Change of Plans: Prologue
A crisis necessitates the breaking of tradition. Wisdom and Courage are bestowed on two unconventional vessels and a classic Zelda story with one dynamic alteration unfolds. Set sometime before BotW.
I posted a similar version of this chapter years ago but now I finally have the time and energy to complete the work.
This story is my first attempt at a longer fiction. It can be dark and violent at times as well as (hopefully) exciting and light. Primarily, my aim is to create something new, that's engaging for Zelda fans to read, while still capturing the essence of the franchise.
I always appreciate feedback, so let me know what you think!
Link's vision tunneled. He expertly dodged another ball of billowing purple flame then focused on his imposing adversary. Ganondorf was just a man. Link had trained his whole life in preparation to face him. And yet the Hero trembled.
Vaulting over another projectile, Link dropped into a hurried roll and then bounded back up, avoiding Ganondorf's physical attacks with tense, jittery muscles. He might be in shock.
There was no warning. No preamble, no spectacle to warn Link and Zelda of their enemies arrival. They had been in the Royal Library studying, patches of warm sunlight from the high vaulted windows creating lazy dust mots on the gloss wood tables. When suddenly, shouts of pain and fear began to eco down the stone corridors.
They had immediately raced to the source of the noise only to find a bloody and horrific scene. Dozens of Sheikah guards lay dead or dying as the two skidded to a halt directly inside the large antechamber. When he caught sight of their shocked faces, the tall, dark skinned man had slowly and deliberately drove to point of his sword into the chest of a soldier lying prostrate at his feet. There was a smirking twist to his lips that had Link whipping out the Master Sword and Zelda launching a preemptive magical assault on the villain with out over saying a word.
After the the initial shock abated somewhat, the thrill of true combat began rushing through Link. There was a series of rapid exchanges as he and the dark warrior observed the other's style. It was unlike any battle Link had ever fought. So disjointed from the steady rhythms of training that Link was gasping and trembling from the sheer tension of it. It was jarring, uncontrolled and graceless battering. The Princess was off to one side of the grand stone antechamber chanting—small bursts of colorful light erupting from her body—the two were working in tandem to hold Ganon off. And they were succeeding.
Several minutes into the fight and the imposing, dark skinned man had already acquired numerous small injuries that seemed to be adding to his fatigue from fighting off the princess. Zelda, with hundreds of well-studied spells at her disposal, was systematically breaking down Ganon's magical barriers, siphoning away the bulk of his magical power that would otherwise have been directed at Link. The Hero for his part hadn't been hit once.
But Ganon didn't seem the least perturbed.
That realization sent another wave of fear coursing through Link as he ducked in close for a swipe that the larger man barely blocked. The Dark Warrior's strategy didn't make any sense. Previous reincarnations always either arrived with armies, killing thousands before ever facing the bearer of Courage directly or sent someone powerful to test Courage, and Hyrule, assessing strengths and weaknesses before entering the battle arena himself.
This time he struck suddenly and he came alone.
Invading the castle, Ganon had immediately began killing indiscriminately and loudly. The uproar he created had given Link and Zelda just enough time to gather themselves and race to the source of noise. Why give them time at all?
Sweat dripped into the hero's eyes as he lined up and released an ice arrow followed by a fire arrow in rapid succession. They collided directly over Ganon, creating smoke and noise and sufficient commotion for Link to follow up with a direct sword attack, but he didn't. Rather, as soon as the smoke cleared, Ganon was treated to a barrage of bomb and boomerang assaults with only a few intermittent but well placed sword strikes as the smaller warrior snuck in close. The dynamic strategy had the imposing Gerudo staggering.
Link moved, panting, his nerves on edge. This was too easy.
Histories had not prepared Link for what his enemy was actually like. The Gerudo was tall and wide chested but not brutish or monstrously large like in many depictions. The man had a surprisingly young face. Thirty maybe. He moved with ease and grace that bespoke powerful muscular control and his regal countenance reminded Link ironically of Hylian monarchs, whose portraits were scattered along these very walls.
Why was he still fighting them?
Though he was visibly panting with exertion, the warrior continued to smirk, as if enjoying a game of tag with children. If he was toying with them, what could he have to gain by letting them injure him? And more importantly, what was coming next?
The grip on his blade clenched tight as Link circled Ganon slowly, anticipating. The other man held a massive black blade loose in his hands, casually twirling it; head cocked back slightly, dark eyes assessing Link. Then Ganon's cursory gaze flicked towards Zelda.
Without really meaning to, the green clade warrior sprang to the right, partially blocking the princess from the Gerudo's sight. In response, a wide, malicious grin spread across Ganon's dark face.
"You two always seem to find each other." His smile was pronounced and taunting. Link frowned. "And you're both quite strong, already. Much more prepared than in previous rebirths." There was a shift in the air near Ganon; a dark cloud of purple magic began to form.
A twitch in Link's forehead was beating in time with his rapid pulse.
Ganon went on, "Unfortunately for you, I've also done some extramarital preparation."
Then, instead of tossing the ball of purple magic, the larger warrior hurtled his sword forward. Link tried to block it but the weapon wasn't aimed at him. It whistled past him, curving in an unnatural arch around Link. Who whorled around in time to see a dark, alien form—almost human—materialize from the sword and immediately begin bashing at Zelda's hastily erected shield. Her chanting cut off abruptly.
A wrenching in his gut told Link to protect Zelda but he grit his teeth and twisted back to face Ganon. Link had been fighting with Zelda long enough to know she could handle herself. Not to mention a massive, dark cloud had begun collecting all around Ganon, lighting up his smirking face with an erie purple glow. With Zelda occupied, there was nothing to prevent the Gerudo from using all his power on Link. And the older man was obviously ready to take full advantage of that.
Link dove to the side as, for the first time, he was thrown completely on the defensive. One after another magical assaults rushed towards him and he barely managed to avoid his own redirected bombs in his haste to dodge and counter the attacks. Waves, balls, and lightning strikes: the manner of the dark Gerudo magic was varied, unpredictable and unrelenting. Link grunted as he was forced into an ungraceful roll, eyes on Ganon.
There had to be a way to get close.
After what could have been minutes or hours of desperate dodging, Link heard an unfamiliar male cry and Zelda's dark opponent fell prostrate on the floor. The being was mostly black with a diamond pattern to his flesh that contrasted sharply with a shock of white hair. What really drew Link's eye was the bright orange diamond at the center of the creature's chest, which to his experienced eye screamed weakness.
"To ME Ghirahim!" Ganon's disapproving voice commanded as his dark hand stretched out and the entirety of the creature on the floor seemed to collapse and shrink in on itself as it sped to its master's hand. Returning to the recognizable form of a hulking black sword.
Purple fire laced his leg and Link staggered with a hiss. Where had that come from?
It was just a distraction, a flick of the wrist before, blade in hand, Ganon launched towards the princess.
Red erupted in Link's vision, drawing an instinctive cry from the hero as he leaped to intercept.
His blade met Ganon's massive weapon just shy of Zelda's magical shield. She was already chanting again.
Ganon's gaze was full of a dark humor and his confidant smirk made Link growl in irritation.
They struggled for a moment before the Gerudo slowly, deliberately, released the hilt of his blade. He peeled back one finger at a time and it remained in place, steadily bearing down on Link's trembling arms.
"You never win the first battle," Ganon said with satisfaction. "You always scurry away to gain undeserved gifts from the Goddesses. This time," He offhandedly flicked away a streak of white light from Zelda. "I'm not giving you the chance."
Link grimaced. Cold dread filling his gut as the blades weight drove him down and Ganon gathered orbs of magic in both hands.
Then Ganon's intense gaze flicked up just in times to meet a tidal wave of golden energy with outstretched hands. Zelda's eyes were fierce as she unleashed another surge into the constant stream bombarding the dark warrior, her arms extended. Ganondorf grimaced and raised his own arms in response. It looked like the two conjurers were straining at a brick wall between them and neither was having any success at moving it.
As Link engaged the black, serrated sword, his thoughts swirled chaotically. It was a sword but a man too? How could he initiate the switch? The pressure bearing down on him was more powerful than any man Link had ever faced. And he was wearing out quickly.
Deciding on one realistic course of action, Link dropped his left knee, shoved hard with his arms and dove to the side. Immediately crying out when the viciously undulated margins of the blade dug into his calf. He rolled to his feat, staggering, eyes only for the blade that once again began to transform without his prompting.
This time it morphed slowly, leisurely, and this time, Link could clearly see its eyes. Black and soulless though they appeared, the hero was certain he saw joyful bloodlust in their midnight depths as the creature sauntered towards him. It wasn't just a tool. This thing had a terrifying personality.
Conjuring up its own thin sword, the diamond-clad facsimile of a man grinned impossibly wide and struck in a gale of limbs and steal.
Across the room, Ganon and Zelda were locked in a fierce embrace of magic. It was swirling around them in random bursts and angry plumes. The battling pair was no longer on the ground but hovering above it, eyes locked. Sparks flew, colorful and bright. Ganon's malicious grin and violet magic the antithesis to Zelda's grim determination and golden power.
Suddenly, Ganon lunged forward and Zelda retaliated with all her force, breaking the sphere of magic and sending them both flying, into the center of the room and the wall respectively.
Meanwhile, Link was forcefully pressing a small but hard won advantage when the other battling pair broke apart. He struck again at the creature's only adornment, the orange diamond at its chest. For one blessed moment, his dark adversary retreated, hand to its torso, and Link could spare a glance in Zelda's direction.
It seemed she'd managed to cushion the magic's assault with some of her own because rather than the unconscious figure he was expecting, he could see Zelda staggering to her feet with a slightly dizzy but ferocious look to her. Heartened by her quick reflexes, Link pivoted back to his opponent to the sound of leather gauntlets tightening against the hilt of the Master Sword.
But his laughing adversary wasn't there.
Instead, the hero heard a strange metallic ringing. Diamonds shimmered, floating in the air where his opponent had been. Link's glaze flickered all around him: behind, up, to Zelda, and then he heard the ringing again, along with markedly lecherous laughter.
Then came the unmistakable, piercing touch of steal in his chest.
From her position by the wall, Zelda's eyes widened in shock and horror as Link's form came into focus. Her already dizzy mind swam at the impossibility of the thin blade protruding from Link's torso. At the blood spilling down his green tunic—at the perplexed expression on his face—at the light that faded with cruel haste from his once vibrant blue eyes.
When Link's lifeless body slumped to the floor, Zelda did to, an anguished cry escaping her lips.
Ganon grinned in triumph, raising a large hand to summon the enchanted sword back to him.
Without Link there was little chance for her to defeat Ganon alone, Zelda reflected mechanically. Once he exhausted her, he would take her piece of the Triforce, become twice as powerful and be virtually impossible for Courage alone to vanquish. For her, there was only one acceptable course of action.
After reclaiming the personified sword, Ganon turned a roguish grin on the princess.
Zelda met his gaze evenly, moving to stand with one hand steading herself on the cold stone wall before pushing off with resolution and conjuring her own rapier in preparation for combat.
At least that's what Ganon thought.
Until the bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom plunged a blade of light into her own chest.
Time didn't slow for Ganon. It moved too fast. He couldn't reach her in time. And he couldn't take her piece if she was dead.
The earth itself seemed to tremble.
Ganon fell to one knee as the castle trembled violently and two golden orbs darted up from the bodies to hover in the center of the palace chamber.
The two unwillingly liberated Triforce pieces hung, shuddering in the air as dark red blood crept along fissures in the massive stone slabs below. They vibrated near each other in agitation, as if not understanding that their hosts were gone.
In the Heavens, the Goddess looked on in shock.
A thunderous trembling shook the world as Courage and Wisdom exploded out into the night, unadulterated power lighting up the countryside in random, violent bursts. The two intermittently collided, ricocheting off each other in a frantic search for stability, for belonging. They rattled the very mountains in a failing search for worthy vessels to inhabit.
But they were not prepared.
Each lifetime, after Link and Zelda eventually died, their souls would linger in the heavens, unaware and waiting until Hyrule once again needed its Princess and Hero. Then the two would be returned to the earth when appropriate vessels, one in the royal family and one to a hardworking, Hylian family, were accessible.
This deliberate slaughter of the two Triforce wielders disrupted a primeval rhythm older than time. There were no bodies to inhabit that fit the preceding requirements and the world needed its heroes to be present.
From the heavens looking down, one of the Goddesses—Farore—moved forward, as if to intercede but was halted by a hand on her arm.
"We cannot intervene." Din said solemnly.
"If left unchecked, the Triforce pieces will wreak havoc on the mortal world. They can't come back here and they cannot be allowed to remain without vassals. Inaction is not an option." Nayru's hands were folded calmly, and she seemed to carry none of the anxiousness the other two betrayed as she gazed down at the earth.
"What then?" Farore asked with a mixture of exasperation and a fidgety desire for action.
The Blue Goddess gazed down at the images before them for a moment. "Power's violent acts are calling Wisdom and Courage to remain but no traditional vessels are available. The reincarnation cycle has been interrupted." She mused as the earth trembled below. "We must choose new souls for Courage and Wisdom to inhabit, that fall outside the usual parameters. Humans that are already developed and personify the desired characteristics."
"But if we do that, there's no knowing what will happen to the souls that have been attached to Courage and Wisdom for so long. Link and Zelda…" Farore said uncertainly.
Nayru's eyes fell, "Yes."
With a growl, Din rubbed her glowing orange temples, "My chosen can be so difficult sometimes! There is no precedent for this." She gestured to the trembling planet below with exasperation. "At least when he dies we have time to set the board. I wonder if he did this on purpose…" she added thoughtfully, orange brows frowning.
Din sighed again, long and slow, and the other two waited for her deliberation.
"Whatever the case, Nayru's right, inaction is not an option." She affirmed decisively, eyes locking with her blue sister. And then all three traded glances.
"The divine pieces must not roam unchecked."
"We will chose new human vassals for the lost pieces to inhabit." The three voices spoke as one.
AN: Thanks to everyone you read this!
I have a lot of this story written already so new chapters should come out every Friday.