Prologue: Grey Beginnings

The crash of thunder and flash of lightning dancing across the sky was all that could be heard and seen for miles around by all who dwelled within the kingdom of Hyrule. A fierce storm had appeared from seemingly nowhere and had raged for what seemed like an eternity.

Nearly all residents of the normally bustling Castle Town were at home wrapped up in their warm blankets, for it was in the small hours of morning and not to mention a horrendous downpour was occurring outside...nearly all residents.

A young man, perhaps still considered a boy by some, sat in the darkness, shivering and alone. Sleep would not come to him no matter how much he tried to convince himself it was necessary. Perhaps it might have been the storm, perhaps the feelings of loneliness and melancholy it had brought up in him; only one thing was certain, he was consumed with memories, memories from an easier time when laughter and a smile came to his face easily. So deep was he in thought he didn't hear the click of a key in the door latch or see the illumination of a lantern cast upon his surroundings and self.

Then again, he didn't need to. All that was in this small room was the damp cot he lied upon that smelled of a sty, and across the room, an old rickety chair that sat next to a battered crate on which he took his meals.

"Boy!" a voice called out. The young man stirred from his contemplative trance. Again the man yelled "Boy, get your lazy ass up, I've got no time to waste on you."

The boy's eyes flickered and opened, startling the intruder somewhat. By the thin slices of moonlight that came in through the high, barred, windows and the feeble light given off by his lantern, the older man saw a fierceness behind the young man's astonishingly grey orbs.

"Best get that look out of your eyes boy or else I'll allow our "friend" to "help" you get rid of it" spat the man at the boy with a baleful look in his eyes.

The boy knew exactly what the man spoke of. He had been unwillingly forced to serve in what one would consider a circus of sorts, perhaps more a prison to those who knew it well. He was part of a traveling troupe of misfits and miscreants who were all swept up by this man, this ringmaster, for their special and unusual talents. Often times, performers unhappy with their treatment would try to escape and so the ringmaster, named Purlo hired on a new employee, one who was ruthless, and would keep the young performers in line… and would punish them if they ever crossed it. He had been given the position of supervisor and performed his job to perfection.

It had been effective to the point that rarely if ever did some one try to escape, for those that did often wound up coming back from "visits" with the supervisor with lashes from a whip on their back or more rarely, with fingers or toes absent. The boy himself was a regular of this treatment however he had luckily remained unscathed except for his severely wounded pride.

"Take these chains off and I will oblige you", the boy stated while raising his arms to reveal two slightly glowing, thick shackles running from either of his wrists to bolts in the walls.

"You know I'd like nothing better than to do that but unfortunately I can't because of your…condition." The man was speaking of this boy's particular ability and the reason he had to wear those magically draining shackles.

The young man was possessed of great physical strength, the likes of which no one could explain. He could heft boulders easily, that would take 10 men straining, to barely lift. Despite his physique, uncannily athletic for a boy his age, his skills were still unbelievable. This was the reason Purlo had stolen this boy away from his homeland far away to the south, past the great forest where "naught" returns alive. The boy served as a sort of "strong man" for the troupe and Purlo often set up bouts with ferocious monsters and outrageous feats of strength in order to showcase his talents.

Luckily for Purlo, he had in his possession a pair of shackles that, while costing him an arm and a leg to obtain, restrained the boy's strength to controllable levels.

"Anyways, the reason I came in here is to tell you, you need to get ready because we will soon be leaving this goddess forsaken town." He said with a hint of disdain.

The boy knew why the man was so angry with Castle Town. He had heard the whisperings of the first circus members and they said that before he had gotten into all this nefarious business he had run a contest of sorts here. The STAR game it was called and it was largely successful…except for the day that one man came and actually completed the task that Purlo had thought impossible. And not only that but even after he had revamped it to be even more outrageously difficult the young "hero" showed up and did it again, making Purlo the laughingstock of the town. Business dropped and eventually he had to find another venture, all because of one man.

Even though they were on a return trip with an even more successful act, less and less people were showing up and supposedly it was because there was soon to be festival in, ironically, honor of the hero who had first ruined Purlo's business, taking place here in Castle Town. It was to celebrate and commemorate the heroic acts of a Link person whom had "saved" all of Hyrule a few months ago. Purlo didn't see why that boy deserved to be honored. It hadn't seemed so bad when that Zant or Ganondorf or whoever had ruled, at least not in Purlo's mind.

Purlo unbolted the shackles from the wall but did not remove them from the boy's wrists. He then took a spare link and connected the two separate chains, still restricting the boy's arms but allowing him to move freely. While he was doing this he glanced down at the boy's hands. Strange, he thought he had seen a glint of something there. Whatever it was it was gone now and he paid it no mind.

"We're gonna need you to move some of the heavier stuff so if at any point I take these off" he said indicating the shackles, " you know the deal, try anything funny and you're friends…will be in a world of hurt." He cackled at that last bit and showed rows of teeth as crooked as the man himself. The boy winced at the thought of his friends' anguish. He nodded however and went along with it…for now.

"Just hurry up and meet up with the others at the tents."

As soon as Purlo left the room, the boy sat back down on the cot and moved his long brown curly locks out of his vision. While he did he caught sight of his hand flashing again. He had no idea why it kept doing that for these past few months but the image continued to grow clearer and clearer. He slowly removed the wrappings he kept around his palms and exposed the top of his left hand. He could just make of the faint outline of…what was that? It seemed as though it were three triangles all connected to each other to form another, larger triangle. The top triangle seemed to be clearer than the rest but it may have just been the lighting.

'That's weird' the boy thought, for it seemed to tickle something deep within his mind that was just out of his mental grasp. He rewrapped the bandages and decided to err on the side of caution and not tell any of the other performers about it. Besides there would be a long day ahead and it wasn't long before it was well out of mind.