Hooray for a new shiny version of Collided! I hope you all enjoy this new version of the awful story I wrote four years ago. :) Without further ado, sally forth!
Prologue
The cry of battle was sounded and hundreds of voices echoed it. The invaders had already infiltrated the castle. The king and queen lay murdered on the floor beside their thrones, the very symbols of their recently relinquished power. The young princess was on the run, and Castle Town was alight with flames in the dead of the night. Rain dripped softly and silently from the sky, as though it was mourning, and thunder challenged the rain's solemn ambiance in the distance. The army that now gave the call signifying their readiness to storm the castle had come to avenge their beloved rulers and take back their country.
Soldiers stampeded the castle en mass with weapons raised high and proud, simultaneously alerting their enemy of their presence with their shouts. Inside, a young man was gathering his own army together once more, sending out sorcerers to meet and engage with his unwelcome guests. Within moments, the large double doors that marked the entrance burst open.
It's just for a few days.
Fireworks of magic sliced through the air, making contact with the Hyruleans on the front line, knocking feet out from under some, and sucking life from others. Soldiers stepped over the bodies of their comrades, determined to reclaim what had been lost. Light from the full moon shining outside glinted off of blades and knives as they swung to and fro, making their marks on their targets.
We'll be back soon.
Quickly Hyrulean forces, their numbers dwindling by the second but their wills as strong as iron, climbed the elaborate, blood covered stairways to the throne room. Thunder crackled in the distance and lightning lit the world for a fraction of a second as the doors opened to reveal the young man sat upon the throne of Hyrule, his feet resting upon the stacked bodies of King and Queen Harkinian. With an amused look on his face, he beckoned the soldiers closer. Without a second thought, the charge began, and toward the back of the crowd, a man reached for the woman beside him and pulled her close. He pressed his lips as a final testament of love to his wife before they hefted their swords and advanced.
Be brave.
The young dictator frowned. He had not anticipated this large of a number could make it this far. It was no matter, though. He had scores of others to reinforce him at the wave of a hand. He faced his foes without fear. He removed himself from the throne and crouched, never moving his eyesight from the approaching army, and slid a rapier from the sheath of King Harkinian. Calmly, he stepped forward to meet his enemies and in seconds, he was engaged in close-quarters combat, parrying and deflecting the thrusts and slashes surrounding him.
Despite his mellow disposition and impressive skill, as the Hyrulean warriors had come to discover, the invader's confidence in himself was fallible. He lifted the stolen rapier to stab the soldier closest in front of him as another blade entered his body from behind. He fell to his knees as he released a final call for help and retreated into his own consciousness, unaware when an arrow pierced his skull and ended his life.
And no matter what happens, please know...
The victors had barely time to sigh for relief before small, bright lights flashed surrounding them and mages appeared lining the perimeter of the room. With a brief chant, they cast one mass spell, conjuring thousands of tiny needles and hurling them at the Hyruleans before disappearing as quickly as they'd come.
Minutes afterward, the survivors from the battle that had raged on the castle's lower levels ran into the throne room to find their hundreds of fallen brothers in arms scattered across the floor. Later studies would show that the needles implanted in the soldiers' skin was coated in an unknown lethal poison. Every soul who fought in the throne room that night gave their life for their country; for the fifteen year old princess who would return days later to the weight of a broken home, a broken family, and a broken nation resting squarely on her shoulders; and for their families who never guessed that the small skirmish that had arisen shortly before would result in crushing grief and heavily guarded hearts for years to come.
We love you, Link.