The Legend of Zelda
The Bonds of Light and Shadow
Chapter 1
Ordon village was only known by the citizens of Hyrule for two reasons. Ordon village was famous for its ranch, and for the hero that once worked there.
It had been over a year since the twilight invasion and in that time Link had become a recluse. He could be seen on his roof, staring at the horizon during the the hours of twilight. At first the villagers were concerned about the young man, but were at loss of how to help him. Whenever Link was approached he would draw his sword and back away. By now most of the villagers had accepted that his journey had changed him and there was nothing they could do to help him. But one man was undeterred by Links change of heart. Rusl had always been a father of sorts to Link and it pained him to see the boy like this. After a year of observing, he brought his plan to action.
"I'll never get to see you again. Damn it Midna, why did you have to go?" Link cried. Knowing there wouldn't be a response, he turned around to go back inside his house only to find Rusl standing in the way, sword drawn.
"Rusl, what are you doing?" whispered Link. Rusl ignored his question and started advancing towards Link, his sword swinging in small circles. "Rusl stop, I don't want to hurt hurt you." Link sighed. The older man just laughed at this. "And what makes you think you'll be able to touch me?"Rusl rushed towards Link, his sword swung in an upward arch that should have cleaved Link in two. Link had been expecting as much and the young swordsman rolled around the blade, drawing his sword in the process. In less than a second, the master sword was pressed up against Rusl's throat.
"That move is called the Fatal Blow, because no matter how skilled you may think you are, there is always someone who will know just how to beat you." Link said softly. Then it hit him, "You knew that you were going to lose, didn't you?" Rusl gave Link a small smile. "Face it Link, there's no way you could have saved Hyrule with only the basic sword maneuvers that I had taught you." Link however was not amused in the slightest. "What hell were thinking!? If hadn't stopped myself, you would be dead now!" Link yelled.
Rusl calmly put his hand on Links shoulder and said, "That's what I've been looking for." Link reeled away from his mentor, a look of horror on his face. "Link, I didn't mean it like that." Rusl assured him. "The reason I attacked you was to gage your reaction. Ever since you went into the castle on your own, you've been acting strange. You don't work on the ranch, you don't talk to the children. Hell, you don't even go out on Epona anymore. All you ever do anymore is practice with the sword the new sword I made for you and stare at the sunset. Uli said it was just something that people your age go through, but the way you reacted a moment ago says otherwise. You still care about everyone, but your trying to hide it. Why are you hiding Link? What happened to you while you were gone?" he asked gently.
Link sat there for moment thinking about what he should say. After a couple minutes Link looked up at Rusl. "I guess I should start from the beginning. You all assumed that Ilia, the children and I were taken by the bulibins. The truth is that they knocked me out and shot Ilia. By the time I came to my senses, they were gone. Their Bulbos left tracks leading into the forest so I ran that way, hoping that I might catch up to them. It was then that I saw the twilight barrier for the first time. I knew that I shouldn't have messed with it, but something about it drew me in. It was almost like it was calling out to my soul, urging me forward. As soon as I took a step towards the wall of darkness, a massive black hand pulled me through the twilight barrier." Link explained.
"You need to understand that there are some things you may hear that will disturb you. Things that may change what you think of me. That is why you must promise me that you will not repeat a word I tell you to anyone." Link demanded. Rusl gave a short nod and Link continued. "An evil creature know as a Twilight Beast grabbed me by the neck and pulled me through the barrier. I tried to break free of it's grasp, but it was too strong. Then to both of our surprise, my hand began to emit a faint glowing light."
Upon hearing this, Rusl immediately dropped down on one knee. "I knew that your outfit seemed familiar and the fact you bear a piece of the Triforce confirmed my suspicions. Forgive me Hero of Time for not seeing the signs sooner." To this Link made a loud snorting sound. "I'm not the Hero of Time, so don't call me that. I'm am the same person you've known for the past 18 years, though you are right that it is a piece of the Triforce." Link said, showing his mentor the the golden triangle on the back of his hand. "The beast was burned by the light, causing it to drop me. When I hit the ground, my vision began to fade away and I blacked out. I was later woken up to the sound of a door slamming shut. I crawled to the source of the sound only to be stopped by a chain attaching my arm to the floor, or at least what had once been my arm. As I looked at at the chain, I saw that it was attached just above a paw. Looking further, I came to a realization that I was no longer a human. Somehow, I had been transformed into a wolf." Rusl stared at Link with a mixture of shock, wonder, and fear. "Who are you?" he asked.
Link gave the older swordsman a sad smile. "I'm the Hero of Twilight."
That took a long time for me to plan and even longer for me to write. This is probably going to be the only chapter that isn't from Link's perspective. I've had a rough idea of what I this story was going to be like for about a year now, but I never had the courage to actually write and then post it online. Maybe you'll like this story, maybe you won't, but I'll keep on writing either way.
