I'm a bad, bad girl! Posting a new story before my other one is finished... Okay, this is kind of a continuation of my last little series, but you can read it and understand completely. I'm not going to refer to any of the events of past stories or any of my past OCs (unless they are introduced here as new OCs). The plot is really hard to explain in the limited summary space ffnet provides you with, so I'll elaborate here:
Summary:
The Age of Queens, a time when many of the Hylian leaders are female. The Monastery, a group focused on controlling anything and everything in Hyrule, has come into power after an event known as the Changing, during which the entire geography of Hyrule was rearranged. The Monastery has outlawed Tri'dism, worship of the three golden goddesses, and has made Unrism, worship of the god Unra, the only legal religion. Skeptical, Zephyr and his younger sister Maris embark on a simple trip to the Zora kingdom which turns into a quest to return peace and prosperity to all of Hyrule.
THIS IS A SERIOUS STORY! Check the genre, people! There'll be humor every here and there, 'cause that's the kind of person I am, but it has a very serious plot for the most part. This will probably not be updated all too often until "The Final Adventure" is finished. After, this will be updated more frequently with less frequent updates to "Tomes of Hyrule" (coming soon!).
Many aspects of this story may seem un-Zelda-ish, but I have a very extensive description of background information which will continue to grow as I have ideas or plot holes that need filling. Everything will be explained with time, and the story will become more and more Zelda-esque by the passing chapters, along with the addition of valuable background knowledge.
Without further ado, I present to you the first chapter of Age of Queens!
Chapter 1: Northern Reaches
A boy with unruly blonde hair and silver-blue eyes, no more than ten years old, landed gracefully on the ground, his boots retaining their excellent traction against the ice upon which he stood. He rose from his crouched position and looked around. Snow. That's all his eyes fell upon, as far as his vision would permit. To the left, snow. To the right, even more snow. Straight ahead, a snow bank. Such was the nature of the Northern Reaches.
"Sister!" the boy called, cupping his hands around his mouth to amplify the sound. His younger sibling said she'd meet him here and they'd walk back to the village together, but she was nowhere to be seen.
"Brother!" came a cry from the distance in reply. The boy's ears perked at the sound of his sister's voice. A young blonde girl, only a year his junior, emerged from the peak of the snow peak looming ahead. She was adorned with a turquoise shirt and cerulean skirt, as were the colors of their village, and her hair was combed neatly, unlike her brother's. Her eyes were a deep oceanic blue, unlike the lighter azure of her brother's.
Zephyr ran to meet Maris, but slipped on the ice in his haste and landed sorely on the ground. His younger sister laughed and extended a hand to help him rise. Graciously Zephyr took the delicate hand of his sibling and she heaved him back into a standing position. The boy brushed the snow and ice off his pants and gestured towards the village. There was another snowstorm on the way and he didn't want to get caught in it.
The two children raced each other to the comfort of the fire that awaited them. Eleven years prior, a terrible war had ignited between the clans and races of Hyrule. The noble Shiekah had revealed themselves to be not nearly as extinct as everyone thought they were. The territories of the miscellaneous races had been completely redistributed in this war. During it all, Zephyr's mother had been taken captive by the Zora people. It was during this time that Maris had been born.
Zephyr was but the a small child at the time and couldn't remember his mother in detail. He presumed his father had been drafted to fight for the Hylians early in the war, for he could recall next to nothing about the man. His poor little sister had never even known him. When the flames of war died down and the controversies were settled, a group of Shiekah came across Zephyr and his newborn sister and took them into their ranks.
Not long before Zephyr's encounter with the Shiekah, an incredible thing happened, the event that was said to have ended the Hylian War only months into it. It was this occurrence that was foggiest in Zephyr's mind. He had heard many tales, each more stupendous than the last. Some said a meteor collided with the world and rearranged the earth itself, forming oceans and mountains that hadn't existed before. Others told him that two powerful forces clashed and the energy they produced ravaged the land like a meteor. "It's a common misconception," tellers of this tale would always conclude with.
Zephyr's favorite story was that three angels looked down upon the land and wept over the destruction that had been wrought. As their tears touched the earth, it magically shifted and a new world was born. Unfortunately, with this great change came great turmoil. All the territory had to be redistributed among the different races and clans once again.
Deep in the Northern Reaches was a little settlement of Shiekah known as Snowbound. This was where Zephyr and Maris were brought up by their aine, a traditional Shiekah word that meant 'guardian'. Her name was Sisha, an imposing woman with hair as white as the snow and cut to ear length. Unlike most of the Shiekah, she didn't embellish her face with war paint, and she didn't equip the heavy armor. Sisha believed that this would be a time of peace if everyone could manage to respect one another.
Zephyr and his sister scampered over the snowdrifts and into the town boundaries. Sisha was waiting for them at the gate.
"Where have you two been!" she demanded as she grabbed Zephyr's arm firmly, knowing Maris would follow along behind without protest. "I told you not to leave in this weather! You'll freeze your fingers off! How would you like that, Zephyr? There's no way you'd be able to handle that rapier of yours ever again!"
"Aine! Don't say such cruel things!" Maris interrupted. Sisha glared daggers at the girl and she quieted. Zephyr managed to wrench his arm free and followed at the back of the procession to their house, his hands tucked into his pockets.
"Honestly," Sisha grumbled, "I'm surprised a couple stubborn kids like you survived the Changing. I'd think you would have tried to make the world go back to the way it was just out of spite!"
Zephyr and Maris exchanged a knowing smile. They quickened their pace, then stilled momentarily. The two then sprang up and tackled Sisha down into the snow. The woman swiftly overpowered the elder sibling, though Maris managed to evade her grasp. She thrust her arms above her head, then crossed them into an 'x' shape. As if in obedience, the snow on either side of Sisha rose up and tumbled down on her head. Maris giggled playfully as she pulled her brother to his feet for the second time that day.
Sisha's hand shot up from the snow and wiped the frost away from her face. The Shiekah woman had a wide grin on her lips. "Run away!" Zephyr and Maris shouted simultaneously as they darted off in either direction.
The game continued for a good half hour before Sisha announced its end and dragged the children into their home to dry off and warm their frozen bodies. Still they tussled in front of the fireplace, smothering each other with blankets.
"All right, you two, cool it," Sisha commanded as she set down a pair of mugs for the siblings. Never had she seen two children more energetic than those that she had taken under her wing. She remembered clearly the day she came across the little toddler, shivering in the snow with an infant grasped in his hands. She could recall all too well his tear-soaked face and his pleas to 'at least save his sister'. A sigh passed her lips as Sisha gazed upon the content youngsters. No one would guess by looking at them that they were orphans.
Later that night, as Sisha was tucking the children into bed, Maris was more restless than usual and asked a strange question.
"Aine, can me and Zephyr go to the Great Sea?" she inquired with hopeful azure eyes. Sisha was a bit taken aback by the query. "Mind your language," she advised, giving the girl a warning glance.
Maris sighed. "May Zephyr and I go to the Great Sea?" she corrected, receiving a satisfied nod from her maternal figure. Sisha sat down on the side of the girl's bed and pushed her back gently so that she was lying down.
"Why do you want to go to such a place?" the woman asked. Maris pulled her sheets up to her chin, but didn't avert her eyes from her aine. "I wanna—I mean, I want to learn more water magic," she replied.
Sisha chuckled quietly. "Little One, your magic isn't water. It's ice. And you can learn all the ice magic you need to know from the elders," she explained. Maris pouted, but Sisha blew out the candles illuminating the room and closed the door on the two children.
Moments later, the silence was disturbed by Zephyr. "Sister, why do you really want to go to the Great Sea? You know the queen of the Zora doesn't like anything other than Zora in her kingdom," he whispered, sitting up. The girl smiled tentatively.
"I have a feeling," Maris began, "that we'll find something real important there. I don't know what it is. It's just a feeling…"
A grin spread on Zephyr's face. "Let's do it, then," he suggested. "Let's go to the Great Sea!"
Tell me what you think, and please be honest. There'll be a map of the new geography of Hyrule some time in the near future, so be patient for that. Otherwise, how was it? Would you like me to include a tidbit of background information at the end of each chapter so you have a better grasp of it, or would you prefer the details to be revealed through the story itself?
Oh, and what kind of suggestions do you have for Queen Zelda's merital status? Keep in mind that Link's whereabouts are totally unknown! And no, Zelda is not hiding him in her closet or under her bed.
Okay, reviews please please please! Covering the Three Cs of Reviewing, if you please. That's comment, critique, and compliment! If you have the time... I know many of you are really very busy, and I appreciate your reviewing at all. I am eternally grateful to all of my readers. -bows-
If you liked this, you'll love "For the Sake of the World", "Face Your Demons", and "The Final Adventure"! Check them out sometime, and please review!
ALSO! There's another contest in the works! Please view my profile for details and the sort! DEADLINE IS JANUARY 3, 2006!