Prologue
Link turned around and grit his teeth as his foe advanced on him. The spear that had just sailed over his head had missed its mark by inches.
The air was thin and the arctic wind gnawed at every bit of exposed skin. The knight's breath was clearly visible. His breathing was calm as opposed to Link's, which was erratic and burdened. They were on an icy stone bridge which was the only way to cross between two of the highest peaks in the Snowhead mountain range. Falling of this narrow bridge meant a long fall to certain death in the rocky chasm below.
The Knight that had been hunting our hero drew his two swords.
Link knew that he had to get rid of him, ever since he had set foot in Termina, he had been following him. Only a few days ago, he turned from a stalker to a significant threat. Their last battle had gone poorly for our hero. He still had the wounds to prove it, and they had just barely begun to heal.
"Go no farther boy, the path you are following will only lead to death." The Knight shouted.
Link drew his sword and readied his shield. Nothing was going to stop him from accomplishing his mission.
"So be it." The Knight hissed, he then shot forward leaving a swirling vortex of powerful winds in his wake. A loud thunderclap followed his sudden advance. Within seconds the knight had crossed the bridge and locked blades with Link in a shower of blue sparks.
...
A Few Days Earlier
...
The entity felt simple thoughts flowing through his mind.
He tried to move his limbs, but found that he had none.
He tried to cry out, yet he had no voice.
Then he felt something, a hand.
His hand, he tensed up and tried to move.
His hand obeyed, closing into a fist.
The very sense of physical being overwhelmed him.
The agitating feeling of dirt in his eyes.
Pins and needles in his legs.
The entity tried to breathe but realized he was suffocating.
He lashed out with his limbs, kicking and squirming. Trying to break free of the earth's oppressive hold.
Then he punched through a layer of topsoil, shouting in triumph as he emerged from the earth.
"GRAGHHHH!"
He grunted and snarled as he pulled himself from the dirt, shakily getting onto his feet.
He was panting, and felt as if he had just stepped from a pit of fire.
Yet, the chilly breeze would make most shiver.
He looked around, allowing his eyes to adjust to the darkness.
The sky was filled with shadowy black clouds, and a faint faded orange light just barely lit the world surrounding him. He stood on a near barren plain, black oily looking grass protruding from the ground in small contained patches. In the heart of one of these patches grew a relatively bright cyan flower.
It's light was like an oil lamp in a dim room, and like a lamp the flower succeeded illuminating the area around it.
He bent over an pulled the flower from the soil, examining it closely while humming. Then began plucking the pedals off, one by one.
He gazed off into the distance, clusters of floating buildings could be seen, and beyond that, more rolling hills. Most likely with more little flowers just like this one. Some would consider it a beautiful prospect.
He closed his fist around the remainder of the flower.
He was not like them, he saw the true potential of this place.
He chuckled with glee at the thought.
Yes, it would be the perfect tinder box.
All that was required was a match.
...
Ilia handed Shad a cup of tea while Link placed a stack of books down next to the young scholar with a grunt.
"Thank you good fellow." Shad said kindly.
Link gave his friend a nod before sitting down in a chair next to his friends.
"Anything?" Ilia asked.
"No, I'm afraid not. Everything I have found refers to the Mirror Chamber in the Arbiter's Grounds. We all know that's not going to get us anywhere." Shad explained, with sigh he turned his gaze to the colossal pile of books that Link had brought him.
"Link, I think it's time we start facing facts. That mirror was the only connection between the Twilight Realm and our world. That mirror is shattered beyond repair. It may be hard to accept, but Midna is gone. You need to let her go." Ilia told her childhood friend.
Link hung his head in despair.
"I know it's tough, but look at it this way. Midna is home now, back where she belongs. Zant will never be able to hurt her or her people again. You've done your job, you've saved the world and it's time for you to come home." She said, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder.
He pulled away and stood up, picking up the pile of books with a grunt and carrying them to a different table. He took a pair of books from the top of the stack, opened them, placed them side by side, sat down and began going though the pages.
"Oh Link..." Ilia murmured.
...
"This is unacceptable." A man hissed.
"Do you not realize the severity of your transgressions?" Another snarled.
The four elders sat in large chairs made of obsidian and leather. They sat in a semi circle around the Twilight Princess who was standing in the center of the room which had a domed roof. On this roof was the history of Twili. The story began in the center of the roof and expanded outwards like tree rings, each ring shaped mural getting bigger the farther you got from the center point.
"Council Members, please..." Midna began.
"When the goddesses' sealed away the Fused Shadow, they instructed us never to seek it out, on pain of death!" The first man barked.
"If the Hero of Twilight and I had not sought it out, the goddesses' precious world of light would have been consumed by twilight!" The Princess snapped.
"Midna, my sweet, you are not seeing the point the Council is trying to make. Although you and the Hero of Twilight saved both of our realms the means by which you did so are strongly...controversial." A woman said gently.
"Mother, we had no choice. I knew what I was getting myself and my friend into! If there had been any other way to defeat Zant and Gannadorf without the Fused Shadow, we would have pursued that option." Our heroine protested.
"This is true. Zant and his ally possessed a power that few could match." another woman murmured.
"That maybe so but now we have potentially traded one foe for another, The Sentinels, the legendary knights that dispose of the goddesses' enemies." The second man reminded her.
"The stories must be false then, because they didn't do a very good job when it came to disposing of Gannadorf." Midna grumbled.
"Mind your tongue girl, less you invoke the wrath of the goddesses'." Her mother scolded.
"What else could they do to us? They have segregated us from the rest of Hyrule. They have forced us into the shadows, like animals forced into a steel cage. What harm could they bring to us now that we are at our lowest point? Kill us? Why, I would almost prefer that." The Princess snarled, turning her gaze skyward.
"Go on kill me, strike me down and liberate me from theses shackles you have forced me to wear. Let me out of this dark place and allow me to enter a place where light shines for all!"
The Council gasped as the doors behind them flung open. Three figures entered the chamber. The center figure was dressed in brown boots, black trousers, and a steel chest plate over his teal shirt. Under this shirt was a suit of black chain mail that protected his torso. He also was clad in steel shoulder guards in addition to steel gauntlets. A grey wolf pelt was draped over his shoulders. To top it all off, a steel helm with a T-shaped visor masked the man's head, a steel crest was protruding from the crown of the man's head and ran down the back of his helmet to the base of his neck. Two swords hung from his side.
Flanking him were knights, both dressed in identical white robes and square steel helms with V shaped visors. Golden Hylian Shields were strapped to their backs.
"Twilight Princess, before you go asking for death, know this. Even in oblivion you will be surrounded by nothing but darkness. Harmony and light is something you will never know." The center figure told her as he and his companions walked into the meeting.
The Council quickly stood up and bowed, while Midna stood her ground as she watched the armored men advance on her.
"Who are you to place such a judgement on me and how did you come here. The Mirror of Twilight was destroyed." She grumbled.
"Xavier, I am Sentinel of Light and we have our ways." He told her, as if that was her que to start groveling.
"What do you want?" The Princess asked.
"I have been sent to put you in your place." The Knight replied.
"Well if you're not going to kill me, what do you plan on doing?"
"You are like a child, Midna, you question the authority of the goddesses'. You defy their wishes, and expect to be treated like a hero. You have mistaken your defiance for valor, a gross misinterpretation." He chided.
Our heroine felt infuriated. She and Link had been willing to sacrifice everything to save Hyrule and the Twilight Realm from Gannadorf's scheme. Ever since she had returned home, she had been under attack. Her people accused her of putting their lives in danger, her most trusted advisors looked down on her. Even her own mother had condemned her actions. Sure, she hadn't been expecting cake, flowers, a feast or a parade when she returned from helping save the world but a simple 'thank you' or 'good job' would have been nice.
The Knight grabbed her by the face and began to squeeze.
"Firstly, we'll begin by changing you into a more manageable creature. Something unfit to sit in the throne. Zant had the right idea, an imp will suffice." The knight snarled.
Midna felt her insides become mush, she felt herself getting smaller. Instantly, she fought back, not willing to let herself become a hideous imp once more. A blast of iridescent energy sent the two flying away from one another.
When the smoke cleared, the knight stood to see the result of the transformation.
Midna had managed to resist most of the knight's magic. She had only gotten a little shorter, standing now at about 5'4. She had her familiar black and white imp-ish body along with the cyan blue designs on her arms, legs and ears. Her bright orange hair was now done up in a thick ponytail that went down to middle of her back and her bangs now varied in length.
The Knight sighed, rotating his wrist around as if it were stiff.
"I suppose that will have to do."
"So is that it?" Midna asked defiantly.
"For now, besides I do not have time to waste on just you. There are others who must be punished."
"Others?"
"Yes. The existence of the Fused Shadow has been reveled to a handful of Hylians. In order to prevent this information from spreading, they must be killed."
Midna felt like she had been punched in the gut.
"Link...you're going to kill Link. The person who saved us all...YOU'RE GOING TO KILL HIM?" She shouted.
"It must be done, in order to ensure that no one goes after the remains of the Fused Shadows and repeats the history of the Interlopers." He replied, turning to leave.
Midna ran after the knights following them into the courtyard , and jumping onto one of them.
"No, you can't do this!" She shouted.
The Knight just grabbed her by the neck and threw her to the side.
She grunted as she landed on her back, but she quickly got onto her knees to see the three knights turn into tiny white rectangles that shot up into the dark sky. She kept her gaze focused on the heavens as tears formed in her bright yellow eyes.
"Just leave him alone." She begged.
...
Our hero sighed with defeat, closing the book he had been examining.
The Librarian was asking everyone to leave so that she could close up shop.
"Come on Link, maybe we'll try again in a few days. There are still lots of books to go through." Shad assured him.
The young man nodded and followed his friends to the exit, making their way back to Telma's bar.
When they arrived, Telma had hot bowls of beef stew waiting for all of them.
"I hope you all are hungry!" She said as they walked in and sat down, except for Link who took his bowl off the table and proceeded upstairs.
Ilia quickly went after him.
"Link wait!" She pleaded.
The Hero of Twilight turned, not looking very heroic. Instead he looked overcome with despair.
"Link, come on down and eat with us. Sitting up there all by yourself isn't going to help anything. Please Link, come back to us...come back to me." She pleaded.
Our hero saw what she was trying to do, he narrowed his eyes at her.
"You had your chance." He said quietly before proceeding up the stairs, where he ate his supper and went to sleep.
...
He awoke to the smell of smoke and the sound of Telma shouting.
"What do you think you're doing, let us out!"
Our hero quickly got out of bed. Wearing nothing but his pants and grabbed his sword and shield.
He ran down stairs to find a fire blazing in the center of the room. His friends were desperately trying to knock down the main door which wasn't opening.
"Move!" He shouted, charging the door with his shield raised.
With a yell he crashed through the door, breaking it down.
The cold evening air shocked him into a even more heightened sense of alertness.
There were a group of knights in silver armor one had a sword and shield, while the other two were armed with crossbows.
"What is the matter with you?" Telma shouted, marching up to one of them.
The crossbowmen trained their weapons on her and she backed off.
"Hang on now, there's no need for-"
They both shot her.
"Kill the rest." The Swordsmen hissed.
Link surged forward, throwing his sword into the crossbow men's chest and bashing the swordsmen with his shield, yanking his sword out of fallen knight as he did so.
"Ilia run, go find Epona!" Shad shouted, picking up the dead knights crossbow.
"GUARDS!" She screamed.
Shad turned to fire at the other crossbowmen and succeeded in hitting him, but got shot in the leg as he did so. His opponent took the bolt to the neck though and fell over.
Link ran up the nearest wall and pushed off of it, twisting his body as he arced over his foe and slashing at his head, only for the attack to be blocked. Link landed behind his foe and went to run him through the only for opponent to twist around and bat the stab away with the flat of his blade.
"Sh-Shad!" Telma cried out.
"I'm coming!" He told her, limping to her.
Guards could be heard running towards the burning building.
"Over here, quickly men!" One shouted.
"Help!" Shad shouted.
Link fought the silver knight with a renewed fury.
"Try to kill me." He snarled, landing a slash across the knights chest plate.
"My friends...my family!"
He managed to disarm his foe.
"I'll kill you!" He shouted, kicking the knight onto his back and stabbing him through the chest. The knight grabbed onto the blade defiantly, trying to remove it.
"Who do you think you are?" The knight hissed.
"A hero? Well here's the truth, you're a heretic. You trifled with powers beyond your understanding. The goddesses hid the Fused Shadow for a reason. You've endangered us all."
The knight coughed, releasing the blade and removed his helm.
He was a middle aged man with stubble and a shaven head. Blood flowed from his mouth and nose.
"I've heard your prayers, the Hero of Twilight asking for a simple reward. To be reunited with the woman he loves. The Twilight Princess, some nerve you have. The goddesses owe you nothing...NOTHING!"
Link sunk the blade deeper into the knight's chest and with a pained gasp he expired.
The guards watched from the entryway to the little courtyard, completely shocked.
The Hero of Twilight pulled the sword from knight before turning to Shad and Telma.
"THE ROOF!" Shad shouted.
More silver knights were running across the surrounding rooftops, taking aim with crossbows. The Captain of the Guard called for his men to organize themselves.
"Form up for-"
Four crossbow bolts to the chest silenced him.
Link ran over to pick up Telma as he blocked incoming fire with his shield.
"I've got her! Run!" He told Shad.
They fled the courtyard as the guards were massacred and soon they were all on their own again.
Shad turned to return fire with his crossbow as Illia rode up on Epona.
"Link put her on Epona, we've gotta get out of here!" She shouted.
"I'll hold them off, give them someone else to chase. Get out of here, get Telma to a doctor!" Shad told them.
"We can't leave you!" Illia told him.
"Epona will be struggling with three people as it is, GO! NOW!" He told them, shooting a knight in the head and taking cover.
Link hopped onto Epona and took hold of the reigns.
"YAH!"
The mare took off down the street heading for the gates which had been opened for them, once out of the city they turned for the forrest.
As they rode off, Shad struggled to reload his crossbow. Once he finally got it, he stepped out from behind the pillar only to be shot in the shoulder.
"GAH!" He screamed, dropping his crossbow. Two more crossbow bolts whisked by as he stumbled off down the street in an effort to get away.
"The palace..." He thought.
The sound of men running across rooftops got him going faster.
"HEEELP!" He shouted as a bolt sailed into his back.
He staggered forward, but still kept going.
"Goddesses please, help me." He whimpered.
Another three bolts hit him, he fell to the ground.
"STOP PLEASE! IM JUST A SCHOLAR!" He told his attackers.
He was crawling now, hit a few more times in varying places.
Another bolt rules by his head, bouncing off the ground.
"You've already killed me!" He told them, struggling to keep going forward.
Finally, his body quit on him.
He heard the knights call for a ceasefire and the sound of someone walking towards him got him to flip over onto his side.
Xavier was approaching him, a single sword drawn.
"Why...why are you doing this?" Shad asked him.
"You must be punished for your transgressions, you claim you are a scholar. A man of wisdom, but your role in assisting a man who went against the goddess' wishes, was a very unwise decision."
The young man began to stammer out his final prayer.
"Nayru, Farore and Din. Guide me to eternal light, away from evil's hand. Shelter me from the storms of-"
Xavier pushed him onto his back, put a boot on his chest and pointed his sword at the young man's chest.
"You've forsaken the goddesses, Shad Acker, as a Sentinel of Light I deny you your final rites and condemn you to a realm of everlasting darkness for your transgressions against your creators. I send you to the abyss now, a blank slate without an ounce of humanity in your being with the knowledge that your soul is mine."
Shad arced his back and tried to cried out as streams of white light were pulled from his chest and into the knights sword but with an almost defeated sigh, his last stifled cry was only heard by his killer.
Xavier sheathed his sword and walked back towards his men as Shad turned to ash and was blown away by the evening wind. The knights were hopping off the tops of the buildings they were perched on in order to meet their leader at street level.
"Justice has been served brothers." He told his knights as a horse sized bright yellow bird with four wings and a hawk like beak landed behind him. Its talons clicking as they hit the stone street.
"Find the others. Ensure they share the same fate." Xavier instructed.
"I'm going after the boy."
...
A.N-I hope you guys found this to be an interesting read! I look forward to reading reviews and responding to feedback.
Thanks for reading and as Midna would say:
See you later!