A Legend of Zelda: The Crusade of Thieves

Chapter I: Homeland Under Siege

"There's too many of them," one of the Hylian knights shouted, his heavy shield slipping from his fingers after blocking the force of the enemy broadsword. Snapping his feet into a defensive posture, he made a valiant effort to counter-attack his Gerudo adversary, unaware of the imposing threat behind him. With a sharp thrust, the spear punctured through his armor, retracting freely above the Gerudo captain's head. Reaching for her horn, she pressed it up against her bloodstained lips and blew out a call for reinforcements. Nabooru could already see their victory was at hand, it was only a matter of vanquishing the few that remained. A heavy thunderstorm overshadowed the engaging armies, the Hylian soldiers fighting towards their eminent defeat against the Gerudo tribe of barbaric women.

Another wave of scimitar wielding foes rode on horseback towards the Hylian general. Darting her focus towards her archers, Impa commanded that they neutralize a portion of the incoming skirmish. Raising their bows, the archers released arrow after arrow, tearing through the wind and rain, hitting their targets with pinpoint accuracy. Satisfied with the progress, Impa readied the second platoon of knights, and for the archery squad to take arms. Now with swords in hand, the brave general led a charge against the remaining hundred of incoming Gerudo soldiers.

Far from Impa's attack, a much smaller group of battle-tired knights continued to push through the invaders. Still maintaining their balance on their horses, the knights slashed and stormed past the crowd. Witnessing the approaching line of enemies, Link was quickly distracted by his sense of dread, unexpectedly and suddenly being pushed off of his horse by a thrown glaive. While he was able to block the projectile, the inexperienced squire had landed onto his back with his sword rolling out of his palm. Quickly realizing what had happened, Link reached behind his back and grabbed onto his bow, launching an arrow at the nearest enemy. Twisting around and keeping his posture stable with a knee on the moist grass, the now lone Hylian knight shot every arrow he had left in his quiver, throwing his bow onto the ground and steadying his footing. Another Gerudo barbarian was approaching him on horseback, glaive aimed directly at his chest. Making a mad roll towards his dropped sword, Link was able to dodge the attack and reclaim the weapon into his right hand.

Seeing the Gerudo turn around, Link gripped tightly onto his shield and focused on the sharp point of the spear, squinting his eyes to a near close. The helmet on his scalp felt tighter around his head, the distinction of the battle surrounding him becoming clouded with a blur as he locked-onto the Gerudo enemy. Raising his shield, Link successfully countered the attack and unleashed a blow of his own, sending his blade upwards towards the Gerudo adversary, using the momentum from the horse to run the steel through his opponent and drive the attacker down onto the ground.

At that moment, Impa had already met with the reinforcements. It was a code of the Hylian knights to never surrender or retreat, a strategy which tributes the goddess of courage herself: Farore. They have been making progress with the battle until the storm began. Unknown to the Hylian general, the Gerudo king himself had been watching, waiting for the best time to be involved. It had been since the storm had begun, Mandrag Ganon, the only Gerudo male in the battle, made his presence known to the small defending Hylian knights. Setting his black grieves off onto the flat plains, he felt impressed with the lone swordsman whom had just proved his skill against an oncoming opponent. Brandishing his own self-crafted blade, the Gerudo king stepped towards Link calling out to him for a challenge.

Barely able to stand, Link raised his head up to Ganon, staring at the weapon he held, and the sharp arrowheads smelted into his gauntlets. The knight stabbed his weapon into the ground and leaned onto it, the weight of his shield keeping his left arm hanging by his side. Taking a deep breath, Link whispered a message of encouragement for himself and prepared to fight against his kingdom's rival.

It was Ganon who made the first attack, delivering a sweeping slash with the dull side of his sword towards Link's shield, weakening and nearly breaking his left arm in the process. Using his leftover strength, Link managed to push back Ganon's blade and drive his blade towards the Gerudo king's chest. His attempt was met with an elbow to Link's helmet, denting it into his face and obscuring his vision. Stepping back to remove the iron headgear, Link exposed his face to the elements, his blonde hair drenched with sweat and rain. His blue eyes widened at another aggressive attack, a downward axe-handled slash that would have cut the knight into two. It was quickly dodged with a side-step, rotating his back around the blade.

The rain seemed to stop for a second, realizing the error Ganon made in a forceful offensive. Link had already begun to spin, the speed of his blade increasing with his dodge. Ganon was still sending his nightmarishly designed sword towards the soaked dirt when the perfect counter was prepared for the Hylian. Swinging as hard as Link could, he broke past Ganon's defenses and bled his arm, a red mist shooting from the Gerudo king's shoulder. Groaning impatiently, Ganon decided that the time for games was finished. It was time to kill.

A scream of frustration caused the battle to stop, both Gerudo and Hylian forces watching the two as a line of crimson ran down Link's blade. Almost cursing at himself, Link began to back away as Ganon marched towards the inexperienced knight with hate. Thrusting his elbow, Ganon stabbed at Link's shield, slashing at it until it flew out of the blonde's hand. Link yelled out as the assault continued, blocking each attack with his sword until his right arm became frail. Just as quickly as his shield was taken from him, so was his sword, the blade spinning out of his grip, the force of Ganon's impacts causing the knight to fall into a sitting position. Link was defeated.

A grin formed onto the Gerudo leader's face, laughing as he slowly inched closer to the fallen Hylian knight. Tightening his hand into a fist, he let his thick, barbaric sword fall out of his grasp, which found a new object to squeeze onto. Securing Link's neck into his palm, he showcased his strength to his army and lifted the beaten Hylian off of his feet. Then the punches began. The spear-ended gauntlet made no promise of slowing down as Link's entire body was punctured. The attack was made worse when Ganon chokeslamed the knight onto his back, securing him under his knee as the stranglehold began to get tighter, damaging the blonde's vocal cords as his air passage was cut off. The world soon became a giant blur, fighting to remain conscious as Link saw one final punch being prepared for his head. Reaching out to protect his face, he saw the sharp end of the gauntlet penetrate through his right hand; however, no scream could be emitted from him.

A final crash of thunder exploded above the two armies, the rain settling as the battle soon continued after the one-on-one fight. Throughout the remainder of the conflict, a broken knight witnessed the defeat of the Hylian army, his allies falling beside him as Link struggled to remain alive, to remain conscious and aware. The Hylian knight was too injured to move, his body far too damaged to be useful. Link finally gave himself a final breath, unsure if he would awaken after what he had to endure. Falling into a state of unconsciousness, the blonde swordsman dreamed no dreams or envisioned no nightmares. The battle finished without him knowing it, and the invading Gerudo tribe would step closer towards their goal: the Hyrule castle and its queen, Zelda.