Opening A/N: Hello All, I apologize for dropping off the face of the earth for a while. Since I had vanished, I graduated high school, and had been working two jobs, both of which I love doing.

I do hope to update more frequently from now on. And why not start with a brand new project. Without further ado, I present...

Wrath of the Norsemen

Prologue

Queen Zelda walked through the halls of Hyrule Castle from the throne room, a sigh of relief escaping her lips with thanks that she was done holding court for the day. Many townspeople had presented many cases that were brought to Zelda's attention through the nobles making themselves present at court. The issues ranged from property vandalism to a few monster sightings, but there was one that was most alarming: Soldiers stationed in the Snowpeak Ruins have received several scouts' reports that a large army of an unknown sovereignty has appeared in the far north. Zelda could only assume they were professional soldiers, because the scouts had reported that their march was incredibly disciplined and the uniforms, while differing slightly in personal decoration, matched with each other rather well.

She finally reached her bedroom in the high tower and sat the report on a desk, and decided to change from her regalia into a comfortable nightgown for the night. She then removed the jewelry from her hair and brushed it out, and sat down at the report. Opening the pages, she could see that the scouts had been rather thorough for being, as far as they were aware, undetected by the enemy. Every single soldier was dressed in heavy armor, essentially covered in steel from head to toe. The sketches depicted them of looking like human-sized Darknuts. Within the ranks were some men carrying banners. The banners were numerous, and they very different. One design would only be the same as two or three more banners. The only banner device that seemed to appear the most was that of a wolf howling under a moon. Other designs included a bear, a dragon, a snake, and even a raven. Zelda concluded that the banners belonged to different lords or nobles of this nation, rather than separating regiments, as the scouts also reported that nearly all of the forces had been on foot.

This was all overwhelming to her. Hyrule had been at peace for just over ten years, since the Mirror of Twilight had been shattered and Ganondorf had been defeated by Link and herself. To have a new foe appear so suddenly was alarming, and she knew she did not have many options. She could not simply send her army. For one, she could not give the impression that she was a warmonger to these foreigners. And more importantly, she did not know how strong their soldiers were. No, she had only two options: subterfuge, and diplomacy.

The latter would suffice, and now it was up to Zelda to choose an emissary. She already had one in mind, and pulled a quill and parchment out of a drawer, and began to write her summons as the night grew late.

Link had just finished bringing the goats out of the barn to graze in the Ordonian fields as his fellow rancher, Fado, ran up to him, a look of panic on his face. He finally stopped running when he got to Epona, bent over and his hands resting on his knees due to exhaustion. He finally stood up and wiped the sweat off his brow before speaking up.

"Link," He began, still trying to catch his breath, and also keep his nerve about him. "There's an envoy from Castle Town here to see you, with some messenger guy who wants to speak with you in private." Link took a moment to soak it all in. He had been in Ordon for ten years since defeating Ganon and saving Hyrule from the Twilight Realm. The only time he left was to go visit Malo in Castle Town and to buy supplies. Sometimes he would also escort a carriage of harvested pumpkins to Castle Town with Rusl. But as far as he knew, Zelda would've been mostly unaware of his presence there. At least that's what he was hoping for. He liked keeping a low profile.

"Thank you Fado." Was all Link could say before kicking Epona into a gallop towards the village. Even from the top of the hill overlooking the village, Link could see the envoy Fado was referring to. A horse and a carriage, escorted by two mounted Hylian knights, four foot knights, and what appeared to be two recruits in simple leather and chain armor. The only Hylian not clad in armor or armed to the teeth was an older man sporting eyeglasses and a decorative robe, talking with Bo, Ilia's father and the Mayor of Ordon Village. Link had finally reached the two and quickly dismounted before the diplomat had opened his mouth. Link's rushing had startled the emissary to the point where he had to catch his breath before proceeding.

"I am Lorenzo Balcatti, Chief Minister of Hylian-Ordonian relations. I am here by the request of Queen Zelda of Hyrule, to deliver this letter, which bears the Seal of the Royal Family." He takes a letter out of his bag and hands it to Link. Link eagerly takes it, glances back up to Lorenzo before nodding for him to leave, and then examines the seal. Once he confirmed that the seal was Zelda's, he unceremoniously tore the envelope open and unfolded the paper, recognizing Zelda's handwriting immediately.

Link,

I apologize for calling on you so suddenly, but you are needed to serve Hyrule once more. In the Snowpeak region to the North, a large army of men has been sighted by scouts belonging to the Snowpeak regiment stationed at the manor. These men seem very dangerous, and I, as well as the nobles of the court and the allying tribes, do not wish to fight this force without first attempting to engage in diplomatic relations. I, unfortunately, must stay here in the capital to manage the kingdom from home, but you are the only other person in the world whom I trust to complete this mission successfully.

Before you leave for Snowpeak, you should come to Hyrule Castle with Epona. I have arranged for you to be given equipment that you will need for the journey, as well as documents and gifts to ensure that this mission is successful. I will not have the time to converse with you during your visit, but we will have plenty of time when you return from you mission to talk with one another. Until you return, I'll be in a royal hall with nobles barking at me and at each other as to what they would do in this situation.

I hope that you return swiftly and safely,

Sincerely,

Zelda

A/N: Thank you guys so much for checking this out. It has been a long time since I wrote ANYTHING that wasn't work or school related. So I do apologize that this chapter was rather short, but I do promise that future chapters will be longer. I also apologize that the characters may seem a little "dead", but it's the first thing I wrote in, like, 5 or 6 years. And I also promise that there WILL be future chapters! It feels good to be writing again! Speaking of which, by all means, READ & REVIEW. And you have some positive criticism, share it. I don't care if it's how "empty-shell" the characters are to you, if my writing could use some improving, etc. Because that is what it's about: improving myself as a writer.

Thank you guys again!

~Twitchy the Pyro