Chapter One
The Storm
I winced as lightning flashed outside my window, and looked fearfully at the weather outside. How can nature hold so much anger? It felt like these four walls were about to be torn apart, and I clutched onto my duvet tighter.
"You're not scared are you, Violet?" A teasing voice called from across the bed, and I looked over to see Jasmine perched on the side, combing through her brown curly locks.
"No way!" I said, puffing out my chest, but as soon as the lightning flashed again I hid under the blanket.
"You are scared!" She laughed as she put down her brush, and dived under the blanket with me.
"Who's scared?" I heard Raven ask as she entered the bedroom, and joined us in our tent on the bed.
"Violet. Even though she's the oldest, I'm still the grown up- I'm not scared of a big storm!" Jasmine gloated.
"I'm not scared..." I complained meekly, my will to retaliate overpowered by the hammering of the rain on my roof.
"They say that when the wind roars outside," Raven growled in a husky tone, pulling an exited face, "You can hear the cry of the evil wind mage sealed away years ago!" I brought in my knees, the unease growing even greater.
Catching on with the game, Jasmine continued, "I bet he's outside right now, just waiting for us to slip up, and BAM-"
"And what are you lot doing?" We all froze when we heard my Mum's voice from beyond our little world. We poked our heads up immediately, and sat up straight.
"Nothing!" Raven and Jasmine called, innocent smiles on their faces.
"They were telling me a scary story!" I told of their crime, but then spotted a book my mother was holding, and instantly I perked up. "Are you going to read us The Triad?"
"I think I have to on a night like this," Mum sighed, and sat down on the bed with us. We all shifted closer together, eager for the story. Mother opened the book, and it immediately fell open on the right page.
"Right…Well you all know the legend of a boy in green, travelling across the lands in order to save our ancestor's princess. He fought countless forms of evil, and conquered the man of wind who threatened the city of Hyrule – our capital you know" She said, breaking from the book.
"No! Continue!" We all pleaded, and she rushed back to the book.
"But the ancient ones speak of the triad, three souls born of the triforce, ready for their story to be written. One fights for those in need using their immense power, guarding us from afar. The second values all life, courageously going defending others no matter what the consequences. The third offers wisdom and guidance to whoever seeks it, unbiased between good and evil. Together, they could be greater than the boy in green himself.
The triad will one day appear by the will of the goddesses, for reasons inconceivable by mortals. We can only hope that they will protect, guide and fight for us if need be."
Six years later
"Violet, could you tie up the horse before you go to school? This weather is making him frightful." Mum called from the window. She was starting up the fire in the house, as winter was dawning and it would be needed to light the furnace later on.
"Alright mum!" I grabbed the horse's reins and tied him to the post in the stable.
My family's business of sword making was scraping by, seeming as my mother was the only professional smith in our bloodline. Gone were the days when knights rode out to our house to sharpen their blades. However, I was happy I was born into this family, as I had the special privilege of sword practice-an activity my mother was persistent I should carry out. After all, to make a sword you have to know hoe to wield one.
Sighing in contempt, I turned my back upon my humble abode, adjusted the strap of my schoolbag, and started walking to school.
I looked up at the classroom ceiling, which now seemed more fascinating than the class itself. A cold drought caught me from the open windows, strands of my hair dancing before my eyes. "So girls, what did you learn from this lesson?" Mr Vernon asked the class, but only two girls put up their hands out of the thirty. I looked at one of them, a tall and slender girl who was, quite frankly, loud. The teacher pointed to her with his cane.
"Our Goddess holds the sacred force, to which is far too powerful for one person." I rolled my eyes. Everyone knew that, he stressed it four times already in the hour that seemed to last a millennium.
"Yes very good. Jemma?" He asked the remaining girl with her hand up.
"Those with tainted hearts who seek the sacred force will be consumed by their own hate if they obtain it." She said casually. I slouched in my chair, no hope that I would get home early at all today.
"Excellent. Now as for your homework…" He picked up a piece of chalk and started writing on the board, giving off a nasty screech. "You are to write… an essay…on where the hero in green found the three sacred forces." He looked at the paper on his desk, the back to the board. "Due Friday."
I groaned, we have already been set an essay and had to revise for a test tomorrow. And what's more is that I have to help Mum with a new sword for one of our customers. Doesn't school know we actually have lives outside of this one?
"But that's in two days time!" Jasmine protested somewhere in a seat behind me. Of course she would, she's always busy. I hardly get to come round her house anymore because she's always away helping her grandma get better, or help her mum with the farm.
"Better get cracking then. Now, write that in your diaries." At this everyone hesitantly got out their diaries and started copying down the homework. Suddenly the school bell rang, and everyone began putting away their things. I stuffed my books into my bag and walked over to Raven.
"Could you pack any slower?" I teased, and I started investigating the teacher's desk. A pencil, some papers, and an apple. I opened a drawer, and found nothing that was out of the ordinary.
"Just need to get it in the right order of the books….and done. Kay, let's go." Raven looked up, her short brown hair flying. "Violet, stop snooping. You'll get caught, and then we're all in trouble."
"Yes mother" I called out, shutting the drawer; there was nothing productive in there anyway. "Jasmine, you going horse riding with me on Saturday, or are you still caring for your grandmother?" I looked over to her, and she was looking out the window. Like Hyrule it had to rain in the summer.
Her hazel eyes shone in the light, and I wondered what got her in such a trance.
"The rain is red." She said a little startled. It seemed like her eyes were glued to the window, and I laughed. How could it rain red? None the less I still looked outside. Something swooped inside of me when I saw red streaks running down the glass. Me and Raven ran over the the window jasmine was at, and looked outside to see the passionate colour starting to puddle.
"What the..." I heard Raven mumble, her thoughts mimicking mine. I heard one girl – through the window – shout the word blood.
"Oh my goddesses, is it blood?" Jasmine took a step back in disgust.
"Lets find out," I opened the window slightly and stuck out my hand. In a few seconds I had a few drops on my palm, and I took my hand back in, and we all inspected it closely.
"Looks a bit too bright to be blood" Jasmine commented.
"No…but it's not water either…" I snapped up my head to the others. "Let's go to the Quad to investigate." I loved visiting the quad. The large garden felt like a sanctuary, with a fountain in the middle and trees around, and then after that the school walls encircled it.
We left our bags in the classroom, we far too distracted by the unusual phenomenon. We found a crowd of people outside the entrance to the Quad all with the same idea as us. Pushing through them all, we burst out out into the open space. I gasped as I looked up at the clouds, for they were circling right above us.
"Is that a tornado?!" Raven gasped. It certainly looked like it, but I noticed the air was so still around us that it couldn't possibly be.
I looked over to Jasmine behind me, the red rain running down her face. "I have a bad feeling about this…" She said, and started backing up, away from the storm. "Violet, Raven, we need to get out of here…" Raven started to follow her, fear seeping into both their eyes. But for some reason i just couldn't pull myself away from where I stood.
"You guys go on ahead; I want to know what this is all about."
"Violet, don't be stupid, come on." Jasmine ordered, but we all jolted when a crack sounded from the fountain, and everyone turned to the noise.
I took a step back in shock as I saw that the fountain was freezing. The water shooting up slowly became a crystal statue, and continued to spread. It followed out onto the grass, and proceeded with a steady pace outwards. Would people freeze if they got caught in that? I didn't want to risk it, and decided it was time to go after all.
As I turned to go, and saw just one girl not backing up. She was gazing at the clouds, with the ice was slowly creeping to her.
"Hey! Hey! Get out of here!" I shouted to her, but the awoken roar of the storm stole my voice. I ran up to her, and took her arm. She looked in surprise at me, red hair whipping around her pale face.
"You're gonna freeze if you stay here!" I pulled, ready to run, but my feet wouldn't move. I looked down, and I could've sworn my heart missed a beat. I was too late. The ice had already sealed me to the ground.
"What the-"The girl said, and tried to move too, but with no such prevail. The new found wind now screamed in my ears, and rain pounded my face fiercely.
"What's your name?" I shouted into the ear of the girl. I should at least know the name of the girl who led me to my doom.
"Alex! Yours?" She screamed in reply.
"Violet!" It was now freezing cold. Funnily enough, the ice hadn't frozen my body, just my feet to the ground, as if to trap me there.
Subconsciously, Alex and I hugged each other for comfort and warmth. I looked around to find Raven and Jasmine, but the rain forced my eyes shut and my head down. I couldn't see anything, just white fog and ice on the ground. Even the girl next to me seemed to be disappearing. I looked at her, but I found that she really had gone entirely. Then all of a sudden everything just disappeared in the mist of white, even the storm.
"Everything is just….gone." I looked down, and saw that my feet had unfrozen too. Was I dreaming? Did I pass out? I touched my face, it was still pretty wet. I took a deep breath, and began my uneasy journey into the unknown.
What just happened? I thought. One minute I'm in the quad, and now I'm in this nowhere land. Maybe it's because of that storm….what's that? Through the fog I spotted two floating objects. One long and sharp, the other flat. As I drew closer I could see it was a basic sword and shield. Why are these here?
Taking them in hand, I felt nervous if I actually had to use them. I gave a few test swings, and it cut neatly through the air. My long black (and wet) hair swirled around me, and with each swing my confidence was regained.
I took two steps forward, and suddenly a small monster appeared. I crouched down, and waited for it to come closer to examine.
When it came too close I put out my sword lengthways like a barrier, and because it had no arms or legs it could not pass. This little monster was easy to beat, and was basically acidic goo brought to life. Mum told me when I was younger that an evil wizard brought acid to life so to scare the tax collectors and become wealthy by stealing the gold coins they left behind. This little bright green of gloop had small tentacles at the bottom, and unfocused eyes.
"Ooooooh, very threatening." I laughed. All he wanted to do was kill me, and I didn't want to die, so I took a swung at him with my new found sword. The goo was cut right in half, and then exploded in a purple puffy cloud.
I took two more steps, when again a shape appeared in the fog. It was a tall and looming silhouette, and I knew if this was another monster, it would be more of a challenge. The heavy drag of armour sounded, and I could see the other person had taken up a battle stance, with the sword held high and the shield protecting the front.
Finally it took one last step and I could now see it fully. It was a darknut, a frightening monster and was hard to beat, if you didn't know how.
The darknut was dressed in full navy armour, and was quite fat compared to a usual knight in armour you would think of. He was the first to attack, and he formed a perfect vertical slash, aiming for my head. I dodged the attack, and immediately swung back. My sword met with its chest plate, leaving just a scratch.
He took a lunge, and I blocked with my shield, staggaring back from the force. With more gusto the darknut took a horizontal slash at me, which I parried with my sword. We came in a clash of swords, like the ones you would imagine in a pirate story. I pushed with all my might, but the darknut was clearly stronger. I was leaning back, and fell over. Seeing his chance, he made an attack for my throat, but I was already gone. I had slipped under his legs and on the other side once again. Just as he made a stab, so did I.
He fell down, dead, and like the slime earlier he exploded in a puff of purple.
A little short of breath, swallowed and carried on. I now had a hunch where I was, but I wouldn't decide just yet. I started moving forwards again, ready for the next challenge out of this nowhere land.
After a few minutes of silence, a large oblong-like object loomed ahead. Curious, so I took a step closer. It was three times as tall as me, and looked like it was a mirror.
I took three steps closer, and was now two feet away from the dark tainted glass. It was tall and large, and I had to crane my neck to see the top. The edges were lined with stone, and eyes decorated the surface. Is this what I think it is? I asked myself. It all tied in if it was what I thought, the dark mirror.
"Hmm…" I pressed my fingertip upon the glass, and in a second all the fog disappeared in a large gust of wind. I could finally see the blue sky, and the sun shining down. But when I looked, I jumped right out of my skin when I was saw that I was standing on a cloud. A cloud! Was that even physically possible? And behind the mirror was an amazing castle, made with purple bricks, stained glass windows and trees all around.
I looked some more, and now slowly, I could see other girls around me. They were all fighting their own slime or darknut, some running, hiding, or fighting.
These are the girls who were in the Quad with me! I looked, and saw Alex, her fiery hair flying as she ran away from the darknut. There were other girls whose faces I did not recognise, and then there was Jasmine. She was fighting bravely against the darknut, but her attacks were blocked by her opponent's shield. Her curly brown hair tumbled around her shoulders as she made every movement, her school uniform a little torn.
"JASMINE!" A sigh of relief ran over me as I called her, but she seemed to be unable to hear me, let alone see me. I looked around, and saw Raven, defending herself too from a darknut with a shield.
They must still be in the fog… I looked at the mirror. So this mirror lifted the fog for me when I touched it? It must have been a spell, that fog. All these hints indicated where I was. Legends foretold of a castle on a cloud, maintained by the notorious wind sorcerer, Vaati. Gazing at the castle, I knew that was the way to go next. I looked over to Jasmine, who was tiring out quickly. Raven was OK for the moment, hiding behind her shield.
I ran over to the darknut Jasmine was fighting, and using the element of surprise I hacked off the helmet it was wearing. A wrinkly skull of a head stuck out like a sore thumb, eyes boring red. I then swung my sword, and the screech of the darknut was cut short as its head fell to the ground.
"Violet!" Jasmine said in surprise.
"Hey Jas! Are you alright?" I asked in concern.
Jasmine nodded, with a small smile. "A little tired, but I'm fine." I then asked her if she could still see the fog. "Yeah, can't you?" She shook her head, confused.
"No, I got rid of it. Here, you can do it too," I then grabbed her arm and ran over to the mirror. I pushed her hand on the glass and watched her as she looked in utter amazement at where we were.
"This is beautiful!" She whispered.
"Come on, let's save Raven!" I looked over, and just saw Raven stabbing the darknut right under the helmet. "Scratch that, she's saved herself. Stay here." I then ran over to Raven and dragged her over to the mirror and made her touch it. She was surprised by the sudden tug of her arm but soon just accepted it.
"Whoa!" She exclaimed, the same expression Jasmine had. "It's like heaven here!"
"I don't think it's heaven though," I said as I looked around. She looked at me with a cautious look, noticing my voice turning into a darker tone.
"Violet, do you know where we are?" Jasmine asked, unease creeping in her voice. I sighed. Where should I start?
"You know those legends, telling of a boy clad in green fighting numerous evils?" They nodded in reply. Many times at school I had discussed it with them. "Well, I think," I paused, "I think, we are in the domain of a man who threatened the world long ago" They looked at the castle with different eyes than before. I had a feeling we would be in great danger here if we didn't tread carefully. There were thousands of monsters, and a man more dangerous than being trapped with a pack of hungry wolves.
"Violet, you know the legends, don't you? These girls, we need to help them, or they'll be killed!" Jasmine shook my shoulders desperately.
"What can we do alone though? Its not like we can fight for all of them!" She loosened her grip, and looked at the girls with despair. "But..." Jasmine trailed off.
Raven sighed, and placed a hand on her arm. "Vio's right. We should just continue going forward."
We looked up at the castle, a sense of dread lingering about us.
Tamed
