Prologue
It started.
Thousands of years ago, there was a creature that lived all alone in a deserted part of the world. One day, the wind carried the scent of a new creature approaching from far off. The great beast lifted its head, whiskers sweeping forward in anticipation.
An excitement lifted in the beast, as humans were so far and few between. Great and wide-pupiled eyes focused on the approaching figure. The man was slender, yet showed the wear of many a battle. He was stocky, with wisped hair catching the very wind carrying his scent. In his hair was a long, graceful feather the colour of blood.
The man tossed his bag easily at the feet of the beast before sitting in front of the massive claws. He showed no fear, just a mild curiosity as he was regarded. His voice was only polite as he requested a safe haven to rest. A feral grin marked the beast as it told tales of soldiers and heroes, all coming for the very armour it wore. It told the man of their shared valiance, and it told the man of their shared deaths, for it had devoured them all.
The man listened silently, before smiling gently at the great creature. He spoke of the pity he felt that the beast should be alone, forgotten forever by all and doomed to remain whilst all others moved on. This confused the beast, for it was fear itself! But the creature soon felt sadness, for it realized that it had never left that spot. It had never tried, for it had never felt that need. Now the hopes of all its victims echoed within, and a great weight was laid upon its shoulders.
With a desperate cry, the monster begged the man to free him from this prison, to start time for this deserted land once again. The man was kind, and pulled from his bag a deep and hollow drum. He sat, watching the beast with eyes far older than a youth should be permitted, and told the creature to allow time to flow.
For three days the man played, and the creature danced. On the fourth, the beast fell and did not again rise. The man rose and, with a final pitying look, removed the feather from his hair. Enchanted it sharpened into a blade, and this he used to slice away at the great beast's hide.
Practiced hands took and shaped the armour, carving and shaping until in his grasp he held a mask. A fearsome thing it was, for in it was locked the beast's powers. The man bowed his head, wishing to the Goddess Hylia that this evil may never again take hold of these free lands. One final glance and the man carried on, for a Hero's work is never done.
He thought no more of that mask.
Thought does not hinder action, however, and the creature's greed was not one that could be so easily vanquished. For years the carcass rotted, and the flesh and blood poisoned the ground beneath. The bones, so tainted from malice, began to fester as they were brought to light. Evil bred in the very marrow, and life was created. The Goddess Hylia saw this, and knew she could not allow such a being to be reborn.
She stepped in, dismantling the skeleton and scattering the bones far. Monsters would still be spread from the bone, but none so great as what once was. To further dissipate the cursed power, she herself took three pieces of bone and imbued them with her own powers. The creatures that hatched from these would be flawed by nature, but a goodness was there as well. They were not doomed to mindless avarice.
As one final deed before she drained her powers, the Goddess purified the lands the creature poisoned. Never would green thrive there again, but the land suited well for a castle to protect her people. As the great stone walls rose, Hylia called to her the three Creation Goddesses. To each, she assigned one of the flawed races. She pleaded with them to, in her absence, watch over these beings, for the temptation of darkness would always live in them. Finally, knowing that the lands were peaceful once more, the Goddess Hylia sealed herself away, awaiting the day that the Hero of the Ages would once again need her guidance.
This story will be an amalgamation of various Zelda titles, mostly focusing on Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, but it'll dip a bit into the mythology and legends of Skyward Sword. There will be an assortment of characters, but none will be as prominently featured as our Hero in Green.
I do not own Legend of Zelda, nor any of its various titles.
The first half of this story is a retelling of the original graphic novel story concluding Akira Himekawa's "The Legend of Zelda Majora's Mask". I do not own this either, merely borrowed the tellings for my own muse.