Destiny's Way

By: Zoshonel

Long ago, before time even began and life existed, three Golden Goddesses descended from the heavens upon the chaos that existed and set about the creation of Hyrule. These Goddesses were Din, the fiery red Goddess of Power, Nayru, the beautiful blue Goddess of Wisdom, and Farore, the gentle green Goddess of Courage. With their divine powers, each Goddesses chose to shape the chaos before them in their own way.

Din, with her powerful, flaming arms, cultivated the empty space and created the red earth. She shaped the landscape, giving rise to towering mountains, profound chasms, and great expanses of land. Nayru, with her noble mind, bestowed upon the land her divine wisdom and gave the spirit of law to the world. From chaos she established order upon the universe. Farore, with her rich soul, produced all life that would uphold that law. Through her life-giving breath, she transformed the barren earth into verdant plains and gave rise to all the beings that would walk the earth, fly in the sky, and swim in the waters.

When their labors were complete, the Goddesses departed back to the heavens. At the point of departure from this world, the Goddesses left behind a magical artifact, a culmination of their powers, called the Triforce. Consisting of three golden triangles, it was a relic of omniscient and omnipotent power that would grant any wish so desired by the one who touches it. To keep it safe from those who would use its power for evil, the Goddesses sealed the Triforce away in a parallel dimension called the Sacred Realm awaiting the day when someone worthy of its power would seek to claim it.

So goes the legend. For generations it has been passed down among the races of Hyrule. Its lore the subject of many a story, there are few within the kingdom of Hyrule that have not heard the tale of the Golden Goddesses and the creation of Hyrule in some form or another. But throughout the ages, a prophecy has been passed down as well. The citizens of Hyrule both fear its fulfillment and yet rejoice at its very existence, for it foretells both Hyrule's greatest demise as well as its greatest triumph.

As written in the ancient texts, the prophecy goes:

When the land is covered by evil, and Hyrule stands on the verge of its darkest hour . . . a child shall be born . . . a child bestowed with the sacred mark . . . His coming shall herald a new beginning . . . the darkness shall be driven back, and the ruins and scars of Hyrule shall be swept away.

Hyrule's history is one of blood, of sacrifice, of darkness, but still the prophecy remains unfulfilled. Countless wars have wreaked its countryside; the scars of which can still be seen to this very day. The souls of those long dead still linger in places, grim reminders to those unfortunate enough to cross their path. No race escaped its horrors while rivalries were formed and ended, short term allegiances developing into full-fledged alliances.

Despite is past, Hyrule has always weathered such storms, emerging victorious each time, though hardly unscathed. While Hyrule's doom had been at hand more than once, no destined hero had ever emerged. This has caused the prophecy itself to become mere legend, more of a symbol that Hyrule would endure any conflict no matter how bleak things became and come out all the stronger for it than an actual foretelling of things to come. Yet there are still those who believe in the prophecy and fear the day it foretells. Whether right or wrong, only time will tell.

* * *

Great bolts of lightening streaked across the infinite darkness of the night sky, each flash as bright as the sun as they illuminated the landscape below. Nigh instantaneous explosions of thunder followed, shaking the very earth with each successive blast. Rain the size of pebbles gushed forth from the heavens like a raging waterfall, the wind whipping it around in such a fury that each droplet stung fiercely when it hit.

Only one lone soul was brave enough to be traversing the expanse of Hyrule Field in this tempest: a Hylian knight. He rode hard and fast, his horse galloping at full speed despite the conditions. The rain battered against his armor, the visor of his helmet down for protection against the rain and to help him see, although this storm offered zero visibility save for the frequent flashes of lightening. The clothing beneath his armor was drenched, the water from the rain leaking in through the joints in his armor, and was sticking uncomfortably to his skin, yet the knight rode ever onward.

Only one hand gripped the reins of his horse, the other clutching a large bundle of cloth close to his chest. Resting within the bundle was a baby, no more than a couple months old. The cloth was wrapped tightly around the baby's body to protect it from the rain and chill winds, though not so tight that the baby could not breathe. The knight was also using his own body to deflect as much of the storm off of the infant as possible. The child fidgeted little within the knight's arms, and whether he was crying or not was drowned out by the thunder.

The knight urged his horse to gallop faster and faster, his gaze fixed straight ahead of him. Though he could see nothing else around him, off in the distance was a line of dimly lit flames: the torches that lined the outer wall of Hyrule Market, Hyrule's capital city. The torches were well protected to prevent their extinguishment in such conditions, but not so protected that the storm couldn't affect them altogether. It was here that the knight headed with all speed.

Still several leagues away, the knight continued on undaunted, despite the storm growing ever worse. Already he had traveled far, forsaking much closer havens along the way all in a desperate bid to reach his destination as quickly as possible. His mission was of the utmost importance, and any delay could be costly.

The guards patrolling the top of the wall had seen the rider approaching thanks to the lightening and had the drawbridge lowered as he neared. The knight was grateful as he saw the bridge being lowered knowing full well that any shouts to the guards would not have been heard. He pulled his horse to a full stop as he waited for the bridge to fully lower. Zora's River, which flowed past and made a natural moat for Hyrule Market, was normally a quiet and quite passive river at this section of it. Now, however, it was a raging rapid, and the water had risen so high that its waters were flowing over the top of the now lowered drawbridge.

The knight took his horse across the bridge slow and careful, so as not to slip in the water rushing across its surface. Once over, the guards who operated the drawbridge saluted the knight as he passed. He nodded back toward them and then took off again into the streets of Hyrule Market at a full gallop. The guards then set to work raising the drawbridge before taking shelter from the storm.

Not surprising, the streets were completely devoid of any people. The cozy glows of light came from only a few houses, the majority having the shutters of their windows sealed tightly against the ferocious wind and rain. Stray animals took shelter wherever they could: behind merchant stalls, under stairs, any hole they could squeeze their way into. The knight sped his way down the cobbled, winding paths of the sprawling metropolis heading for the opposite end where the entrance to Hyrule Castle awaited.

Leaving Hyrule Market behind him, the knight could see the towering castle situated before him. A guard gate, a twenty foot high steel gate enclosed within a solid stone arch, was situated across the path. Though normally closed, the gate was currently wide open. Someone from the outer wall had apparently sent a messenger ahead of the knight to tell of his arrival. The knight rode past without delay and entered the extensive castle grounds.

Under normal circumstances, soldiers would have been standing guard across the grounds, but due to the storm the grounds were empty. Only major checkpoints, such as the guard gate and the castle drawbridge, still had soldiers guarding them. As the knight got closer to the castle he noticed, just as with the guard gate, that the drawbridge was down and awaiting his arrival. Once across the bridge and inside the castle, the knight had his horse come to halt, where several stable-hands ran over to get the horse and lead him to the stables.

"Where is the king?" the knight asked without hesitation as he hopped down off his horse.

"I believe his majesty is in his study," replied one of the knights standing guard.

Without another word the knight took off running down the castle halls. Within the safety of the castle, the storm was but a distant memory. The thick stone walls drowned out most of the noise from the storm, enough so that the knight could even hear the crackling of the torches lining the hallways. Surprisingly, the baby in his arms was silent, and worrying for the child's life the knight quickly unwrapped him from the bundle. He breathed a sigh of relief upon finding the baby simply sleeping soundly.

It didn't take long for the knight to maneuver his way through the numerous castle passageways. While on normal nights, even at this late hour, people would be bustling about, during storms people tended to sit back and relax. When the knight reached the king's study, he neither hesitated nor knocked, rather simply barging into the room.

"Your majesty," the knight quickly began as he entered the room, "please forgive the intrusion, but I bring word from the Eastern Provinces."

The king's study was a modestly sized room. Finely crafted cherry wood bookcases crammed full of books on a variety of subjects lined the walls. In one corner rested a beautifully wrought red oak desk with a matching satin-cushioned chair. On the far wall a large fire crackled in the fireplace, a Hylian Shield with two swords crossed diagonally behind it hanging above the mantel. Before the fireplace were two more of the satin cushioned chairs, in one of which sat King Hyrule reading a book.

"Sir Marcus?" asked the king in surprise as he put away his book and stood up to look at the knight. "What news could be so urgent that you would brave such a storm?"

"There's been an incident," Marcus replied, clearly exhausted from his journey. "Another border village has been attacked. The entire place was burned to the ground, and just like the others there's no sign of whom or what was responsible."

King Hyrule winced at the news. "Survivors?"

"Just one," Marcus replied, holding the infant in his arms out before him.

"A baby?!" King Hyrule said in disbelief. He walked over and took the child from Marcus, cradling the infant in his arms. The baby fidgeted as he was transferred, both arms removing themselves from beneath the cloth he was wrapped in, yet asleep he remained. On his right arm was a small bracelet with an engraving on it. "Link," the king whispered softly to himself as he read the inscription on the bracelet.

"As I was exploring the ruins of the village, I heard crying," Marcus explained. "That's when I found him laying in the ashes of a burned house. I have no idea how he survived." Marcus paused, choosing his next words carefully. "Your majesty, look at the back of the boy's left hand."

Curious, King Hyrule carefully took hold of the child's left hand, so as not to wake him, and turned it to look. When he did, he nearly dropped the infant as shock overcame him. His eyes grew wide, wider than he even thought imaginable, as he stared at something he never thought he'd ever see. On the back of the child's hand glowed the golden outline of the Triforce, the bottom right triangle glowing solidly.

"The sacred mark!" he exclaimed. King Hyrule turned to look Marcus in the eyes. "This boy is the child of the prophecy."