The Legend Of Zelda: The Seventh Seal

Prologue

Hyrule. Since it's creation at the hands of the three Goddesses; Din, Farore, and Nayru, it has suffered greatly. Despite the people's best intentions and resolve, the nation has succumbed to evil again and again. For Hyrule is the door step of the Sacred Realm, resting place of the power of the Gods. During every dark time in its history, Hyrule's fate has been placed in the hands of a single person, a hero chosen by fate to take up arms against evil and return light to the world.

The Hero of Time, often a boy of only ten years, wields the legendary blade forged by the Gods with the power to destroy evil, the Master Sword. One such dark time occurred seven years ago, when the sorcerer king of thieves, Gannondorf, attacked Hyrule to gain the power of the Gods. At this time, a young boy named Link began a quest to fight against Gannondorf and prevent him from achieving this power. Unfortunately, he failed. Link opened the Door of Time to keep the Sacred Realm safe, but when he drew the Master Sword from the pedestal of time, his spirit was sealed away for seven years. By his own hand, he allowed Gannondorf to reach the sacred realic, the Triforce, and lay his hands on the golden triangles.

But when the sorcerer touched the Triforce, it split. The Triforce of power stayed with Gannondorf, while the Triforces of courage and wisdom were sent to destiny's chosen. When Link awoke from his seven year sleep, he used the Master Sword and the Triforce of Courage to free the six sages and used their power to fight Gannondorf and rescue Princess Zelda, bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom. Together they defeated Gannondorf and sealed him away in the Sacred Realm.

With peace now restored, Zelda used her power to send link back in time seven years to reclaim the life that he nearly lost. With his destiny complete, Link took up his life once again, yet never forgot the trials that only he remembered…

Ch. 1: Memory of a Life

…Clang!.......Clang!......Clang!... The steady rhythm of a hammer striking the anvil filled the stable. The smell of charcoal and oil wafted through the smithy. Malon brushed a strand of her fiery red hair out of her face as she leaned against a wooden beam listening to the smith work. Her and her father, Talon, owned and worked on Lon Lon Ranch, the largest and most well known ranch in all of Hyrule. At the moment they were in Hyrule Castle City. Lon Lon Ranch provided many supplies to the King of Hyrule and they had just delivered a large shipment when the stallion they used to pull their cart threw a shoe.

And here she was, listening to the smith work and occasionally catching a snort from her father, who was sleeping on the hay across the stable. He had his massive, hairy arms crossed over his well built, if not weighty chest while his balding head rested on a bale. Malon sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Such a thing for a grown up to do…" She said sarcasticly, reminiscing over how many times she had said exactly that about her father.

Though she was almost seventeen and by all rights a woman, Malon had retained many childish aspects of her personality and most of her friends wouldn't have it any other way. She was mischievous and would tease anyone without a second thought. She also had a mildly annoying talent for giving her friends nicknames.

Not to say that she did not look like an adult. Quite the opposite. She had grown into a lovely woman, with many would be courters just waiting to make a move. But none who had "made a move" had succeeded. Malon was just not interested in finding someone to settle down with. Besides, none of the men whom had come to her would be able to work the ranch.

A sudden hiss of steam startled Malon. She hadn't even noticed the lack of hammering and didn't expect the smith to be done so quickly. This was a record even for him. Malon straightened as a young man, barely older than herself walked into the stable from the smithy, sweat glistening off of his bare, very well built chest. His shoulder length blond hair was tied behind his head and his ocean blue eyes caught her sea green eyes as he continued towards the stallion.

Malon smiled mischievously at the boy. "You're getting better."

The boy smiled back as he started to shoe the large horse. "Well, with how often Blizzard throws his shoes; I've had plenty of practice."

"Good point." She replied with a smile. Secretly, that was the reason she always insisted on Blizzard on these outings. He was a sure way to see the smith every time they visited Hyrule Castle city. Talon let out a loud snort. "My father, as predictable as ever."

The boy laughed aloud at the comment. "And to think that was how I first met him." They both laughed at the memory. The smith finished shoeing the stallion and strode over to the girl. "So how is the Ranch?"

Malon smiled again. "Well, we are expecting a couple more foals soon, the cows are producing better then ever and Mr. Ingo is actually in a good mood."

The boy raised his eyebrows and chuckled at her statement. "Ingo is never in a good mood."

Malon glared at the smith. "Mr. Ingo is too in a good mood. Ever since father took a bigger part in working the ranch, his attitude towards everything is improved." She narrowed her glare. "And what would you know about Mr. Ingo, Fairy Boy!"

Now it was the smith's turn to glare at her. "I remember his attitude toward life quite well, Ranch Girl." The smith smirked through his glare. "May I remind you, since you seem to have forgotten, that I have visited the ranch many times. I know how Ingo is as much as you do."

As they glared each other down, Malon tried to fight the smile forming on her lips, but no matter how hard she fought it, it grew. "Ok, your right. He has never had a very good view of life… But his view is changing!" She narrowed her glare at the boy to prove her resolve. The boy responded by raising his hands in surrender and shaking his head.

Their talk was interrupted by a loud grunt from across the stable.

"What in ttaaarrrrr…nation are you two jabberin' about?" Talon said through a yawn as he stretched his burly arms. "Aren't you supposed to be shoein' Blizzard?"

The smith smiled and shook his head. "Yes, Talon. Blizzard's shoe is done."

The massive rancher was taken quite off guard by the statement. "Well tar an' feather me and call me a chicken, that was quite a time, lad!"

The young man stuck his chest out a little more, earning a slight giggle from Malon. "I've had a lot of practice, Talon…" He shot Malon a sideways glance. "…especially on Blizzard."

The Rancher nodded, scratching his chest with one massive arm. "You got that right! I don't know why Malon is always insisting we bring him…"

Malon pretended to ignore the comment. The smith hid a smirk, letting her think he hadn't noticed.

"Well," Talon said with a stretch. "Guess we'd better get goin'. Don't wanna leave Ingo to the ranch all by his lonesome for too long."

Malon giggled again. "I'll get the wagon ready." With that she practically skipped out of the stable. The boy smith walked back to his shop for a moment and came back with a green tunic in his hands. He put it on as he walked up to the rancher who had already started leading Blizzard out of the stable.

"Need a hand getting him in his proper place?" The boy offered. The rancher just smiled.

"Naw, lad. Blizzard is temperamental about his shoes, but he knows who his master is. Besides, you done quite enough with all the shoein' he makes you do for us."

The boy smiled. "It's always good to see you two. Shoeing or no shoeing, it's never a bother."

Talon smiled back. "Well, seein' as how today was a shoein', here's what I owe ya… again." Talon set two blue rupees in the smith's hand. "You've earned it yet again."

The boy nodded and continued to follow Talon out to the wagon where Malon was waiting. In no time at all, they had Blizzard in his reigns and were ready to leave. As Talon mounted the wagon, the smith caught Malon's attention.

"Don't be afraid to come visit out of the blue, Malon. I would always welcome the company."

She smiled and nodded. "And you don't be a stranger at the ranch. We are always happy to entertain you, Link."

With good-byes said, Talon lightly whipped the reigns and sent them on their way back to the ranch. Link just stood there watching them leave. As he them round a corner onto the main road that would take them to the draw bridge, Link sighed. 'Personal time…" He thought, drawing a conspicuous smile on his face…


Link's home wasn't the grandest of places. It housed all of his belongings, gave him a roof over his head and a place to sleep, and it was connected to his smithy, so he was never far from home. But what he really enjoyed about his home was what he was standing in at this very moment.

It was a large room, separate from is living space and smithy, but one in which he spent most of his free time. Arranged around the room at various intervals, were logs, standing about six feet tall each. This was Link's workout room. He stood at its center, wearing his standard outfit minus his hat. In his right arm, he held a large sword without an edge, and on his left arm, he wore a massive shield.

He was noticeably straining to hold them up, as he began to swing and parry the logs throughout the room. Link grunted at the strain, but kept practicing.

He made his practice weapons himself, not long after he inherited the shop from his master and teacher, Holstous. The weapons were very heavy, nearly twice the weight of any real weapon he would use in battle. He found that training with the weighty weapons built his endurance and stamina better than just practicing with a real blade and shield.

As he continued to move and thrust at his immobile opponents, Link started to think about why he continued to practice and challenge himself like this.

He was the only person in Hyrule that remembered what happened seven years ago. Only him and the Sages, who resided in the Sacred Realm, knew of his struggles against the King of Evil. It was those struggles that kept him from adjusting to a life that didn't keep him on his toes.

Another grunt as he swung his sword into a log.

Not long after he returned to his normal life, he went on a journey to find an old friend. The journey put him in the land of Termina, where he became the Hero of Moonfall.

He swung the sword with added force as he remembered the annoyance of living the same three days over and over again.

Afterwards he returned to Hyrule only to be sent to Labrynna and then to Holodrum, where he fought against evil to rescue the Oracles of Ages and Seasons.

Link flipped back from his current log of choice, landing between two others. With a quick push from one foot he sent himself spinning on the other, striking both logs several times in quick succession.

Then, when he finally returned home, he sought out a job and found that Holstous, a highly skilled blacksmith, was looking for an apprentice. Link and Holstous got along very well, and eventually Link became very skilled himself. He was actually about to open his own smithy when his master passed away suddenly.

Link spun his entire body and jumped into his next swing, the impact toppling the target log and earning a smirk from the now tired young man.

All this in the seven years since his first adventure. He smiled to himself as he set his sword against the wall and slid his arm out of the shield. It had been four years since he returned to Hyrule from Holodrum and he was happy to have been able to finally call Hyrule home. As he set the shield down, his smile widened as he thought of everything good he had here. A good job, friends like Talon and Malon, a country to call home and…

"You never stop, do you?"

…her.

Link didn't jump at the words spoken out of the blue from the direction of his home, but he was surprised that she managed to sneak in, even if he was working out. He turned around to meet the deep blue eyes of the woman who had come to visit. She was only a couple of inches shorter than him, but she always seemed taller than him. Her long, blond hair was done up in several braids and was adorned with a tiara of sorts. She wore a floor length lavender dress, accented by a white and pink corset. Her smile was infectious as usual and she shook her head at him.

"When was the last time you needed to use a sword, Link?"

Link lifted an eyebrow to his visitor and smiled back. "About four years ago… but you already knew that. You want to know why I keep my skills sharp." He took several steps towards her, stretching his aching muscles as he went. "I may not be a noble knight of Hyrule, but any one of her citizens may be needed to stand up for her at a moments notice. If that happens I intend to be ready for it."

The young woman looked to the floor as she continued to shake her head. "I hope you never have to take up arms for Hyrule. I never want you to have to fight for our freedom."

Link frowned as he briefly thought of everything he had already done for Hyrule, but only he remembered. "As do I, your highness, as do I." It was a cop out answer, but it was all he had at the moment.

The girl glared playfully at him. "Link, how many times must I tell you that when we are alone, you may drop protocol?!"

Link smirked back at her. "At least once more, Zelda."

She continued to glare at him as he walked past her and into the house to get the princess a drink while they talked.