Disclaimer: No, we do not own Twilight Princess of any of the Legend of Zelda characters listed here. We own... the zero in HauntedChicken0234 and the w in WittyPirateBanter. And even that's debatable.

Edit: We are conforming to the rules of writing and have now spaced the dialogue correctly. Hoorah.


Prologue

"Do not think this ends here… The history of light and shadow will be written in blood!"

- Ganon (Ganondorf)

Link… the hero chosen by the goddesses., Once again he has defeated the evil wizard Ganondorf with the help of the Light Princess Zelda and the Princess of the Twili, Midna. It has been no more than a year after the dictator Zant was taken from his throne, and Link has spent this peaceful time working as a ranch hand in the Ordon Village. He no longer trains with the swords master of the village, Rusl, but instead practices by protecting Ordon from the demonic creatures that live in the woods. He is now training both Colin and Talo in the art of swordsmanship. The world is finally free to be at peace. But, a shadow is lurking deep in Hyrule, waiting for the chance to strike with hate-filled revenge.

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While it was deep into the night, the desert sand still felt as if it were on fire. Hastily, seven of the ten guards gripped the edges of a large stone coffin and lifted it off the ground. Not one man wanted to perform the duty of burying the sorcerer, but they had no choice in the matter. Princess Zelda had assured them that no harm would come to anyone, yet they couldn't shake off the fear that enveloped each of their hearts. Could a wizard bring himself back from the grave? They did not know the answer, and they didn't want to find out.

They carried the coffin to a stone wall that struggled to stay above the sands. It looked like nothing more than a desolate ruin, but the men knew otherwise. Instinctively, one of the guards pressed on a small stone in the ruin, and the rock sunk slowly into the ground. Behind it was a dark cave, with stairs that spiraled downward into a maze of corridors. One of the men lit a lantern. Carefully, they walked down the steps and navigated through the many passages.

Finally, the men reached their destination; a small room furnished with only two parallel lanterns. Shakily, the men dropped the coffin on the ground and rushed out of the room, quickly locking it with a bejeweled key. Sighs of relief echoed throughout the cavern, and the guards hurried out of the dungeon. As they did, they failed to here the soft clinking sound as the key hit the floor.

The three men left to patrol the outside of the elaborate tomb greeted the seven guards in relief. The door to the cave was shut, and the men hurried off into the desert. One thing was certain; they would never go near that cursed grave again.

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"Is this how you do it, Link?" Talo asked as he sliced the air with his wooden sword and tripped on a stone jetting out of the ground. Link shook his head and laughed.

"Come on, Talo!" Colin said, "This is how you do it," He slashed at a nearby scarecrow, slicing off its pumpkin head, and turned to look at Link, who nodded in approval.

"Excellent job, Colin," stated Malo, leaning on the back of a tree. "But you've got a long ways to go before you even get close to Link's level."

"I don't suppose you could do better, Malo," Talo taunted. Malo shrugged. "I'm far too busy maintaining Malo Market to play with swords."

"Okay, then," Talo said, "but when those evil monsters from the woods capture you because you weren't armed, don't come crying to me."

"If I was captured by evil monsters, I wouldn't be going to get help from you," Malo said, smiling, "I'd get help from the best swordsman around; Link!"

Link smiled and turned to look at village, its villagers bustling about to get their daily chores completed before dinner. The peace that seemed to envelope the world felt strange, almost absurd, but Link didn't mind. Twi and Light were in harmony, time was flowing smoothly, and Ganondorf would never be around to destroy Hyrule ever again. In fact, there was nothing – nothing at all – that could destroy this peace. He turned to see Talo sprawled on the ground again. Then again, he could be wrong.

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The desert sand sparkled with moonlight, and a light breeze swept through it. The only sound that could be heard was the ominous tone of footsteps along the wasteland path. Silently, a lone figure approached the ruins of a stone wall, his face shadowed by the mask he wore. He felt along the stones with a small hand, looking for something he did not know. Finally, he found it; a small stone that fell inward. He pressed it, and the wall caved into the desert sand, leaving a passageway wide open. The shadow entered.

The figured walked down the first flight of steps and proceeded down the many halls in this dungeon. As he turned a corner, two Darknuts that had crawled inside the cave appeared. Not intimidated in the least, the figure raised his hand. There was an inhuman cry, and the first Darknut was reduced to nothing but ashes. The second Darknut raised its sword, frightened.

"Go…" the shadow whispered, and the Darknut did so. The dungeon fell silent once again to the sound of the figure's footsteps. The creature continued through the passage, stopping at a locked door. He turned around to leave, but felt something against his foot. Looking down, he noticed a key, sparkling in the dim fire of the dungeon. Picking the key up, the shadow placed it in the keyhole and turned it. The door swung open, welcoming its new guest, and the figure stepped inside.

The room was lit by two small lanterns. Inside sat a stone coffin, whose shadow crossed the floor in the fire's light. Slowly, the figure stepped into the shadow. Taking a small bottle out of his sleeve, he opened it and poured the contents onto the coffin's lid. Silence enveloped the room as the figure waited. Minutes, maybe even hours went by. He turned to leave, but as he did, a sound broke the silence. It came to him like a wisp of air.

"You…" At the sound of the voice, he smiled. "You… have come…" The shadow turned towards the voice, and nodded slightly.

"My lord," he said, bowing deeply at the force that spoke to him, "I have readied your throne as you wished. The moon is as dark as the night itself, and our time is long. We may leave at any moment you wish." There was a pause. The figure stayed on his knees.

"I cannot leave…" the whisper told him. The smile twisted into a frown underneath the figure's mask.

"My, lord, how can that be?" He asked, "You yourself said that death could never hold you." Another pause ensued. The shadow stood, waiting for a response.

"It is not… death… that holds me…" the voice told his servant, "The sages… have placed… a spell on this tomb… and I… am trapped here. Bring me…" it commanded, " a vessel… For I… cannot leave… until a vessel… is brought to me…" The servant nodded in understanding.

"I will find you a vessel, my lord… but who shall I send to you?" He waited for his master to speak.

"Bring me… the Hero… of Twi…" the whisper told him. The words faded away into nothing, and the shadow was left standing in the tomb. He bowed once more.

"I shall bring you the Hero of Twi, my lord Ganon," he told the voice. With a smile across his face, he left the tomb.

"Oh, yes…" he thought, "I shall bring you the Hero of Twi…" And a laugh echoed into the darkness of the night.


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