This prologue details the main events of the War of Unification, taking place around ten years before the beginning of the game.

We begin in Castle Town, three months before the war begins.

Ilisa sat in the rocking chair, holding her son in her arms. She sang softly to him, and his bright blue eyes gazed up at her green ones intently. A thin layer of blond hair adorned his head, and his tiny hands, clenched in fists, were held out to either side. Every now and then, his fingers would uncurl, and he would wave his arms a little before making a fist again. His mother smiled down at him and gently stroked his head. The infant raised his hand to his mouth, stuck his thumb in, and began to suck on it. Ilisa noted that it was his left hand.

"Oh, Link! You're a lefty!" she exclaimed happily. "Do you know what that means?" Link continued to gaze at his mother, still sucking on his thumb. Ilisa interpreted this as, "No, mom. I am only three months old. Please tell me."

"It means," Ilisa said, moving her hand down to his feet, "that you are destined to do great things!" She began tickling his feet with two of her fingers, running them up and down his soles. He smiled and laughed, trying to pull his feet away from his mother's wiggling fingers.

"Sounds like somebody's having fun," said a deep voice. Ilisa looked up from her son to see her husband, Isaac, standing in the doorway that lead to their bedroom. He was a tall man, and muscular as well, as he was captain of the Castle Guard. He had a full goatee and short black hair. His blue eyes twinkled with joy at the sight of his wife and child.

"Looks like someone decided to wake up early for once," Ilisa said with a sly smile. Isaac laughed and stepped into Link's room. Ilisa gave the baby to Isaac and he held him like a precious jewel. Link had gotten his blond hair from Ilisa and sapphire eyes from his father.

"How are you today, you little rascal?" Isaac said, raising Link above his head. Link laughed and waved his arms happily. Ilisa crossed her arms.

"He is not a rascal," she said in a mock-scolding tone. "He is a little bundle of joy." A horrid stench began to fill the room.

"More like a little bundle of stink," Isaac joked, making to give Link back to his mother.

"Nope," she said, standing up and walking out of the room. "Your turn." Isaac sighed down at his son. Link burbled up at his father.

"Come on son," Isaac said. "Let's get you changed." He walked over to the changing table. "Hoo-ee, are you stinky! Do you even know how stinky you are?"

Three months later

"Come on, Link. Eat up!" Ilisa said, waving the spoonful of oatmeal in front of Link's face. Isaac looked up from his dinner at his six-month-old son.

"He likes to see it fly," he said. "Fly it into his mouth." Ilisa cocked an eyebrow at him. Isaac stood and walked around the table to his wife and son. "Like this," he said, taking the spoon. He moved it through the air, making a "brbrbrbrbrbr" sound with his lips. As it approached Link's face, he opened his mouth and allowed the spoon to go into it. "There we go!" Isaac said, smiling at his son. "That's my boy! You eat up and get nice and strong so daddy doesn't have to carry the firewood home anymore." Ilisa laughed and took the spoon back.

"He's not carrying firewood for another seven-and-a-half years," she said.

"Aw, come on Lee! Can't you give let me have even a little bit of hope?" Someone knocked loudly on the door.

"Captain Isaac!" said the visitor. "A message for you sir!" Isaac walked to the door and opened it. A soldier stood on the doorstep, holding a small scroll of parchment in his hand.

"From who?" Isaac asked.

"From His Majesty, King Torren." The soldier gave the scroll to Isaac, and he pulled off the string and unrolled it. His eyes grew wider as they moved down the page.

"Din's breath…" he muttered once he had reached the bottom. He looked back at the soldier. "Tell His Majesty I will be there shortly." The guard put his arm across his chest in salute and ran off down the street. Isaac went to the wall and removed his sword from its hooks. Ilisa's eyes widened.

"Isaac, what's happening?" Isaac turned around with a grave look on his face.

"The Gerudo have declared war." Ilisa took in a sharp gasp, raising her hand to her mouth. "The king wants me on his war council. He likes to keep his friends close in times like these." He leaned down and gave Ilisa a quick kiss. "I'll be home in a few hours at most."

"Goddesses help us." Isaac went to the door and was about to close it behind him when he heard Link say "Guf!" Isaac stopped in the middle of closing the door. Link had no idea about the conflict that was brewing.

If only we all could be so innocent, he thought morosely as he shut the door and began the long trek to the castle. As he walked through town, Isaac thought about the situation with the Gerudo.

Tension had been building between the Hylians and Gerudo ever since the new Gerudo King, Ganondorf, had taken the throne three years ago. Before then, the Gerudos' thievery was tolerated, as they stole mostly food and other basic necessitiesthat were inaccessible in their desert home. But when Ganondorf took the throne at eighteen, as was Gerudo tradition, things began to escalate.

Traces of Gerudo thievery were found in Kakariko Village and Lebon, which were respectively about the farthest east and the farthest south of the desert as one could get. Then, horses began disappearing from stables. People began complaining to King Torren that the Gerudo were getting too aggressive in their kleptomania. Torren sent diplomats to Ganondorf, hoping to resolve the conflict before it started by encouraging trade between the Hylians and Gerudo. Many of the diplomats returned physically and psychologically wounded, babbling about dark sorcery as they bled to death. Some did not come back at all. Family heirlooms began disappearing from the houses of Hylian nobles. People were protesting against the king's decision to continue trying to compromise with the thieves, and encouraged the annihilation of the Gerudo race. But Isaac knew the king, having been a close childhood friend. He knew Torren would only resort to violence if every possible diplomatic solution failed. But there was more to the matter than the king's pacifistic nature; there were political complications as well.

Initiating a total genocide of the Gerudo race would inspire fear in the other races. They would become fearful that if they angered the Hylians, they would be annihilated just like the Gerudo were. Hylians depended on their relations with other races. If the Gorons withdrew their friendship, the Hylians would not be able to get bombs easily, and they would have no metal to make tools and weapons from. If the Zoras withdrew, Hylians would soon find that their water was not quite as clean as it was before. Castle Town would become a disease ridden place and hundreds would surrender their lives to plague.

No, genocide was the last thing the Hylians needed on their hands.

"Sir?" Isaac jumped and looked up from his boots. He had, without realizing it, thought the entire way to the gatehouse. He shook his head and showed the king's letter to the guard.

"His Majesty requests an audience with me," he said. The guard looked the letter over, then nodded and disappeared inside the gatehouse. A few seconds later, the gate opened, and Isaac walked through. The drawbridge was already lowered for him, and he entered the castle and proceeded to the throne room. There, he saw King Torren and three of his counselors huddled around a map of Hyrule on the wall. Torren was wearing the traditional red of Hylian royalty. A crown rested atop his burgundy hair, adorned with a Triforce every third of the way around. A large broadsword was sheathed on the king's belt. The leather-wrapped hilt was polished so well that it gave off a rosy glow in the light from the torches and a sapphire was embedded in the pommel. Isaac cleared his throat, and the king and the three counselors turned around to face him. Torren beamed.

"Isaac, my old friend!" he cried, spreading his arms wide. Isaac smiled and walked across the room to the king. Torren pulled him into a hug, and the counselors began to look at the two strangely. Torren pulled out of the hug and rested his hands on Isaac's shoulders. "How goes your life, Isaac? I hear you had a child!"

"Yes," Isaac said, looking at the counselors in his periphery. "A boy. Link."

"Link?" Torren looked confused for a second. "A strange name, that." Isaac shrugged.

"Ilisa wanted to name him Link. It's the name of a hero from the sky in a story she heard once, when she was a child." Torren smiled then.

"Ah, yes. The hero from the sky. I remember now." He shook his head. "Ah, but where is my head?" He turned back to the map, looking grave. "We have more pressing matters than catching up with each other. We have a war on our hands." One of the counselors, a small man with glasses and a short pointed beard, sighed.

"We wouldn't have this problem if we had just killed them all," he said, glaring at Isaac out of the corner of his eye. Isaac was puzzled before he remembered that he had spoken out against this idea with the exact arguments he had thought about on his way here. The man was clearly still sore about that particular incident.

This is going to be a long night, Isaac thought, sighing deeply. Let the stupidity commence.

The council began with the small bearded man suggesting that they simply invade the Gerudo Desert. Isaac immediately countered this act, saying that it was a rash action that would probably do the Hylians more harm than good. Torren agreed (causing the councilman to give Isaac a dirty look), and the next councilman, a large man with a rather ridiculous mustache, spoke.

He proposed that they simply prepare for the possibility of a conflict, obviously hoping to appeal to the king's pacifistic nature. Isaac pointed out that the Gerudo had declared war, and that there was no chance of an attack, there was going to be an attack no matter what. This councilman was more honorable than the former: he bowed to Isaac and gestured for the next councilman to suggest his idea.

This man was middle-aged, with graying black hair and a face that was beginning to weather. He suggested that they brace themselves for the imminent attack. Do not deploy any troops and wait for the Gerudo to come to them. Isaac liked this idea, but Torren disagreed, saying that his father had tried such a strategy and it did not work very well.

Finally, it was Isaac's turn. Isaac suggested that they position troops near Lon Lon Ranch and near Lake Hylia, and when the Gerudo came, they simply strike right then and there in a surprise attack. "Get it over with before it begins, as my mother used to say," he finished. The councilmen all looked at each other. Three of them turned to look at Torren and all said, "I don't like it. It's risky." The large man with the mustache said, "I like it. It may actually work." The other three glared at him. Torren sighed.

"I agree with Isaac's –"

"But sire!" the small man blurted. "He is a peasant! What would he know?" Isaac's eyes flashed.

"I happen to be the captain of the guard. Don't you dare say that I don't know what I'm talking about," he said angrily.

"Isaac…" Torren cautioned. Isaac ignored him.

"Have you ever even been on the battlefield? No? I didn't think so."

"Isaac!" Torren said forcefully. Isaac turned to the king, anger blazing in his eyes. "If you continue to act like this, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"I will not have my honor challenged this way, sire!" Isaac said, almost yelling now. "I am sick and tired of being treated like garbage! You ought to teach these damned nobles some respect for the people that put themselves in danger to protect them!"

"ISAAC!" bellowed Torren. Isaac looked taken aback, then shocked when he realized he had just challenged the king's authority. He quickly bowed.

"I am sorry, sire," he said. "I was out of line. I-"

"I could have you executed for such an outburst, Isaac," Torren said, interrupting him. "Do you realize that?" Isaac nodded and bowed once more. "I'm sorry Isaac, but I must ask you to leave." Isaac looked like he wanted to protest, but he bowed and began to walk towards the door. He heard one councilman whisper to another, "That put the fool in his place!" Torren rounded on them.

"However, I cannot deny that you councilmen were out of line as well." The councilmen were shocked. "You disrespected him repeatedly. I cannot allow this. You must learn respect. I suppose the best teacher would be experience. You will each fight when the Gerudo come." The mustachioed man cleared his throat.

"If I may, sire," he said, "I did not insult Captain Isaac. Am I-"

"Yes, Jeris," Torren sighed, "You are exempt." At this point, Isaac reached the double doors and exited the room. Immediately, he turned around and put his ear to the crack.

"Let us vote on a course of action." Two of the councilman immediately said, "Invade the desert." After some hesitation, Jeris put forth the same vote. "So be it," Torren sighed. "Adjourned." Isaac rushed away as the sound of footsteps came towards the double doors. Before they reached them, he was in the entrance hall. He ran out of the entrance doors and slowed to a walk on the path.

He was furious. The fools! Their egos were clouding their judgment. They had made their decision rashly out of anger. Jeris was no better for collapsing under pressure. All the way back to his home his anger built up, anger at the nobles and their stupidity and egotism. By the time he reached his doorstep, he was practically steaming.

"FOOLS!" Isaac roared, slamming the door behind him. Link woke up and began to cry, filling the house with his wails. "Damn!" He strode quickly to Link's room and picked him up out of his crib. "Don't worry, daddy's here. I didn't mean to wake you," he said in a calming voice, bouncing Link gently in his arms. Ilisa entered the room, her hair all messed up from her pillow.

"What's the shouting about?" she asked, approaching him.

"Those idiots are going to get us all killed," Isaac growled, patting the wailing infants back gently. "Shh, shh. It's okay." His face blanched as he realized how much of a lie that was.

4 months later

"They've broken through the front line!" the watchman called. "Brace the gate! Brace the gate!" The call was repeated throughout the town, every soldier running to find spare wood to brace the gate with. When it was firmly secured, the soldiers stood in a phalanx, with their shields making a wall and their spears and swords sticking out in between. Soon afterward, pounding was heard on the gate. One man in the formation seethed.

It didn't have to be this way, Isaac thought, gritting his teeth underneath his helmet. If they had only listened to me! But no! They had to have their goddamned war! We could have settled this peacefully if they had just listened the first time!

"Concentrate, men!" he said aloud. "They are women, but they are just as trained in battle as you are! Do not hesitate, or you will find yourself with a blade through your gut." There was the loud sound of armored heads nodding in acknowledgement. A few of the braces fell on the next pound. "Hold steady!" Whatever the Gerudo were doing, it was working very well: they were knocking down the braces easily now. After just a few more pounds, the gate was blasted open. Immediately, the leading Gerudo were bombarded with arrows from the battlements. However, more warriors flowed in over the dead bodies, yelling fierce battle cries. Several broke from the crowd and ran off down the alleys, presumably looking for loot.

This is where all hell breaks loose, Isaac thought, tightening his grip on his sword. The Gerudo charged the phalanx. Hold on men! But the formation held strong, and the Gerudo broke like waves against the wall of shields. Many of the women were cut down by eager soldiers. Those soldiers were quickly punished for their act as a scimitar or glaive entered the gap in their defense. Shit!

*Hero of Time*

Isaac stabbed yet another Gerudo through the gut. He did not wait to watch her death throes, but instead pulled his sword out with a single tear running from his eye. It didn't have to be this way. He could only hope that Ilisa had made it safely into the underground waterway with Link, and that she was not lying dead in the middle of a street. He shuddered as he turned around to meet another foe, and beheaded the Gerudo warrior, shedding yet another tear. He had shed one tear for each Gerudo he had slain, but he had lost count long ago. He prayed that the goddesses would forgive him for this senseless murder.

Suddenly, a horn blasted. Everybody, Hylian and Gerudo alike, stopped fighting and looked out towards Hyrule Field. A distant cry of "Charge!" reached those with the most sensitive ears, among them Isaac. He recognized that voice. It was the voice of King Torren, who had been fighting on the front line out in Hyrule Field. Isaac smiled. They might win this battle after all. So far, the war had been a complete stalemate, with neither side gaining an advantage over the other. A victory here would give them the advantage. Then they could end this war and the pointless bloodshed would come to an end.

The cavalry came into view, and the Hylians cheered and began to fight with renewed vigor. Inspired by the coming of the King, the Hylians were able to force the Gerudo back, back to the street leading into the main square, back out onto the drawbridge, back out onto Hyrule Plain.

"For the King!" they shouted. "For Hyrule!" Isaac was a machine, stabbing and slashing and dodging glaives and scimitars alike. He blocked a scimitar slash with his shield and quickly retaliated by smashing the pommel of his sword into the warrior's jaw. It broke with a sickening crack, making Isaac wince before he put the woman out of her misery. He ducked a glaive and kicked its wielder in the stomach, then beheaded her. The horn blasted again, and Isaac looked up to see the cavalry charge into the fray, trampling Gerudo and throwing spears and swinging swords. No blow was wasted, they all met a mark.

The Gerudo cavalry crested the hill behind Lon Lon Ranch, led by a man on a large black horse. He was dressed in black armor with the Gerudo symbol, a crescent with a star, engraved in red on his chestplate. His left hand held a longsword over his head, the steel blade shining brightly in thesun. His head was coated in short red hair and a jewel adorned his forehead. His skin was green, distinguishing him from the rest of the tan-skinned Gerudo. His name was Ganondorf, and he was King of the Gerudo. He was on his way now to take the Hylians by surprise. However as he and the rest of the cavalry stormed down the hill, a white horse burst out of the fray and rode toward them. The man astride it held a broadsword and had a crown resting atop his head.

"King Ganondorf!" Torren called. "Please hold!" Ganondorf, shocked at the other monarch's action, held up his fist and reined in his steed.

"What is it you are doing, Hyrule King?" Ganondorf shouted. His voice was deep and rough, and he spoke with a thick Gerudonian accent.

"I have a proposition," Torren replied, dismounting. The battle behind him had stopped, and all eyes were upon the two kings. A Hylian rushed out from the group and walked at the king's side.

"Sire, what are you doing?" Isaac asked. Torren ignored him as Ganondorf spoke.

"What is this… proposition, Hyrule King?" Ganondorf called, dismounting.

"A duel. Five strikes or disarmament wins." Ganondorf laughed as he began walking down the hill towards Torren. A young Gerudo woman dismounted and followed him.

"And why do you propose this?"

"To prevent further bloodshed. Instead of killing each other, why not settle this dispute in single combat between rulers?" Ganondorf reached Torren and Isaac. He turned to the Gerudo woman that had followed him.

"What do you think, Nabooru?" Nabooru carefully looked over Torren and Isaac. Torren was dressed in a shirt of mail with metal shoulder pads. His chestplate was engraved with three triangles, two on the bottom and one on the top. His hands had thick leather gloves. His legs were covered by greaves and shin-high leather boots. Isaac was similarly dressed, although he lacked a chestplate and had a helmet tucked under his arm. His armor also had considerably more dents, but it was good armor and still allowed him great range of movement.

"I think that it is a good idea. Why allow our people to sacrifice their lives when a dispute between kings can be settled by kings?" Ganondorf's eyes flashed, but he nodded.

"Very well," he said. "I accept your challenge, Hyrule King." Isaac and Nabooru backed off as the two kings bowed to each other. Ganondorf took a closed stance, while Torren took an open stance. For a moment, they simply stood there, waiting for the other to move. Then they simultaneously sprang into action. Torren came in with a backhand blow, which Ganondorf parried as if he were brushing off a fly. The Gerudo King then brought his longsword up over his head and slashed down towards Torren's head. Torren dove into a roll to his left, coming to his feet as Ganondorf's sword landed heavily in the soft ground. Torren pivoted on one foot, bringing his boot up to land a heavy kick on the Gerudo's back. Ganondorf dropped into a crouch out of instinct, and the kick passed over his head harmlessly. Tugging his blade out of the ground, the Gerudo turned into a low thrust aimed at Torren's leg. The Hylian King quickly brought his broadsword down and turned Ganondorf's blade away, before countering with an upward slice.

The battle raged on, and both combatants took four hits. Then, Torren smashed his the flat of his blade against Ganondorf's handguard, and the longsword flew out of the Gerudo's hand and landed several feet away. They both stood there breathing heavily for a moment. Then, Torren smiled and sheathed his sword. He extended his hand to Ganondorf, who stared at it with contempt before shaking it. Torren turned to walk away. Isaac noticed a small flash from Ganondorf's back, and looked quickly to see that a black sphere crackling with yellow energy was cradled in Ganondorf's palm.

"NOOOO!" Isaac shouted, running forward as Ganondorf raised his hand and launched the sphere of energy at Torren. The sphere rocketed at breakneck speed toward Torren, and Isaac didn't think he would make it. He closed his eyes and leaped forward, turning his chest toward the magic sphere as Torren turned around. The sphere crashed into Isaac's chest, creating an explosion of black and yellow energy. Isaac was launched out of this explosion at an astonishing speed, and Torren caught him. He was knocked back ten feet and landed heavily on his back. Torren looked down at his childhood friend's charred body. Isaac was mangled beyond recognition. Then, he looked up at Ganondorf with tears in his eyes.

"Why?" he asked. Ganondorf laughed and walked away.

"You have won, Hyrule King. Rejoice in your victory." Torren watched with blurry vision as the Gerudo returned to their desert. He held Isaac's body close to him and cried.

"Why?" he whispered. "Why? WHY, DAMN YOU WHY?"

The cries of the Hylian King echoed across Hyrule Plain after the Gerudo. Nabooru looked at Ganondorf out of her periphery. He had that smirk he had worn when he used to torture the Hylian emissaries. This man, she thought, looking back out across the plains toward the desert. I will not serve so heartless a man.

That night, Torren drank. He drank and drank and drank until the finest of aged liquors were tasteless in his mouth. Isaac was gone. He was gone. And Ganondorf had stood there and laughed.

Why? he asked for the nth time. Why would anyone be so cruel? How could someone LAUGH at cold-blooded murder? He took another swig of fifty year-old wine. Isaac, my old friend. My dearest and most trusted friend. As Torren raised the bottle to his lips once more, something within him snapped. After that night, King Torren of Hyrule was never the same man he was before.

Please review! It lets me know your thoughts and makes me feel super-special-awesome!

Thanks for reading!

-Norkix-