Long, long ago, in the mystical Kingdom of Hyrule, the magic of the Triforce ensured peace throughout the land. The Triforce of Wisdom, a source of knowledge and temperance, was guarded by the Royal Family, passed down through generations, and used only for the betterment of the Kingdom. The Triforce of Power, however, was discovered by a dark-hearted sorcerer named Ganondorf. A bottomless well of strength and ambition, this artifact motivated him to concoct a daring plan to seize the throne for himself… a plan that involved kidnapping the King's daughter, Princess Zelda.

Realizing the true intentions of the sorcerer who claimed to be her father's friend, the Princess shattered the Triforce of Wisdom into pieces that were hidden throughout the Southern Outskirts of the Kingdom, preventing Ganondorf from claiming the second Triforce, even though he was successful in capturing her. Enraged by Zelda's stubbornness, the sorcerer imprisoned her in his fortress, where he chained her to his throne and tortured her for the Triforce's location, while also preparing his hordes for an attack on the Kingdom.

During the capture of the Princess, her servant, Impa, managed to escape, and through her efforts a group of unlikely heroes were to become united in their quest. Prince Façade of Arcadia, Agahnim the Wizard, Link of the Eastern Forest, and Lady Miranda aka Blind the Master Thief combined their talents in order to find the Triforce pieces before Ganondorf's hordes. The search was successful; the four heroes uniting the pieces to restore the Triforce of Wisdom, along with Link's discovery of the fabled Master Sword, gave them everything they needed in order to face Ganondorf.

The battle was costly, with none emerging from the chaos unscathed, but in the end the sorcerer was defeated, retreating into a strange portal while his fortress collapsed. As for the heroes, they had reclaimed both the Triforce of Power and Princess Zelda, and once the King heard the tale of their deeds, each was given a great reward. Prince Façade and Princess Zelda were married, leaving them as the King and Queen of Hyrule when her father retired. Agahnim was made the Lord Governor of the Southern Outskirts, and Miranda was pardoned for all of her crimes as Blind the Thief… and shortly thereafter the two of them were married as well.

As for Link, the hero who had defeated Ganondorf, he was given the Triforce of Power, and named the Lord Sheriff of all Hyrule. With authority to dispense justice in all corners of the Kingdom, and the silver sword of Prince Façade's family serving as his badge of office, Hyrule came to know an era of peace and tranquility, but this was not the end of the heroes' story. In fact, Lord Sheriff Link's greatest adventure was still to come, and once again the fate of Hyrule was going to be in his hands.

The Adventure of Link

Chapter One: Time Passes

Five years later…

The sun was beginning to set, still high enough for the last bit of blue to remain in the sky above Hyrule's Capital Province, while a lone rider moved down the well-trodden road. A warm summer wind was blowing, making the grasslands on both sides move like a body of green water as the rider's horse galloped along at a fast pace. That rider was Link, Lord Sheriff of Hyrule, clad in the usual green tunic and phrygian hat that he had become famous for, and currently on his way to settle an important matter.

A thief named Daira had entered the nearby small village of Ruto, and his goal must have been to simply cause trouble, because he injured a few guards, before going after the town's most prized possession. Aside from what it meant to the people of Ruto, the trophy that he had stolen from their Mayor's home was not particularly valuable… what was valuable, however, were the lives of the three townspeople that Daira had killed both during the robbery and the escape that followed.

Leaving the main road that would have led to Ruto if he had followed it, Link's horse ventured northward into the grasslands for a short distance until the green landscape began to thin out, slowly being replaced with whitish colored sand. Some of the guards had tracked the thief after he left town, following his trail to a cave on the beach, but with the level of violence Daira had displayed, as well as his previous record, they were hesitant to pursue him any further without assistance.

It didn't take very long to reach the cave in question; a small-mouthed structure that had formed in the rocks that stuck out above the sand, and as the sunlight became a darker orange, the two guards that were holding position outside the cave's entrance ignited their torches. Slowing the horse down to a trot as he approached, and then stopping completely so that he could dismount, the Lord Sheriff stretched with a yawn, before stroking the beard stubble on his face.

Gone was the fresh-faced boy who had faced down Ganondorf, replaced by a taller young man with hardened eyes, and even though Link had been forced to return the Master Sword, the silver one on his belt was what he had become known for. The sight of it caused the two guards to stand up a little straighter, even though the Lord Sheriff wasn't the type to demand such things, and now as Link looked into the cave's entrance, his only concern was stopping the criminal within from hurting anyone else.

"We tracked him this far, Lord Sheriff." The first guard explained, pointing to the one or two tracks that they had been able to preserve. "There's no other way out of the cave, but we wanted to wait until reinforcements arrived… we didn't expect to see you out here, though."

"You did the right thing." Link replied without looking back. "Daira was always dangerous, especially now that he's moved up to murder, but I'll handle him. You two just keep guarding the entrance in case… well, anything."

Not waiting for their reply, the Lord Sheriff started walking toward the cave entrance, and a few moments later he stepped into the darkness. Keeping the small shield on his forearm up a little in case the thief tried to sneak up on him, he used his other hand to slowly draw the silver sword from its sheath, calling out to Daira with an offer for him to surrender peacefully. After all King Façade had ordered him to show mercy to any wrongdoer who gave themselves up without incident, but regardless of this fact, there was no reply.

"You're making me angry, Daira." The Lord Sheriff called out, stepping farther into the darkness. "I'm going to ask you one more time to surrender in the name of your King, or else this cave will be your tomb."

"The Lord Sheriff, himself, comes after me?" A voice replied, making him jump a little. "Well, well, I must be moving up in the world… so tell me, Sheriff, just what kind of mercy would there be for me if I gave you this trophy and surrendered, hmm?"

Queen Zelda was not fond of executing prisoners, but with what he had done, the best Daira could hope for would have been a life sentence at the newly renovated Eagle Prison in the Southern Outskirts. For a moment there was silence, making Link hopeful that the thief would see reason, but this silence was followed by laughter that grew in intensity, before there was a sudden orange light as a nearby torch was ignited.

The light grew brighter as the wooden torch was tossed at him, but the Lord Sheriff leaned to the side, allowing it to harmlessly hit the ground and illuminate the immediate area… just as a figure leapt out of hiding. Resembling a kind of upright walking alligator, the muscular thief, Daira swung his axe, causing sparks as the blade struck Link's shield with enough force to make him stumble backwards. Without hesitation, the thief attacked again, but this time Link ducked down under it, spun around, and dragged the tip of his sword across the thief's back while he stumbled forward.

"Ugh… so you do have some skills." Daira groaned, turning around to face him. "I'll admit, I've always wanted to see the great hero for myself… tell me… did you really defeat Ganondorf, or are you just some loud-mouthed braggart?"

As he spoke these last words, the thief attacked again, swinging his axe with enough power to cleave a man in half. However, the Lord Sheriff simply stepped out of the way, before bringing up his silver blade so that there was a flash of blood as Daira's hand was decapitated. Howling in agony and surprise as his reptilian hand flew off into the darkness, the thief was brought to silence when Link stabbed him right through the chest.

"I don't know, Daira." He answered in response to the question as he pushed the sword in deeper. "You be the judge."

Bringing up his foot and kicking the thief so that he collapsed after being pushed off the blade, the Lord Sheriff sheathed his weapon before walking over and picking up the town's trophy, which had barely been visible in the limited glow of the torch. The artifact was undamaged, meaning that the people of Ruto were going to be pleased, and since there was no prisoner to escort, Link walked back out of the cave just as the sky was starting to turn a deep red color.

"Take this back to the village." The Lord Sheriff ordered, passing the trophy to one of the guards. "Split whatever reward they give between the two of you, and then go get some rest."

The two guards wasted no time in leaving to carry out these orders, and now Link was alone as he mounted his horse, and… finding himself just staring at the entrance to the cave where Daira fell. Killing had never been a pleasurable activity for him, not even during the fight against Ganondorf's minions, and he was always left feeling sad when it had to be done. Soon the dim glow of the thief's fallen torch went out, making him realize that the sky had become dark, but thankfully there was enough light from the moon to see where he was going.

Slapping the reins just enough to make his horse start moving, the Lord Sheriff turned around, heading back toward the grasslands, and the road that would take him to the North Palace. Today had been a long one, and the thought of a good night's sleep urged him to make the horse go faster. But while Link headed home, he was unaware of the shadowy figure standing in the grass a short distance away… watching him with dark eyes as he went past, and then vanishing.