Legacy of a Deserter
The Rise and Fall of King Igos du Ikana
Chapter 1: Treason
"The High Royal Court of Hyrule will now commence the sentencing of General Igos Ikana of his majesties Royal Guard. The General is being tried for treason, desertion, and the abandonment of a royal regiment without leave in the heat of battle. Presiding is King Johannes Libra Hyrule and queen Zelda of the Hylian Royal Family. Bring the prisoner forward!"
General Igos, humiliated in front of his people, was escorted through the huge wooden doors of the courtroom by four guards, two at his sides and two behind him. The man stood a little over seven feet and towered over his entourage and the witness stands. Being stripped of title and rank, Igos walked with crude leather sandals and grey tattered prison garb instead of his elaborate polished armor. But even so, Igos held his head high and walked with purpose and authority as if the trial was a farce. He had very short red hair on top of his head, a characteristic of the military, and his impressive chin had a slight stubble from his two nights in prison before the hearing. When they approached the end of the long hall lined with people, the General and his escort stopped before a two-step high stage that held two differently sized but beautifully crafted chairs together in the center of it with a small round table on either side of each. On the back cushion of each chair there was a bird with outstretched wings holding a triforce between them.
"The King and Queen of Hyrule!" the orator walked off the stage and all the witnesses behind Igos turned away from the middle hallway to face the two chairs as the pair walked up to them. The King was robust for his age, neither fat nor muscly, and had the beginnings of white hair peppering his head. He was cloaked in fine royal garb colored red and blue with gold insignias and symbols glinting with the light that came from the windows. The Queen tailed behind him wearing a slim pink royal gown sprinkled with gold embroidery that rippled as she walked like flowing water. In her arms was a bundle of white cloth and from it two pudgy arms continuously played with the Queen's gold necklaces. She walked with her head held high, as did her husband, but her eyes every so often would glance at the child with a motherly love and a longing to coo and play. After they had reached their chairs and turned to face Igos, the King in the bigger left and the Queen in the smaller right, King Johannes nodded to the right where they came from and a white-haired lady in purple and silver armor walked up to the Queen. She accepted the bundle of linen as if cradling a glass figurine and, after she had walked off the platform back into the castle, the remaining members of the royal family sat in their respective seats. When the two had settled into their chairs the congregation also sat in their chairs facing the monarchs with the exception to Igos as he had no chair to sit in.
"General Igos Ikana," the King's voice boomed through the courtroom though there was pain behind the words, "you know the crimes charged against you. Do you have anything to say before we commence the trial?"
Igos inhaled deeply and, in a booming voice that rivaled the King's, he spoke "For 20 years I have devoted my entire existence to the defense and safety of this kingdom. I have proven myself on and off the battlefield to be a capable leader and soldier. Everyone has seen my aptitude and everyone had seen my devotion firsthand. So I throw myself at the mercy of the people of Hyrule, the royal court, and my friend King Johannes Hyrule so that I may be tried justly and that justice may be dispensed."
"Very well then. General Ikana, How do you plead?"
"I am as innocent as the congregation."
"Are you prepared to prove your innocence to the court?"
"Yes your highness." The King waved him on and Igos continued, "Five years ago I was promoted in the field to acting general of the royal reserve troops. A month ago those troops were deployed as the last line of defense against the advancing Gerudo army. The fourth battalion of the reserve troops was posted on the western front nearest the Gerudo stronghold and I was given explicit instructions to ride with them. The third, second, and first battalions were posted at the eastern, southeastern, and northeastern respectively to hold off the other invading waves. We were attacked at night, taken by surprise by the cowards, but when we woke we fought hard and valiantly. I then received a royal decree from a courier that the southeastern front needed my direction and I placed lieutenant Dorn in charge in my leave. However when I reached the southeastern front the soldiers were still at the ready without a single Gerudo to be seen. Looking to the east I saw the first battalion fall to the group that was supposed to hit the second and I rallied the men to head them off before they reached the midway between the castle and the ranch. I then raced back to the fourth to find that none had survived the onslaught and rallied the third battalion to head them off. Their tactics sadly worked and they herded us into a massive kill zone and slaughtered us like pigs. I fought them long and hard but they eventually overwhelmed me and took me prisoner. They held me captive for three weeks until I finally escaped. I took lodging in a nearby inn in Kakariko Village where I was finally found by the royal guard."
The king leaned towards his wife who did the same and they exchanged whispered words before sitting up straight again.
"If that is your testimony, we will begin. Read the first charge!"
The entire congregation behind Igos responded in unison, "Desertion, your highness."
"General Igos, in your testimony you state that you were imprisoned by the Gerudo forces. If this is true, where is your mark?"
Igos for the first time flashed a slight bit of nervousness from his eyes. "I… I don't have one, your highness."
Whispers and diluted concerns polluted the air making it hard to breath for Igos who tugged on his collar.
"Order, order." The King spoke above the hissing voices, "Why, general?"
"I… cannot say for certain. I can only speculate that given the battle they were waging it simply slipped their minds or… that I escaped before they could."
The King stroked his short goatee in thought.
"It is strange that any prisoner we have retrieved, whether by release, escape, or as a corpse, all have the same mark on their shoulders indeterminate of their time spent in enemy custody. The mark of the Gerudo."
Igos felt sweat bead on the back of his neck as the King continued, "In fact, I don't believe you spent time in the Gerudo camps at all. You have no traces of torture and in three weeks the inability to harm you in any way seems unlikely at best." The King faced to a guard to his right, "Bring in the first witness."
The giant doors that Igos had been ushered through now opened for a short lady to walk down the isle of people escorted by two guards to each side of her. Igos remembered her name as Mena, the lady who ran the small cottage inn in Kakariko Village. Being in her late 20s she had inherited the inn when her father passed nearly six years ago and has been running it ever since. She had begun to lose her figure since then and her cheeks were a bit gaunter and her frame had a bit more ply each time he saw her. At first she looked absolutely confused as to why she was being brought into the high court but also abased at the halls intricate design and atmosphere. The second her eyes fell upon the shackled and guarded Igos her eyes went wide and she gasped in shock. As she walked closer and then past him, her expression of disbelief for a second before she turned away from him was replaced by a deep sorrow that Igos only saw a glimpse of. The orator walked up to Mena and made her hold one hand on her heart.
"Lady Mena," the orator had repeated this line many times before, "do you swear to tell the truth as best ye know it? To aid in the acquisition of justice and not in its obstruction? And to respect the verdict of this court as law?"
The woman swallowed the lump in her throat, "I do, sir."
The orator bowed to Mena, then to the King and Queen, and then walked back to his seat in front of the people. The King nodded to a guard standing off to his right who walked over, handed the king some papers, and walked back after saluting. The King sifted through the papers and when he found the one he wanted he paused for a moment to read the contents. When he finished he lifted his eyes to meet Mena's.
"Lady Mena, you claim sole ownership of the Kakariko Inn?"
"Y-yes your highness." She nodded.
"How many customers do you service throughout the year?"
"Well we are not a very large inn my lord. We have four beds and an extra that I use myself. That and the fact that Kakariko is so off the beaten path makes customers quite scarce. We are lucky to see two or three lodgers a year. Not including special occasions like the princess' birth."
"But as I understand, during the Gerudo war you helped injured soldiers as a temporary medical outpost. How many soldiers did you tend to?"
"I don't have the exact number in front of me but I believe it was… a bit under 300."
"Was this man" he motioned to Igos behind her, " one of those soldiers?"
"Not a soldier, no." Mena immediately stopped herself with a slight gasp but it was too late. Igos behind her closed his eyes and slightly shook his head realizing it was foolish to think he could've trusted the innkeeper to testify the way he wanted her to.
"Not a soldier?" the King asked her skeptically.
Mena began to trip over her words trying to cover her slip-up, "N-no what I meant was that… you see, we needed help towards the end of the wars and, and there were so many volunteers that there was no way I could possibly keep track of all of them and, and I guess maybe one looked liked him there's no way I could possibly be able to remember if any one person especially if-"
"Lady Mena." The King cut her off, "Do you know this man?"
Mena sighed in defeat, "Yes, your highness. He came to the inn after the soldiers had left for the castle infirmaries. He said he was one of the volunteers and with so many of them we didn't bother to question it. He stayed until the guards came looking for him."
"Thank you Lady Mena, you may take your le-"
"He isn't a bad man!" Mena blurted out through tears, "He helped every day and was very polite and never-"
"Lady Mena! Your leave." The King motioned towards the door.
Mena wiped the tears from her cheeks, curtsied to the King, and as she passed Igos she mouthed the words "I'm sorry" before disappearing behind the great wooden doors.
"Read the second charge." The King called to the people to which they responded, "Abandonment, your highness."
"Bring in the final witness."
The giant doors opened again but this time a man dressed in bright red and blue formal clothes clad with medals and commemorative patches walked down the aisle. The man had two battle scars, one through the right side of his lips and another around the outside of his left eye, but the most prominent was the absence of a right arm. His shirt's right sleeve had been sewn together at the shoulder where his arm was removed and his black short hair was parted on the same side by a scar that ran above his ear that Igos saw as he passed. Igos was frozen in shock as his second-in-command seemed to ignore his former commanding officer's existence.
"Lieutenant Dorn. Thank you for coming."
The handicapped man saluted with his one good arm and when the King nodded he took an at-ease stance with his arm across his back.
"It is an honor my king." The lieutenants voice was deep and gravely.
"General Igos has stated that when he had received a decree to leave the fourth battalion he placed you in charge of the troops in his leave. Do you have testimony against that?"
"I do your majesty." The man cleared his throat before continuing, "I was placed under the command of General Igos Ikana in the fourth battalion of the royal reserve army. I was posted on the western flank and it was the first flank to be hit by the Gerudo. Thinking them too smart for a frontline assault, we had poured our more experienced men into the other battalions leaving the fourth with rookies and inexperienced soldiers. The Gerudo attacked at night and when we began to lose I turned to the General for advice. The General had fled his post at the first sign of loss and left his troops to die." The crowd began to talk openly now and some even raised their voices, "So I took up the leading role myself and I alone rallied the troops in the effort to drive back their invasion. This man did nothing but flee. He has committed high treason and must be found guilty!"
The room filled with accusations and talking as the passionate soldier made his final statement. Igos caught him glaring at Igos from the corner of his eye and all he could see in the lieutenant's eyes was pure hatred.
"Silence." The King boomed and the crowd calmed back to stillness. "Thank you Dorn for your testimony. We will deliver our sentencing after the final charge is announced. You may take your leave."
The lieutenant sighed away his emotion and, after saluting the king, walked back down through the doors without giving Igos so much as a glimpse.
"Read the final charge." The King said after the doors had closed.
"Treason, your highness!" the people said more passionately than they did the other two.
"General Igos, in your testimony you state that you received a royal decree for your presence at the southwestern front through a courier. I have with me the very same decree that you say you received." The King sifted through the papers in his hand and stopped when he reached a letter with a broken wax seal and a red ribbon that ran down the length of the papers back.
"The contents of said letter are as follows: Esteemed General, King Johannes Libra Hyrule has requested your aid on the southwestern area of defense as the Gerudo army is advancing at an alarming rate. Signed, Lady Impa, counselor of the Sheikah. Lady Impa if you would please."
The white-haired lady in armor reappeared without the child and took the paper from the King's outstretched hand.
"Is that your signature?"
The woman's voice was soft like a caretaker's but rough like a soldier's, a woman's voice with battle scars, "Although a clever forgery, it is not. This letter is a fake."
"Thank you Impa." The sheikah bowed to the King after handing back the letter, bowed to the Queen, then walked through the door she had come through. Igos' sweat was becoming hard to control as his case fell apart right in front of him.
"Even if you had no idea that this was a forgery General, there was no way you could've mistaken it for anything more than a trick. All generals are addressed by their first names in all formal decrees, and even if that detail was overlooked there is no mistaking that this signature is forged." The Kings voice got louder with each point made against Igos and he sat closer and closer to the edge of his seat, the crowd was getting more talkative as well, "Seeing that the Gerudo have little idea as to the names of my counsel I have no other explanation as to why this letter even exists except that you made it yourself in an attempt to cover your own tracks. Is this true General Igos?"
The King's eyes burned with contempt and Igos, realizing his final defeat simply stared at the ground.
"Then what's to say you did not leave to give the kingdom to the Gerudo?"
"What?" Igos looked up in bewilderment.
"What's to say that you didn't want the Gerudo to claim Hyrule?"
"That is supposition, can't just-" but the crowd was now in a frenzy now standing and yelling at the general whose voice was lost in the cacophonous roar of condemnation that surged from the people all around him.
"What's to say that Ganondorf didn't take your allegiance and promised you gifts if you were to aid in his invasion!"
"No!" Igos tried to deny the King's advances but the hatred thrown at him was too much and he was forced to hold his head in his hands to fend off the incessant bludgeoning of accusations.
"SILENCE!" The King's voice echoed throughout the hall and the crowd instantly obeyed by going quiet and sitting back down in their seats.
"Igos Ikana you have been tried for three crimes and the congregation will now pass your judgement."
The King and Queen stood after the King placed the papers he was holding on a table next to him and the people in the courtroom did the same, standing and facing towards the aisle that split them.
"For the crime of abandonment."
"Guilty." The crowd roared in response.
"For the crime of desertion."
"Guilty."
"For the crime of treason."
"Guilty."
"General Igos Ikana, you have been found guilty of high treason against the royal crown of Hyrule. You are sentenced… to death."
"DEATH!?" Igos went wide eyed with fear and as pale as a skeleton, "You cannot sentence me to death!" The guards began to guide Igos away but he pulled against them slowing the four men considerably but still losing ground towards the grand doors, "Johannes don't do this! We had a deal!" but the King kept a stern face and Igos' words were lost to the roar of the crowd once again, "You can't do this!"
The guards had finally been able to force the huge man through the doors all the while cursing the King and his family name.
