The Legend of Zelda
The Legacy of Evil
Episode 4 – The Siege of Hyrule
A red sun rose over the plains of Hyrule. It was an ill omen, a sign of the blood that would be shed that day. Across the lands of Hyrule, many armies prepared for war. In the Zora's Domain, every Zora warrior took up his spear and shield. In the forest, the Kokiri trained with their bows one last time before battle. In Hyrule City, the soldiers of Hyrule drew their swords and hylian shields. The call went out for the Hero of Time again, but he did not appear. Disheartened, they knew they would have to fight without him.
However, up on Death Mountain, things were still rather relaxed. The Gorons were enjoying the traditional Goron races in the main arena. The Chief Darduna was in the main hall, eating a nice slice of granite when the messenger arrived. The messenger bowed, and delivered his message to Darduna, who was chomping away at his meal.
Crunch "I see, so the prophesied King of Evil has-" crunch "Risen, has he? Well, I guess we'd better stop him…" crunch "Very well. Tell my sworn brother we are coming. We shall aid Hyrule once again!"
The messenger bowed and left. Darduna finished his granite with a last large bite. He stood up, still chewing and walked towards the door. When he finally swallowed the last mouthful, he curled up into a ball, and rolled down the corridors to the Goron Racetrack. Loud yells and cheers could be heard. Darduna rolled up to his box high above the indoor racetrack, and waited until the latest race finished. He clapped his hands together, creating a sound that echoed around the track. All the Gorons turned to listen to their leader.
"I am sorry to call a halt to your fun, my brothers, but we have more important things at hand. Hyrule is once more under attack."
Groans rose from the Gorons. Hyrule had a habit of falling under attack during Goron festivals. Although the Gorons rarely suffered casualties during these skirmishes, they hated having to pause the fun and games.
"I know, I know. Still! We get to harvest the bomb flowers! Come on, warriors of Death Mountain! Time to go to war!"
Deep in the forest, Ganondorf, Mido and a Zora representative were discussing battle plans. A large map of Hyrule was pinned down to a tree stump. On it were many brightly coloured flags representing the armies of Hyrule, Zora's Domain and the Kokiri Tribe. Ganondorf pointed to the Zora's Domain.
"If what you say is true, Hyrule still does not know about the Zora's part in our plan. That gives us the option of the element of surprise, however, I feel our numbers are so great, using the element of surprise would be a waste of time. I believe we should deploy the entire Zora force and half the Kokiri. That way we keep the Kokiri in reserve for if we need them."
"What about the Gorons?" asked the Zora.
"I don't believe they will interfere," lied Ganondorf, "They are allied with both the Zora and Hyrule. They will not choose a side they are too loyal. Besides, they surely know we are the force of good."
"Very well. I will tell Prince Ruko of our plans. Until we meet again, Lord Ganondorf."
The Zora left, escorted by a pair of Kokiri. Ganondorf turned back to the map. Clearly the Gorons would interfere, but he expected it. Everything was moving as he predicted. Soon, it would be time to bring an end to the world of light, and everything could be covered by shadows. Without the Sword of Evil's Bane to worry about, Ganondorf was effectively immortal. However, even he could not take on the whole of Hyrule single-handed. Too many normal swords would eventually wear down his armour, and then he would be vulnerable. And his magic was not unlimited. He would grow weaker over time, and then he would be beaten. Better to let the Zora and Kokiri do his dirty work…
Outside the wall of Hyrule, a great army massed. The forces of Hyrule numbered at 70,000. Every man was ready to die for his King, who sat astride his horse at the head of the cavalry on the right flank. On the walls, the most powerful of Hyrule's weapons was deployed. The great Cannon. This device was relatively new in Hyrule. They were devastating in their firepower, and more accurate than a catapult, but were very difficult to craft, and if damaged were near impossible to repair. As a result, Hyrule only had 5, which were used solely for the defence of the City.
In the distance, the great army of the Zora marched towards Hyrule. Over 100,000 Zora warriors on foot, supported by a number of Catapults that threw bombs, instead of the typical rocks. The great horns of the Zora sounded as they marched. On his horse, the King of Hyrule turned to his General, Lord Halbrien.
"Good. The Zora have arrived, and the Gorons have sent word they are on the way. It is strange though, that the Zora did not send the messenger back… Go to the watchtower and see if the messenger is among them."
"As you command, my King."
Turning his horse back to the gates of Hyrule City, Lord Halbrien rode to the watchtower and looked out up the Zora army. Using a telescope, he observed the army's advance. It was all wrong for an army going for defence. The positions of the forces suggested an attack…
And then he saw the messenger. His body was skewered on one of the banners of the Zora army. The sight made he feel sickened. What sick game were the Zora playing?!
Leaping back onto his horse, Lord Halbrien returned to the King and reported his findings.
"I see. So the Zora have betrayed us… And there are 25 warriors in green with the Zora you say? This is dark news indeed. We must hold out until the Gorons can reach us. Tell the men they are too fight defensively. Do not pursue the enemy if they flee."
Ganondorf marched behind the main Zora army with Ruko and his guard. As the 2 great armies rolled up to each other, a deadly calm suddenly reigned. One side sought revenge, the other sought to survive. Up in the sky, storm clouds that had been gathering all day let loose their fury upon the earth. Rain fell hard upon both armies. The Zora took it as a sign of victory. Water from the sky was the symbol of many glorious battles in their history. The men of Hyrule felt their spirits sink even lower as the water made the ground beneath their feet soft and sludgy. This would be an easy fight for them…
With a great cry that echoed around the plains, the forces from the Zora's Domain charged at the enemy line. The sound of steel meeting steel clashed across plains. The Cannons thundered and the Catapults unleashed waves of fiery death upon the Hylians. The Cannons smashed the Catapults to pieces with the first few waves, then concentrated on the main force. Leading the charge, the King of Hyrule began to fight his way through the hordes of Zora. Among the 2 clashing armies, the Kokiri darted about, firing at soldiers whenever they got the chance. A short distance from the action, Ganondorf and Ruko observed the battle.
"I think I shall give our valiant forces a hand…" murmured Ganondorf to the Prince, who nodded.
Levitating into the air, Ganondorf hovered towards the fight. The Hylian soldiers pointed to the sky, and a new wave of despair hit them. Raising his hands high, Ganondorf conjured into existence large fiery rocks that began to smash into the Hylian central formation. The King of Hylian saw this new adversary, and yelled to the Cannons on the walls.
"FIRE ON THE DEMON KING!"
Following the orders of the regent, the Cannons switched their target to Ganondorf. Disturbed by this attack, Ganondorf halted his magic and began to dodge about in the air, avoiding the cannonballs. Forming a sphere of energy in his hand, he threw it at the Cannon battery on the wall. The Cannon exploded with a massive force, knocking the rest of the Cannons off the wall, along with the crew.
Ganondorf smiled. Everything was going according to plan. But then, a rumbling could be heard. In the far distance, around 10,000 rocks seemed to be falling from Death Mountain. Ganondorf realised these were no rocks. The Gorons had arrived.
Smashing into the Zora's right flank, the Gorons began to flatten the Zora formation. The Zora began to turn and flee for their lives. The Gorons let go of their bomb flowers, and more Zora fell to the explosions that rained all around them. In the air, Ganondorf nodded. Everything was going as planned.
"RETREAT! ALL FORCES, RETREAT!" yelled Ganondorf.
The Zora were already running. Slowly, the attacking forces fell back to the Woods. As the King ordered, the forces of Hyrule and Death Mountain just watched as the enemy ran away. A great cheer rose up from the forces of Hyrule. The King of Evil had been beaten!
Looking back on the enemy, Ganondorf smiled. 'Yes, believe you have won,' he thought, 'Believe I am that weak, and you are so strong. When your defeat comes, the despair will be far greater than if I hadn't let you win. And despair is what I need to obtain what I desire… the greatest treasure in Hyrule City… THE TRIFORCE OF WISDOM!'
Outside the City Walls in a tent, the King of Hyrule, Darduna, and Lord Halbrien discussed their next move. The King slowly paced around the table, whilst Lord Halbrien pointed things out on a map to Darduna.
"Attacking them now would be pointless," continued Lord Halbrien, "We need time to recover and treat our wounded. Plus they have the advantage of the terrain. We don't know our way around the woods like the Kokiri do. Our best bet is to fight in the open."
"How many men do you have?" asked Darduna, "I suffered no casualties thanks to our surprise attack."
"I believe we lost about 35,000 men," replied Lord Halbrien, "That attack by the King of Evil gave us serious fatalities. We have about 30,000 men still able to fight. We have around 5,000 men wounded. Of that, around 4,500 have good chances of survival, and 4,250 of those will be able to fight again in a few weeks, provided they get the right treatment."
"Then it is clear. I will deploy my reserve force of 10,000 Gorons to block the pass back to the Zora's Domain. The won't be able to retreat. My main force here will assist you whatever you decide, though I recommend a simple defence plan until your men are healed. That gives us a total of 40,000 warriors here, and 10,000 preventing the enemy's retreat."
"Sounds good. How do you feel, your majesty?"
"Too many have died today…" replied the King in a sombre tone, "If the enemy attacks again, we will have to use our full strength. Have the Sheikah prepare for battle. Perhaps we will finally see how many they number…"
In the Woods, the Zora General angrily yelled at Ganondorf.
"THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS! WE LOST 40,000 WARRIORS! WE HAVE 10,000 WOUNDED! WE LOST MORE THAN THE HYLIANS AND GORONS COMBINED! YOU TOLD US THE GORONS WOULD NOT INTERFERE!"
"Calm down, my friend. Don't forget, all the Kokiri survived, which is one blessing. It seems the Gorons have been corrupted too. Fear not, for I planned for this. I will even the odds by giving us the Terrain advantage."
"How? Hyrule is surround by flat plains for miles around."
"Not for much longer… Observe. The Zora River flows close, but not through Hyrule City. Watch."
Ganondorf walked to the edge of Woods, followed by the most senior Zoras. He brought his palms together and closed his eyes. The ground began to tremble, and the great river began to slow. Opening his eyes again, glowing yellow, Ganondorf traced the new route of the river with his eyes. The Zora River dug itself a new channel towards the Woods. It curved past the feet of Ganondorf, then turned to half encircle Hyrule City, before turning back onto its original course. Closing his eyes again, and separating his hands, Ganondorf dropped to the ground.
"I am now… weakened. Greatly. We must wait a day before we attack again, or I will not be able to aid you. You will have time to treat some of the wounded too. We will deploy all our forces. Now. We should all get some rest. Tomorrow will see us victorious, I swear to you."
In his tent, Ganondorf closed his eyes and smiled. The Hero of Time was still a full 2 days away. Everything was going to plan. Soon, he would have the Triforce of Wisdom, and Hyrule would be his. Then, he could turn his attention to the Hero of Time, and prevent his rise before he even began… With the last piece of the Triforce, Ganondorf would be the greatest King of Evil ever to walk the Earth…
Zelda grabbed her weapons again, and joined the Sheikah in the battle preparations. Since her return, she had been unable to find the time to turn back into her true self without anyone seeing. Fortunately, people assumed she had locked herself in her room, and was hiding. She had left instructions before leaving with Impa not to be disturbed on any circumstances. Now, she had to go to war with the Sheikah. This was slightly worrying for Zelda, but she would not have had it any other way. She would rather fight for Hyrule's survival than hide in her room until the enemy was in the streets.
From the watchtower, the cry went out that the enemy was once again approaching. The creation of a new river around Hyrule had come as a great shock to the King and Darduna. None the less, they knew they had to fight. In the channel, over 50,000 Zora swam along. On the banks, Ganondorf and all of the Kokiri advanced on Hyrule.
The combined Goron Hylian army stood ready. The Sheikah stood on the right flank near the King. They would be in the thickest of the fighting. Zelda looked up at her father upon his horse, and had a new respect for him. Although rather old fashioned, he was still a great King, and a worthy leader. She would try to protect him with her life.
The Zora once again attack the front line of the Hylians, and the Gorons curled up and rolled to attack. Unfortunately, Ganondorf lifted the entire Zora formation up above the Gorons, and they rolled straight into the river. Over half the Gorons dropped into the water and sunk like stones. Although Gorons didn't need to breath as often as Hylians, and could survive days under water, they were too heavy to swim back up, and the sides were too step to climb. Darduna swore every expletive in Goron he could think off as he watched his warriors fall into the trap.
With the Goron shock troops eliminated, Ganondorf lowered the Zora forces back down, and the battle continued. Drawing his sword, Ganondorf joined in the fighting on the ground. He began to carve his way though the Hylians to the Sheikah and the King. The King turned to see the King of Evil's approach. Drawing his sword, and pointing it to the sky, he yelled, "FOR HYRULE!"
Ganondorf waited for the King to come into reach then sliced the King's horse's legs from underneath it. The horse collapsed to the ground, throwing its rider some distance. Scrabbling to his feet, the King ran at Ganondorf, sword raised. The Sheikah joined in too, hacking away at the King of Evil, trying to find a weakness in his armour. They found none.
Swinging his sword around like a mace, Ganondorf send 7 Sheikah flying back. Turning attention back to the King, he raised his sword high and struck down. The King raised his sword to block the blow, but his sword was sliced clean in half. Ganondorf drove the blade into the King's side. Gasping for air, the King dropped to his knees. Ganondorf kicked the King in the chest which dislodged his sword from the King's body.
Ganondorf turned his attention back to the Sheikah, slicing them apart one by one. Zelda screamed and ran over to her father's dead body. Tears dripped down from her face, as she propped the King up. The King looked in surprise at the figure crouching over him.
"Z…el..da?"
Zelda stared at her hand. Her disguise had faded… but this didn't matter. All that mattered to her now was her father…
"Yes, I am here father! I'm here to save you!"
"I… think it is too late for that now… you must go! Get the people out of Hyrule! We cannot stand against the King of Evil…"
He pulled Zelda close so she could hear his final words.
"Find… the… Hero…"
He closed his eyes and his grip failed. All strength left him, and he descended into darkness. Zelda continued to cry, holding onto her father's body, as an ominous dark shadow cast itself over them.
"So… the Princess shows her true form. I knew despair would cause the Triforce of Wisdom to fail…"
Zelda turned to see Ganondorf stood over her. Rage growing inside, she picked up her sword and lunged at Ganondorf. Ganondorf leapt into the air, laughing.
"Foolish Princess! Your power is nothing compared with mine! Give me the Triforce of Wisdom, or you join your father!"
"Never!"
"So be it!"
Raising his hands to the sky once more, Ganondorf summoned a huge sphere of black energy, which speared out many projectiles that homed in on Zelda. Calmly, Zelda raised her own hand to the attack, and the Triforce of Wisdom glowed. A shimmering bubble surrounded her, absorbing the missiles. Ganondorf's eyes narrowed. She had better control of the Triforce than he had expected. Slowly landing on the ground once more, he drew his sword again.
It seemed like an age that they duelled, the Princess and the Demon. The Princess, weakened by despair, but empowered by resolve refused to give up. The Demon, his rage growing as the Princess countered his every move, became more and more frantic. Wisdom fought Power for the greatest stacks imaginable. Far away, the Hero of Time felt the clash through the Triforce of Courage. Knowing the Dark One was close to victory, he pressed his steed to go faster. Unfortunately, he would never make it in time. Sadly, Zelda could never defeat the King of Evil. If she had the Master Sword, she could have stood a chance, but without it, she was doomed to fail.
Ganondorf called upon all of his strength, to one final blow. The sword leapt out of Zelda's hand, and landed some distance away, and Zelda was knocked to the floor with the attack. With a sickening laugh of success Ganondorf grabbed Zelda's wrist, and lifted her into the air. The Triforce of Wisdom dimmed on her hand, as it began to glow next to the Triforce of Power on Ganondorf's hand. Ganondorf continued to laugh out loud as Zelda struggled as hard as she could. It was in vain. Ganondorf threw Zelda away like some toy, and stared at the back of his hand.
"Yes… YES… YES, THE POWER IS MINE! I AM VICTORIOUS!" cried Ganondorf to the skies with glee. Turning his attention to the city, he watched as men, women and children fled for their lives, with the last of the Hylian soldiers, Gorons and Sheikah. Barely 9,000 soldiers had survived. The Zora were down to 20,000 warriors, but the city was theirs.
Ganondorf walked through the great gates to Hyrule City. The Zoras reported they had killed everyone within the palace, and had the Queen of Hyrule in the dungeons. Everything he had planned had finally come to pass… Now all that remained was the Hero of Time…
In the distance, Link and Saria saw the fires raging from Hyrule, and saw the stream of survivors running towards Death Mountain, the last safe haven in Hyrule.
"I am too late…" whispered Link.
Zelda simply ran. She didn't run to Death Mountain, she just ran. Blinded by tears of grief and failure, she staggered as far away from Hyrule as she could.
Upon the throne of Hyrule sat Ganondorf, the King of Evil. Around him gathered his Kokiri followers, whilst the Zora hunted down every last living sole still within the City. Ganondorf leaned on his right hand, the 2 pieces of the Triforce glowing brightly. It was time to move to the last part of his plan… to destroy the Master Sword before the Hero of Time could draw it from the pedestal…