Chapter 1

Prelude to Destruction

Princess Midna looked over her kingdom of twilight from her palace balcony. Link had called it eerie during his short visit in the Twilight Realm, but Midna had always found it beautiful. The translucent golden clouds, the aura of red that always marked the horizon, and song of the world that whispered in her ears; these were but some of the few things that glorified her realm, her world. Her people, the Twili, lived here in peace, thanks to the fall of the usurper Zant. Zant had dared to curse her into the form of an imp. He had dared to proclaim himself as King Zant of the Twilight Realm. He actually dared to disfigure her poor people into beasts of the twilight.

He had even dared to ally himself with the evil champion of the Goddesses, Ganondorf.

But all that was over. Ganondorf was dead and Zant was imprisoned, all thanks to Link. In some ways, Midna was grateful that Zant had cursed her striking frame into that of a pitiful imp. Without her majesty title, she was able to meet the Sacred Beast of Legend and closest friend, Link, and that meant more to her than she could possibly imagine.

That made it all the more painful when she forcibly separated herself from him. The Mirror of Twilight, the gateway between the Twilight Realm and the Realm of Light, was the reason Zant was able to wreck so much havoc on Hyrule. In order to prevent another Zant from bringing havoc to Link's world, Midna used her status as the true Twilight Princess to shatter the Mirror of Twilight for good, forever breaking the bond between herself and Link, her world and his. She still had nightmares, seeing Link's pained expression as she bid him a farewell neither of them wanted. From time to time, she wondered how her life would have continued, if she had kept the Mirror of Twilight and remained at Link's side. The warrior and the imp, the heroes of Hyrule. Midna indulged herself in the delight in her imagination, but did not spare herself for long. She was a princess, a ruler. Her happiness was a non-existent fantasy; the safety and well being of her people must always come before her, always. Her own feelings were irrelevant. Midna must never associate with Link or the Realm of Light ever again. She had visited Link once after shattering the Mirror of Twilight, violating a sacred law her family had kept for generations, and now she was reaping what she had sown.

The Mirror of Twilight was the front door between the Twilight Realm and the Realm of Light, and if there was a front door, there most certainly was a back door. No one, not even Zant, had ever known about the back door. Only members of the royal family were ever told that secret, along with two promises: One, they would protect the back door until their dying breath, and Two, they would never, ever use the back door for selfish reasons. Midna had used the back door to see Link one last time after shattering the Mirror of Twilight, just to see if he was in good health. Her careless use of the back door had reached the ears of the Twilight Council, and they were now possessed by the same idea that once seized Zant himself: domination of the Realm of Light.

The Twilight Council were the oldest of Twili, assigned to watch over the royal family to ensure that they do not step beyond their royal boundaries. During Zant's rule, the Twilight Council had been temporarily disbanded under Zant's oppression, but was reformed once Midna reclaimed her rightful throne. However, the Twilight Council were scarred deeply during Zant's reign of terror; they feared their lack of power to fight against another oppressive ruler. They were infuriated with Midna's choice to destroy the Mirror of Twilight without their consent. The moment the Twilight Council caught wind of the back door to the Realm of the Light, they became enthralled by the idea of power. They had heard legends of the two remaining champions of the Goddesses, and they wanted that power. Now that they knew of the back door's existence, they would stop at nothing to use it for their own purposes and send their private armies to Hyrule. They would attack Link and Zelda, two friends whom Midna dearly wished to protect. Once they claimed the power of the Goddesses for themselves, Midna knew that they would not stop there. With the taste of the sacred wine on their lips, they would push their armies farther into Hyrule, and bring about another dark age for the ancient kingdom.

Midna could not allow it.

"My princess?"

Midna turned around, relieved to see Diana, a very close childhood friend of hers. Midna knelt to her knees, so that she could properly see her old friend.

"Diana, do you have what I told you to bring?"

The small Twili girl nodded, gentle grasping an object hidden beneath her oversized cloak. "My princess…are you sure about this? The Twilight Council will cause you no end of grief should you—"

"I know what I am doing," Midna said gently, stroking Diana's cheek. "Now please, listen carefully. Once you make your way to the Realm of Light, there is no telling where you will appear. Be sure to avoid the Magical Spirits of the Springs, the Land Gods of the Springs, for they do not take kindly to our kind. No matter what you encounter, you must reach either Link or Princess Zelda, for they are the only people in the Realm of Light whom you can trust."

"I will. You can count on me," Diana replied.

Midna gave her a sad smile. "I know I can."

Then from outside Midna's royal chambers, the Twilight Princess heard a commotion stirring. Armed Twili Warriors were headed her way, no doubt coming to retrieve the back door to the Realm of Light. Midna gave Diana a final, solemn nod. Diana clutched the object hidden beneath her travel cloak. Slowly, the space in front of Diana began to break apart as the building blocks of space and time were being taken apart and rearranged. Ever so slowly, a portal of light opened up before Diana. The Twili Warriors burst into Midna's room just in time to see Diana jumping into the portal, a portal to the Realm of Light.

"After her!" a ragged voice commanded. Five of the largest and strongest Twili Warriors, Royal Twilight Warriors, stumbled forward and disappeared into the portal before it closed.

Midna stood up to greet the old Twili councilor. He was a frail creature who swayed and teetered with even the slightest of winds, but the aura of charisma he produced from his scrawny frame made even the toughest of Twili Guards bow before him.

"Goth'ma," Midna said, hissing the name like a curse. "You will not have it."

The Twili councilor chuckled, almost killing himself with a spasm of coughs. "We shall see, my dear princess. Just how long did you think you could oppose us, the Twilight Council?"

"Long enough," Midna replied, as her own guards surrounded her and took her captive.