Disclaimer: Legend of Zelda and all characters associated with it belong to Nintendo and Shigeru Miyamoto. GrimGrave does not make money out of writing fiction.
Genres: Adventure / Romance / Drama / Humour / Tragedy / Hurt/Comfort / Friendship
A/N: Hello, everyone! It's been a while.
Let me first of all apologize for the lack of updates. My job has really drained me of both time and energy and left little to no drive to write.
BUT!
In about 2 weeks' time, I will have more time again and I promise that updates will come a bit more often. I already have a few stories semi-finished and I'll do my best to deliver them. I know many of you can't wait, but I beg of you to have patience for just a little while longer.
Moving on, I noticed a few days ago that the number of people who has added me to their Favourite has increased by quite a lot… And that leads me to this new story. It's partly inspired by a comment a reader posted back in 2014 during a heated argument between him and someone else. (You know who you are) I liked the idea and have been considering it for a while now, and I think I finally got it mapped out… somewhat.
Anywho!
I'm celebrating reaching over the 500-limit (woot!) by presenting you with a project I had decided to wait with until later, but… I think you people deserve this, especially since you've stuck with me through so much, for so long.
More info down below. For now, enjoy!
Legend of Zelda - The Phylactery of Epochs
Prologue – Kingdom Come
It came without warning; in one moment, no-one would have ever thought that this peace would come to an end. In the next, fear gripped the hearts of all as the sky warped and twisted, and the land was torn asunder, permeated with strange magic.
Ever since the demise of the King of Evil, Hyrule had entered an era of peace and harmony. The free people of the land were safe again. Their coronated queen, the just and benevolent lady Zelda, lead the Hylians to a bright future together with her allies – the stout Gorons and noble Zoras amongst them – and secured their world from the grasp of evil.
Or so they had thought. The false security they had created left them unaware of an unseen wickedness that had not forgotten, nor forgiven, the crimes of the Hero of Legend. Its every thought revolved around only two things; the destruction of the Hero and to finish what the King of Darkness had begun…
"How long must we wait here, Rauru?" Ruto – the princess of the Zoras and the Sage of Water – sternly inquired. "We are losing time here!"
Rauru, the Sage of Light, furrowed his brow and replied, "We cannot discuss the topic at hand unless everyone is present, Ruto. The Counsel of the Sages required all of us –"
"This topic is dire, Rauru! While we sit here and wait, these anomalies that keep appearing are destroying the land! It's been a total of three occurrences so far, and more has likely happened while we just sit here!"
"Ruto is right," the Sage of Spirit, Nabooru, added. Her arms were crossed over her chest, her expression serious. "I left my people despite one of these distortions appearing near our home because I thought everyone would be present by now. The Gerudo need me, and yet I sit idly by!"
The elder Sage raised his hand in a gesture to calm the two women down. "I am grimly aware of this, ladies, but nothing good will come if we simply rush things. As soon as Her Highness and Lady Impa arrive we'll –"
The gateway to the astral chamber opened up and all heads turned to the aforementioned Sages – Queen Zelda and her attendant, Impa the Shadow Sage – who walked with a quick pace towards the round table where the rest of the Seven Sages had gathered.
"My fellow Sages," the Hylian began with a curt bow. "I cannot stress how sorry I am for making you wait, but I carry grim news."
"More of those distortions, I assume?" the Sage of Fire, Darunia of the Gorons, asked.
Zelda nodded. "It happened not long ago, near the Lost Woods." Her gaze drifted over to the smallest of the Sages, her expression sorrowful as the green-haired Kokiri silently gasped. "We saw the strange light from the castle tower. Impa sent her tribesmen to scour the area, but I fear we won't know much more than we already do."
"So, to summarize," said Rauru. "It first began a few days ago, near Lake Hylia. These distortions malforms and taints the areas around it, though area in question is quite limited, and the nature of these anomalies are magical. The areas infected with this taint are said to be "shimmering with colours, yet almost translucent" and the distortions themselves appear almost circular, and last only a few minutes before disappearing again."
"And that is all?" Nabooru asked.
The Sage of Light nodded. "That is all we know."
"What about the nature of the taint?" The Sage of the Forest, Saria, inquired.
"My tribesmen are working on it," Impa replied. "All they know for sure is that no-one should come into contact with it. It's vile."
"So what are we going to do about it?" The Zora princess exclaimed. "We got lucky this time, but what if the next anomaly happens in my people's domain? Whatever the taint it, if it gets to the water, it will not only affect my people's way of life, but the water supply for everyone else!"
"I'm already terrified as of what'll happen to the forest…" Saria said. "We can't just leave our homes, even if it's spreading…"
Zelda cleared her throat. "Is it not why we are here? To discuss what our next course of action is? We don't know when or where these distortions will appear, so moving our people to a safe location is impossible. We need to find out what's causing these anomalies and how we stop them… A cause easier said than done, I admit."
"The problem lies in how we are about to do just that," Rauru stated. "We shouldn't come in contact with the taint, nor can we simply interact with the distortion."
The redheaded Sage of Spirit groaned aloud. "This is not going anywhere. If this is the extent of what we can do, then I will take my leave and return to my people. I have no time for guesses or idle chatting."
The Goron rose up from his seat with a scowl. "You will leave when the Counsel is over, Nabooru. It's about our whole land we are talking about, and if there is a solution to this new threat, then it is up to us to find." His eyes narrowed. "Together."
The Exalted Thief gritted her teeth, but remained silent.
"I think we should summon Link," said Saria who earned the room's attention. "If anyone can help us, it is him."
The presences in the room seemed to calm down.
"I am not against that," Rauru replied. "But he does not know any more than we do."
"That's no excuse to not summon him," Impa retorted. "If we are facing a dire threat, then he will answer the call. We can use all the help we can get."
The queen nodded at her attendant. "Then it's settled. We will alert Link and bring him here. Whatever information we have, he needs to hear it."
"Do you see it, Link? It's right over there!" the Kokiri girl exclaimed as she pointed over to the small clearing; the area looked warped and appeared to be shifting in and out of existence at a frequent rate, imbuing the area with the colourful taint.
"What in the world is that…?" Link said under his breath. He turned to the girl and smiled. "Thank you, Fado. I will go ahead and investigate – you run back to the village."
"But, Link –"
"I'll be fine," he interrupted. "Just go. Please."
The Kokiri girl looked up at him, clearly not thrilled with the idea of leaving her friend behind, but she gave him a firm nod. As soon as Link lost sight of her, he returned his attention to the warping mass ahead.
He treaded carefully towards it. The mass of… whatever it was, crackled with energy, but otherwise didn't react to the Hylian's presence. He stepped closer, inspecting the anomaly from a sword length's distance.
It was unlike anything he had ever seen; the light was translucent, yet thick and its substance akin to that of water. He stepped closer –
Link gasped and fell forward to the ground but managed to land on his hands and knees. Startled and curious, he looked down to see what he had tripped on.
He sighed. A poor little rabbit laid dead at his feet, likely a victim from a hungry fox or wolfos. Link got up –
He did a double-take. The rabbit didn't look dead, but it didn't move. He nudged it gently with his foot – it didn't budge, and felt as solid as a rock.
…If anything, while the rabbit appeared lifeless, it looked like it was in the middle of running. It was akin to a statue, yet it was not.
Concerned, Link scanned the area. Upon closer inspection, it was not just the rabbit that was unmoving; butterflies, birds, and even leaves stood still and in mid-air!
As a sneaking suspicion formed within Link's mind, the warping mass crackled and shifted even more unpredictably and violent, garnering his attention. His heart skipped a beat as he reached for his sword.
Within the shimmering mass, a silhouette emerged.
A/N: I hope this little piece was satisfying.
As you probably have already guessed, this is another Link / Harem story that I had meant to save for later, but I found it to be a fitting piece for celebrating being favorited over 500 times. It means a lot to me.
I'm still working on this story, figuring out the plot and deciding exactly how and what will happen. But there is one element I'll let you folks decide.
The other protagonists; who would YOU like to see appear? Almost anything goes, it doesn't have to be strictly Zelda-universe (the plot has reached far enough in development to handle outside characters) and, of course, how many you wish to see. Just not too many, mind. So go ahead, leave a review and let me know which characters you'd love to see!
Leave a comment and let me know. After a while, I'll probably collect all reviews and manage a poll or something. And as always, I will keep my profile updated with whatever information regarding other stories, be they updates or new entries!
Until then, thank you for reading and, more importantly, a MASSIVE THANK YOU for supporting me. It means a lot me, as I wrote, and your constructive criticism helps me, not to mention your reviews in general (save for some) give me strength to continue.
Until next time; be well!
- Grim