A/N: Thank you. This beginning note will be kept as brief as vampyrically possible...maybe not that short. This is essentially a modernized version of the Wind Waker. As it has been modernized, I have taken the small liberty of adding and enlarging towns to and on the Great Sea. All characters will be canon from one Zelda game or another. This can be considered both a novelization and an AU. Read and enjoy.
Thank you again.
Prologue: Library
"This is but one of the legends of which the people speak..."
"Awwww!"
"Come on, Ilia! Don't start the story like that!"
In her chair, an old, musty book in her lap, a young woman with dark blonde hair rolled her eyes and sighed. "All right then, Mido, how should I start it?"
On the floor in front of her, a nine year old boy grinned mischieviously. His pepper red hair poked out disobediently from under his yellow and blue hat, and he swiped at it angrily before the grin returned to his freckled complexion. His overalls were oversized(hand-me-downs from his brother, Skully), and his blue tee shirt was dirty from hours of playing outside, chasing wild pigs with his twin sister Saria.
Saria, for her part, had been much less forthcoming in her discontentment with the start of the Legend that Ilia had chosen to tell them that day, but that did not change her dissatisfaction in the slightest. Her tapered green hair(which she constantly insisted was natural) moved around to frame her face as she giggled, wordlessly voicing her agreement with her brother. Saria, a bookworm by nature spent more of her time indoors reading through old Legends and Myths than she did outdoors playing with her peppy brother, but even Mido loved the Old Tales, and both had already decided that this version, the one quite precisely translated from the Ancient Tongue, was their least favorite, and far too uneventful for either of their tastes. Though, they thought, the illustrations were enjoyable.
Mido stood up. "Hey, Ilia, let me tell the story! I know a really good rendition of it!"
Ilia, from her place in an old red armchair, sighed again, and waved lightly allowing Mido to take over for her. She got quite a surprise when both he and Saria took a seat on either arm of the chair, but, being rather fond of the twins, she did not object, and allowed them to remain in the positions they had put themselves. Mido was the first to start, his chipper young voice going all over the room so that everyone would be able to hear.
"There is a story." he said, simply. "A great, long, wonderful story. Throughout many generations, every island across the sea has adapted this story, this wonderful tale, to its tastes. Today, though, I will tell you the most accurate account of this story, for, though it is your choice whether to believe me, this story is true."
This time, it was Saria's turn. The beginning of the narrative suited her soft, flutey voice perfectly, and all the children, from Joel and his brother Zill to another pair of twins, Tatl and Tael, sat, transfixed by the lifelike feeling they were suddenly encompassed by.
"In a land very far from here, long forgotten and whose name is no longer known, there was a vast forest in its southern reaches, inhabited by a childlike people that never grew old. Each of these children, for that was what they remained for the duration of their existence, was given a guardian spirit to watch over them. The form of these spirits has long been lost in the annals of time, but it is believed they took on the forms of colorful lights, hovering near the shoulders and hearts of those they were sworn to defend, and to guide as well, for they would remain children." Saria paused to draw in a deep breath, her blue sweater moving with her. "But..." she continued, "There was one child who did not have a guardian. And it is with this child that our story begins." now, her first section of the narrative completed, she looked expectantly to her younger twin, who grinned.
"Just as the forms of the guardian he so lacked, the name and face of this young lad have long been dashed roughly against the rocks of time, and so have shattered, leaving us with only speculation, but we do know this; he was to become the Great Hero. And so our story begins...
--
That child, a peaceful child, lived a good life in the Village of Youth, with many friends, although there was one who picked on him quite often. He did not dislike this friend, but they often got into heated quarrels because he lacked a guardian. This, though, has little to do with our tale for now, so please, merely store it away, as it will eventually be important.
Now, one night, the boy with no guardian, who we shall call Khler, which means 'savior' in the ancient tongue, was sleeping in his home, a small, wooden shanty raised high off of the ground. This, you may think must be rather normal, but on this night, Khler's normally peaceful sleep was not so. No, on this moonrise, a terrible, terrible dream invaded his mind. In this dream Khler came face to face with a terrible evil in the form of a man and his black horse. Thunder exploded, jarring Khler's ears as its companion lightning illuminated the sky and ground around him, revealing the twisted smile and hellish eyes of what Khler would later believe to be the devil himself for what he would come to do. The wicked man raised his hand, uttering an incantation in the ugly tongue of the Underworld, and a sphere of purest evil formed in his palm...
And then Khler was awoken by nothing other than the guardian that the Childrens' Patriarch had sent to aid him. This guardian, Nalldi in the old tongue, told him that the Patriarch requested his presence immediately, and he must hurry.
And thus began Khler and Nalldi's adventure. They trekked through a great tree to remove a curse on their forest home, and yes, they succeeded. Then, sent abroad to aid the land by order of their Patriarch, they bid farewell to Khler's gentle and sage friend, as well as his loud and obnoxious one, and set off for a land in imminent danger. They trekked over a vast expanse of land called a prairie for days on end, and there they met a man and his daughter who aided them with safe passage to a large city kept within a wall. There, at the far end of the great city, they found a vast castle, and there they met the castle's princess, a beautiful and wise young girl who knew all of their misfortunes, and of the many more misfortunes to come. And so, giving them information and knowledge of a song that would aid them, she sent them on a quest to retrieve two sacred relics to accompany a third that had been bestowed upon them by the Patriarch before their departure from the Childrens' Forest.
And from the castle, Khler and Nalldi proceeded to a small village at the base of a mountain, a village with a cemetary dedicated to the brave men who previously had defended the land from evils of lesser nature. There, in the grave of a long dead king, they learned a song that would protect them both from the blinding darkness of night and from the dangerous hands of the undead. Then, the tune learned, they scaled the mountain and came to a city built within it. There, they were greeted by a people with bodies of stone, who said that they would not be able to retrieve the relic they needed unless they broke a curse on the caverns from which the stone people gathered food. And so they broke the curse, with much trouble. The stone peoples' patriarch, Lukiel, or strong one, gave them then the relic willingly, and the location of the final piece they must acquire: a hidden cove that was home to a water dwelling race.
And so Khler and Nalldi travelled there over the course of a week, for it was far. There they met a great ruler of the water people, who could not give them the relic, for it had been lost, as had his daughter, who was last in possession of the artifact. Khler, not being one to back down or easily give up, asked the king if he could keep the artifact, were he to retrieve and and rescue the water princess, Aquell'anra. The king, because he cared greatly for his daughter and felt her more important than a dusty old relic, agreed, and told Khler and Nalldi that Aquell'anra had last been seen at a great lake. He gave Khler a scale that allowed him to remain under the water for a much longer period of time than he previously would have been able, and told him of an underwater passage that would quickly take him to the lake, a journey that, on land, would have lasted several days.
Only hours later, brave little Khler and his chipper guardian Nalldi surfaced in the lake. It was vast, more vast than any body of water Khler had seen in his short life of ten years, but not nearly so vast as the Great Sea we now live on. Khler and Nalldi searched diligently, but nowhere in the vicinity of the Lake did they find Aquell'anra. However, when they were about to reenter the passage and return to the Cove for a short respite, Nalldi caught sight of an object under the water, instructing Khler to dive down and retrieve it. Inside, there was a note telling them of Aquell'anra's whereabouts: the belly of the water peoples' guardian deity. With much haste, Khler and Nalldi returned to the water king and told him of what they had found. Hearing this, the water ruler gave them right of passage to the small lake where the deity resided, and told them of the requirement of an offering. Taking heed of his words, Khler caught a fish as a gift and made the short journey to the deity's place of rest.
They arrived there, and what did they find but an immense, powerful fish, Jabu-Jabu. Not sure what else there was he could do, Khler laid down his offering. Jabu-Jabu, satisfied with Khler's simple yet sincere show of respect, allowed him entrance to his body. Once inside, Khler and Nalldi searched and searched, probing every nook of the great fish until they found both princess and stone, and rescued them from the evil that had taken over the deity. This done, Aquell'anra relinquished to them the final artifact, and Khler and Nalldi sped back to the Great City.
But it was too late, for the city, and the castle as well, were in flames, fallen victim to the evil man from the desert, who we shall name Gheul, or destroyer. As the bridge leading over the river to the town came down, so passed a brilliantly pure white stallion, led by the princess Sentha'anra's(great'princess) attendant. Quick as a wink they had disappeared with the now setting sun, towards the border and distant countries. Towards safety. As they disappeared over the horizon, the same black horse from Khler's dream raced over the bridge, and Gheul looked disdainfully down upon brave Khler, who did not move, both from fear and from defiance. Gheul demanded of Khler the direction in which princess and attendant had fled his answer was the sound of Khler drawing his weapon from its sheath. And, angered by this response, Gheul raised his hand, uttering an incantation so ugly that the ball of energy formed in his palm radiated pure evil. He sent the spell at Khler, saying he was brave for standing against him, but his bravery was his undoing. As Khler blacked out, the last he heard was the evil Gheul's laughter as he raced off into the night.
When he awoke, Khler's mind was accosted with a telepathic message from Sentha'anra, telling him of a magical instrument and its song that would allow Khler and Nalldi, by use of the artifacts they had gathered, to access a weapon that would help them defeat the wicked Gheul. However, when Khler followed Sentha'anra's instructions, the weapon, which in its own right was sentient, deemed Khler unready, and so sent him into a period of sleep that lasted several years. When Khler awoke, he was greeted by a mysterious boy who told him of Gheul conquering the land, and of the sages Khler must rescue in order to save it.
And so Khler set out on another journey, determined to save the many people who were under opression. He first travelled to the forest that had once been his home. There he met the friend he had often quarreled with, who was named Hoth for the color of his hair. But Hoth had changed from a bully to a sad and lonely boy, and, wishing to atone for the times he had been unkind to Khler, led him to the temple in the forest, where their kind friend Hiell(gentle) had gone to fight the evil that now ravaged the woods. Together, Hoth and Khler slew the evil ghoul that had made the temple its nest and rescued Hiell, who was found to be the temple's sage. Hoth, though saddened that he would never again see his dear friend, reluctantly accepted that she must leave in order to aid many, and so pledged to protect the forest with all the power he had. When Khler left the forest again, a strong bond between the two boys had formed.
Khler's journey then took him back to the mountainside village and up the mountain to the city of the stone people. Arriving, he found it empty, save for a lonely stone child, fighting off monsters that had invaded. Finding that the child, who was exhausted and hungry, would not survive for long, Khler leapt into battle with the divine weapon that had once deemed him unready, and slew every monster accosting the stone boy. When saved, the child gratefully introduced himself as sharing Khler's name, explaining that his father, the stone patriarch Lukiel, had given him the name in hopes that he would be as great as the boy who had once saved their race from starvation, and that he was summarily honored to meet that very mand. Then, the younger Khler'iel(little Khler) went on to tell of how all of his kind save for himself had been imprisoned inside of the fiery mountain that towered over the city, and would be eaten by a terrible dragon spirit if they did not hurry. Khler na shinn(Khler the older) agreed to rescue them, and in return was given a garment that would allow him safety in even the hottest regions of the volcano. So he entered the magma filled caves, trekking through to save the stone people one at a time, and receiving a great battle hammer along the way. Eventually he met Lukiel again, and together the two defeated and tamed the dragon spirit. Lukiel was revealed to be the fire sage and so remained in the temple within the volcano, his son easily accepting it and promising to grow and lead his people when he came of age. When Khler exited the volcano to taste cool evening air again, he was greeted by the mysterious boy, Al'thul(of shadow). Al'thul told him of the frozen water kingdom, and of the temple in the lake, and gave him garments that allowed him to remain underwater indefinitely, and then he led him to the temple in the lake, where he left Khler very suddenly. And so, Khler traversed through the first portion of the underwater temple with onld Nalldi to help him along. Soon, however, he found Aquell'anra, and the two continued through together, using their steadfast friendship and teamwork as a weapon to defeat the great serpent spirit that had tainted the sacred temple, and it was revealed that Aquell'anra was the water sage. She accepted her fate with all the grace of her royal status and remained there.
Upon leaving, Khler was once again greeted by Al'thul, who told him of sudden strife in the mountainside village, and together the two young men travelled there, only to find the town in flames. They were greeted, however, by the attendant, Al'Shao(of suffering), who told them of an age old demon who had escaped its prison and had gone to the temple at the rear of the cemetary. Al'Shao, who seemed somehow to know Al'thul, instructed him to aid the villagers while she and Khler went to the temple to face the demon. The dark temple was frightening to Khler and Nalldi, who had always been innocent by nature, but, both having brave spirits, they followed Al'Shao faithfully and assisted her in dispatching the terrible devil within, and naturally, Al'Shao was revealed as the dark sage, and, with calmness befitting of her element, she took her place among the other sages, directing Al'Thul to lead Khler to the final temple in the desert.
The trek across the desert, even with the stoic Al'Thul's guidance, was a long and arduous one, and so, when attacked by a brainwashed desert woman just outside the temple, Al'Thul and Khler were unable to defeat her. If not for the well read Nalldi, who told them of the key to the desert woman's hypnosis, they would indeed have been slain. When finally defeated, the desert woman, Linrette(gold), apologized, explaining that she had been unable to control her actions. And so, to atone for her weak mindedness, she led both Al'Thul through the temple and aided them in defeating the evil within.
At the end of the battle, Al'Thul came forward and apologized sincerely, claiming that he had deceived Khler. And so, using a spell, it was revealed that in truth, Al'Thul was Sentha'anra in disguise, but before any celebration could take place, Gheul came and swept her up, taking her to the top of his tower. Linrette, who had been awakened as the desert sage, used her power to transport Khler and Nalldi to where they had first awoken; the light temple, wher the light sage Khoy(grandfather) resided. Khoy, upon their arrival, listened to their story and agreed to summon all the sages and assist Khler in his final battle.
The sages, with their combined power, created a magical bridge over the chasm separating them from the tower. Khler and Nalldi, though surrounded constantly by foes, bravely fought their wat through the tower until they reached the top and faced Gheul. Through sheer will, Khler defeated him and rescued Sentha'anra, and the two escaped the tower just before it collapsed. But, imagine their horror, when out of the rubble rose a great demon, Gheul's true form, and so Khler was sure he was against the devil himeself. But, because of his desire to protect his friends, Khler faced him with the help of Sentha'anra and the sages, and after a long and bloody battle, victory was achieved and Gheul was sealed away in the Dark World he had created, never to be seen again.
Many, many years, centuries even, passed in peace, and the land prospered. Khler, Sentha'anra, and their sage companions lived on and died of old age during that time, but the land, remembering their efforts, continued to work towards a steadfast peace. Life for all was comfortable.
Until one day, a fell wind passed over the land. An ominous, foul wind that reeked of death and suffering. Soon, Gheul rose out of the Dark World once more in a red wrath to destroy the land. Distressed, the people prayed to the gods for the return of Khler, who had become known as the Hero of Time. Days of death proceeded to come, and Khler did not, for his time was gone, and he was at rest. And so, the land descended into chaos, burned, pillaged, and destitute.
The ultimate fate of that kingdom?...none remain who remember.
However, Khler's story has survived on the wind's breath, and in the community of Outset Island, it has become tradition to, when a boy reaches the same age at which Khler began his journey(ten), to dress him in green, a sign of coming of age.
--
Mido and Saria, their story finally done, hopped off of their respective seats and bowed to the applause given them by their peers. Even Ilia, who had reached her eighteenth summer and was no longer wanton to enjoy the Legend that the children begged her to so often tell them, was all smiles and praise for the show the Kokeire twins had put on, and she was anxious, she had told them, to know where they had found it.
"Skully." Mido said simply, referring to their older brother. Skully went by many names, the most frightening being Skullkid, and his given one was Simon. He rarely showed himself during daylight hours, and had a frighteningly malevolent nature at times, but for the most part he was a playful and affectionate friend that Ilia could rely on(he and she had been close since childhood). He also doted on his brother and sister constantly, making up for the time their single mother could not spare.
"Ah, alright then." smiled Ilia, "I'm sure it's a reliable story. In any case, it took quite a bit of time. I'm sure most of you are being expected at home by now. Go on, scoot!"
And with that, story time at the local library came to an end.
Mido grabbed his and Saria's schoolbags on the way out of the library, planning to go home ahead so he could help his mother start dinner, but was hailed by a classmate before he could. The boy who shouted and jogged up to him had flaxen blonde hair and eyes as blue as the tropical ocean surrounding their island home. His white tank top and cargo shorts were just the right size, but Mido knew from the way Link tended to shoot up about three inches every spring that they would not remain so for long. Even his oversized flip flops would soon need replacing.
"Hoy, Mido!" he shouted. Mido grinned and waved.
"Hoy yerself, skinny! Need sumthin'?"
Link glowered at his unwanted nickname, but Mido knew from the telltale glint in his eye that he would let it slide...for now. "Well," said Link, keeping his six year old sister from wandering off; once again, Mido had not noticed her at first. Aryll, though just as energetic and outgoing as Link, easily blended in with the rest of the crowd, and though Mido was fond of her, he often lost track of her whereabouts. Link, however, was easy to pay attention to, as his chipper voice always jarred Mido from his thoughts without trouble. "I was just talking to my Gran'ma on the phone so she'd pick Aryll an' me up, and she was tellin' me that since you an' me's birthdays are so close together that she, your mama and Simon are helping put together a joint party. We're gonna have to wear dresses on the same day!"
Mido winced at the mention of the 'dresses', the tunics, and since Link always referred to Skully as Simon, that went unnoticed. The tunics, however...
Though the tradition was more to dress the boys in the color of heroes, it seemed like most mothers or matriarchal figures went ahead and sewed traditional tunics and leggings for their sons; as had been the case for fifteen year old Kafei Dotour on his tenth birthday. He and Skully had burned the pictures together a few months ago. It was already enough that Saria was pestering him, calling him a 'future cross dresser', but Link reminding him too?!
"Seriously, Link, don't bring that up!"
"Eheh. Sorry. Anyways, the point is that we get to have our party the same day! Cool, huh?"
Mido grinned broadly. "Yeah!"
The two chatted awhil longer until Link's grandmother arrived and Saria came out. The Kentons(that is, Link's family) offered them a ride, as they usually did, and as always, Mido and Saria declined, insisting that they did not live far off, and that they would be just fine. And, as usual, they were just fine, because as the sun set and they reached the half-way mark between the library and their home(which really was quite a ways away; in the mountain district), Skully met them and guided them to the house safely, where their mother had already made dinner.
And yet, far to the north, a plot was brewing that would shatter their daily routine into oblivion.
Night: Hello. If you didn't take the time to note the name of this story's author, that would be me, NightmarishPrince. Though I generally like to write darker than this, I though I'd take a turn for the lighter with my first contribution to the fanfiction community. If you enjoyed the first part of this story, I would very much like to hear so, even if it is a mere 'keep going', I would love to hear from you. :D Even flames are welcome, since I am fairly tough skinned, but don't think I'll take them quietly :l
Thank you for reading.
