Conflict of Realms
Main Character

Aidan Conlan

Height: 5'11"

Weight: 150 lbs.

Profession: Mercenary and bounty hunter

Description: A rebellious man, raised by a loving farmer, whose wife died while giving birth. When he was six years of age, a wandering chimera ate his father. The boy took all the money his parent had and enrolled in a weapons training academy. There he stayed for seven years, until he graduated with average marks. Then, until his fifteen years, he earned his money by stealing from shops in small towns, where there weren't many guards. Soon after trying to rob a well-reputed store, he was arrested and jailed for a year. When he got out, he became interested in a career as a bounty hunter. At seventeen years of age, the Mercenary Force hired him to assault a hidden orc city.

---------------Prologue

            Aidan dipped his missile in the fire before him, and then equipped it with his bow. His companions did the same, readily awaiting the directive to fire. The orcish stronghold cast a dark shadow on the forest, but it would soon be destroyed. The merc bowmen finally got the word…

"Fire at will, archers!" yelled commander Brand

A deluge of flaming arrows soared into the garrison and forced the enemy out of hiding. Masses of green-skinned creatures flooded towards the frontlines, waving their maces and swords above their heads. Human warriors rushed into the fray and the ensuing fight was reasonably one-sided, as ogres ambushed the troops to aid their allies. The archers, who still hadn't moved, were forced to take up weaponry and fight. Aidan brandished his halberd and began zealously cutting down the large creatures, until he was knocked aside by a berserker. His rival bore down upon him and began flailing his weapon wildly. The man reached for his dagger, and thrust as the enemy took another swing, the blade drove through the beast's heart. Blood poured from the wound and the ogre fell on Aidan, knocking him out while his companions fought on.

---------------Chapter 1

            After pushing violently on the corpse which had rested upon him, Aidan unsheathed his sword and started cutting away at it. Being showered with blood didn't bother him, as he was dirty enough already. Finally getting up, the mercenary was once again immobilized by what he saw: mounds of bodies of men who fought alongside him. Their deaths didn't bother him, only the fact that he was the only living creature in sight. He sat down for a while, and lost track of time. Following two hours of contemplating his luck, he piled the bodies of his fallen cohorts and set them alight with the flames that were still burning. Not because he was their friend, but because any man of battle deserves it. A blood-covered map lay at his feet, next to his trusty halberd, and with it, he found the nearest resting place, a town called Highwood.

            When he arrived in the settlement, a nobleman rudely welcomed him, drawing attention to the newcomer.

"Why, you smell like a bull's rear end! Get out of my way!"

"No," Aidan replied, "YOU get out of my way, lest I slit your throat, you upper-class whiner!"

"My! My! Aren't you the touchy one?" retorted the bloke, before entering a rich-looking inn.

Jeez, fortune shines upon me once more… Thought the worn out fighter, looking for someone to give him information about the municipality. Then, he saw a town guard.

"Hey there! Yes, you! Could you direct me to an affordable hotel?"

"Yeah," he replied, his voice muffled by his helmet, "just to the left at that corner."

"Thanks."

"I think they have baths there, too… I'm not sure, though."

Damn peasants.

He followed the instructions and found a nice-looking establishment, with a sign marked by the building's name: Crossroad Hotel.

            The bartender greeted that battered warrior, asking him if he wanted a room.

"Yeah, that would be nice."

"And a bath?"

"Yes…" Aidan grumbled angrily.

"Okay. Would you like a 1 gold piece, 3 gold piece or 6 gold piece room?"

"I'll take the 3 piece room."

"Right then. Would you like your clothes washed."

"… Yes, I would."

Aidan spent the night in the town shops, buying some arrows, clothes, weapons and maps. Then, returning to his room, he prepared for a good night sleep…

            A cold splash awoke him in the morning. He opened his eyes and was surprised by a welcome sight.

"Kean! I haven't seen you in a long time! How the hell is it that I find you here?"

"I'm chasing me bounty, n' this pays REAL well! I git 500 gold in advance, an' 3000 when I bring 'er in!"

"You're a bounty hunter, now, are you? Hehe, THIS time, you're sticking with me!"

"I was thinkin' a' same thing when I saw you, and I believe you'll like where we would be headin'…"

"Go on, I'm all ears…"

"Well, ya know that new continent 'em sailors found?"

"Yeah, I've heard rumours."

"Git this: there be a castle on that island, surrounded by cliffs, and some'un be paying real well to git' 'em away, there be gold and trees in them lands."

"I see, and the bounty is…?"

"We gon' be assassinatin' their hero, break their spirits, an' then we watch them storm the castle!"

"Okay, assassinating a hero? Isn't that just a bit… risky?"

"No problem. He's only human, ya know, and you an' me, we take on any man we want an' we whoop 'em!"

"You are so right, my friend. Tell me, what do they call this new continent?"

"They say the natives bin' callin' it Hyrule."

"Okay, then, and their hero's name would be…?"

"His name be Link."

"Okay, well, all this 'business' talk and we still have a lot of catching up to do, let's get to the local watering hole and talk about what's been going on these past years, shall we?"

            Just a while ago, strange people had started coming into town, and they were pretty violent, disrespectful, and they asked a lot of questions. Link's conscience had him thinking they didn't belong, but his wits told him that anyone's allowed to be wherever they want.

Oh well, he thought, all this hero stuff and now I can't stop being suspicious of everyone…

"DON'T TOUCH MY SWORD, KID!" he yelled, as a child examined his blade. The youngster began crying loudly and ran away, continually tripping on his own feet.

DAMN! I did it again! That's the fourth time! I've got to stop shrieking… Oh no, here comes another toddler… Count to ten, Link… No, get up and just walk away… That's right, you just walk away… STOP LOOKING AT MY SWORD!

"YOU LITTLE SH… SHI… SHIP! ARRGH!"

"Link! What are you doing?"

Oh shit, it's Zelda… Think quickly…

"Umm, he was… He dared me to do it… Yeah, that's it."

"Are you still… sane, Link? You look traumatized."

"I think… Um, I'll get a little fresh air."

"We're already outside Link."

"I mean out of the town's walls… To breathe…"

"Uh, okay. I'll see you… tomorrow… Hmmm… (Damn, has he been licking odd things?)"

"Thanks, Zelda. Goodbye."

Ouch, VERY bad choice, Link. Talking like you'll never see her again… Just get out, quickly!

So, Link stepped out the gate and was hit in the face by a hot breeze.

"That's… peculiar… a hot breeze… hmmm…"

He soon forgot, though, as he sought to fight some creatures. He was being watched by one, however, one of a species that had never before walked on that land. It had been smuggled aboard a ship that came to Hyrule on a mission of conquest.

"RRRRAAAAWWWWWW!!!" it screamed, leaping out of the bushes and hobbling towards the hylian."

"What the hell is that?"

It had tough-looking grey skin, greasy black hair that stuck to its scalp and threatening fists. It stood just a bit taller than he, but it had very wide shoulders, and wore only a pair of shorts.

"Die, kid!"

Link started backing up, and the creature walked slowly and wasn't catching up very quick. He grabbed his bow and an arrow and fired. The projectile poked at the flesh on the arm of the creature and bounced off. It flinched a bit, but did not bleed. The elf decided to unsheathe his two-handed goron sword and thrashed wildly at his opponent, who threw a jab and knocked him back a couple of feet. Link took a low swing and severed the adversary's leg, and its body lay a crumpled, but still breathing, heap of durable flesh and muscle.

"Now, what are you?"

"Ugh… Aaaarrrrrr… YOU… WILL… DIE!"

"Shut up, what are you?"

"Me Garm, me want eat you!"

"Shut up, I didn't ask WHO you were, I asked WHAT you were."

"But me Garm!"

"SHUT UP! WHAT IS YOUR SPECIES!"

"Uhh… No know what mean species, help?"

"Listen to me, Garm, read my lips, WHATEVER, what were your parents?"

"Mommy was Runia, dad Varax, and me was Garm!"

"Was your mommy a human, Garm?"

"Garm body hurts. Me hungry."

"Garm eat after. Answer."

"Human, hungry… Garm want to sleep…"

"Garm no sleep, talk."

"Sleep…"

And it died. Link got up, wiped the dust off his clothes and walked away from the corpse, looking for more of its kind, which he would not find.