I'm getting too old for this." He complained to himself. Next year he would delegate the wood-gathering duties to the swordsman Rusl. He would be able to fend for himself and he knew these woods almost better than Bo did. Perhaps next year Colin could help and gather fallen branches to use as tinder. By that time the boy would be four years old, plenty old enough to start helping the community.

"Come on, Dad! What's the holdup?" Ilia laughed, bending down to inspect a flower growing by a gigantic tree. Then she stood up and began dancing around the majestic glade, waiting for her father to catch up. Bo smiled proudly as he watched his beautiful daughter twirl and leap as gracefully as a deer. In the light of the setting sun, the child seemed to literally glow- her dirty-blonde hair gently blowing in the playful breeze that whispered through the trees.

"We'd better hurry back to Ordon, Ilia." Bo suggested. "It's twilight. And strange and dangerous creatures come out at night, especially in these woods."

"All right, Dad." Ilia agreed, taking part of the pile of wood from her father's arms and carrying it herself so Bo wouldn't have to carry so much. Both father and daughter walked out of the Faron Woods safely and stacked the wood against the side of their house- where it would be somewhat safe from the rain. Then they turned to enter their house for the night.

Suddenly a chorus of howls broke the silence of the evening, and Bo shivered in apprehension. He had never been fond of the wolves that lived just beyond the borders of their small village, but had grown accustomed to their presence over the years. Ilia- however- was fascinated by the creatures, much to her father's dismay. "The wolves are singing to the moon." The child observed, listening in awed silence.

Among the chorus of harmonized howls, one voice stood out from the rest- its song completely different from the others. While the pack sang of the majesty of the night- or whatever wolves sing about- this howl was clearly a cry of pain or a call for help. Immediately Ilia's heart went out to the poor creature and she wanted to go help it. Bo vehemently objected to the idea, restating the danger of the forest at night. After much begging and pleading, though, he gave in- accompanying his daughter back into the forest. Passing Rusl's house on the way, he knocked on the door and requested the swordsman's company- just to be on the safe side. Rusl agreed, bidding goodnight to his wife Uli and three-year-old son Colin- who was asleep in his mother's arms. Then the three villagers journeyed into the dark forest.

Following the sounds of the wounded wolf's cries, Ilia led the way through the woods to the old Forest Temple where their ancestors had sent prayers to the goddess Farore. Confused, Ilia searched all around the area of the temple, but couldn't find a sign of any animal- wolf or otherwise. Yet they still heard the pain-filled yelps of the animal somewhere nearby. Rusl then commented, his expression thoughtful, "It may be near the Sacred Grove, a legendary place in all the old histories of Hyrule."

"Oh, Rusl. You know that no one really believes those old legends anymore." Bo argued. "An' who knows if that Grove is still safe? It's been in ruins for hundreds of years!"

"I've been there recently. It may be a centuries-old ruin, but the structures that still stand are quite sturdy. It's safe enough." Rusl countered.

"You an' that adventurous streak of yours! Between you an' Ilia, I've got my hands full keeping an eye on our village!" Bo laughed heartily, shaking his head in mock exasperation. Then he grew serious again. "In any case, I'm getting too old to get through all those obstacles leading to the Sacred Grove. I trust I don't have to tell you to take care of my little girl?" Bo asked, looking at the swordsman expectantly.

Rusl nodded and put a gentle hand on Ilia's shoulder. "No harm will come to her under my watch, Bo. You have my word."

Hearing this promise, Bo walked ten feet away and sat down on a large rock. "I'll wait for you guys here. Ilia, be careful an' listen to Rusl. He knows what he's doing."

"Okay, Father." Ilia agreed, then shyly turned to Rusl, who whistled a strange song with his two fingers. A golden Cucco flew to his arms and he presented the bird to Ilia, saying, "This is Kogane. He's a very special companion of mine, and he can help you get to the Sacred Grove- which was once the Temple of Time in all the old legends. I'll use my old Grappling Hook and accompany you. Okay?"

With a smile and a nod, Ilia accepted the golden Kogane from the swordsman and followed her father's friend as he swung from tree root to rock, making their way to the ruins of the Temple of Time- the central part of the adventure of the Legendary Hero.

-Quite a bit later-

It took some time, but Rusl and Ilia eventually made it to the Sacred Grove- solving puzzles and fending off attacking creatures along the way. When they came to a circular clearing, Ilia noticed a strange sight. A sword decorated with the symbol of the goddesses was sheathed in a stone pedestal, its blade sparkling in the light of the full moon behind her.

"That's the Master Sword. The legendary 'Blade of Evil's Bane' that sealed away the King of Evil and saved Hyrule, or so the legend goes." Rusl stated cryptically, slightly startling Ilia- who had not noticed his silent approach. The two stared at the blade in silent respect for a moment, then turned to leave. But their path was blocked.

In the archway sat an ancient Golden Wolf- its right eye scarred and closed, its left eye sad- despite its unnerving red color. Ilia took a frightened step back into Rusl, who had drawn his own sword. The Golden Wolf regarded them with a mournful expression, then lifted its muzzle and released a pitiful howl- sounding exactly like the ones that had led them here. Ilia cocked her head to the side in confusion, not seeing any wound on the animal's glistening coat. It turned to its left and loped over to an odd form near the corner of the room.* Then it bent its muzzle down to the form and nudged it with its nose, ever so gently.

[* You know that pile of rocks near the ruined doorway in the chamber of the Master Sword? That's where I'm talking about. In the GC version of TP, it's on the left as you're walking into the chamber, on the Wii it's right.]

To Ilia's and Rusl's great surprise, the form moved and groaned in pain. With a jolt, Ilia realized it was a boy- clothed in rags so dirty that he was all but invisible when still. Ilia noticed a deep, long gash in the boy's right arm*, and a smaller wound in his abdomen- as if he'd been in a fight for his life and had barely escaped.** The Golden Wolf looked meaningfully at Ilia and Rusl, then at the boy, then at Ilia again and whimpered mournfully. Immediately the child understood, then cautiously approached the wounded boy and Golden Wolf. "Be careful, Ilia." Rusl warned. "It might attack."

[* would've been left on the Wii]

[** See 'The Legend of Zelda: The Hero's Twilight' ch. 9.]

"No it won't." Ilia answered back confidently. "Don't you see? He led us here not to help him, but to help this boy. The wolf was trying to save this boy's life, so he called us."

"If that's the case, then that is the smartest wolf I've ever met." Rusl commented, sheathing his blade. The Golden Wolf backed away calmly as Rusl and Ilia approached the boy and watched quietly as Rusl bound the boy's side with a length of cloth he'd brought. Ilia fashioned a makeshift sling for the boy's arm from her sash, then tied it behind the boy's neck.

Now that Ilia was closer, she could see that the boy was about her age- maybe ten- with dirty-blond hair and a kind face. She couldn't see the color of his eyes- as they were closed- but she had a feeling they were beautiful, whatever color they were. Rusl gently put one arm behind the boy's back and the other behind his knees as he lifted him up and carried him with his right arm, gesturing for Ilia to follow him with his left.

Suddenly the wolf whimpered softly, then padded toward the boy and swordsman- showing no fear whatsoever. Rusl quickly drew his blade, but Ilia held his hand back- somehow knowing that the wolf meant no harm. The animal approached the tense Rusl, then gently and deliberately licked the boy's left hand- as if saying goodbye. Then- backing up a few steps- the wolf started clawing runes into the ground with its paw, then it slinked away. "How odd." Ilia commented as Rusl studied the characters. "I've never seen any animal do that, let alone a wolf."

"That is no normal wolf, Ilia." Rusl agreed, standing up from the runes. "No normal animal would know how to write, as this one apparently does."

"Why? What do the runes say?" Ilia asked, still staring at the enigmatic wolf- who was sitting calmly by the Master Sword- its plumy tail twitching back and forth.

"It appears to be ancient Hylian, and it's a name. 'Link'." Rusl read, then looked at the wolf in confusion. "But what I can't figure out is if that's the boy's name or the wolf's."

The wolf did something very strange then. It gave a coughing bark, a strange cough that almost sounded like it was hiding laughter. Then with its snout, the wolf pointed very deliberately at the boy. Ilia turned to Rusl- who was looking at the runes again- and said, "Come on. Let's take Link home. Then we can treat his wounds properly." Rusl nodded, then the two left the ruined chamber of the Master Sword- Rusl carefully carrying the unconscious Link.

As they left, Ilia looked down at the steps under the archway and whispered, "Don't worry. We'll take care of him, 'Link the Golden Wolf'." She glanced back at the pedestal with a smile, but the wolf had disappeared. Ilia searched the room with her eyes, but then reasoned that the wolf had left to return to its den- wherever that was. Then she followed Rusl out of the Sacred Grove.

Behind her, a ghostly form walked out from behind the Master Sword and stood in the exact place the Golden Wolf had been sitting. The figure smiled, his long green hat and blond bangs blowing in the gentle breeze. "Link-" The ghostly Hero of Time whispered. "I'll see you again." Then a ray of morning sunlight broke through the trees, illuminating the legendary blade and causing it to sparkle and shine. When the ray of light disappeared, so did the Hero- and the Master Sword stood alone in the center of the ruin, awaiting the coming of the next Hero- the one worthy to pull it from the stone.

As Rusl and Ilia returned to the Forest Temple to reunite with Bo, the child called Link groaned softly- gently flexing the fingers on his left hand- the one the wolf had licked. Unnoticed by all, a strange mark suddenly appeared on the back of the boy's hand. Three triangles glowed bright gold for a brief moment, then faded to the color of the boy's skin- but slightly darker- looking for all the world like a normal birthmark.

End of chapter 1

Next chapter teaser: Life in Ordon

Originally this was gonna be a one-shot, but I got some people asking for a continuation, so there's gonna be a chapter 2! I'm not telling what it's about, though. You'll just have to wait and see!

I know the Golden Cucco has no name in T, but I just gave it the Japanese word for 'golden' as its name. Not too subtle, am I? XD

Heh. The Golden Wolf has a sense of humor. Who knew? And he's cute! I love how he quotes Sheik from OoT after Sheik teaches you (Link) a new 'temple' song.

And yes, I know Ilia is acting like a Mary-Sue. I just wanna say that's what I would do too, if I were in her position. I can't help it. I just act that way in real life.

I have absolutely NO idea where Link came from or how he got those wounds. But the wound on his arm gives me an excuse to make him left-handed, as almost all the other games are.

That's not to say I don't have a theory, though. If you want to know what it is, check out my other Legend of Zelda story on here, 'The Legend of Zelda: The Hero's Twilight'.

Well, see you next chapter!

God Bless!

Tsunami Storm