Tales from Hyrule Chapter 1
AN
Ok well this is here, and it was a lot shorter, but I decided to lengthen it, mostly since I got bored while editing and decided to add more to it. This is coming as quite a surprise to me but at the time of me writing this AN people are actually reading my stuff. And following and adding it to their favorites too. So due to the fact people actually read this, though no review yet to tell me what you guys think, I have decided to quickly get this chapter out, mostly since if I don't I will forget my place in the story as my mind races ahead to the conclusion. So well, as I should start to always say, hope you guys enjoy, because I am actually enjoying writing this.
I don't own anything owned by anyone or any company. The only things I own in this story are those that I came up with in or for this story and others.
The Captain of the Guards Office.
The door bursts open and two guards rush in carrying a man bleeding profusely from multiple arrow wounds with an arrow still sticking out of one. The man Is dressed in messages clothes with a satchel at his side probably full of messages.
"What is he doing here? There are better places to bring him. Like the healer's collage, which you must have passed." The captain of the guard grumbles, both angry at the interruption and the fact that he is still working at two in the morning.
"Sir he asked for Knight Halfstan. By name." Replied the first guard, obviously the senior of the two.
"Shit. Send a runner for him. And Baron Link. And Her Highness Princess Zelda. Move it soldier. This man is fading fast. You, run for any healers you can find. As fast as possible." The normally stoic man worried by the fact that anyone actually knows of Halfstan's existence, much less how to find him. For the man doesn't get around much.
Princess Annie and Knight Halfstan's quarters
Shit. I have had such a good life ever since I found love. Love, love seems to solve all of my problems, I muse. The demons of my past, the failures of my life. Everything changed just because of one princess… and now things seem well, quite good if I do say so myself. So good something bad has to happen, unless of course my loves amazing luck has rubbed off on me and cleared off my horrid deathly luck.
A knock on the door? At this time of night. Damn. Goodbye warm bed and lovely Annie. Duty calls. Though I honestly wished it didn't. Every damn time some bandits attack a convoy or a town on the plains, all of the soldiers and knights are awoken just in case it's an invasion. Bloody King and his bloody fear of armies that don't exist.
Honestly he has nothing to fear. I don't care that Annie was to be wed to the son of the supreme leader of Termina, and that since the marriage was broken off consequences were promised. But Termina alone doesn't have the forces, and even so, if they did decide to attack I have contacts and informants in Termina that would warn me. But even so duty calls.
I dress fast and then open the door silently as I buckle on my sword belt. Following the guards silently through the darkened halls of castle Hyrule I realize we are heading for the office of the captain of the guard. A good loyal man who after meeting me and talking with me came to, from what I can tell respect me. But if I'm heading there it means something bad is going down. Or it could be another false alarm and its just senseless bullshit like normal.
Entering his office my eyes are drawn to a temporary operation table in the center and the comatose man being operated on by two healers. Not exactly the thing I expected to see in the normally neat and orderly Office.
"My Lord, this man asked for you and said he had letters for you. And I would like your opinion as to what these arrows are, at least who made them." Said Roland, the captain of the guard. Shit if he wants my opinion it means he doesn't like what his opinion is and he wants a conflicting one he can believe in.
"Hmm. Looks Terminan. Probably military issue. Either it was an accident or someone doesn't want me learning anything. Hmm this one's from Sargent Dima in the Terminan army. And Guardsman Chang in the Holodrumian guards." Both people I trust and both sometimes informants for me. As I read the letters my heart starts to drop. And fear tries to overtake my body. But I crush it and keep a level voice. "Hmm looks like the Loborynian military just allied with the Terminan High Council. And The revolution in Holodrum just ended in the favor of pro Terminan communists. And who allied with Termina… that's really not good. Well I guess the fact that Chang is leader a force of 50 men women and children still loyal to the old government, and Hyrule. But shit this means that the deal with Termina must go through. And if we don't then… were doomed." May have dropped the ball at the end. But I mean shit, those armies are enough that if they throw their entire armies at them then we lose.
"Thanks for the wonderful endorsement to our chances Jack." Says a slightly irritated princess from behind me. Who I had honestly ignored, or well I didn't see her but I did feel her presence but dismissed it. Along with what I guess was Links.
"Well I'm sorry, but the facts are in front of us my lady Zelda." I reply off hand, I a manner that I find irritates Zelda to no end, not that she would show it, but it's there.
"Not entirely. That's why you and Link are going to SnowPeak, we need to make sure the enemy can't come that way. And well if they can, fix that. Then you have to go find the Gerudo, alone as Link will be rallying the Gorons and Zora people to fight." Damn she must have read them first, and realized the ramifications as fast as I did. Shit that's one fast Woman.
"Why do I get the Gerudo?" I ask, legitimately.
"Because I can trust you to keep you pants on. Unlike Link." Score one for Zelda
"Hey, come on Zelda!" Cries Link
"I'm joking Link don't worry, I trust you perfectly. That's why you can leave my sight."
"Well, I'm tired as hell, and I have a nice warm bed to want to go back to. And I can't deal with this anymore. So good night."
As I leave I hear, "And his nice warm princess."
"Shut up Link.
I love those guys sometimes…
But even so, Gerudo. Fuck I haven't had to deal with them in a long time, and even then it was just an envoy who simply said they had nothing to do with Gannondorf and all of his evil. But from the way they acted they hate me at first sight. A hate that I can't help but share.
A few hours later
A few hours later I wake up and fall into my morning routine. My Betrothed Princess Annie of Hyrule joins me in morning workouts. Which if I do say so myself, is helping her along from being the fairly slim and fragile looking woman she was. And I never even asked her about it. Turns out she watched me doing it and just decided to join me. I had to help her with some things, but it has turned into something that has brought us closer together. That and me teaching her how to fight.
Now most women in Hyrule, or at least noble women cannot fight. And very few commoner women can fight. Which makes this highly irregular. But honestly if we were going off tradition I would still be a ranger, Link would be a goat herder, And the Princesses would be married off to some prince or something that will make the best political bonds between Hyrule and a strong ally.
And on some days Annie can outfight me. I guess maybe dancing does help quite a lot, because she is fast, and graceful. Unlike me where I rely on my strength, size, and skill to crush my foes. While both ways work, I can never seem to dodge as well as she does. Maybe it's time to dump the full plate and move back into leather armor. And hell, maybe I could try dancing. I mean, I am now going to be royalty, I should at least know how to dance a little.
Finishing our workouts, we wash in cold water. Though we could wait to have water heated or I could use some of my precious little magical talents to heat it myself, it doesn't feel as good to wash off hot sweat than with cold water. And even so, warm water makes you feel the chill of cold air much worse. And despite it being three months after the new year, it's still cold and stormy. Luckily no snow, but I'm still waiting for nature to laugh at us and send a thick layer of snow to hinder our plans, which if we wait will all be for nothing.
Splitting apart as we always do in the mornings, I head into the room across the hall that would be a nursery for babies but was converted, by me and mostly for me, into a makeshift armory. Annie goes to her changing room to get prepared to face the day. She garbed in fine cloth, and me garbed in supple leather and chainmail. Leaving behind the heavy plate mail and shield in favor of more lightweight leather and chainmail. Then I also sigh and leave behind my broadsword. It wouldn't be ideal for what I'm wearing. Instead I grab two odd shaped short swords. Almost an entire blade, the fairly long blade runs up from the handle to the tip, where it diagonally cuts away from the grip and forms the rest of the blade, which then runs down in front of the grip and juts out a little bit further. Creating a weapon that is both easy to maintain and make, but also deadly efficient. Requiring a different fighting style than a broadsword, these twin blades are still my favorites. Gifts from a grateful family who paid money to replace my previous pair which had broken, with two new ones forged by Gorons in the fires of Death mountain, and enchanted by the best Zora spell weavers in all of the world. I didn't ask how much they cost. But I still love them to this day.
Remembering the conversation last night I finish quickly by wrapping a warm fur cloak around me, not only useful for travel, but also useful for keeping one from freezing in this massive draft. It feels like over half of the rooms in the castle are drafty.
Taking Annie's hand, I lead her to the only room they would have gathered. A small breakfast room for members of the royal family. Trust Link to always be near food. For one who eats so much he never gains a pound. Whereas I, who eats in moderation, must constantly work to keep my body lean.
Helping myself to a plate of food I take my seat and begin eating. Thankfully we weren't the last ones to enter. The King and Queen enter and conversation actually starts. The King making jokes as he eats a from a massive plate. The Queen sits silently and stares as she eats a small plate of fruit.
The Queen is an enigma. I know very little about her and what I do know makes little to no sense. From what I have been able to gather through reading books and talking to people, the Queen is apparently from a distant island nation that very few people have heard of. The people there all do not eat meat of any kind and look down at those that do. And from what I have also been able to gather, she seems to have some skill at magic, though no one has ever trained her to my knowledge, or anyone else's that I have asked. And that makes things strange because as far as I can tell, magic users are extremely rare elsewhere in the world, and the only reason Hyrule has so many is because of Hylian blood. I have some talents magic wise, which leads me to believe somewhere in the past I have Hylian blood.
"Excuse me sir Knight. Are you ok? You have hardly touched your food." Asked the Queen. Which is odd, she rarely talks to me, and even less so at breakfast. Questions and more questions.
"I am sorry my lady. I am lost in thought today. Events are occurring which make little to no sense to me, something I try not to leave as it is. So I have been trying to piece together what the reasons for what is happening. As to learn to better deal with what comes in the future." An answer that isn't completely a lie, I do want to figure this out, because the Queen remains an unknown to me. And I don't like it when things are unknowns, those in my profession of protecting important people need to know everything, if we don't, well let's just say I don't like surprises. They normally end up lethal.
"My boy. Come now, breakfast is a time of ease, you should be preparing for the day, not inquiring into the unknown. A good breakfast will start any day off well. So, lighten up and see the wonder and beauty in what the Goddesses have given us. If you go through life always working, then you will never find any joy, and without joy, you squander the Goddesses gift of life." An unusually deep statement from a man who by all accounts is fairly shallow and full of joy. Unless he is already in his work attitude, in which case it's a fairly normal attitude. But still he is right. I guess I can't always live my life on the battlefield. Reminds me of something that happened almost a year ago. A similar conversation with a man who served under me. Maybe I should learn to practice what I preach. Or maybe I am full off shit and there is nothing wrong with what I am doing with my life… Probably the first.
After a long breakfast that, despite its fairly unfriendly and quiet beginning turned into a fairly long affair with storytelling and the such. We had Link talking about something that happened during the Twilight War, which was less of a war and more of an occupation. Then we had Princess Zelda and Princess Annie talking about some crazy thing that they and the father did, involving lots of laughing and a large mess, when they were kids. Then I told a few stories about things that happened in the army. One in particular where we had a contest between a mage, a soldier and me, involving copious amounts of drink and total shenanigans, ending with the mage picking up the soldier with telekinetic power and throwing him. Which made us all fairly worried that we had hurt him, because it was my idea, and then all of a sudden the soldier jumps up and yelled "that was awesome". Then even the Queen told a story, which involved more words than I think I had ever heard her speak in one sitting. Something about her home and some fishing adventure she and her uncle had gone on. And by the time we were done it was noon and time for me and Link to leave for SnowPeak, which realizing that last night wasn't a dream really brought my enjoyment down.
The group split up, the King and Queen going off to deal with important matters their advisors couldn't deal with. Link and Zelda went off to do whatever those two do alone, and me and Annie left so we could say our goodbyes in private and so I could actually put on cold weather gear. Because I honestly hate the cold.
Changing into thick fur and leather gear, designed to hold off the cold and keep the wind from chilling me to the bone. Add to that my limited magic keeping me warm, and the fact that it will be a hard climb to the top of the mountain, and then around to wherever that old manor house is.
Before I can go Annie pulls me away for some serious goodbyes, stuff that makes me happy there were no people around. Sadly, it couldn't go anywhere because our marriage was still over a year away. Stupid priest saying then was the time the goddesses chose for her to be wed, but what can you do when religion is one of the driving forces of Hyrule. She then gave me a command that surprised me a great deal, because I had already made her all sorts of promises.
"Sir Jack Halfstan. My betrothed. Swear to me on the Goddesses power that you will return to me, and that you will stay true to the oaths that you have already sworn to me." Swearing I shall she then pulls me close and hugs me. "Please my love, hurry back to me, for life shall be empty without you."
With that she pushes me out of the room, not literally, but she probably could if she wanted to. By the Goddesses that girl is strong.
Grabbing my pack, and making sure I have all my gear, I turn and jog down all of the stairs and through all the halls that I must to reach the stables. And man, I think they build castles so that you take so much time running through them, that any enemy would fall down and die of exhaustion.
Greeting Link and the stable boy there, I mount my horse. A fairly large black horse by the name of Thalursian. The only horse I ever wish to ride, fast, smart, strong, and able to keep going for a day, maybe even two if I really needed him to.
Ridding off with Link and Epona, we head along the road to the start of the path up to SnowPeak. At the start a Hylian guard outpost sits, and Link and I leave the horses there. Its nearly night, yet Link and I decide that we have time to get some distance up the mountain before it's too dark to see.
We barely get anywhere when a snowstorm starts, and despite this we keep on trekking. Again I have to say, I hate the bloody cold. And its nearly pitch black before we reach the first way station. A cave where we can shelter for the night. A supply of firewood, and shelter. Lighting a fire both me and Link gather closer to the fire. With an unspoken conversation, I pull out some supplies and start to cook.
After a brief dinner both me and Link pull out our bed rolls a get ready to sleep.
"He Jack, you know a lot about me, Yet I know little about you, I ask Zelda, but she doesn't know much either. For some reason most of the stuff you have done isn't common knowledge, so tell me something that you have done. I mean I'm not ready to sleep yet, so why don't we talk?"
"Wow Link, I didn't know that I was that hard to figure out. And I didn't know that they never said anything about my past… Well I guess if I must, then here we go."
AN
Sorry that I cut off this so abruptly. But I noticed it was a little long, and well I decided to leave this backstory stuff off until the second chapter. But well I hope that you guys are liking this story. But well, I guess since some people are reading this then some people actually care.
Please tell me if you see any errors or something you don't understand, well please tell me.
This won't be perfect no matter how much I wish it could be perfect, it sadly can't be. But you can help it be more correct.
And if you like this, then leave a review, and maybe follow and favorite the story. It does mean a lot to get feedback from you guys.
Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more chapters, I plan on this having a lot more chapters, and I hope you guys want to read more of this as well.
Cheers guys.
Kinnix Wolf
