"We are born in one day.
We die in one day.
We can change in one day.
And we can fall in love in one day.
Anything can happen in just one day."

~Gayle Forman~

Guardian of Time

A Hyrule Warriors FanFiction

Act I: Huntress

The rain lashed down from the Heavens above, like the Gods were weeping from the golden skies that no vision could grasp. A sparkling sheen of water danced over the cobbles of the Market Square, the clouds raging across the gracious plains and mysterious hamlets held within the land created by Their Majesties. Not even the sun was peeking through the veil of mist that stretched far across the sky. The ones that they had worshipped had failed them, leaving their servants to scream for mercy and a Saviour.

Their Saviour who would never appear.

She had seen this moment from her place all too many times over the ages. Familiar names rung out from different Realms, begging for the mercy of the Gods before being slain by the Demons of that era, or even by their brethren. Whether the innocents were of the Sky, the Twili, or of the Hyrulean race, all shared grief and despair at some point within their lives – something that no one should have to face like they were forced to reconcile over Time itself.

It was the wrath of the Gods for going off their intended path, something that she knew much about...

The place that bought so many people joy and mirth along with abounding happy memories was now deathly silent, no other sound emitted except for the hauntingly sweet and lulling sound of the rain. She stood alone in the centre of the organised chaos, her cowl protecting her from the downfall with little avail. She knocked away the shadows that rose from the ground with a dark Sceptre crusted with gold designs and pink jewels that shone against the magic balanced over her palm, her fingertips curled around it.

The premonition that the Queen of Hyrule had received from her favoured Goddess – Nayru, the Blue Goddess of Wisdom – seemed to show wind dyed the colour of Time washing away the dark clouds that had enshrouded the beauteous land of Hyrule for seven long years. However, the wind had soon faded away in the dream when the Saviour had heeded the calling of destiny and left this precious land – allowing the awaiting shadows to eagerly creep forth from unknown fissures in the land to resume their dark designs once more.

When numerous accounts had witnessed the return of the same form of darkness many thought had once been forever sealed away by the Saviour of the land, the Queen locked away the three Spiritual Stones of the three races that rose on the outset of this world followed, on with with the six Medallions that belonged to the Sages of the land. This would eternally bar the Sacred Realm of Legends from being entered like it had done in an alternate future, one that those who knew about it did not want to be repeated again.

How did she know this? She had... first-hand sources.

And that left her in the Square that seemingly felt frozen in Time. She soon ripped away her simple white cowl from her face, her identity left to be revealed to the world as her white hair tinted purple spilled out around her face; the material left to the cobbled ground and the rain that covered it lightly like a veil, consuming the material within seconds. And yet, there was no one there to see who this unknown saviour was – this unrecognisable candle against the blankness surrounding such a sacred plain.

Things were soon getting out of control, although, and she knew it. The Queen of Hyrule had fled the Palace to find salvation for her and Hyrule's heir with her carer: Impa, none other than the Sage of Shadow that aided in upholding the order of the world that the Golden Sisters formed at the beginning of Time. A Sheikah returned, apparently in the Queen's place, however this unknown saviour knew exactly who this "Sheik" was. Both her and Sheik fought the growing shadows away as much as possible and moved the civilians away from the heart of the horridness as much as possible.

Most were safe, others weren't so well protected...

Sheik was long gone by now, fighting closer to the Castle she knew well while the mysterious woman fought in the Market Square. Her internal clock was telling her that the sun was about to dip below the horizon, yet her hunting senses were screaming at her that something wasn't right. And then, mere moments later, she was forced to push another creature of the darkness away – only for her eyes to widen when she realised whose sword she was pushing against.

"What a fine evening it is, Huntress." A tall, imposing man greeted slyly, golden eyes gleaming with mirth. "How long has it been since our last meeting? Too long, I believe..." She bared her teeth at the suddenness of his presence, yet she couldn't help but feel a wave of stress and fear fall over her body and mind. "Don't say that you're a mute now, dear Huntress. Gods did I love that melodic voice of yours..."

"Ganondorf." She hissed after a minute of harsh defiance, shoving him backwards, recognition and hatred flashing in her violet eyes. "You bastard. Why have you come back knowing that you're just going back to Hell again? The Power you hold is getting in the way of your life. You could have lived, but you let greed corrupt and kill you, just like Demise."

He merely smirked at her petty words and brushed his crimson mantle aside with a flourish of his arm, his servants of the shadows no longer attacking the Huntress in a final attempt to take the Market and Castle by force themselves. "There's that voice that I have been desperately waiting to hear. But I must recall one tiny flaw to your plan, my dear." He stepped so close to her that she could feel his cool breath against her neck. "Your Saviour isn't here, and will never return until I hunt him down."

Icy dread amplified at the pit of her stomach. She had known this for a long Time, but hearing it from him was not what she was expecting at all. She held her breath. "We don't need him." She whispered, more for her benefit than anyone else's. "He was their salvation once, and will not be twice."

"My dear..." He caressed her neck softly. She did not flinch. "You cannot know the light if you have not experienced the darkness. How could you know what happiness feels like if you know not what it means to be sad. Right does not exist without wrong. Hate exists because there is fear. You are either driven by fear or love. To love is not to fear. It is to be godly." She shifted her eyes to the ground, though he forced her to look upwards to him. "What do you live by, Huntress?"

She said nothing for a few moments, then: "Hope." She stabbed him straight through the stomach with the tip of her crystallised Sceptre, knocking him to the ground with a single burst of light; dropping to her knees in a swift movement and holding the Sceptre to his throat, eyes twinkling as she condensed a ball of magic in her palm; fingers closing in around it. "Sometimes hope is all that you have when you have nothing else. If you have it, you have everything. It is the only thing stronger than fear itself."

"Then where is your hope when your Gods wish to drown you?" She was stunned for a few moments, which was all that he needed. The Gerudo pushed upwards and flipped the situation against her, much like the turning tides of the Gods, holding his onyx serrated scimitar harshly against her snow-like skin. "They wish to drown you to kill me, but they are blinded by Power themselves." He whispered, the blood drawn from his wound spilling all over the ground. "I am immortal and will return no matter what Their Majesties throw at me. They'll murder much more than I ever could."

The Gods were downing their land and their people to kill one man. But this wasn't just "one man", in a sense. This man was worse than Gods like Hades.

The Huntress parted her lips to speak, yet a burst of electrical charge jerked through the ex-Gerudo King; and a swift kick from an unknown source sent him tumbling away from the prone woman. "Sheik..." She smirked, allowing herself to be picked up onto her feet by the Sheikah woman. "You have your timings, don't you?" Sheik shoved her companion lightly, only to notice the amount of blood staining her friend's clothes. The Huntress merely shrugged. "It isn't mine."

"We need a plan." Sheik muttered, casting her sapphire blue eyes upon the frozen King. "That spell won't keep him down for long, and—" With a groan of thunder and clap of lightning, another heavy sheet of rain fell; feeling cold against their skin. Sheik's eyes glowed with despair, looking upon her Kingdom with an overwhelming feeling of fright and defeat. "The Gods really are going to drown us... I thought Ganondorf was the one causing the chaos between the balance of nature on the earth."

The Huntress tilted her head up to the sky, letting her eyes slip shut and her white hair shifted from extremely damp to drenched in a matter of moments. "Your Grace." She murmured, not looking back down. "We need to get you out of here. The bloodline must find a way out of the darkness consuming this land. The Gods know that we will suffer and shall offer a place to those who can rebuild Hyrule..."

Sheik shook her head, a single tear dragging along her pale skin and connected with the drops of rain that streaked her cheeks. "There is one way that Nayru told me of, and is where the Sages have moved to so that they may watch over the Kingdom in peace, but..." The Huntress snapped her head down at the news and grabbed the Sheikah's shoulders, shaking them violently. They had no time, ironically enough. Sheik dropped her tone. "I can open the portal into the Sacred Realm without the need of the Keys, something that I could never do before without the help of the Gods themselves, but there is only one trip left: each for the six Sages and—"

"There are seven Sages, Sheik, and you are the last one: the Sage of Time." The Huntress growled sharply. "You have been chosen by the Gods to protect this Kingdom with all of your might, and if it means protecting it from the Demon King himself then you are not giving up that space for other people." Sheik, stunned for a moment, had no words to explain herself.

Then, after a few moments, Sheik slowly nodded, only to gasp in fright when she heard the raspy chuckling that had never ceased to evade her nightmares. "Fear not, Your Grace, for I have no need of you yet. I will hold you and find the last Bearer at once so we may unite once more before the Old Gods themselves!" He let out a roar of laughter, causing ReDeads to rise from the ground with a struggle – fighting against the bond the Gods had shrouded the stones beneath them with.

Both Sheik and the Huntress passed each other concerned glances. "Go to the Temple and I'll hold them back." Sheik's eyes glowed with defiance, tugging her companion along with her after sending a wave of light out towards the monsters of death. They ran at a fast pace, hearing the droning of ReDeads from behind them as the ex-Gerudo King charged after them; the breaths of everyone drawn out in ragged gasps.

The Huntress forced open the duel oak doors of the Temple of Time, where history was made numerous times across the ages, creating a temporary blue crystalline shield in front of the Temple doors to hold the King back. He easily blasted through, however, and continued on in hot pursuit. Sheik and the Huntress literally leapt over the altar where the Spiritual Stones would have been placed, and were in another Time, Sheik slowing into a halt before the Door of Time. "I need to open the door. Hold him back for me."

Nodding, the Huntress spun back around to an awaiting Ganondorf – the Army of the Dead now burrowed back to the Underworld, unable to fight against the God's power for much longer. She held up her Sceptre with all her might, though she was tiring out. The Gerudo merely chuckled at her persistence. "Such feistiness is what Hell seems to lack, don't you think?" She gave no reply, merely lunging at the King over the altar without sparing even a moment of doubt.

Sparks of light and darkness flew out of the two blades as they clashed, momentarily startling the Sheikah on the other side of the room as she concentrated on connecting with her favoured Goddess. The Huntress stayed silent as the two drew away from each other, her soaking hair sticking to her face as the two met in the never-ending battle of thrusting and parrying. No damage was dealt nor taken during their battle, but the Huntress's energy was fading while the ex-King's was not.

Hope...

The King, sensing the right moment, threw his blade forwards and buried his scimitar right up to the hilt in the woman's shoulder; his eyes flaring with anger, knowing that he missed her heart thanks to her sudden dodge. "Do not fear of the darkness that looms above you." He whispered, taking her back and drawing her closer to him so that he may whisper in her ear, smiling broadly at her wide eyes as he did so. "Be fearful of what's within it."

The Huntress's eyes flashed, her resolve made. "If I could find anything in the darkness, it would be a cold and shrivelled heart like yours." The ex-King's eyes widened with shock when she stunned him with a bright burst of magic and jumped back, stabbing forwards herself and striking him straight through the heart by using magic to transform the Sceptre to a blade; tugging the scimitar out of her own shoulder with a solid grunt.

The King fell to the ground, blood pooling around the two of them and mixing in with the sacred tears of the Gods. She knew that he would not die, although it would give them enough time to send Sheik into the Sacred Realm with her heir and accept death with open arms. She drew away from Ganondorf, feeling jerked away suddenly by an unknown force – a force which turned out to be Sheik. The loyal Sheikah pulled her through the now open Door of Time and into an extremely familiar room.

The Master Sword gleamed in the light that somehow filtered in through the stained glass dome that reigned supreme above the two of them. The octagonal steps lead up to the legendary blade where everything began, having first-hand sources and all, a small smile creasing the Huntress's face as Sheik assessed the damage on her companion's shoulder. "I asked you to hold him back, not get yourself killed..." She uttered, causing the Huntress laugh lightly – only to wince moments later when magic pulsated through the wound. "Sorry..."

The rose coloured magic covered the wounds and somewhat healed it, leaving nothing but a large scar behind beneath the tattered material of her clothes. "Come on." The Huntress ordered quietly, allowing herself to be pulled onto her feet. "We need to get you to safety." The cracking of the stained glass above them could be heard from the bottom of the chamber, worrying the both of them – even if neither of them brought it up.

Sheik silently agreed, eyes glittering with sadness that the Huntress did not see. She guided her friend up to the blade, dragging her fingertips across the handle of the sword. "Do you follow me as the Queen of Hyrule and as my friend?" She asked abruptly through the stony silence of the Chamber. The Huntress raised her eyebrow, though nodded nonetheless. "Then you must forgive me for this..."

Without warning, Sheik lunged forwards to force the Huntress into wrapping her hands around the hilt of the Master Sword in order to send her into the Sacred Realm. However, the Huntress sensed a shift in Sheik's Soul moments before and leapt forwards herself, sending forwards a surge of magic that knocked the Sheikah unconscious near instantly. The Huntress brushed away some wet hair from her companion's face. "I'm sorry..." She whispered softly. "But I cannot follow in your place."

She picked up her companion and shifted her weight so that Sheik would not put pressure on the Huntress's shoulder. She placed her comrade against the legendary blade, folding the Sheikah's fingers around the sacred hilt. Within moments, the Queen was surrounded in a golden-white light that was soon ripped out of her body and sent skywards – her body washed away in a sweet blue light of Time. With wide eyes, the Huntress jerked away and stared at the spot where Sheik once lay, conflicting emotions taking control.

She had never wanted to do this, and she would feel the wrath of those above her soon, but the Huntress knew more than anyone that Hyrule needed the bloodline of Hylia to continue no matter what. Hearing a chortle of laughter behind her, the Huntress looked up with a gasp – watching as the ex-King of the Gerudo ripped her blade out of his chest and tossed it to the ground effortlessly, blood flowing from the wound as the blade transformed back into the Sceptre as soon as it collided with the ground.

"Where is your hope now, Huntress?" He challenged. "I am just dying to know the answer."

She hissed at him and attempted to speak, her eyes widening when she realised that she was surrounded in a silver light. Both her and Ganondorf froze in shock as the light surrounded her. She had run out of time on this world, and had to pass on in order to return to her place. As the ex-Gerudo did not understand this, the Huntress smiled when the relief that there was still hope flowed through her when another light joined with the one that was forced from Sheik's body.

She raised one hand towards the Master Sword and the other towards the ex-King, fingers crackling with electrical magic. Her mind, although, was so clouded that she barely realised exactly how much time she had left before she heard a smashing sound above her.

The stained glass window high above her fell through, twinkling as it fell like colourful droplets. She jerked her hands closer to her, though found that she could do nothing as tonnes of water flooded into the secret chamber. She raised her arms to her face just in Time, though a silvery light penetrated her vision and whisked her away before the water could smash into her body. She watched as Ganondorf was consumed by the God's tears, the Huntress smiling gracefully as her role was fulfilled once more.

And for that, she could rest peacefully for all time.

The rain lashed down from the Heavens above, like the Gods were weeping from the golden skies that no vision could grasp. A sparkling sheen of water danced over the cobbles of the Tower, the clouds raging across the gracious plains and mysterious hamlets held within the land created by Their Majesties. Within this organised chaos, three figures could be seen through the mist of the water. This world saw no sun or moon, nor the planets or the stars.

It was cold and desolate, though one man still desired this land.

The first was a child, not much older than thirteen, balancing the Sword of Time and a shield together he had earned when facing the Trials of Destiny that the fickle Goddesses had laid out before him. He wore the same garments that many had worn before him, and many would after him in representation of the Vessels of Courage for Farore. The rain drenched him like it had done the Huntress in a Time that was never supposed to exist, attempting to force him into submission.

And yet he stood tall for such a small boy, fighting will all of his might without hesitation.

The second was also a child, barely older than the boy was, wielding a simple Bow and slinging Light Arrows into place as if she had done it all of her life – another trait that the Gods above wished to follow. She wore the garments that the Queen had done, both following the Bloodline of Hylia and becoming the Vessels of Wisdom to serve Nayru. She held the same fierceness in her eyes that Sheik had done once, eyes narrowed at the final figure as they danced this eternal dance.

The final figure was extremely familiar to the parchments that had been passed through Time. None other than the Vessel of Power, the incarnation of hatred that was Ganondorf, fought viciously against the other two Vessels – determined to become the God that he wished to be. His teeth were bared in arrogance, not allowing himself to succumb to defeat by two. He had been defeated once, but never again...

They battled atop a Tower that had only been built within the past few months of this era, standing tall near the Castle that was once showered in the gorgeous sunlight that reigned across the legends detailing the Era of the Hero of Time. Power, forever greedy for what they desire through the deep corruption of their heart, would sought out the remaining Vessels for all Time unless they were able to control this particular piece of the Almighty Power. Ganondorf would not be one of them, doomed to be reincarnated through the hatred of Demise near the beginning of Time itself.

The Vessel of Wisdom, unknowing of her true destiny for most of her life, sailed the seas above the forgotten Kingdom of Hyrule – completely unaware of what lay beneath her feet. So did the Vessel of Courage, spending his life with his family until they were separated by none other than Power himself. Their destiny was interlinked at that point, and would forever be welded together. Now they were within that forgotten Kingdom, literally fighting for their lives once more as the sea above them threatened to close in around them.

"You fight for a world that you know nothing about." The Vessel of Power sneered, blocking yet another slice from Courage. "The Gods are toying with you, and yet you stand your ground and allow you to be dragged along with the Threads of Fate like the puppets you are. You have both danced with me for thousands of years, and yet you allow it to happen without fault. Why do you live by such hope, when the beauty of Power will always overcome it? You surely must fear what is within the darkness..."

The Vessel of Wisdom let one eye slip shut as she readied her final Arrow of Light to sail straight into Power's heart. "If I could find anything in the darkness, it would be a cold and shrivelled heart like yours." The Vessel of Power snapped his head up to retaliate the words that he remembered from a lost time, but he was far too late. The Arrow penetrated all armour that he wore and sliced straight into his heart. Within a heart-beat, the Vessel of Courage used up the last of his energy to leap high up into the air and stab Power straight through the head.

Silence filled the area, the twinkling tears of the rain that surrounded them the only sound that could be vaguely heard in the background.

Both Courage and Power stared each other down as Wisdom watched with hopeful eyes glistening with tears. She dropped her bow, the sound of it clattering against the glossy floor not even flowing into her pointy ears. The icy dread that had been multiplying in the pit of her stomach since she was captured by Power was finally beginning to melt, the smell of the ocean bringing hot tears to the edges of her eyes at the memories of the sea pirate that she once was – and pleaded that she could still grasp onto it.

"That Huntress..." Power hissed, eyes fluttering against the power that resided in the sacred Blade of Evil's Bane. Time itself stopped to watch every moment that was about to pass. "That Guardian... shall never interfere again..."

With his parting words hanging in the air, Power's Soul had finally been sealed into the Master Sword; sending a rift across time and space itself. Both Courage and Wisdom did not understand what Power had been murmuring before he was sealed away for most of Time – his immortality never fading – though there was one person who knew the truth behind his old words. Unknown eyes watched from the shadows, gripping her Sceptre of Time tightly as she looked over the crystal relaying this scene to her; her Tome open beside her at the Era of the Hero of Winds.

She watched over the balance of the Ancient Power, which included the three Vessels, far from mortal eyes. She was able to see across the ages themselves at the command of the Old Gods, reading the fates of many Souls that lived and how they intertwined with each other – though never interfering. She had been watching this balance since the dawn of Time itself, intently caring over the blessed creatures of the Gods like a mother over her child.

However, there was one time that she interfered, foreseeing major destruction.

She had interfered when the Bloodline of Hylia and the Soul of the Hero was in danger of slipping out of the Cycle of Incarnation. The Gods could easily pluck other Souls and manipulate them, though she knew that these Souls were sacred and would never be the same if they fell out of this ancient Cycle of eternal war between the Heavens and the Surface. She had no choice but to step out of her place and interfere, aiding the fight against the Demons.

She saved this fossil-like cycle, although it came at a mighty cost.

At the command of the Old Gods, she was sealed away; never able to slip from their bonds ever again. She had no need to complete this task again, foreseeing any other rifts in the Flow of Time. She would not allow herself to become mortal again, eternally watching as the Vessels fought for freedom within their era. She had protected them once, but never again. She went by many names. But they were lost to history. She would never allow herself to interfere or be used any longer.

She had become fond of the legendary Hero's Soul during her time in confinement, though she had no intention to bring forward her emotions and attempt to slip out again. She had her duties that she had to fulfil, therefore she could not even think about ignoring her duties for petty emotions that she could not prevail with.

That was her life. Nothing could overthrow that.

As the moment continued on in the glass ball beneath her, she threw her Sceptre into the air and dissolved it from its presence with a swirl of her hand, knocking away her Book of Sorcery with a flick of her wrist. She dragged her fingers across her white garments, her snow white fingers brushing lightly against the lacy designs embroidered into her garments and over the numerous jewels the Gods had showered her in. Her hair fell around her face as she shed a tear, recounting the era that had been long forgotten about until the Era of the Great Sea.

She could no longer think about the Soul that she could not interact with. She had seen him in person before Old Hyrule befell the fate of the flood that she barely escaped with her life from. Her heart had fluttered, recalling when she had heard him speaking to the Queen casually; their love intertwining – only speaking with her before he disappeared from existence entirely. She knew the entire conversation down to the letter, recalling every tone that he spoke in until they eternally parted ways.

"So you are this mysterious woman that I have been hearing much discussion about?"

She had smiled, remembering the twinkle in his eyes from the morning sunlight as she shut her Book of Sorcery. "I am."

It broke her heart to lose him in such a way...

And yet, in a single moment of weakness, she slipped through the reigns of the Gods through the commands of Power. Power, never forgetting his final words to the Vessel of Courage atop that Tower, wormed his way into her heart and exacted his revenge in a way that no one could ever have expected – shutting out the light in her heart and Soul itself. Her images, twisted and warped, became so vivid that her duties became nothing but mere tasks that she could dispose of so easily. Her mind, filled with the single memory of the man that she had become so attached to, became the opposite of the safe haven that she had for comfort.

She wanted him, she needed him. And so would do whatever it took to fulfil her desires through the use of Power.

And the next War raged across Hyrule was all in the name of this Huntress, this Guardian of Time.