The metal gate to the largest cell in Hyrule Castle's lockup clanged shut. The five guards that stood outside the bars peered in on the monster captive within. It was huge, many times the size of a Hylian and had weighed a ton. It was a Hinox, but no ordinary Hinox. While most of them were red, blue, or black, this one was silver. Silver monsters were known for being much stronger than their counterparts, and this was the only silver Hinox that had ever been found in Hyrule.

"When d'ya think he'll wake up?" One guard asked, a twinge of unease in his voice. The Hinox was asleep, sure, due to the tranquilizing agent that had been used on it. As a result, the sleep it was in looked… a bit unnatural. It was laying on its side, since that had been the only way to drag the beast into the cell, and in the wild they always slept on their backs. There was also no involuntary movements in its sleep that usually indicated it was dreaming.

Another guard shrugged, "The elixir we gave it was enough to keep a red Hinox asleep for a few days, so it could wake up at any time since this guy has to be several times stronger." The two of them watched through the bars as their companions left, ready to go tell the commander that the deed was done.

"d'ya think this is a good idea?"

"What do you mean?"

"Having this monster be the final trial for knights. Seems a bit excessive"

"No, this is certainly a good idea. Not only will this keep the monster away from civilians, it will ensure that our knights are the best trained in the land." Guard 2 nodded in affirmation of his statement.

"But what if we lose an otherwise good knight because it's so strong?"

"At any point, if the guard feels overwhelmed, he can leave and shut the gate. Sure, that'd make him weak, but if it became a matter of life or death—"

"Uh, Brint"

"What?"

The guard not named Brint pointed to a slab of carved stone leaning against the wall. "Shouldn't we put that… where it goes"

The stone was about the size of a small headstone, carved with the inscription "Test of the Royal Guard -
Strike down the giant foe to become recognized as a knight of the kingdom." It was intended to be placed in the chamber, behind the beast, so that the knight who successfully fought the Hinox could feel warm and fuzzy inside before claiming their prize.

"Oh, yeah. We should have done that before dragging the monster inside." Brint picked up the stone and placed it squarely in the other guard's hands, "since you did the least amount of work bringing the Hinox in, you can do it, Curl."

"W-wh- ME?" Curl's eyes bugged. "What if it wakes up?"

Brint leaned against the wall where he'd taken the stone from, "Tough luck, then. Just go in, place it behind the treasure chest, and come back out. It's easy. Here, I'll open the gate back up since you need both hands to carry that."

And open the gate he did.

Curl was shaking in his very fashionable boots. Ok,ok, the beast still… looked deeply asleep? It snored. Was that a sign of deep sleep or light sleep? He wasn't sure. Cautiously he walked into the room, sidling around the massive bulk of a monster. He kept his eyes on it as much as he could until he reached the shiny new treasure chest that contained the Hylian Shield. Then, for just a moment, he turned around to seat the stone on the ground where it belonged. He spent another moment making sure it was straight and that the chest wasn't blocking the inscription, when he heard a groan from behind him.

Stomach sinking, Curl turned around to see the silver Hinox open its singular eye, which alone was almost as tall as him (Curl was shorter than the average Hylian). With a yelp, he stood up and ran towards the exit as fast as his legs would let him. The Hinox sat up, still sleepy, and lazily waved a hand in Curl's direction. There was a gap of several feet between the Hinox's hand and Curl's head. However, this caused him to shriek as he ran through the gate, slamming it shut again and locking it.

Brint was doubled over laughing, "You should have SEEN your face when it took a swipe at you!"

"N-n-not fu-funny!" Curl stopped to try to catch his breath, then turned back towards the cell. The Hinox had crawled over to the door, and gently put his fingers to the bars. Its fingers were thicker than the gaps between the bars, and it slid them down to the ground and then put its face on the door. It genuinely looked confused.

Brint stepped forward and jabbed the large eye with his sword. The Hinox roared and pulled away from the grate in pain, falling back onto its rear as it covered its sensitive eye.

"Come on, Curl. We need to let the commander know we're not shirking from our duties. I won't tell anyone you screamed like a little girl."

Curl stole one last glance at the crying Hinox before following Brint out of the lockup.